Iceland - questions answered

[robint]

Pretty sure that when flights are landing, the rental car places are open. I know they were open at 6AM a couple months ago. Check when you reserve your car to make certain, though. And you'll have plenty of time to see the Golden Circle from the airport and to get back in time for your flight.

 

 

 

July is definitely Puffin season. There are many companies offering Puffin cruises out of Reykjavik harbor. Also whale watches. But you can't do those and do the Golden Circle. You will have nearly 24 sunlight at that time of year, so getting to the Golden Circle highlights at 10PM or so shouldn't be a problem, assuming you're awake enough to drive in a foreign country and to enjoy the sites!

 

Thank you!

[LaCat3]

Nitemare,

From my research it seems as though there are several things to see in Isafjordur within walking distance of the cruiseship pier. After seeing Lyndatimberlake1's post, I want to clarify the issue was only because of her arrival on a Sunday. Is there something else you would recommend for two of us who have some mobility issues?

We then sail east to Akureyri where we are taking a seven hour tour privately arranged tour during which we will visit Goðafoss – Skútustaði – Lake Mývatn – Dimmuborgir – Grjótagjá – Námaskarð – Krafla – Víti so we will be able to see something of the countrryside of northern Iceland.

What would your suggestion be for us in Seydisfjordur?

Thank you so much!

[Nitemare]

Cat:

 

I haven't been to the Westfjords yet (tentative plans to go in 2016), and honestly know nothing about it. We spent 1 day in East Iceland last summer and found it to be the least interesting part of Iceland (which still makes it more interesting than almost anyplace else we've been). Driving along the fjords is spectacular, but the only attraction I can think of within a few hours to the Southwest is Jokulsarlon and the floating icebergs. Myvatn is still fairly close, with the mudpots and the caldera and the Nature baths, which were all excellent places to visit if you didn't see them already from Akureyri

Edited May 30, 2014 by Nitemare

[itsanita]

Thanks everyone for all your help and info. At the moment we have a tentative plan.

Arrive Reykjavik at 1pm. Rent car for 24hours and do the circle tour that includes gullifoss waterfall, N' pk Pingvellir, the geyser..is it called Haukadalur? and Kerio Vol Crater Lake. I understand this will take about 8-10 hours depending on weather and length of stops.

We will then get up early next morning and drive to Blue Lagoon to arrive when they open at 10 am. We will leave there by 1130, return car and wander around town until our ship leaves at 2pm. May even visit the Laundromat for a couple of beers and a quick load of clothes!

 

Ok.. Here are my questions, and forgive me if I missed the answers in a previous post.

 

Any suggestions/changes to the plan?

Is there somewhere at the port where we can park the car overnight? How much$ ?

Do I have the stops correct on the circle tour? and are they in the correct order as I will try to do a google driving map.

Is the town within walking distance of the cruise ship port? I think it's about a 20 minute walk, but may be mixing that up with another city/town.

What is the easiest, most accessable car rental..and I will rent a 4/4.

How long will it take to drive to BL? And is parking available?

[Nitemare]

Great plan!

 

A couple answers for you. The active geysir is called Strokkur, and it's at the site called Geysir, just a few yards away.

 

You can do Gulfoss, the Geysir, and Thingvellir in any order on a trip to/from Reykjavik, as they are basically along the same road.

 

Kerio is skippable in my opinion. We did go there on our first (guided) trip of the Golden Circle, and it was kind of neat. We tried to go there last year on our self drive tour of the country and saw a ticket booth (only place in the country we saw one of those!) and turned around and left and never felt like we missed anything. It's also the furthest out of the way on your trip, although if you do your trip in this order:

 

Thingvellir, Gulfoss, Geysir, along routes 36, 365, and 37, you can come back on 35 via Kerio and then continue back to Reykjavik on Route 1 to see more of the countryside and go through the mountains (very pretty).

 

I can't answer your cruise related questions, I'm sure others can do so. We rented our cars from the airport and did not have one overnight in town so can't help with those questions, either.

