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Iceland - questions answered


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June is awesome there! 24 hours of daylight, you can chose to tour some of the more popular sites (Golden Circle) at "night" when the sites are much less crowded.

 

Once you get away from the city, there really aren't any crowds anywhere.

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While is June is more "crowded" (which really is a relative term in Iceland, especially away from Rey or the Golden Circle), it will give you a better sense of the countryside, as you'll be able to self drive. Also, which hasn't been mentioned yet, you'll be able to more safely hike. Most locals also do not recommend much hiking in the winter - it really can be dangerous due to abrupt changes in the weather. At the least, they ask you to register with their SAR teams before hand, and consider carrying a beacon in case they need to rescue you. This is the arctic, after all.

 

I love Iceland, having been twice and hoping for a third trip this year. I was there the second in week in March and the weather was everything from a glorious high 50F's to freezing, white out conditions. I wouldn't go anywhere that time of year without a tour and a guide.

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Thanks for all the input. Current thought is to do this trip next June for 10 days, which might allow us to do the ring road. Hoping it won't be too crowded. Any suggested itineraries for the ring road? Seems like some portions have more to do than others.

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Night 1: Reykjavik

Night 2: Vik

Night 3: Hofn

Night 4: East Fjords

Night 5: Myvatn

Night 6: Akureyri

Night 7: Snaefellsness

Night 8: Golden Circle

Night 9: Reykjavik or Reykjanes Peninsula

 

That's pretty standard, within 50-75 miles or so of each stop. 2-4 hours of driving per day, lots of time to see the sites.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello thanks in advance for you help. We are looking at arriving by plane into Iceland at 7 am and taking the 1 am flight to Copenhagen. It will be about an 17 hour layover. I have contacted a couple of tour companies but wonder if this is something we can do on our own. We have never been to your fine country and would like to see what we can. If you think it would be better we can also take a 7:45 am flight and spend a night in a hotel. Have a fantastic day, Candy

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Some specific questions about the circle tour we are now planning in June:

- what kind of footgear? do I need full blown hiking boots? or would jogging/soccer type shoes work?

- any tips for keeping food costs down as we travel with teens? we're planning on buying things at grocery stores and food at gas stations. is that an option outside the southwest?

- any thoughts on snorkeling at Thingvellir? bike tour in Reykjavik?

 

Thanks in advance. Emily

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Hello thanks in advance for you help. We are looking at arriving by plane into Iceland at 7 am and taking the 1 am flight to Copenhagen. It will be about an 17 hour layover. I have contacted a couple of tour companies but wonder if this is something we can do on our own. We have never been to your fine country and would like to see what we can. If you think it would be better we can also take a 7:45 am flight and spend a night in a hotel. Have a fantastic day, Candy

 

Iceland is easy to drive in, but not in winter, and winter starts in October and ends in April, so it all depends on when you are going to Iceland.

 

 

Some specific questions about the circle tour we are now planning in June:

- what kind of footgear? do I need full blown hiking boots? or would jogging/soccer type shoes work?

- any tips for keeping food costs down as we travel with teens? we're planning on buying things at grocery stores and food at gas stations. is that an option outside the southwest?

- any thoughts on snorkeling at Thingvellir? bike tour in Reykjavik?

 

Thanks in advance. Emily

 

You'd want something with a little ankle support. You will be walking on gravel and pebble/stone covered walkways for significant portions of your visit and it's easy to slip and/or twist an ankle in sneakers.

 

Food is expensive in Iceland. Heck, everything is expensive there other than airfare. We brought dried fruits/nuts from home (Trader Joes) for lunch, and also bought bread (they have the most amazing bread in Iceland and tons of bakeries) and cheese and meat at grocery stores as well to save money on lunch. Gas station meals range from a $3 hot dog to a $50 lamb dinner. In some towns the gas station restaurant is your only choice.

 

Folks who snorkel love the Silfra/Thingvellir snorkeling. I haven't seen many posts about bike riding, but riding Icelandic horses is a big deal, and their horses are gorgeous.

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Another note about foot wear is you will want it to be waterproof. Between walking up to waterfalls, with constant mist so fine you don't realize you're wet until you get back to the car, and the tendency for it to rain sideways once an hour in Iceland, your feet will be wet quickly.

 

Same for clothing. Pack a light weight water proof top and bottom. Umbrellas are mostly useless. Jeans are also a bad idea, as they get wet and stay wet. We went the beginning of June and used our down coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. The weather frequently shifts and we had sun, rain, sleet in equal parts, often within the same hour.

