Iceland - questions answered

I think the Jokusarlon lagoon was very exotic, something you cannot see locally. In my opinion, the waterfalls at Golden Circle were spectacular like Niagara Falls, but the rest of it was nice but not exciting. The craters were like Yellowstone. There were many people and bus tours on the Golden Circle but very few on the Ring Road to Vik. The Golden Circle had about 200-275 people at the stops where Vik had about 50.

We were there in late June and saw no puffins at Vik.

The Jokursalon Lagoon looks amazing. But not sure if I could handle the drive in one day. Looks like it is 5 hours each way.

As far as the scenery in the South vs the Golden Circle , which did you feel was more beautiful ?

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To me, the South had better scenery. More dramatic. The Golden Circle was crowded, had more tourist things like gift shops, souvenirs and restaurants. The South had little in terms of commercialism. It depends on what you are looking for. But I felt the south scenery was more dramatic. It is easy to miss the turnoff for Dyrholaey. We missed it twice. It seems to rain when the two times we were in Reykjavik. Seemed to be less rain in Hoff area, but that could be just a coincidence.

There is a one day 14 hour tour to the Jokusarlon lagoon. We modeled our trip on that, at least they had it in 2013 when we were there.

I think I am definitely leaning towards the south coast. I don't know what time we will arrive in port, so it makes planning a little hard. I have been looking at guided tours, but these would only give us either the South Coast or the Golden Circle.

Being less crowded in the South Coast areas sounds good to me!

Maybe staying overnight near Jokusarlon is an option for us too. Will have to look at options for that.

Yes please, I have read about the black sand beach called Dyrholaey being a possible place to see them (on road 218). Where did you see them?

We spent a week in Iceland in late May, 2014. My husband is an avid birder, and we saw hundreds of Atlantic puffins in the cliffs of Dyrholaey. They were nesting in the cliffs and flying directly over our heads.

We had a rental car, so didn't do any guided tours. But we did our own version of the Golden Circle, spending much less time at the gift shops stops included in those motor coach tours.

We also spent two nights at Vik, staying at the Icelandair hotel. When we were there work wasn't quite complete on the hotel, but it should be totally done now and, from what we observed, must be lovely.

I think I am definitely leaning towards the south coast. I don't know what time we will arrive in port, so it makes planning a little hard. I have been looking at guided tours, but these would only give us either the South Coast or the Golden Circle.

 

Being less crowded in the South Coast areas sounds good to me!

My choice too!

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We spent a week in Iceland in late May, 2014. My husband is an avid birder, and we saw hundreds of Atlantic puffins in the cliffs of Dyrholaey. They were nesting in the cliffs and flying directly over our heads.

 

We had a rental car, so didn't do any guided tours. But we did our own version of the Golden Circle, spending much less time at the gift shops stops included in those motor coach tours.

 

We also spent two nights at Vik, staying at the Icelandair hotel. When we were there work wasn't quite complete on the hotel, but it should be totally done now and, from what we observed, must be lovely.

Thanks for the info we would definitely spend little to nil time in gift shops. Not my thing at all, although hubby is a bit of a shopper!

Thinking hiring a car may be the only way we get the flexibility we will need for the day. But I am a bit put off by some of the stories I have read about car hire companies and perceived damage to cars in Iceland.

Further research required. :)

Just finished reading the complete thread. Great info & helped me tweak my plans. We'll be there in late May 2016.

We rented a car from Avis at the airport for 3 days. We had ver good, although we paid $400 for 3 days. But to us, it was worth it to have freedom to do what we wanted. I like to shop, and there was a nice clothing store in Vik. There is a glacier that you can hike to a couple miles on an unpaved road before Vik which we went to. If you spend one overnight near Jaksurlon lagoon, you can do that and Golden Circle on way back to Reykjavik. If you buy groceries and eat from stores, food is not too expenisive, but eating out is very high except places like KFC. There is a town before Vik where we ate at the KFC. Vik had a grocery store and one or two small eateries, but there was not much between Vik and Hoff except wide open scenery so make sure you have gas and are fed. Iceland was very scenic, very safe, although it was very cloudy when we were there. I was nit that impressed with Reykjavik. We went in Blue Lagoon which was cool. We would like to go back and do the nothern part. If you want nightlife, Reykjavik is your place. Other places are quiet at night which we like.

Yes please, I have read about the black sand beach called Dyrholaey being a possible place to see them (on road 218). Where did you see them?

We spent a week in Iceland in late May, 2014. My husband is an avid birder, and we saw hundreds of Atlantic puffins in the cliffs of Dyrholaey. They were nesting in the cliffs and flying directly over our heads.

 

We had a rental car, so didn't do any guided tours. But we did our own version of the Golden Circle, spending much less time at the gift shops stops included in those motor coach tours.

