Reykjavik tour delimma please help me decide

[cruisinqt]

This will be our first visit to Iceland. We will be visiting Reykjavik, Grundarfjordur, Akurreyri, and Seydisfjordar. My biggest delimma is what to do in Reykjavik. Our group consists of 4 adults and we will be there from 9:00 am until 11:00 pm. Half of us want to visit the Golden Circle and the other half want to visit the spa at Blue Lagoon. Originally we planned on visiting the Blue Lagoon (then exploring downtown) then seeing the craters, waterfalls, geysers, and other similar attractions at the other ports. But upon further research it sounds like the Golden Circle is a must see attraction in Reykjavík. Most of the tours that combine the two are very lengthy tours lasting 11-13 hours. That’s a long time to be on a tour bus and I also worry about getting back to the ship in time. Any suggestions or experiences? Should I just choose one or the other? Or is it possible to combine the two without being too exhausted and too late? 

[CruiserBruce]

Nobody is going to force you to all go together. Might be better to split up for this day.

[cruisinqt]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Nobody is going to force you to all go together. Might be better to split up for this day.

We are family (parents and adult children) so we don’t want to split up. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

We are doing the Golden Circle tour w/ the Blue Lagoon. It's an 11 hour tour, but when are you planning to go back to Iceland?  Not sure we will ever be back and both items are must do's on our list.

[Nitemare]

Local tour providers are VERY responsible and will get you back to your ship on time

[ljandgb]

The Blue Lagoon is definitely not something I could do for 14 hours.  Choosing just that will result in a LOT of downtime.  For those that don't want to do it, there's not much else to do there besides sit and watch out the window.  The Golden Circle is not something that has to take that long either.  Doing both is an option, or doing something like a south coast tour.  The scenery is amazing.  I don't love long drives, but could watch out the window in Iceland forever.  A south coast tour involves several get out and walk around stops as well, so it's not ALL bus.

 

We travel frequently with my parents, and it can be fun to separate for a day and then all rehash what we did over dinner (or breakfast for you the next day) assuming your parents are capable to take a day without you.

Edited February 18, 2023 by ljandgb

[CCJack]

I would do the golden circle, and while in Akureyri do the Lake Myvatn tour with the natural bath option (similar but less famous as blue lagoon) - that combo tour is a lot less than 11 hours if I recall.      We went to Akureyri before Reykjavik so we did the lake Myvatn with natural bath first.   We had blue lagoon excursion reserved in Reykajavik but after seeing the one near Myvatn we cancelled blue lagoon and went on golden circle.  I am glad we did.  Golden circle is really 3 different stops / excursions in one already (without adding blue lagoon.).

 

Here is the link to the natual baths at lake myvatn..   https://myvatnnaturebaths.is/

 

Have fun !

Edited February 18, 2023 by CCJack

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

20 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

This will be our first visit to Iceland. We will be visiting Reykjavik, Grundarfjordur, Akurreyri, and Seydisfjordar. My biggest delimma is what to do in Reykjavik. Our group consists of 4 adults and we will be there from 9:00 am until 11:00 pm. Half of us want to visit the Golden Circle and the other half want to visit the spa at Blue Lagoon. Originally we planned on visiting the Blue Lagoon (then exploring downtown) then seeing the craters, waterfalls, geysers, and other similar attractions at the other ports. But upon further research it sounds like the Golden Circle is a must see attraction in Reykjavík. Most of the tours that combine the two are very lengthy tours lasting 11-13 hours. That’s a long time to be on a tour bus and I also worry about getting back to the ship in time. Any suggestions or experiences? Should I just choose one or the other? Or is it possible to combine the two without being too exhausted and too late? 

We have booked the Golden Circle Tour with Nice Travel and it is a 10 hour tour. Pick up at 8:30 am at our hotel for a 9 am tour start and return between 6&7 pm. They plan on being at Blue Lagoon for 5 pm and we head back to hotel after that.

Contact them to see if they could pick you up at the cruise ship if it fits into your timeframe. 15-17 per mini bus

[cruisinqt]

8 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

We are doing the Golden Circle tour w/ the Blue Lagoon. It's an 11 hour tour, but when are you planning to go back to Iceland?  Not sure we will ever be back and both items are must do's on our list.

I’ve been researching doing both but wasn't sure we could fit both in comfortably. I’ll try to though. 

