TTMA Iceland

[isabel]

Went for a hike with DH today and chatted about our anniversary trip. I had asked for advice on NY hotel stays, but he brought up Iceland and it’s looking more like that’s what we’ll do because it is equally affordable and it feels easier to plan for him.

Anyone been and have advice to share? I’ll take anything!

[yourmother]

I have a friend that went. She booked a trip via local tours and while she had complaints about the leaders of the tour, she had an amazing time during the excursions. Her pictures were out of this world and I’m pretty sure it’s a place she plans to return to in the future. It was a trip of a lifetime for her.

[7costanza]

We went in winter 2018, it’s so beautiful and there is tons to see! Highlights were the Blue Lagoon, museum in Reykjavik with an excavated Viking house, lava tunnel, golden circle tour and just exploring Reykjavik. The city is small enough that you can walk the whole thing easily, and there are so many tour companies for the big geological sites we didn’t need to rent a car. We stayed in an AirBNB but I would choose a more centrally located hotel if I could do it again.

The food was also surprisingly universally really good. We did not have a bad meal, including in the cafeteria of the bus station.

[devonpow]

We loved it! Went with both kids for 3 days on our way to Europe the other year. Book EARLY. There just aren’t a lot of hotels there but it’s a very popular tourist destination now so things book up very very quickly.

Since we were only there a few days we just did Rekjyavik and the a day doing the Golden Circle. We had our own car and it was very easy to drive and do it all on our own. We did the Blue Lagoon on our last day (it’s close the the airport so easy to do on your way to or from there). It was an amazing trip, we are definitely going back for a longer trip sometime. We went in late august and the weather was perfect.

[Saudade]

I was there exactly 3 years ago this week. Definitely go. Tickets are super cheap to get there. From MSP it's a direct flight for less than $600 so I imagine it will be close to the same for you.

I rented a car for super cheap too. Those two were the only cheap things about Iceland. lol it's so expensive. But incredibly worth it. I loved it. It's such a beautiful, small country.

If you want more specifics I can give them. I didn't do any scheduled tours since I had the car. Blue Lagoon was ok but idk if I'd do it again. Like you have to because you're a tourist but it's really not worth it.

[isabel]

Jun 6, 2021 20:57:41 GMT -5 Saudade said:

I was there exactly 3 years ago this week. Definitely go. Tickets are super cheap to get there. From MSP it's a direct flight for less than $600 so I imagine it will be close to the same for you.

I rented a car for super cheap too. Those two were the only cheap things about Iceland. lol it's so expensive. But incredibly worth it. I loved it. It's such a beautiful, small country.

If you want more specifics I can give them. I didn't do any scheduled tours since I had the car. Blue Lagoon was ok but idk if I'd do it again. Like you have to because you're a tourist but it's really not worth it.

Yeah, flights are just over $500. Super cheap. Hotels are reasonable too. My understanding is food is pricey, which is fine. It still feels like we can do a pretty solid 8-10 day trip for under $5k.

I would love to hear what areas you visited and enjoyed. We're basically just thinking we'll book a flight and hotels at various points and then try to see as much as we can by driving around.

It's funny, we always said we would go back to NZ (where we honeymooned) for our 10 year anniversary and this feels really, really similar to our honeymoon.

[goldengirlz]

You’re going in the summer, right? We went during shoulder season and the weather was pretty miserable the entire time.

But! Highlights included: hiking to a glacier near Vik, riding Icelandic ponies and the hot springs (so many hot springs — we went with DD so hot springs were a near-daily activity.) We didn’t do the Blue Lagoon but a similar spot off the Golden Circle.

We had some really good meals but I was underwhelmed by the hotels I chose so I won’t bother recommending those.

[isabel]

Jun 6, 2021 21:22:43 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

You’re going in the summer, right? We went during shoulder season and the weather was pretty miserable the entire time.

But! Highlights included: hiking to a glacier near Vik, riding Icelandic ponies and the hot springs (so many hot springs — we went with DD so hot springs were a near-daily activity.) We didn’t do the Blue Lagoon but a similar spot off the Golden Circle.

We had some really good meals but I was underwhelmed by the hotels I chose so I won’t bother recommending those.