 

We also spent two nights at Vik, staying at the Icelandair hotel. When we were there work wasn't quite complete on the hotel, but it should be totally done now and, from what we observed, must be lovely.

Exactly what I would have replied. Just be careful on the cliffs as there are no railings or ropes or warnings. Get to close to the edge and you better learn to fly quickly!

I think I am definitely leaning towards the south coast. I don't know what time we will arrive in port, so it makes planning a little hard. I have been looking at guided tours, but these would only give us either the South Coast or the Golden Circle.

Being less crowded in the South Coast areas sounds good to me!

We just got back yesterday from our Norway cruise where we did a 2 night stay over in Iceland pre-cruise.

I found a combo tour that went to both Golden Circle and Southern Coast. It was through Ice Limo. The cost was higher than taking both individual, but it is a private tour with only 4 people total in a Ford Excursion 4WD vehicle. It was great and I felt we had plenty of time at the attractions. We were able to dictate our time and save a ton of time by not having to unload/load up people in larger busses or vans. I loved the personalized service. They do require 3 people minimum for the tour. I emailed them in advance asking if they had anyone else for that day. For 1 1/2 months, no one else had signed up and I had resigned myself to having to choose between one or the other tour until the day we arrived. We had an email waiting when we got to Reykjavik that they had one other couple interested so we booked!

The sites were wonderful and I did prefer the South Coast, although would have hated to miss Gulfoss waterfall on the Golden Circle. I've been to Yellowstone several times so the Geyser area wasn't that impressive to me. The park was very nice but I still preferred south shore.

I figured the price difference was around $75 per person than booking each tour individually. I really think it was well worth the $$ and I was happy to do it all in one day. That left 1 of our 2 days with the ability to check out Reykjavik and have a lazier day (Day 1 we did Reykjavik after arriving at 6:00am). Day 2 we did the tour. It was 13 hours long and we had the ability to stay even longer, they quote it at 12-14 hours depending upon your group. The 4 of us were very tired by the end of the day.

We went to all of the sites along both tours that other tour companies provide + there were a few unexpected places that were incredible. they would not have been accessible by bus or without a 4WD vehicle.

You can google ice limo. They do have other options, but since you mentioned wanting to both and that's what we did a few weeks ago, I focused on that.

Thanks for the info on the combo tour! I will check them out.

 

I found a combo tour that went to both Golden Circle and Southern Coast. It was through Ice Limo.

 

 

Is Icelimo Luxury Travel the same company ?

 

I found a combo tour that went to both Golden Circle and Southern Coast. It was through Ice Limo.

 

 

Is Icelimo Luxury Travel the same company ?

 

Yes, it is the same company.

 

I think it was around $522 for both of us with the exchange rate. (~260.00/per person. When I looked at doing both tours it was around ~175-190 per person depending upon the tour operator).

 

Yes, it is the same company.

 

I think it was around $522 for both of us with the exchange rate. (~260.00/per person. When I looked at doing both tours it was around ~175-190 per person depending upon the tour operator).

 

thank you.We are cruising around Iceland next july, & will stay 3 / 4 days pre cruise to see more of the country

I'm cruising Iceland/Norway next summer. 4 days in Iceland so I'm sure I will have some questions for you later! Thanks for the offer.

Rob

Just finished reading through this whole thread and want to thank those of you who have posted such helpful information.

My DH, DD and I are contemplating flying Icelandair to Amsterdam with a stopover in Reykyvik next June. We will arrive in Keflavik at 6:15AM on June 28 and plan to fly to Amsterdam at 2PM on June 30. We are looking for a hotel to stay at for the night. Any suggestions for a comfortable hotel for 3 adults?

Also happy to hear the reasonably good reviews for Icelandair. We would book the comfort class, most likely, as the price is about the same as a regular coach ticket on United to Amsterdam.

Considering a Golden Circle tour the day we arrive and wondering what you'd recommend for the morning we fly out.

Thanks again for the information!

We stayed at the Reykjavik Residence Hotel, primarily because is was centrally located and we were a party of 8. We stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment for a fantastic price through tripadvisor. I can't comment on a smaller room, though they do have them.

That said, it was fantastic. The location was perfect, the front desk staff were super helpful - including a LOT of work helping me find my suitcase which was mistakenly taken by someone at the bus stop. The breakfast you can purchase to be delivered to your room was wonderful - yogurt, fresh bread, fruit, jams, milk and juice. It was enough for a full second meal later in the day for us. Our room came with enough soap/shampoo/condition/lotion to keep a small army beautiful.

http://www.rrhotel.is

Just finished reading through this whole thread and want to thank those of you who have posted such helpful information.

