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Too much for one day in Iceland ?


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Just at planning stages........

 

We dock in Iceland 7am - 8pm , Summer 2021, looking to "do " Golden circle AND spend a bit of time actually in the Blue Lagoon. We aim to hire a car ,pick up about 08.30 ish.

Is this realistic?  and as a VERY rough estimate how long would this take?  [ spending an 30 - 60 mins or so at each site ] this time frame is NOT set in stone. Rental office appears to shut at 4pm , which does seem a bit early but an "out of hours" service  is available, for a price!

 

Many thanks

 

 

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Doable.  Rushed but doable.  Reykjavik to the three main sites of the GC and back can be done in 5-6 hours.  Can also be done in 10-12 hours, depending on how many times you want to see the Geysir go, what kind of time you want to spend for lunch, and how much you want to see of the National Park.  If you add on Kerid or the greenhouse or seeing horses, you can spend 2 days there.

 

But say it's 6 hours, that gets you to BL by 3PM or so.  3 hours there and back to the city by 7PM would be possible.

 

Pick up the car 30 minutes earlier and you get a bit better cushion

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  • 5 months later...

Yes you could drive the route and at the end say you did it, but I highly doubt it will be very enjoyable.  Just too much of a rushed day.  You will not get an immediate start on the day in my two rental experiences as many people will be renting vehicles.  You'll have to wait in line for your transportation to the rental location, then to rent the vehicle and then drive back to the port to pick up your party.  This will probably take about an hour.  Then you will have to return the vehicle at the end of the day and get back to the port.   I'm not sure of the after hours return process as I returned our vehicle during their normal business hours.  The first time I was taken immediately back to the port, but the second time I had to wait for approximately 30 minutes for the shuttle to get back.  I would pick doing one or the other if you only have one day in port.  If by any chance you are also going to Akureyri on your sailing, skip the Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik.  You can rent a car in Akureyri and tour all kinds of beautiful sights with a stop at Myvatn Hot Springs.  It's much smaller than the Blue Lagoon, but our group enjoyed it much more.  Everything was cheaper and there were a lot less people making it more enjoyable.  Just food for thought if you're also going to the northern coast as well.

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Agree with above.  You could even skip both and instead drive south and visit one of the many "secret" hotsprings that dot the country.  I have no affiliation with this blog, it's just the first one that came up under my google search but it will give you an idea of what's out there.  Most people would also say that south coast scenery is better than the Golden Circle.  It may also be less crowded as most of your cruise ship will be thinking the same as you and head towards the GC and BL.

 

https://asideofsweet.com/hidden-hot-springs-iceland-travel/

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