If you circumnavigated Iceland on a Viking ship, did you end up wishing you had done a land-based trip instead?

[miami mama]

We are currently booked to do an Iceland cruise on Viking next summer. However, the more I learn about Iceland, the more I'm wondering if sailing around the island, instead of driving around it on the Ring Road, is a mistake. To anyone who has done this cruise or visited Iceland in the past, where you satisfied with the cruise? Or did you wish you had traveled by land? 

[TayanaLorna]

We did the Viking welcome back cruise around Iceland in 2021 and loved it.  We spent a small fortune doing optional excursions with several of them being out and about for 8-10 hours.  Some days we did a morning and afternoon excursion.  We learned so much from our excellent guides and enjoyed the scenery during the drives.  The sailing into the fjords was spectacular.  Neither of us had to drive and we didn't have to spend the time finding a place to stay.  We didn't need to read books to understand what we were seeing, learn about the history or culture, know the folklore, geology, agriculture or the formation background of family names.

 

We missed the Westman Islands due to unfavorable tendering conditions, however I was grateful to have the down time at the end of the cruise.  We had a late afternoon flight home purposefully planned so we could do a private excursion around the Reykanes Penninsula with airport drop off. 

 

The only extra things i would do would be renting a car at the airport to see the south coast to Vik and back before the cruise, and stay a couple nights to see Reyjkavik after the cruise.  Make it a 2 week vacation instead of 1.

[Dukefan]

17 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

We did the Viking welcome back cruise around Iceland in 2021 and loved it.  We spent a small fortune doing optional excursions with several of them being out and about for 8-10 hours.  Some days we did a morning and afternoon excursion.  We learned so much from our excellent guides and enjoyed the scenery during the drives.  The sailing into the fjords was spectacular.  Neither of us had to drive and we didn't have to spend the time finding a place to stay.  We didn't need to read books to understand what we were seeing, learn about the history or culture, know the folklore, geology, agriculture or the formation background of family names.

 

We missed the Westman Islands due to unfavorable tendering conditions, however I was grateful to have the down time at the end of the cruise.  We had a late afternoon flight home purposefully planned so we could do a private excursion around the Reykanes Penninsula with airport drop off. 

 

The only extra things i would do would be renting a car at the airport to see the south coast to Vik and back before the cruise, and stay a couple nights to see Reyjkavik after the cruise.  Make it a 2 week vacation instead of 1.

We did this cruise in 2021 allow and agree with everything TayanaLorne says.  We came in early and spent a few days in Reyjkavik to do some touring from there but did not get to the South Coast.  I would not change this but I would add the South Coast to the end of the cruise and stay near the airport next time.

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Dukefan

[LindaS272]

We have not yet done a cruise around Iceland. In 2021, we were sorely tempted to do one of the Welcome Back cruises, but did not want the possibility of being quarantined just due to possible exposure to Covid. So just before the first Iceland cruise we did a 2 1/2 week drive around the country on the Ring Road, staying in Foss Hotels, & a few smaller hotels. It was a great trip and a cruise would not have substituted. My husband did this trip in 2009 so he already had some familiarity.

 

For ourselves, we prefer the self education with guidebooks & interesting history books about the island. We love Viking cruising but I like to say “don’t confuse cruising with travel”—it’s not—it’s really just for being pampered, IMO. 😋 We came to cruising late, after independent global travel since the 1970s in my case and the 1980s in my husband’s.

 

In July, we’re doing the new Arctic adventure cruise up Norway to Svalbard with just one stop in Iceland. After disembarkation in Reykjavik, we’ll do five days in the Western peninsulas which we missed in our drive around in 2021 (it’s a big country!).We tend to choose the cruises that get us to places we couldn’t as easily do on our own (Cape Horn/Falklands/Chilean fjords/Greenland/Faroes, etc.).

 

So it depends on how you want to use your time and money. I hope it’s not an either/or for you. You could take a cruise and get a taste of the country, and then come back for an extended driving trip, or do the driving trip this year, and then pick up pieces you missed in the cruise next year—while enjoying the spa, teatime, Manfredi’s, lecturers, and more!

Edited May 31, 2023 by LindaS272

[philw1776]

Took daughter & our 18 yr old granddaughter on the Welcome Back cruise around Iceland. They loved Iceland & the ship, especially the tea.  Granddaughter went off on her own climbing fjord walls & took the Icelandic Ponies tour on her own. She can't wait to be old enough to go back rent a car & tour. We missed Westland and the puffins because of weather while spending big bucks on the all day tours. Would go back.