 

Plenty of parking at BL, wear comfortable sandals, though, as the walk from the parking lot to the lagoon is longer than you'd expect.

 

Since you have a 4x4, when you're in Thingvellir and if you're feeling bold, head north on Route 550. It starts out tame and then becomes a real thrill ride. Amazing views, but also a very potholed and washboarded and narrow dirt road that we still have dreams/nightmares about. Shouldn't take you an hour round trip to get a taste.

 

You're gonna have a blast!

[LaCat3]

Thanks Nitemare!

[TMLAalum]

We'd been looking at cruises that combined the Norwegian Fjords & Iceland, but ended up booking a shorter fjords-only cruise that fit into other travel plans.

 

An offer popped up last week via that "zoo" site from Icelandair that mentioned taking advantage of a stopover in Iceland enroute from the US. What a great opportunity for us to spend more time in Iceland than the cruise itinerary would have provided!

 

This thread has been very informative and thanks for starting it and sharing your knowledge, karlth! Appreciate all the other posters insights, esp. Nitemare's, and all the questions as well!

[Alaskanb]

We'd been looking at cruises that combined the Norwegian Fjords & Iceland, but ended up booking a shorter fjords-only cruise that fit into other travel plans.

 

An offer popped up last week via that "zoo" site from Icelandair that mentioned taking advantage of a stopover in Iceland enroute from the US. What a great opportunity for us to spend more time in Iceland than the cruise itinerary would have provided!

 

This thread has been very informative and thanks for starting it and sharing your knowledge, karlth! Appreciate all the other posters insights, esp. Nitemare's, and all the questions as well!

We have done something similar --fjords cruise out of Southampton + 2 nights in Iceland before returning to the US. Gives us plenty of time for a full day Golden Circle Tour, 1/2 day at Blue Lagoon, and ?????.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Alaskanb

[babs135]

We have only 1 day in Reykjavik so should we stay local or do the Golden Circle Tour? I would value people's advice.

[Nitemare]

We have only 1 day in Reykjavik so should we stay local or do the Golden Circle Tour? I would value people's advice.

 

Reykjavik is a great city with a cool arts, club, and dining scene, but after all, it's just another city. Book a Golden Circle tour (or rent a car and do it yourself, all the road signs are easy to read and the roads are all paved) and see some of the most amazing scenery you've ever experienced.

[itsanita]

Thanks nitemare, I think I now have a reasonable picture of the Circle Tour.

 

Can anyone answer my others questions?

 

Is there a car rental company closer to the port?

 

we will be renting a car overnight, is there somewhere near the port where we can park it overnight?

 

How long will it take to drive to the BL.

[HighlandGirlEB]

We are in Iceland at the very end of June start of July and ive been searching online to try work out what the weather will be like. We are from the Highlands of Scotland so was thinking it might be similar to here. Some sites say from 12 - 16/18 degrees and then other i read said it can get up to the 20s ..

So whats the truth ?:)

 

Also we are doing an afternoon golden circle tour starting at 12.30 and hoping to get the bus to drop us in Reykajavik afterwards instead of returning us back to the cruise ship which seems to dock some way out of town.

Does any one know the approx price to get a taxi back later in the evening once we have explored the city ?

Do all the tourist attractions shut at normal times like 6pm or can we get into the Cathedral in the evening? We also want to visit the Perlan and wondered if that may be open in the evening too?

 

We are still in Reykajavik the next morning but only til the back of lunch time and so if we can fit somethings in the night before it may save my worry of rushing and the panic if we we make it back to the ship in time:)

[cirman52]

Reading the threads here and doing my homework, I begining to think about canceling our cruise that stops here & just fly & stay in Iceland. Seems to have soooo much to see.

[Nitemare]

Reading the threads here and doing my homework, I begining to think about canceling our cruise that stops here & just fly & stay in Iceland. Seems to have soooo much to see.

 

It does, it does!