My DH, DD and I are contemplating flying Icelandair to Amsterdam with a stopover in Reykyvik next June. We will arrive in Keflavik at 6:15AM on June 28 and plan to fly to Amsterdam at 2PM on June 30. We are looking for a hotel to stay at for the night. Any suggestions for a comfortable hotel for 3 adults?

 

Also happy to hear the reasonably good reviews for Icelandair. We would book the comfort class, most likely, as the price is about the same as a regular coach ticket on United to Amsterdam.

 

Considering a Golden Circle tour the day we arrive and wondering what you'd recommend for the morning we fly out.

 

Thanks again for the information!

We'll also be flying to Amsterdam next August via Icelandair. This will be our 4th trip using Icelandair to Europe - we love this airline and Iceland! :D

We did the Golden Circle tour - it's very good. Was nice to get out of Reykjavik and see the countryside. Gullfoss Falls was gorgeous and larger than Niagara! You can get so close to it that you get wet.

We've stayed at Snorri's B&B in Reykjavik - nice place with a good Scandinavian breakfast and the Flybus drops off/picks up there. We were able to walk all over Reykjavik to shop, eat, and sightsee; but basically the only "sight" there was the big church. We went to the top of it's tower and had a great view of the city. Ate at a fantastic Asian restaurant on the main shopping street where we had Sweet & Sour Lobster - had small lobster tails instead of shrimp. Yummm.

The first time we went to the Blue Lagoon was on the way to the airport. You might want to do that on your last morning. We loved it so much that we decided that on the next trip we would stay at their hotel called the Blue Lagoon Clinic Hotel. The hotel is fantastic and has it's own private lagoon just for residents which we liked better than the larger, public lagoon. Food at their restaurants is really good (and pricey, but all of Iceland is pricey).

Next summer we will be staying at the Blue Lagoon hotel again. They currently have 15 rooms, but are adding 45 more! The lagoon geothermal "water" and silica are so relaxing and good for your skin. The hotel has an included breakfast buffet that's good.

Our first 2 flights on Icelandair were in economy class, or as I like to call any economy class, "sardine class." It wasn't any different from other airlines. On our last trip we booked the Economy Comfort class but got upgraded to Saga (business) class. Loved the much bigger seat and yummy free meal. That got us hooked so we booked Saga class for next summer! One of the best perks for both Saga and Economy Comfort is the use of the airport lounges. The one at Iceland's Keflavik airport is stunning and has a great food buffet and endless beverages. It's open 24 hrs/day. My only disappointment with Icelandair is that the airplane seat bottom feels rock hard so I always bring my own cushion to sit on. The flight attendants are very professional and treat passengers well.

Hope you enjoy this country as much as I do. It's one of my favorite places in the world. :)

We have used Iceland Air twice to fly to Europe. The first time there was a two hour delay. The second time there was a 10 or 11 hour delay. Other than that, the service was good. We did get a meal voucher the second time.

We stayed at Reykjavik4You, an apartment type place which was in a convenirnt location and very clean and spacious although parking was tight. I would recommend them. We were supposed to stay at Rekjavik Residence but 3 days before our trip, they rebooked us into Reykjavik4You which turned out goid for us anyway. Lodging is expensive in Iceland. We stayed in a place near Hof that was like a dormitory for $250 a night. Food was inexpensive at grocery stores and fast food places like KFC, but eating out was very high like Norway. We could buy a loaf of bread for under $5, but a dinner out started around $35-$40 pp.

we liked Blue Lagoon. It was about $50 a person for entrance but it was cool. We liked Guilfoss and the Ring Road to Jakusarlon Lagoon. Reykjavik is not big and it only took us a half day to see it. The afternoon we spent at Blue Lagoon and the Viking Museum. We took a boat ride at Reykjavik harbor to see the puffins which we liked. Hope this helps.

We stayed at the Reykjavik Residence Hotel, primarily because is was centrally located and we were a party of 8. We stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment for a fantastic price through tripadvisor. I can't comment on a smaller room, though they do have them.

 

That said, it was fantastic. The location was perfect, the front desk staff were super helpful - including a LOT of work helping me find my suitcase which was mistakenly taken by someone at the bus stop. The breakfast you can purchase to be delivered to your room was wonderful - yogurt, fresh bread, fruit, jams, milk and juice. It was enough for a full second meal later in the day for us. Our room came with enough soap/shampoo/condition/lotion to keep a small army beautiful.

 

http://www.rrhotel.is

We have used Iceland Air twice to fly to Europe. The first time there was a two hour delay. The second time there was a 10 or 11 hour delay. Other than that, the service was good. We did get a meal voucher the second time.