We're looking at early September, which would still be considered summer-ish here in CO, but I don't know if it's the same there. Seems like most hikes are still open in September.

[goldengirlz]

Jun 6, 2021 21:24:42 GMT -5 isabel said:

Jun 6, 2021 21:22:43 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

You’re going in the summer, right? We went during shoulder season and the weather was pretty miserable the entire time.

But! Highlights included: hiking to a glacier near Vik, riding Icelandic ponies and the hot springs (so many hot springs — we went with DD so hot springs were a near-daily activity.) We didn’t do the Blue Lagoon but a similar spot off the Golden Circle.

We had some really good meals but I was underwhelmed by the hotels I chose so I won’t bother recommending those.

We're looking at early September, which would still be considered summer-ish here in CO, but I don't know if it's the same there. Seems like most hikes are still open in September.

Early September might (should?) be okay. We were there in early April and it snowed and/or rained almost every day. My California kid was extremely pouty about it.

[isabel]

Jun 6, 2021 21:26:02 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

Jun 6, 2021 21:24:42 GMT -5 isabel said:

We're looking at early September, which would still be considered summer-ish here in CO, but I don't know if it's the same there. Seems like most hikes are still open in September.

Early September might (should?) be okay. We were there in early April and it snowed and/or rained almost every day. My California kid was extremely pouty about it.

That feels very Colorado to me. April can be great or awful and it's super hit or miss. September is generally great here, but can get cool. It seems like it's the same in Iceland, basically it's late summer and leaning into early fall.

[erbear]

Iceland is really cool. We went 3 years ago with kids (ages 7 and 9 at the time) and we loved it. It was unbelievably beautiful. Happy to answer questions if you have them!

Food was really pricy (and there were no vegetables - nothing grows, I guess?) but everything else was pretty cheap. We did the Golden Circle (awesome), the national park (gorgeous), Blue Lagoon, then did a trip up to the Snauffsness Peninsula (totally spelling that wrong) where we rode horses on the beach and had dinner at sunset at the lighthouses. It was awesome

[Saudade]

Jun 6, 2021 21:12:19 GMT -5 isabel said:

Jun 6, 2021 20:57:41 GMT -5 Saudade said:

I was there exactly 3 years ago this week. Definitely go. Tickets are super cheap to get there. From MSP it's a direct flight for less than $600 so I imagine it will be close to the same for you.

I rented a car for super cheap too. Those two were the only cheap things about Iceland. lol it's so expensive. But incredibly worth it. I loved it. It's such a beautiful, small country.

If you want more specifics I can give them. I didn't do any scheduled tours since I had the car. Blue Lagoon was ok but idk if I'd do it again. Like you have to because you're a tourist but it's really not worth it.

Yeah, flights are just over $500. Super cheap. Hotels are reasonable too. My understanding is food is pricey, which is fine. It still feels like we can do a pretty solid 8-10 day trip for under $5k.

I would love to hear what areas you visited and enjoyed. We're basically just thinking we'll book a flight and hotels at various points and then try to see as much as we can by driving around.

It's funny, we always said we would go back to NZ (where we honeymooned) for our 10 year anniversary and this feels really, really similar to our honeymoon.

Idk that I would do 8-10 days honestly. I was there for 4.5 days and it was just about enough. 

The city itself is super small and accessible. You can walk the entire downtown up and down and all around. It's shut off to traffic. Did some museums and a lot of coffee shops and food. There was this super good restaurant that was Icelandic tapas. went there twice. Highly recommend. 

We stayed at one of the CenterHotels, can't remember exactly which one. They're downtown. It was basic and fine. Perfect location. 

We drove the golden circle tour on our own and stopped at most of the sites. Don't do the airplane wreck. It's a stupid long walk out to it on rough terrain and not worth it. Learned that the hard way. But honestly, Gullfoss was the best.

Do go to the black sand beach in Vik. It was absolutely beautiful. Small town. Had coffee and cake for $50. 

We didn't do any glacier hiking but I've heard it's worth it. 

Thingvellir national park was my most favorite. We spent hours just walking around there. It's empty and so incredibly beautiful. 

I really wanted to go Icelandic horse riding but it was my mom and I and she had no interest in that. lame. 

[devonpow]

We did a puffin tour that was so fun, but I think the puffins have migrated by September.