[cruisinqt]

4 hours ago, CCJack said:

I would do the golden circle, and while in Akureyri do the Lake Myvatn tour with the natural bath option (similar but less famous as blue lagoon) - that combo tour is a lot less than 11 hours if I recall.      We went to Akureyri before Reykjavik so we did the lake Myvatn with natural bath first.   We had blue lagoon excursion reserved in Reykajavik but after seeing the one near Myvatn we cancelled blue lagoon and went on golden circle.  I am glad we did.  Golden circle is really 3 different stops / excursions in one already (without adding blue lagoon.).

 

Here is the link to the natual baths at lake myvatn..   https://myvatnnaturebaths.is/

 

Have fun !

After your comment I looked it up and that sounds like a good solution. Blue Lagoon is much fancier with a restaurant, spa, and private showers but the Myvatn nature baths sounds nice too. I’m not sure how I feel about the open showers though. Were the open showers uncomfortable for you? I’m very shy about that stuff and where I come from everything’s very private. 

[cruisinqt]

1 hour ago, D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL said:

We have booked the Golden Circle Tour with Nice Travel and it is a 10 hour tour. Pick up at 8:30 am at our hotel for a 9 am tour start and return between 6&7 pm. They plan on being at Blue Lagoon for 5 pm and we head back to hotel after that.

Contact them to see if they could pick you up at the cruise ship if it fits into your timeframe. 15-17 per mini bus

I would love a tour that could either do both the Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon or just drop us off at Blue Lagoon at the end of their Golden Circle tour. I’ll contact them, thanks. 

[kaisatsu]

3 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

I’m not sure how I feel about the open showers though. Were the open showers uncomfortable for you? I’m very shy about that stuff and where I come from everything’s very private. 

They are similar to showers in a gym locker room. There are separate facilities for men and women. Everyone faces the wall with a shower head and focuses on just sudsing up and getting clean. Your towel is hanging nearby, so you can cover up en route.

 

I’ve been to both Myvatn and the Blue Lagoon, and I’m pretty sure I used the open shower at both. There may be private showers at Blue Lagoon, but it wasn’t necessarily the norm.

[CCJack]

3 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

After your comment I looked it up and that sounds like a good solution. Blue Lagoon is much fancier with a restaurant, spa, and private showers but the Myvatn nature baths sounds nice too. I’m not sure how I feel about the open showers though. Were the open showers uncomfortable for you? I’m very shy about that stuff and where I come from everything’s very private. 

Our tour was with SAGA tours.  They had two vans going to the Lake Myvatn stops but in different order so they would not overlap.  Then both ended up at the natural baths in the afternoon at the same time.  People who didn't want to do the baths could board one of the vans and go straight back to the ship while those who wanted to do the baths could stay longer.  Our intention was to do the baths at blue lagoon and not do the baths at Myvatn, but the first van back to the ship was full.  So we volunteered to stay a bit at the baths (45 min) for them to return to take us to the ship.  So we hung out there but we did not get in the water as we did not have our swim gear.   However since we had a taste of the natural baths we opted to skip blue lagoon in favor of golden circle.   In hindsight, probably should have taken our swim gear to Myvatn baths, but it all worked out in the end.  I am glad we did the golden circle.  Those stops were really nice.  

[cruisinqt]

1 hour ago, kaisatsu said:

They are similar to showers in a gym locker room. There are separate facilities for men and women. Everyone faces the wall with a shower head and focuses on just sudsing up and getting clean. Your towel is hanging nearby, so you can cover up en route.

 

I’ve been to both Myvatn and the Blue Lagoon, and I’m pretty sure I used the open shower at both. There may be private showers at Blue Lagoon, but it wasn’t necessarily the norm.

Thanks that helps a lot. 

[cruisinqt]

1 hour ago, CCJack said:

Our tour was with SAGA tours.  They had two vans going to the Lake Myvatn stops but in different order so they would not overlap.  Then both ended up at the natural baths in the afternoon at the same time.  People who didn't want to do the baths could board one of the vans and go straight back to the ship while those who wanted to do the baths could stay longer.  Our intention was to do the baths at blue lagoon and not do the baths at Myvatn, but the first van back to the ship was full.  So we volunteered to stay a bit at the baths (45 min) for them to return to take us to the ship.  So we hung out there but we did not get in the water as we did not have our swim gear.   However since we had a taste of the natural baths we opted to skip blue lagoon in favor of golden circle.   In hindsight, probably should have taken our swim gear to Myvatn baths, but it all worked out in the end.  I am glad we did the golden circle.  Those stops were really nice.  

I just realized that Reykjavik is our longest port stop. We will be there from 9-11 so I’m pretty sure we can fit in both. I’m really looking forward to it since both the Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon are very popular. Thanks for your input. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

I think you will be happy! This tour seems like its going to be a highlight of our vacation.

