ljandgb

I don't remember a self service laundry.  We did use the ship laundry service to do some items like pants and a good underwear washing.  My travel wardrobe is lots of technical fabrics, so shirts and such are easily washed by hand.  I did end up doing a lot more hand washing than normal because we changed clothes so often so was glad to have brought my travel clothesline.  FWIW, I also ran out of deodorant from taking so many showers.  I had to go out and buy some at one of the ports.

Most of the places in Iceland are drive up in the bus, get off and walk a bit to look at the waterfall/scenery/etc, then get back on the bus.  You would be fine there.

Agree there is very little (almost nothing?) to do in Isafjordur.  Make sure you take a ship tour or a DIY tour that you book VERY early, as there are very few tour providers up there.

The Fosshotel is slightly out of the main downtown, but not by much.  Rule of thumb is anyplace within the 101 postal code is easy walking distance for anything downtown.  

Day of arrival, you probably won't have time for a "major" tour, but the Reykjavik food walking tour is good.  Or you would have time to do Inside the Volcano, or the Blue Lagoon/Sky Lagoon.

Your one full day, I'd look at either a south coast or Golden Circle tour, depending on what your cruise already includes.  Troll and Arctic Adventures are two well respected local companies.

We did a Danube excursion with just 3 people.

I have not, but when this question comes up on the TripAdvisor boards, the price mentioned is $1,000/day.  You would have to contact one of the local tour agencies, like Troll or Arctic Adventures, directly.

Yes, my husband lived in his nice shorts and polo shirts.  You'll be fine.  Due to the heat, it's a bit more casual than other cruises though if you want to dress nicer, you can.  One lady was dressed to the nines every night.  We all wondered how many suitcases she brought. LOL

About excursions, they were generally late enough to have breakfast, get organized, then head out. Maybe 9:00ish? Return depended on the day but it was usually in plenty of time to shower, relax, have a drink, then go to dinner. 

Sorry, I’m just seeing this. It’s probably too late but my husband picked his best guess of port location. He thinks they never really checked. Have a great cruise!

On 8/25/2024 at 11:35 AM, donaldsc said:

I use the tour consolidators to find an interesting tour.  I can then usually figure out the name of the company that is actually doing the tour and I contact them directly.  At worse I will end up paying the same as if I booked with the consolidator but I can ask questions directly to the tour provider and the provider gets to keep all of my money.  At best I end up with a better tour which is less expensive  than the consolidator cost.  Overall a win-win for everyone except the tour consolidator.

 

DON

 Same here, for all the reasons above.  We've also made friends along the way on some trips and have added them to some private tours we've scheduled.  The tours booked directly have never been a problem.  The ones booked via third party (at the insistence of our traveling companions) were essentially impossible to modify.

I feel compelled to say that driving in January has nothing to do with bravery and everything to do with knowing how to frequently and accurately asses road conditions and weather, and being 100% willing to abort or change plans.  With very limited daylight, unless the OP has significant extreme winter driving skills, I would not recommend car rental as a first choice.  They could wait until they arrive, take a look at the 1-2 day forecast, then possibly drive themselves but only for day trips as they should be back in Reykjavik night 2 to ensure they make their flight out.  I would not recommend driving yourself to look for NL's.

Tours are by far the safer choice, both literally and time wise.

Did you post this same question on TripAdvisor?

Get a hotel in Reykjavik.  There is very little around the airport, and the vast majority of tours start in Reykjavik.

I haven't cruised Amadeus, but have cruised Croisi and Avalon.  Croisi is definitely lower scale than Avalon.  That said, our Croisi Rhine cruise was our first river cruise and I had (almost) no complaints.  The ship was small-ish, which was nice as there were fewer passengers.  The decor was a bit outdated and a bit worn at the edges, but spotlessly clean and the crew was absolutely delightful.  The passengers were a mix of French and American, with a small smattering of Aussie.  

My only issue was that meals are a set course, no ordering from a menu.  If you did not like what was being served, you could have previewed the menu in the morning and requested a chicken breast instead.  My husband did this a few times over the week.  I more prefer veggies and most dishes were very meat centric. All dishes were very influenced by the local cuisine.  I found myself scavenging garnishes.  

If there were more choice at meals, I'd not hesitate to sail with them again.  

Perfect.  Go to the link, look at the plane, and they you don't even need to go to the actual location. LOL  It is seriously underwhelming.  It is my understanding it didn't even crash there.  That's just where the authorities dragged the wreckage to get it out of the way.

We went back when tours could drive up to the location, and even then it was not really worth the time.

That's too bad.  Weather can be an issue on any trip to Iceland.  We were on a land trip last May and had our return ferry canceled to the Westfjords (which I didn't find out, my bad for not checking my email, until we were on the ferry TO the Westfjords.)  

The one time I"ve been to the lagoon, there was no ice in it at all, or on the beach nearby.  I'd be inclined to do the excursion closer to the port.

With a full 5 days, I'd seriously look at an overnight south coast tour which will get you all the way to Jokulsarlon (a day trip is 10 hours of driving, too much!)  Then look at a day tour each to Snaefellsnes and the Golden Circle.  Inside the Volcano gets rave reviews, which would be a half day.

Full disclosure, I've been to Iceland 3 times and have never done the full Golden Circle.  I've heard the geothermal area is quite interesting...unless you've spent time at Yellowstone.  We did get to Thingvellir and snorkeled the Silfra rift.

If you do a dummy booking on the BL website, the transport options show up at the end.  If those times don't work for you, your only other option is a taxi.

We've rented from Blue.  They have an office in town and at the airport.  

Good point about staying near the airport that night, depending on your flight time the next day.  You really need a solid 2.5 - 3 hours time at the airport, despite it not being very big.

A Golden Circle tour sounds like a great idea.  You could also look at Inside the Volcano.

Flybus also does transfers, but you do need to change at the bus station to a smaller bus which will drop you off at a nearby bus stop (or maybe the cruise port, you'd have to confirm) or take a taxi.  With 2 people, the cost is probable close to a taxi from the airport, and with more, the taxi becomes cheaper.

Regarding port times, while the exact times aren't published, sometimes you can find descriptions of the day like "board the boat for dinner and sailing" (i.e. you're not staying late) vs "enjoy extended time in XXX."

I would also compare the ports and times in port.  There may be a clear winner there.  I like to have a couple later nights that we can wander the town, get dinner/drinks out in town, etc.

Regarding rain, I'll just second that the weather in Iceland is notoriously fickle.  Always be prepared for rain, which will likely blow sideways at you.  Good rain gear can make or break the tour.

Ponchos and umbrellas won't cut it.  One poster remarked that the wind ripped the pony-tail holder out of her hair.

Yes, this is not a "metric tons of ash into the air" eruption, but a "giant crack in the ground spills lava" type.  Not good for those near the crack, but no effect on anywhere else.

Thanks!

This will be my 4th land trip.  I will always recommend a land trip over a cruise for Iceland, partially for this reason.  The actual ports are small, far, and few between.  There's so much in between to see, and it is an easy country to self drive.

I get that there are some that can't self drive or take tours, and a cruise is better than nothing, but I do think the ports need to start self regulating how many ships they allow at one time.