[joy]

I flipping LOVED Iceland. I can’t wait to go back!!!

[isabel]

Jun 6, 2021 21:32:18 GMT -5 Saudade said:

Jun 6, 2021 21:12:19 GMT -5 isabel said:

Yeah, flights are just over $500. Super cheap. Hotels are reasonable too. My understanding is food is pricey, which is fine. It still feels like we can do a pretty solid 8-10 day trip for under $5k.

I would love to hear what areas you visited and enjoyed. We're basically just thinking we'll book a flight and hotels at various points and then try to see as much as we can by driving around.

It's funny, we always said we would go back to NZ (where we honeymooned) for our 10 year anniversary and this feels really, really similar to our honeymoon.

Idk that I would do 8-10 days honestly. I was there for 4.5 days and it was just about enough. 

The city itself is super small and accessible. You can walk the entire downtown up and down and all around. It's shut off to traffic. Did some museums and a lot of coffee shops and food. There was this super good restaurant that was Icelandic tapas. went there twice. Highly recommend. 

We stayed at one of the CenterHotels, can't remember exactly which one. They're downtown. It was basic and fine. Perfect location. 

We drove the golden circle tour on our own and stopped at most of the sites. Don't do the airplane wreck. It's a stupid long walk out to it on rough terrain and not worth it. Learned that the hard way. But honestly, Gullfoss was the best.

Do go to the black sand beach in Vik. It was absolutely beautiful. Small town. Had coffee and cake for $50. 

We didn't do any glacier hiking but I've heard it's worth it. 

Thingvellir national park was my most favorite. We spent hours just walking around there. It's empty and so incredibly beautiful. 

I really wanted to go Icelandic horse riding but it was my mom and I and she had no interest in that. lame. 

Do you remember the name of the tapas place?

We will probably do at least some of the ring road, so that will take up time.

DH just booked our flights for end of August into early September. I think 8 nights. I'm sure we'll find things to do. I'm generally happy to just be outdoors and otherwise will read books.

[jg183]

we rented an airbnb and did daytrips from Reykjavik. We went in summer and had a great trip with my parents and the kids. We did the golden circle, blue lagoon, drove all the way across the south to the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon (that was a long day- definitely would spread it out if have the time)
it's a beautiful country
pack a variety of layers, it was colder than we expected in July

[gardengal]

Jun 6, 2021 23:31:45 GMT -5 isabel said:

Jun 6, 2021 21:32:18 GMT -5 Saudade said:

Idk that I would do 8-10 days honestly. I was there for 4.5 days and it was just about enough. 

The city itself is super small and accessible. You can walk the entire downtown up and down and all around. It's shut off to traffic. Did some museums and a lot of coffee shops and food. There was this super good restaurant that was Icelandic tapas. went there twice. Highly recommend. 

We stayed at one of the CenterHotels, can't remember exactly which one. They're downtown. It was basic and fine. Perfect location. 

We drove the golden circle tour on our own and stopped at most of the sites. Don't do the airplane wreck. It's a stupid long walk out to it on rough terrain and not worth it. Learned that the hard way. But honestly, Gullfoss was the best.

Do go to the black sand beach in Vik. It was absolutely beautiful. Small town. Had coffee and cake for $50. 

We didn't do any glacier hiking but I've heard it's worth it. 

Thingvellir national park was my most favorite. We spent hours just walking around there. It's empty and so incredibly beautiful. 

I really wanted to go Icelandic horse riding but it was my mom and I and she had no interest in that. lame. 

Do you remember the name of the tapas place?

We will probably do at least some of the ring road, so that will take up time.

DH just booked our flights for end of August into early September. I think 8 nights. I'm sure we'll find things to do. I'm generally happy to just be outdoors and otherwise will read books.

We were there for 3 days (stop over) & it could have have easily filled 8 to explore more! We went in early August. 

Thingvellir was definitely a highlight for us. As apart of our Golden Circle self-drive we ate lunch in a tomato greenhouse. I cannot remember the name but we loved it. Maybe bc we hadn’t eaten so many veggies as usual? The soup was very tart & refreshing (not heavy, creamy). It was basically all you can eat tomato soup & fresh bread. Also, total tourist trap, but we did really enjoy the hot dogs at the famous stand (blanking on that name too) in Reykjavik. Another good eat was insanely fresh fish & chips out of a food truck.