 

We did 2 days in June 2012 (Golden Circle, Reykjavik, Blue Lagoon) as a stopover after a Baltic Cruise, then did 10 days with a car last August (lap of the country), then went back this past March for 5 days with a car (Southern Iceland and Reykjanes peninsula). We're trying REALLY hard not to go back next year, but I expect we'll be back in 2016 to see the West Fjords and perhaps Grimsey, neither of which we've yet seen.

 

I'm pretty sure if the average temps there were about 10 degrees Farenheit warmer, we'd be looking to retire there!

Edited June 3, 2014 by Nitemare

[Ecuador]

Can I use euro's in Iceland?

[Northern Aurora]

Iceland does not use Euro. They use their own currency, the Krona.

[Grumpy100]

We have only 1 day in Reykjavik so should we stay local or do the Golden Circle Tour? I would value people's advice.

 

We just returned from a 10 day tour of Iceland and defininitely do the Golden Circle Tour. Reyjavik is just another big city unless your interested in museums. The beauty is outside of the capital with the waterfalls, etc.

[Grumpy100]

Reading the threads here and doing my homework, I begining to think about canceling our cruise that stops here & just fly & stay in Iceland. Seems to have soooo much to see.

 

We were going to do a cruise to Iceland also but decided to do the fly/drive 10 day tour. We just returned and it was awesome. Would definitely recommend it.:p:p:p

[gottagocit]

Reading the threads here and doing my homework, I begining to think about canceling our cruise that stops here & just fly & stay in Iceland. Seems to have soooo much to see.

 

I could understand doing that. If you like cruises though you may consider the TA we are taking in September on the Ruby Princess. It makes 3 ports calls in Iceland, giving us nearly 3 days to explore areas along the north shore as well as that around Reykjavik.

 

We plan to do a ships tour in one, explore one on foot/public transportation and rent a car in Reykjavik.

 

If we really enjoy the country as much as we believe we may, we'll add an independent return visit later.

[lyndatimberlake1]

I have just come back from the Icelandic Encounter cruise in may and to be honest there isnt much except for the beautiful scenery. In Reykjavík we did do the flight over the volcano, geysir, glacier and waterfalls which was the hightlight of the cruise. The tour bus took us through the city, it was so clean and tidy, we werent really interested in seeing the shops so as the flight was what we really wanted to do we just went straight back to the ship. In Iceland all of the shops take debit/ mastercards but if you pay in sterling they will give you change in krona. Acup of coffee was £1.80 it came in a small cup and was so strong my partner didnt need his afternoon nap lol. Akureyri was just a small town with the usual shops you can go on a whale watching trip for £50 each. Ísafjörður is so small only 3.500 people live there and we only saw 2, hardly worth the bother of calling there. We couldnt go to the Blue Lagoon as i am allergic to sulphur but after speaking to others it took several showers to get rid of the smell from your skin. Its worth noting that if anyone has breathing problems or allergic to sulphur that even the water tastes of sulpur so we took our own flask with water from the ship. I also wore a face mask as the cyclists do in major cities to avoid breathing in any sulphur particles in the air as i have lung disease. Handy notes for anyone who has the same problem.

[HighlandGirlEB]

Can some one that's from the UK whos been to Iceland clear up something for me please?

 

I know credit cards are widely accepted but have then read people mentioning Debit cards.

 

Will my normal bank debit card i use every day in the UK be ok to pay for things in Iceland?

 

I do have an "emergency" credit card which i never use but if i can get away with using my normal debit card that would be soooo much better for me :)

 

Also does any one know if the local buses accept cards or do you have to have cash?

 

I hope to catch the local bus from the cruise terminal into town as dont fancy the 40 min walk :) But as im not planning on taking any local currency with me wondered if that was going to be a problem?