We stayed at Reykjavik4You, an apartment type place which was in a convenirnt location and very clean and spacious although parking was tight. I would recommend them. We were supposed to stay at Rekjavik Residence but 3 days before our trip, they rebooked us into Reykjavik4You which turned out goid for us anyway. Lodging is expensive in Iceland. We stayed in a place near Hof that was like a dormitory for $250 a night. Food was inexpensive at grocery stores and fast food places like KFC, but eating out was very high like Norway. We could buy a loaf of bread for under $5, but a dinner out started around $35-$40 pp.

we liked Blue Lagoon. It was about $50 a person for entrance but it was cool. We liked Guilfoss and the Ring Road to Jakusarlon Lagoon. Reykjavik is not big and it only took us a half day to see it. The afternoon we spent at Blue Lagoon and the Viking Museum. We took a boat ride at Reykjavik harbor to see the puffins which we liked. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information!

We'll also be flying to Amsterdam next August via Icelandair. This will be our 4th trip using Icelandair to Europe - we love this airline and Iceland! :D

 

We did the Golden Circle tour - it's very good. Was nice to get out of Reykjavik and see the countryside. Gullfoss Falls was gorgeous and larger than Niagara! You can get so close to it that you get wet.

 

We've stayed at Snorri's B&B in Reykjavik - nice place with a good Scandinavian breakfast and the Flybus drops off/picks up there. We were able to walk all over Reykjavik to shop, eat, and sightsee; but basically the only "sight" there was the big church. We went to the top of it's tower and had a great view of the city. Ate at a fantastic Asian restaurant on the main shopping street where we had Sweet & Sour Lobster - had small lobster tails instead of shrimp. Yummm.

 

The first time we went to the Blue Lagoon was on the way to the airport. You might want to do that on your last morning. We loved it so much that we decided that on the next trip we would stay at their hotel called the Blue Lagoon Clinic Hotel. The hotel is fantastic and has it's own private lagoon just for residents which we liked better than the larger, public lagoon. Food at their restaurants is really good (and pricey, but all of Iceland is pricey).

 

Next summer we will be staying at the Blue Lagoon hotel again. They currently have 15 rooms, but are adding 45 more! The lagoon geothermal "water" and silica are so relaxing and good for your skin. The hotel has an included breakfast buffet that's good.

 

Our first 2 flights on Icelandair were in economy class, or as I like to call any economy class, "sardine class." It wasn't any different from other airlines. On our last trip we booked the Economy Comfort class but got upgraded to Saga (business) class. Loved the much bigger seat and yummy free meal. That got us hooked so we booked Saga class for next summer! One of the best perks for both Saga and Economy Comfort is the use of the airport lounges. The one at Iceland's Keflavik airport is stunning and has a great food buffet and endless beverages. It's open 24 hrs/day. My only disappointment with Icelandair is that the airplane seat bottom feels rock hard so I always bring my own cushion to sit on. The flight attendants are very professional and treat passengers well.

 

Hope you enjoy this country as much as I do. It's one of my favorite places in the world. :)

Thanks so much!! I think we'll probably be booking economy comfort and hope for your luck! There are 3 of us, so economy wouldn't be too bad- not sure if my 6'2" husband would be happy tho!

How are you planning on working the days? It looks like there are 2 flights to AMS from KEF- one at 7:40AM and another at 4:30PM. If we arrive into KEF at 6:15AM, we'll have a whole day and most of another if we take the later flight. Thoughts?

After browsing through the excellent Copenhagen thread I thought about starting one for Iceland as well:

 

I'm a regular cruiser that lives in Reykjavik, Iceland and not affiliated with any tour companies. So if you have any questions about the Icelandic ports of call and surrounding attractions feel free to ask.

 

Main port: Reykjavik (Capital).

Secondary ports: Akureyri (largest town in the north of Iceland), Seydisfjordur (a small town on the east coast) and Isafjordur (a town in the rugged northwestern part of Iceland).

We will be traveling to Iceland in July, 2016 on the Disney Magic, stopping overnight in Reykjavik (2 days in the capital) and one day in Akureyi. We are a group of 2 families of 8 people, ages 15 to adult. Any suggestions on private tours?

Thanks,

Linda

We used Goecco tours for our family of 8 (grandparents, dh and I, 4 kids ages 9-15.) We did a long day of the Southern Coast - waterfalls, Icelandic horses, black sand beaches, puffin hunting, and more. It was really good, and they were willing to drop/add destinations so we could customize it.

Another thing we did was Viking Portraits with Mink Viking Portraits. So fun! A bit pricey, but the owner took his time and really made sure we had good pictures of everyone in the group. It took about 2 hours and we have some awesome pictures of the family on the dining room wall now.

Here are my normally bubbly, happy girls, channelling their inner warriors. :)

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g189970-d6865306-Reviews-Mink_Viking_Portrait-Reykjavik_Capital_Region.html