We really enjoyed the Blue Lagoon just bc it was such a good way to start of vacation (probably important note is that we were there by 8 & there were very few other people. It was getting crowded when we left close to 10). Our flight was shortish so none of us got a great night sleep & it was just nice to relax in the warm water & get showers ASAP. 

not sure if this is true year round but some days it was so insanely windy. We wore our rain coats (both for wind breakers & warmth) bc the wind just cut thru sweat shirts. 

[bittybomb]

My husband is Icelandic and went a few years ago to spread his grandmother's ashes. All I can say is the pictures he took are absolutely stunning. He said the people are incredibly warm and welcoming. He stayed right outside of Reiykivich (sp? Lol) with family but said it felt like a central place close to all the things he did. He went with his Aunt. I was pregnant with our second at the time and I wish we all could have gone. Definitely plan to in the future.

[mrshandy]

My husband and I went about 4 years ago for our anniversary in early May and we did 9 days and did the entire loop road. We had fantastic weather until the second to last day when it rained/snowed and had a crazy wind storm that ended up blowing our car door open. Ugh. That was the worst part of the trip, but so thankful we had booked the car with American Express and they covered most of it. So whatever you do get rental car insurance or better yet book it with AmEx because their rental car coverage covers more than the kind you purchase with the rental car company.

On to the fun stuff, we liked Reykyavik but we live near a big city (DC) so we really prefer smaller towns when traveling. Our favorite spots were actually outside of the Golden Circle. We did so much and so many hikes. It was quite the active vacation but just what we wanted. We did a lot!
Golden Circle - nice but honestly my least favorite part of the trip.
Thorsmork -one day hike to the Thorsmork (so cool, we had the place to ourselves)
Vik - Black Beaches which was so amazing, there were puffins flying all over the Beach!
Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon,
Skaftafell National Park,
Delfoss,
Myvatn (this place is beautiful and if you love volcanos very cool to see) - Myvatn Nature Baths was half the price of Blue Lagoon and the view was just amazing, way less tourists too.
Akeuryi - Great town where we did whale watching and drank some yummy beer

The rest of the trip was kind of marred by bad weather so made it impossible to see stuff.

Iceland is a magical place and I cherish the pictures I got there. Here is some of my faves that I took in Vik and Thorsmork.

[Saudade]

Jun 6, 2021 23:31:45 GMT -5 isabel said:

Jun 6, 2021 21:32:18 GMT -5 Saudade said:

Idk that I would do 8-10 days honestly. I was there for 4.5 days and it was just about enough. 

The city itself is super small and accessible. You can walk the entire downtown up and down and all around. It's shut off to traffic. Did some museums and a lot of coffee shops and food. There was this super good restaurant that was Icelandic tapas. went there twice. Highly recommend. 

We stayed at one of the CenterHotels, can't remember exactly which one. They're downtown. It was basic and fine. Perfect location. 

We drove the golden circle tour on our own and stopped at most of the sites. Don't do the airplane wreck. It's a stupid long walk out to it on rough terrain and not worth it. Learned that the hard way. But honestly, Gullfoss was the best.

Do go to the black sand beach in Vik. It was absolutely beautiful. Small town. Had coffee and cake for $50. 

We didn't do any glacier hiking but I've heard it's worth it. 

Thingvellir national park was my most favorite. We spent hours just walking around there. It's empty and so incredibly beautiful. 

I really wanted to go Icelandic horse riding but it was my mom and I and she had no interest in that. lame. 

Do you remember the name of the tapas place?

We will probably do at least some of the ring road, so that will take up time.

DH just booked our flights for end of August into early September. I think 8 nights. I'm sure we'll find things to do. I'm generally happy to just be outdoors and otherwise will read books.

I’ll try to find it when I get home from work tonight. It’s not the one that is the first result on a google search so it might take me some time.

[joy]

Okay, I finally have a keyboard to type.

We went for four days in July 2015. It was so amazing. We flew direct out of Newark and the flight was ~ 5 hours. We went over Greenland, which I found amazing.