[cruisinqt]

4 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

I think you will be happy! This tour seems like its going to be a highlight of our vacation.

I agree. I’ve read lots of glowing reviews of both the Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon. 

[Turtles06]

On 2/18/2023 at 12:02 PM, CCJack said:

I would do the golden circle, and while in Akureyri do the Lake Myvatn tour with the natural bath option (similar but less famous as blue lagoon) - that combo tour is a lot less than 11 hours if I recall.

 

Yes, the classic tour out of Akureyri -- several hours less and an awesome day, one of our favorites.  I would have suggested that as well (especially since the Myvatn Nature Baths are less touristy than the Blue Lagoon), but I see the OP has opted to combine the Golden Circle with the Blue Lagoon out of Reykjavik. A very long day.  

 

 

(Myvatn Nature Baths, by turtles06)

[milolii]

There is a second lagoon near town in Reykjavik, the Sky Lagoon.  We are with Iceland Everywhere with a drop off at the Sky Lagoon at the end. 

[cruisinqt]

On 2/19/2023 at 4:08 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Yes, the classic tour out of Akureyri -- several hours less and an awesome day, one of our favorites.  I would have suggested that as well (especially since the Myvatn Nature Baths are less touristy than the Blue Lagoon), but I see the OP has opted to combine the Golden Circle with the Blue Lagoon out of Reykjavik. A very long day.  

 

 

(Myvatn Nature Baths, by turtles06)

I haven’t booked Blue Lagoon after the Golden Circle tour yet. We are in port from 9 am till 11 pm so we could do it but I agree it would be a long day. Our Golden Circle tour is 7 hours long (it’s an adjusted tour made to fit cruisers schedules.) But it’s still a pretty full day since we will need to fit dinner in between the two. I’m contemplating doing the Myvatn nature baths at the end of that tour (it’s a 6 hour tour), or the Voks nature baths that are offered out of Seydisfjordur. I’m leaning towards doing the Voks nature baths since I’m not finding any other tours that sound better out of that port. It’s hard to find reviews of it though. 

[cruisinqt]

On 2/20/2023 at 9:23 PM, milolii said:

There is a second lagoon near town in Reykjavik, the Sky Lagoon.  We are with Iceland Everywhere with a drop off at the Sky Lagoon at the end. 

Hmm I haven’t heard of them I’ll have to check them out. I still haven’t made a final decision on which baths to do. We just know we definitely want to try out the nature baths in Iceland. 

[janetcbl]

10 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

I haven’t booked Blue Lagoon after the Golden Circle tour yet. We are in port from 9 am till 11 pm so we could do it but I agree it would be a long day. Our Golden Circle tour is 7 hours long (it’s an adjusted tour made to fit cruisers schedules.) But it’s still a pretty full day since we will need to fit dinner in between the two. I’m contemplating doing the Myvatn nature baths at the end of that tour (it’s a 6 hour tour), or the Voks nature baths that are offered out of Seydisfjordur. I’m leaning towards doing the Voks nature baths since I’m not finding any other tours that sound better out of that port. It’s hard to find reviews of it though. 

Either the Myvatn or the Voss natural baths will be a lot less “ touristy”  than Blue Lgoon. I know nothing about the Voks baths, but the Myvatn experience gets high praise.

[cruisinqt]

43 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Either the Myvatn or the Voss natural baths will be a lot less “ touristy”  than Blue Lgoon. I know nothing about the Voks baths, but the Myvatn experience gets high praise.

The Vok baths are in Egilsstadir which is about a 30 minute drive from the nearby port we will be visiting, Seydisfjordur. They are at the base of Lake Urridavatn and have the only geothermal water that is so pure that it’s certified as drinkable. I’ve went to their website and they have a very nice facility with bathrooms, changing rooms, a restaurant, a tea bar, an in water refreshment bar, and a spa. I’m thinking it won’t be very crowded or touristy either. 

[janetcbl]

22 hours ago, cruisinqt said:

The Vok baths are in Egilsstadir which is about a 30 minute drive from the nearby port we will be visiting, Seydisfjordur. They are at the base of Lake Urridavatn and have the only geothermal water that is so pure that it’s certified as drinkable. I’ve went to their website and they have a very nice facility with bathrooms, changing rooms, a restaurant, a tea bar, an in water refreshment bar, and a spa. I’m thinking it won’t be very crowded or touristy either. 

Voks, not Voss! (Hate autocorrect!)

[cruisinqt]

5 hours ago, janetcbl said:

Voks, not Voss! (Hate autocorrect!)

Lol I had the same problem. It autocorrected it to Voss several times. I hate autocorrect too 😆