[Mpc524]

We did the circumnavigation cruise right after the pandemic and then we rented a car and spent 2 weeks on the Ring Road on our own. Those two weeks were MAGICAL! We highly recommend it if you can do it! 

[Twitchly]

If your cruise doesn’t include the south coast (which is not to be missed), it’s easy enough to rent a car in Reykjavik and drive yourself. I would suggest giving yourself a couple of days (and booking your hotels ahead of time). That will get you as far as the glacier lagoon (Jökulsárlón). There’s a hotel nearby (Fosshotel) that’s quite nice and allows you to see the lagoon early or late in the day when the crowds have gone. We arrived there at dusk and had the place largely to ourselves (in September). 

Allow time to stop along the way at waterfalls and take in the Black Beach (Reynisfjara) at Vik. The whole drive is just spectacular. Otherworldly. 

 

 

[MarkTapley]

Good advice to OP in the earlier replies.

 

We spent 7 or 8 days driving completely around the island before the Viking Sky cruise around the island in 2021.  The self-driving tour was amazing;  the cruise was great as well.  My advice is do both;  but if you only have time (or resources) to do one or the other, then drive.  On the cruise you will experience the “highlights” of Iceland;  if you drive, you will experience Iceland.

[duquephart]

We are booked on a "small group" land tour to begin in a little over two weeks. We'll be on the road for eight days. Looking forward to it and guessing we'll get a much better look at the country than an in and out cruise experience can provide.

[SJD117]

I’ve driven around Iceland twice, once clockwise from Reykjavik, the other counter-clockwise. It’s an 850-mile trip along the Ring Road with stunning scenery everywhere you look. By all means do the drive! 

[miami mama]

Whoa. This is truly not an easy decision. When I started thinking about the trip and looked over the places the ship docks (and the suggested excursions) I began thinking about a hybrid trip, a few days of driving along the South coast like Twitchly suggests and then the cruise.

 

We came to cruising late and traveled extensively on our own prior to trying Viking about 6 years ago. We have taken cruises that would not be possible to cover solely by land (in a reasonable amount of time). We do love the onboard experience but I am probably leaning towards making this a road trip. Can't really spend more than 9 to 10 days on the Iceland part of the trip as the husband wants to spend time in London also. 

 

Thank you for the comments. It's clear no matter what way we go, Iceland will be a great experience.

duquephart I would be interested in hearing about your small group tour. Good guides add so much to an experience and that is one thing we wouldn't have if we do the drive ourselves. . 

[SteelCity Cruiser]

Lots of good advice here. We also did the welcome back cruise (we missed Djupivogur due to rough seas) and it was wonderful (even with the spit test anxiety).  It was a good first visit to the country and we are planning a return visit at some point and do a self-planned trip.  If not for Covid we probably would have arranged to spend another 3-4 days there at least and do some self-exploration.  Wonderful place.

[Clay Clayton]

We were on the Welcome Back cruise in 2021 that missed three ports due to a COVID case onboard.  We got back last week from 4 nights of a self driving trip along the south coast to see the places we missed.  
 

In 2021 we didn’t book but two optional excursions so we didn’t spend the small fortune that TaynaLorna did (probably didn’t learn as much either) but had a great time. This past trip, it was all self research and booking but was mostly to see places-glaciers, lagoons, waterfalls. Frankly, I think between the car rental, hotels, fuel, and meals, we spent about the same amount on a per person per day basis as the cruise cost….and we usually only “dined” at lunch.  Supper was usually a hot dog or a snack in our hotel.  I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t think you’re going to save any money one way or the other.

 

As several have said, the drive along the south coast to Vik is pretty incredible.  It can be done in a (very) long day from Reykjavik with a tour company-not cheap but if time and money is an issue it would probably be the best way to do it. For us, we are really glad we had time to say, oooh, what’s that and pull over and find out.  The beautiful church and Elf House in one of the pictures below is an example of that. 
 

If you want to see more of what we did during our stay, I was asked to continue my live thread from our transatlantic so you can get to it here:

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Clay Clayton

[duquephart]

55 minutes ago, miami mama said:

Whoa. This is truly not an easy decision. When I started thinking about the trip and looked over the places the ship docks (and the suggested excursions) I began thinking about a hybrid trip, a few days of driving along the South coast like Twitchly suggests and then the cruise.

 

We came to cruising late and traveled extensively on our own prior to trying Viking about 6 years ago. We have taken cruises that would not be possible to cover solely by land (in a reasonable amount of time). We do love the onboard experience but I am probably leaning towards making this a road trip. Can't really spend more than 9 to 10 days on the Iceland part of the trip as the husband wants to spend time in London also. 