We at reservations at Blue Lagoon after we landed. We ate at the restaurant there - a posh meal - in a bathrobe. That was …normal. Lol. I still laugh about that. Blue Lagoon was interesting but it’s all manmade and a bit of a tourist-y thing.

We stayed in Reykjavik. We ate wherever looked good and got suggestions from the hotel. We walked all over the the city - saw the Hallgrimskirkja (big church with Leif Erikson), Sun Voyager (beautiful, down by the bay), and the Perlan. And also the zoo! Ha.

We drove the Golden Circle ourselves. Rented a car in Reykjavik and then drove with a GPS. The GPS gave us a tour while we drove, which was cool. I loved Geyser! Excellent gift shop/restaurant/stopping point. Thingvalier was fine, but as we were just stopping and not really exploring, I can’t say much. Gulfoss was gorgeous.

After that, we drove up to Stykissholmur. We climbed to the top of Helgafell and made wishes. There’s a lil synopsis here.

www.google.com/amp/s/guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/the-historical-and-holy-mt-helgafell-on-the-snaefellsnes-peninsula-in-west-iceland-the-3-wishes/amp

Stykissholmur was an adorable little town on the coast. We ate a nice restaurant and had fresh fish right off the boats. The town is right on the fjord, which I can’t spell because I don’t have icelandic characters on here. But the fjord was amazing.

Finally, we went horseback riding with Ishestar (I think). EDIT: no, Solhestar was the company! I badly wanted to do a sunset horseriding tour but we couldn’t get the timing to work out. As it was, we walked through the foothills. It was gorgeous.

Iceland is full of myths. I bought a book in Reykjavik the first day and ended up reading them, which is how we ended up at Helgafell to begin with. AFter we came home, I bought the Sagas.

Iceland is so amazing. I can’t wait to go back. Our goal is to see the Northern Lights.

[iheartthe90s]

Our favorite places were the ice cave in the Langjökull glacier (we took a daytrip from Reykjavik, which was cool because we flew over Thingvellir National Park to get there and you could see the crevasse really well from that vantage point), the black sand beach in Vik, the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon, the glacier lagoon at Jokulsarlon, and Diamond Beach right next door.

On the way to Vik from Reykjavik, you'll pass by the Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls and they are really cool too. Gulfoss was our favorite stop on the Golden Circle.

We rented a car and mostly did our own thing. It's very easy to drive there in the summer. We did do an organized tour to get from Reykjavik to Langjokull because otherwise it is a lot driving and we wouldn't have been able to fit it in. I'd also highly recommend the Secret Iceland tour near Vik. One of our favorite things was going in a crater created by a volcanic eruption a thousand years ago.

If we were to go again, I'd skip the Blue Lagoon. It is neat but pretty commercial. There are tons of other hot springs in the country and tours that you can find on Airbnb or Viator where they'll take you to less popular places.

[iheartthe90s]

Our favorite restaurants were Sjavargrillid Seafood Grill in Reykjavik (get the lobster tacos!) and Fjorubordid in this little town called Stokkseyri. We stopped there on our way back to Reykjavik from the Golden Circle. They advertise this "magical" lobster soup and it truly is amazing. Definitely worth the drive, even if it's a little out of your way.

[foundmylazybum]

We went to Iceland 3 years ago and loved it.

We went for 10 days. I was going to do a running trip around the trails there but it got canceled.

Instead we drove up the northern part of the ring road and stayed in air b and b along the way.

We did a LOT of the same stuff on this itinerary.

www.kimkim.com/c/snaefellsnes-peninsula-akureyri-myvatn-area-5-day-tour

It was so, so, so fun

We went whale watching from zodiac boats in Husavik, and at one point there were like 5 humpback whales feeding all around us.

I got so excited I stood up in the boat and screamed lol. It's probably one of my favorite lifetime memories. That and buying handmade Icelandic sweaters from the gas station. Also, along this route there is a totally weird Viking museum and tons of the stories I now recognize in shows like Vikings and the Last Kingdom and even int Marvel Comic Universe!

I loved it there. It was incredible.

At the time, Iceland was very pricey. They had experienced a strong tourism boom due to the volcano and all the photos coming out after..and they had a super strong economy, but they were hit hard, like very hard by the pandemic. It would be interesting to see how things are there now.