 

We travel in 1 week

[lyndatimberlake1]

99% of the shops take normal debit/credit cards but if you use sterling then you get change in krona, if it helps a cup of coffe cost £1.80 although its really strong stuff served similiar to how the Italians serve it. It depends on where you are docking in Iceland, if you go to Akureyri its about a 10 minute walk into the town as far as im aware there are no buses into town unless ofcourse you are doing an excursion. its all flat and if you have a wheel chair or scooter best to use the roads as not always the dipped pavement to get off. Isafjorour is a small town also with no bus in to town, its quite a walk from the dock and quite open to the elements also no dipped pavements for scooters or wheel chairs. There is very little there to see except ofcourse the beautiful scenery, only 3.500 people live there and hardly any shops to speak of. Reykjavik does run a shuttle bus into town, i didnt use it as i was on an excursion but if i remember rightly it was about £5 each way but the day before you will get all this information in your newsletter. Have fun its a beautiful country with stunning views.

[Grumpy100]

:eek:

I have just come back from the Icelandic Encounter cruise in may and to be honest there isnt much except for the beautiful scenery. In Reykjavík we did do the flight over the volcano, geysir, glacier and waterfalls which was the hightlight of the cruise. The tour bus took us through the city, it was so clean and tidy, we werent really interested in seeing the shops so as the flight was what we really wanted to do we just went straight back to the ship. In Iceland all of the shops take debit/ mastercards but if you pay in sterling they will give you change in krona. Acup of coffee was £1.80 it came in a small cup and was so strong my partner didnt need his afternoon nap lol. Akureyri was just a small town with the usual shops you can go on a whale watching trip for £50 each. Ísafjörður is so small only 3.500 people live there and we only saw 2, hardly worth the bother of calling there. We couldnt go to the Blue Lagoon as i am allergic to sulphur but after speaking to others it took several showers to get rid of the smell from your skin. Its worth noting that if anyone has breathing problems or allergic to sulphur that even the water tastes of sulpur so we took our own flask with water from the ship. I also wore a face mask as the cyclists do in major cities to avoid breathing in any sulphur particles in the air as i have lung disease. Handy notes for anyone who has the same problem.

 

We just got back from a 10 day driving tour of Iceland and the reason we went there was to see the beautiful scenery. We also went whale watching and went to the Glacier Lagoon and were able to get up close to the glacier and among the beautiful icebergs that broke off the glacier. The country looks like a story book where every where you turn there is another picture to take. It is impossible to take a bad picture over there. We also saw the fjords in the east and had beautiful weather and thought they were magnificent. The capital is just another city. Yes everything is expensive but I have never seen a cleaner place in my entire life.

I would definitely go back just to see the beautiful scenery.............:eek:

[ilovhywd]

Dear Nitemare:

 

A few months ago, you gave me this advice (I don't know how to do the quotes so I just cut and paste it):

 

"Golden Circle is awesome. But there are 100 other things in Iceland equally (or nearly, or MORE) awesome than that. So I wouldn't repeat the Golden Circle, even for your friends who haven't seen it.

 

You definitely want to do the South coast in the time you have.

 

Instead of Gullfoss, for your waterfall, go to Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss. About 20 miles apart from each other. Continue Southeast and turn off on road 218 to Dyrholaey. Great black sand beach, some very easy hiking, and we saw tons of puffins up close there in mid/late August this year (many more than we saw from our puffin boat cruise in Reykjavik a few days prior, and much closer). "

 

I just wanted to tell you that your suggestion to do the South coast was fantastic! We especially liked Dyrholaey even though we couldn't find one puffin there a few days ago. (I walked over the cliffs and under the cliffs, but it must have been too early for them to roost. Saw lots from the Puffin Express in Reykjavik.) We did Gulfoss also, which is so different from the other two.

 

Again, thanks so much for your perfect advice!

 

Ilene

[Nitemare]

Ilene:

 

I'm glad you loved it! Too bad you missed the puffins in Dyrholaey, good thing you did the Express.

 

We can't wait to go back, but we're trying really hard to skip 2015 and do something else instead. Guarantee we're back in 2015, probably for Westfjords (haven't seen any of that part) and who knows what else.