 

Thank you for the comments. It's clear no matter what way we go, Iceland will be a great experience.

duquephart I would be interested in hearing about your small group tour. Good guides add so much to an experience and that is one thing we wouldn't have if we do the drive ourselves. . 

 

I'll be happy to get back to you. I spent some time researching and believe I've chosen an excellent service.

[CHammond]

8 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

I'll be happy to get back to you. I spent some time researching and believe I've chosen an excellent service.

Could you give us the name of the tour company? We are doing a Iceland cruise in 2024 and also thinking of self exploring before, thanks!

[miami mama]

Looking forward to it duquephart.

 

Clay, I always enjoy your contributions. Will get to your live report as soon as possible. 

[Peregrina651]

On 5/31/2023 at 8:02 AM, miami mama said:

We are currently booked to do an Iceland cruise on Viking next summer. However, the more I learn about Iceland, the more I'm wondering if sailing around the island, instead of driving around it on the Ring Road, is a mistake. To anyone who has done this cruise or visited Iceland in the past, where you satisfied with the cruise? Or did you wish you had traveled by land? 

 

 

I don't regret having cruised around the island.  First, DH prefers a break from driving  when on vacation, especially when we are overseas.  Pre-Covid, his job had him on the road 5 days a week and that was enough.  Second, we were happy to have our hotel come with us.  We like traveling without the packing and unpacking; it is less stressful. 

[CCWineLover]

On 5/31/2023 at 8:36 AM, TayanaLorna said:

We had a late afternoon flight home purposefully planned so we could do a private excursion around the Reykanes Penninsula with airport drop off. 

Hi Lorna - I looked for just such an excursion - hotel pickup and drop at airport for afternoon flight.  Who did you use?   All the ones I checked wouldn't get you to KEF until 3 or 4 PM and our flight is at 4:50 PM.  Ideas?

If nothing we'll plan to just walk around Reykjavik.

We have 2 full days after the cruise in Reykjavik - one all day Golden Circle and one all day Southern Coast.

[duquephart]

On 5/31/2023 at 4:50 PM, CHammond said:

Could you give us the name of the tour company? We are doing a Iceland cruise in 2024 and also thinking of self exploring before, thanks!

 

Can I do that without annoying mods? If I had your e-mail I would send all I have.

[TayanaLorna]

44 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Hi Lorna - I looked for just such an excursion - hotel pickup and drop at airport for afternoon flight.  Who did you use?   All the ones I checked wouldn't get you to KEF until 3 or 4 PM and our flight is at 4:50 PM.  Ideas?

If nothing we'll plan to just walk around Reykjavik.

We have 2 full days after the cruise in Reykjavik - one all day Golden Circle and one all day Southern Coast.

www.gtice.is Gateway to Iceland picked us up at cruise dock (or certain hotels) around 8:30 am took us around the Reykjanes Peninsula with stop for a local lunch and dropped us off at airport between 2-2:30 pm.  Our flight was 5 pm.  Drop offs were airport first, Blue Lagoon or back to Reykjavik.  

[Peregrina651]

36 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Can I do that without annoying mods? If I had your e-mail I would send all I have.

 

You may name names in response to a request without annoying the mods. Since you have been asked, you may respond here, (as long as you are not giving the the name of a travel agency, which is not permitted on CC under any circumstances).

Edited June 2, 2023 by Peregrina651

[Jneil]

On 5/31/2023 at 9:02 AM, miami mama said:

We are currently booked to do an Iceland cruise on Viking next summer. However, the more I learn about Iceland, the more I'm wondering if sailing around the island, instead of driving around it on the Ring Road, is a mistake. To anyone who has done this cruise or visited Iceland in the past, where you satisfied with the cruise? Or did you wish you had traveled by land? 

 

[Jneil]

We are currently on Viking Iceland. Departed 5/23. We have missed FIVE ports, 2 in Iceland, both stops in Greenland and Newfoundland. Endless boring days at sea. We are told it's because of ice flows in Greenland and heavy winds and seas in Iceland. Very disappointing. Maybe Viking shouldn't offer this so early in the season!! 

[duquephart]

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

You may name names in response to a request without annoying the mods. Since you have been asked, you may respond here, (as long as you are not giving the the name of a travel agency, which is not permitted on CC under any circumstances).

 

Not sure I can respond without naming the agency. Can I do a XYZ(dot)com sort of thing?

[CHammond]

3 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Can I do that without annoying mods? If I had your e-mail I would send all I have.

I tried to message you but I guess that feature is disabled. My email is carol6296@gmail.com, thanks!