 

Unless you are doing a lot of actual hiking, many of the standard sites have smooth-ish trails, if not sidewalks, from the parking lots, though some spots might be rocky. If you want to see Gljufrabui waterfall, which is next to Selijalandsfoss, you need to walk thru a small stream and on stepping stones. Do it. It's really amazing. But your feet and clothes will be wet without the proper gear. http://unlockingkiki.com/discovering-hidden-waterfall-south-gljufrabui-iceland/ Here's a random blog with pictures.

 

Never hike into the moss. It takes years and years to grow, always stay on marked trails.

 

We did a food tour in Rey, which was really good and had several full size portions. It was not that expensive and would have served as a full meal and then some. Your teens might like that. I have a fondness for their hotdogs, and they make a really cheap meal. Also gas station sandwiches, since you can get things like shrimp salad and smoked salmon. That and a carton of Skyr makes a solid meal, though admittedly teens may want more.

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  • 1 month later...

We'll be in Iceland next year during the end of March for a week in the hopes of catching some Northern lights. Any tips/suggestions or must see locations? I have my itinerary planned out, we'll be heading down to Southern Iceland first & making our way back up to Reykjavik & the Blue Lagoon.

 

The one thing I'm wavering on is vehicle selection. I got a GREAT deal on a small car but I'm wondering if I need to upgrade to a more rugged vehicle. Thoughts?

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Unless you have significant winter driving experience, including black Ice and gale force winds, most locals would recommend tours instead with a driver who is familiar with their arctic conditions. A larger vehicle just means more sail area for wind. Tour operators talk to each other regarding NL’s, so it can be easier to find them on a tour than driving yourself.

There are several good small group tour companies.

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Yes, we live in Chicago. Black ice is an annual occurrence & we’re not called the Windy City for nothing. I’ve often had my car shift while driving down the expressway & hit by a huge gust.

Think I’ll stick with the car we have now, thanks for the input.

 

 

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We had an SUV in March on the route from Reykjavik to the Golden Circle and hit a storm. Small cars were being blown all over the road. Our SUV also was being blown around the road. No vehicle was safe in those conditions.

 

Take tours. It's nothing like Boston or Chicago, both of which I've driven in during winter storms

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  • 2 weeks later...

We starting to research renting a car at the Reykjavik port in July 2018. Europecar has an office there; are there any other choices of rental places with offices at the port? And if we want to just drive the golden circle, will a small car be okay? Prices are about double for an SUV-type car.

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You should be fine with a small car. We've done that route and in summer it doesn't require anything special. Winter may be a different story...but July should be ok.

 

Can't answer your other question as it's been ages since we docked there. Back then, nobody had an office at the port.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

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  • 1 month later...

We will be arriving in Reykjavik on May 3 at 1pm and departing the next day at 3pm on the Celebrity Eclipse.

 

Like everyone we want to do the Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon. I have had trouble finding a tour given it seems to be a full eleven hour tour (through the tour operators that do both).

 

Am thinking of doing walking downtown Day 1 and the Blue Lagoon, and the Golden Circle on Day 2 doing a day tour to get me back to the ship by 2-2.30.

 

Akuyeyri - we are thinking of hiring a car - hoping the early May weather will be kind to us.

 

Appreciate any feedback, thanks Matt

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We starting to research renting a car at the Reykjavik port in July 2018. Europecar has an office there; are there any other choices of rental places with offices at the port? And if we want to just drive the golden circle, will a small car be okay? Prices are about double for an SUV-type car.

 

 

When we did a port call in Reykjavik in 2016 we rented from Europcar (cars were at the port), but another car rental agency also had a kiosk there too. My recollection is that the other agency was Hertz.

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We have rented cars at the Akureyri port twice. It's easy now as Europecar has an office right there. See my August 2014 cruise blog for details of what we did on our second trip but there is a lot of great stuff to do there.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

 

JP,

How do I view your blogs--I went to Travelpod and it is closed. Thank you.

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JP,

How do I view your blogs--I went to Travelpod and it is closed. Thank you.

All of my cruise bogs are on cruise critic. The links to the blogs are in my signature. You may have to click on "expand signature" to see all of the links. The August 2014 cruise blog will include our Akureyri stop.

 

I haven't reposted the Travelpod.com blogs elsewhere yet but they are all non-cruise vacations.

 

Hope that helps you find them. :)

 

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Has anyone driven the golden circle route and the south shore in the same day? We are in Reykjavik from 7am til 11pm on July 25 and will be renting a car. I've found tour operators who offer it (for a hefty price) so it must be doable in one day, but I'd love to hear from someone who's driven it on their own. Just trying to figure out if it would be awesome....or crazy.

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