One long bus day in Iceland- would you do Myvatn and Godafoss or Golden Circle? Both?

[leaneff]

I know these are totally different experiences, however we only have 3 Iceland ports and we really don't love being on buses or in vans for 7-8 hour tours.  Rarely is there enough time at each stop, and we just find we enjoy exploring the towns on our own more.  Thinking of cancelling my Golden Circle tour and exploring Reykjavik on our own, there seems to be so much there to see.  Having been to Yellowstone before, not sure the geyser will thrill us.  We also have an all day tour in Akureyri so we would see some of Iceland's natural wonders.  Is is really worth 2 full days in a car driving to do both of these tours?  Would love to hear from someone who has done both!

[Nitemare]

8 minutes ago, leaneff said:

I know these are totally different experiences, however we only have 3 Iceland ports and we really don't love being on buses or in vans for 7-8 hour tours.  Rarely is there enough time at each stop, and we just find we enjoy exploring the towns on our own more.  Thinking of cancelling my Golden Circle tour and exploring Reykjavik on our own, there seems to be so much there to see.  Having been to Yellowstone before, not sure the geyser will thrill us.  We also have an all day tour in Akureyri so we would see some of Iceland's natural wonders.  Is is really worth 2 full days in a car driving to do both of these tours?  Would love to hear from someone who has done both!

Do both bus tours.  Reykjavik is a very cute city, but you are unlikely to ever get to experience the wealth of nature Iceland has to offer again. The geysir is not as spectacular as Yellowstone, but it goes off much more often so you can get amazing pictures. 

 

We've been to Iceland 5 times and done the Golden Circle 3 of those visits, and the other sites the only time we were in that part of the country.  Breathtaking

[MAVIP]

First time we were in Iceland we did a long Golden Circle Tour from Reykjavik and the long tour to Myvatn etc from Akureyri.   We both would do it again for a first trip to Iceland (what we did not know then is that we were able to repeat our visits 😉 ).

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, leaneff said:

Is is really worth 2 full days in a car

You wouldn't actually be in the car for that length of time unless you choose to only drive around.

Most peolpe will get out of whatever vehicle they are in and walk around or walk to the unique sights which Iceland offers. Our tour from Akureyri had a number of stops, not just one or two.

[Hlitner]

Like the OP, we are not fans of long bus tours and even less fans of large group cruise excursions.  In Reykjavik, we have simply rented a car (twice) and drove the Golden Circle on our own, at our own pace.  The drive was quite easy (with the help of our phone's map program, and once on the Golden Circle route, there are plenty of signs  

 

Hank

[Ellis1138]

On our upcoming cruise, we chose to do the Jewels of the North tour (Myvatn/Godafoss) with NCL in case the port is skipped, plus it's a long drive.

 

Since we won't miss Reykjavik, we're renting a car and doing Golden Circle at our own pace.

[ljandgb]

Or you could do something completely different, like Inside the Volcano from Reykjavik.

 

I'll admit, though, I've been to Iceland 3 times and have done the full Golden Circle.  I have been to Thingvellir, and snorkeled Silfra, but having been to Yellowstone several times, I'm not that jazzed about more geothermals.

[leaneff]

1 hour ago, ljandgb said:

Or you could do something completely different, like Inside the Volcano from Reykjavik.

 

I'll admit, though, I've been to Iceland 3 times and have done the full Golden Circle.  I have been to Thingvellir, and snorkeled Silfra, but having been to Yellowstone several times, I'm not that jazzed about more geothermals.

Wow, I just looked up snorkeling at Silfra!  Looks amazing!  I can see why you have been 3 times, there really is so much to do!  Thanks!

 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, ljandgb said:

Or you could do something completely different, like Inside the Volcano from Reykjavik.

 

I'll admit, though, I've been to Iceland 3 times and have done the full Golden Circle.  I have been to Thingvellir, and snorkeled Silfra, but having been to Yellowstone several times, I'm not that jazzed about more geothermals.

Inside the Volcano?  I assume you are speaking of the volcano in Grindavik, which has been erupting.  Any tours to that place are now crispy critters.

 

Hank

[ljandgb]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Inside the Volcano?  I assume you are speaking of the volcano in Grindavik, which has been erupting.  Any tours to that place are now crispy critters.

 

Hank

 

You assume wrong.  It's on my bucket list.

 

https://insidethevolcano.com

[Hlitner]

18 minutes ago, ljandgb said:

 

You assume wrong.  It's on my bucket list.

 

https://insidethevolcano.com

That does look interesting :).  Thanks for posting the link.  Looks like it might be worth the approximate $700 per couple.

 

Hank

[Nitemare]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

That does look interesting :).  Thanks for posting the link.  Looks like it might be worth the approximate $700 per couple.

 

Hank

We loved it.  We did it on arrival day, flying from the East Coast, figured if THAT wouldn't keep us from falling asleep on arrival, nothing would.  And we were correct

[leaneff]

On 6/18/2024 at 4:32 AM, ljandgb said:

 

You assume wrong.  It's on my bucket list.

 

https://insidethevolcano.com

Thanks for sharing this!  What an experience!  My claustrophobia would make it difficult, but might be worth trying it anyway!  LOL.

[KforKitty]

We were in Reykjavik for 3 days precruise and hired a car and purchase a self-guided tour from Get Your Guide (AOYO).  We could stop and see what we wanted, when we wanted, and tbh these were the best 3 days of our 19 day trip.  Driving in Iceland was easy and relaxed.  Would recommend.

 

Catherine

 

 

[lynncarol]

Been to Iceland twice.  This first time was in May of 2006 when we rented a car for a week.  One of those days we did the Golden Circle.  There were very few visitors then (it was pretty cold) and we had not seen Yellowstone before so it was magical.  Fast forward to 2016 when we were on a September TA cruise that spent 3 days in Iceland.  This time we took the Golden Circle by bus and were horrified at how crowded every site had become (and I have heard from recent visitors that it is even worse now). I personally would be un-nerved doing the circle by rental car with such traffic and finding a parking space must be a nightmare. Plus, if you have seen Yellowstone, Geysir pales in comparison.  On this same trip, we did an all day tour out of Aukreyri and loved it! Not nearly as crowded as the Golden Circle.