[foundmylazybum]

Also: many restaurants sell things like puffin and whale. Thats tourist food and nothing Icelandic people eat. It's harmful for the environment. We definitely saw it on menus and they would try to sell it to us.

Don't buy it! Husavik is one of the last whaling ports in the arctic, and there is a strong, strong chance whaling will fade away there especially bc things like whale watching is so popular. Its just something I like to mention bc honestly seeing the whales up close was incredible and they did a good job. We don't need to harpoon or eat whales as an experience.

[babsbunny]

Buy the Rick Steves book and read all about the places to go, then plan your trip based on how much you want to hotel hop and drive.

We went late Sept and the weather went from sunny and 65 to a snow storm. (No snow stuck at low elevations, but high ones got 6 inches... it was on the last day of SUMMER.)

After you land, buy all your alcohol from the duty free store by baggage claim. It is horribly expensive everywhere else.

You want waterproof layers and prepare for strong winds.

[brewco]

Iceland has been our favorite trip ever! We rented a camper van and drove around the ring road including Snæfellsnes peninsula and Borgarfjörður eystri (puffins. But they migrate by mid-August).

Highlights: The Beer Spa (in the north), finding hot springs (we loved fossalug in the north), a glacier hike with ice climbing on the Falljökull Glacier with Troll Expeditions (we opted for a small group tour and there was only 4 of us + a guide), snorkeling the silfra fissure in a wet suit, hiking to Glymur waterfall (it was strenuous) & diamond beach/glacier lagoon. I can share any details you want for our route/stops.

We plan to go back in a few years during the season when we can explore the highlands.

[amberlyrose]

We went in early September a few years ago. Weather was very Colorado to me, but add in random, freezing drizzle. Lots of layers. On our golden circle tour, we went on a large tour bus. I enjoyed some aspects of it, but I'd have rather driven ourselves around mostly due to weather. We didn't get to stay at places like Gulfoss for very long even though the sun was out and it was gorgeous, but we were stuck outside in some super cold drizzle and wind that same morning.

We lucked out for things in the city because we knew someone through our soccer team's supporters group who showed us around. He lived downtown and would just show up to our door with a few beers to walk around with while we explored the city. It was pretty awesome.

Look at your arrival time, by the way. We arrived at like 5am and had nothing to do. We were exhausted by the time we could check into our Airbnb.

[yaga]

I'm currently in Iceland! Just here for a week and I feel like there's definitely a bunch we're missing just because of time. We did spend a day at the blue lagoon, which yes is touristy but it was also so relaxing and unique that I didn't care at all. We rented a car for a few days and only have one tour booked (on Wednesday) to hike over a glacier. Tomorrow I'll be snorkeling in Thingvellir in the Silfra fissure! (A divide between the Eurasian and North Atlantic tectonic plates.) We did the golden circle today, including thingvellir, but did it a bit later in the day which was perfect. We were pretty much alone in thingvellir. We spent yesterday on the snaefellsnes peninsula, seeing the different sites along the way. We rarely saw other people.

If you have time in Reykjavik, definitely go to the OmNom chocolate factory in the port area. They have lots of ice cream and chocolate of course. It was a cute thing we did to finish our day.

The weather is either rainy and mid 50s or partially cloudy and mid 50s. No nighttime is very weird, but I'm enjoying the novelty of it for now. Alcohol and food is very expensive (just spent $56 on bar food and 2 beers for a quick late dinner for 2 people - I got a flatbread that was an appetizer size).

[isabel]

Jun 7, 2021 16:58:53 GMT -5 brewco said:

Iceland has been our favorite trip ever! We rented a camper van and drove around the ring road including Snæfellsnes peninsula and Borgarfjörður eystri (puffins. But they migrate by mid-August).

Highlights: The Beer Spa (in the north), finding hot springs (we loved fossalug in the north), a glacier hike with ice climbing on the Falljökull Glacier with Troll Expeditions (we opted for a small group tour and there was only 4 of us + a guide), snorkeling the silfra fissure in a wet suit, hiking to Glymur waterfall (it was strenuous) & diamond beach/glacier lagoon. I can share any details you want for our route/stops.

We plan to go back in a few years during the season when we can explore the highlands.

Would love to hear details of your route and the stops you made along the way. We're sifting through all the various spots and working on coming up with an itinerary.