Cruise tours available at the dockside in Iceland?

[caneable]

I don’t have any expectation in posing this question but I’m prepared to ask not fearing a NO answer. We’ve got a back to back Iceland cruise next summer with two stops at Seydisfjordur, Akureyri and Isafjordur and a change over day at Reykjavik. Both segments have Roll Calls on Cruise Critic but neither is especially busy and there seems little appetite for independent excursions. That leaves me thinking what chance is there that we could pick up excursions on the dockside? Car hire is probably possible but can I avoid the issue of self driving? Long shot I know but any suggestions welcome.

[hallasm]

Tours will not be available at the pier - highly recommended to plan and book in advance - either private tour or rental car - You can easily do the 'Golden Circle' by rental car - in general rental car is expensive.

You can also do the 'Blue Lagoon' thermal bath - shuttle bus from Reykjavik.

Examples of tour providers:

https://www.re.is/

https://sagatravel.is/category/tours/day-tours/reykjavik-day-tours/

[WisRiver]

When we did HAL's Voyage of the Vikings in 2019, we made independent arrangements in Reykjavik, Akureyri, and Isafjordur.  In Reykjavik and Akureyri we used Saga Travel.  For Isafjordur we used Wild Westfjords.  We were a group of two couples so we were able the customize the Golden Circle tour to include a stop at Laugarvatn Fontana geothermal spa and the end of the day.  https://www.fontana.is. We brought our own towels from the cruise ship.  Our tours were more expensive that the local companies group tours, but cheaper than the ships tours.  

[Nitemare]

I agree with the others, do not expect to be able to find a tour "on the fly" in Iceland.  Too many visitors, not enough agencies for that to work .  Do you have time in Reykjavik to rent a car?  If so I'd do that on changeover day, or on arrival/departure

[caneable]

Thanks for the responses and sorry I'm a little late responding. As I hinted in my original post I didn't think the answer would be positive.  Car hire is an option we could explore at Akureyri and Isafjordur. I'd be surprised if they can offer that at Seydisfjordur and I'm not sure it's worth it given the time available in Reykjavik given that it's embark / disembark day. Probably just use the HOHO bus.

Steve

[Nitemare]

Reykjavik is quite walkable, I don't think a HOHO will add much value.  Or consider the Sky Lagoon there.

[caneable]

Could be that you’re right nitemare, but it looks a good 2 - 3 km walk from dock to centre. I believe that the HOHO service picks up at the cruise port and it might be better value for seeing the city than paying the usually extortionate amount that the cruise line charges fir it’s shuttles these days.  I’ll keep your comment in mind and do my homework on shuttle costs first. Thanks!

[ljandgb]

We did a really nice food walking tour in Reykjavik.  Saw a lot of the city, ate enough really good food that we did not need dinner, and learned a bit about the daily life there.

[Nitemare]

There are 2 docks, IIRC, and one of them is better located than the other for walking

[caneable]

According to Google Maps the walking distance from the Reykjavik Cruise Terminal to Harpa Music Hall at the old harbour is a 55 min walk. That’s much too far for us to walk (age catches up with us all)!  That’s probably the furthest point we’d look to visit.  Unfortunately I haven’t been able to come up with the actual port that we will be using, but as our cruise is back to back, this is the point where many guests will disembark / embark so I’m sure that will need to be done at the terminal.

Of course the next question will be whether the HOHO bus service would operate from the terminal on a disembarkation day. Will have to check that one out.

[cruise kitty]

On 12/11/2021 at 12:47 AM, caneable said:

According to Google Maps the walking distance from the Reykjavik Cruise Terminal to Harpa Music Hall at the old harbour is a 55 min walk. That’s much too far for us to walk (age catches up with us all)!  That’s probably the furthest point we’d look to visit.  Unfortunately I haven’t been able to come up with the actual port that we will be using, but as our cruise is back to back, this is the point where many guests will disembark / embark so I’m sure that will need to be done at the terminal.

Of course the next question will be whether the HOHO bus service would operate from the terminal on a disembarkation day. Will have to check that one out.

If you're B2B you might be able to get off early & have the day to yourself as they will take care of any needed exit/entry requirements in the morning...  you should be given an "in transit" pass & might be free to explore... if that's the case, I'd consider contacting Saga Tours...  the cruise line should be able to let you know how they normally handle b2b.... you might have time for a 5 or 6 hour tour... & they do a great job!