Reykjavík 2 day itinerary

[roupa]

   Suggestions for a doable 2 day itinerary in August....arriving Reykjavik airport early morning....2 nights in Reykjavik before a 4PM cruise departure.

First time to Iceland !  Never too soon to start planning!

 

Day one:  Morning arrival...Reykjavik Airport to Blue Lagoon on the way to hotel in Reykjavik...transportation?...luggage storage?

                 Afternoon...transportation to a Reykjavik hotel from Blue Lagoon ?  Hotel suggestions?

                 Evening...explore city  

Day two:   A good tour to south coast?

                   Evening ?

Day three:  Quiet morning then to cruise ship midday.

 

 

[hallasm]

I would rent a car at the airport - solving transport and luggage storage.
Day two I’ll do the Golden Circle - visit to Þingvellir (Thingvellir) national park, Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir Hot Spring Area.

An add-on to the Golden Circle is to visit Seljalandsfoss waterfall and the Black Sand Beach in Vík.

Then you can leave the car in Reykjavik in the evening day two and have an quiet morning before your cruise.

Hotel could be Radisson Blu 1919 Hotel, Reykjavik.

 

[ljandgb]

Day one:  Blue Lagoon, +/- Golden Circle depending on how you do with jet lag.

Day two:  South Coast to Vik and back.  Find a local pool there or back in Reykjavik to see how the locals relax and compare to the BL.

Day three: squeeze a half day Golden Circle tour if you haven't made it yet, whale watching, a hike to the hot springs, food tour of Reykjavik (you'll probably have to check out in the morning.)

 

You can do this with a rental car, or there are plenty of companies that will take you.  You'll have plenty of daylight, so can do long days if you're up to it.

 

I love the Reykjavik Residence Hotel.  

[Nitemare]

Just a note that you land at Keflavik Airport, which is 45+ minutes away from the city.  There is a Reykjavik airport almost in the city, but that is almost entirely domestic flights.  Folks have been taken to the wrong airport or picked up at the wrong place by getting the name wrong.

[barcrab]

We are on a Silversea  cruise from Southampton on May 18 that ends in Reykjavik on May 30. There are 3 stops pre Reykjavik and they are: Seydisfjordur, Djupivogur, and Heimay western islands. We are looking to do a 2 night extension when we get off the ship in Reykjavik the morning of May 30. Suggestions for itinerary, hotels? We would not rent a car and travel back to states the morning of June 1.

[ljandgb]

I'd do a 2 day overnight tour along the south coast to Jokulsarlon.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

First, a couple comments on your itinerary on the ship when it's in Iceland: Seydisfjordur is a wonderful, small town if you like small towns.  We had a great time just wandering around, and the ship was there until 11 PM, so there was plenty of time to do that.  I also did a ship's excursion called "Footsteps of the Elves" which was mostly (in my mind, anyway) a trip to see puffins close up at a harbor.  My photos, which I'll include a link to, gives the name of this harbor and nearby town.  But I don't know when the puffins come, so May might be too soon for those to be something you'd like to do.  And of course, if you don't have any interest in puffins, it would certainly not be all that worthwhile. 

Djupigvogur is also small (and is a tender port, although Silverseas might possibly be able to dock; not sure).   The biggest reason to go there, in my mind, is to see either Fjallsarlon glacier or Jokulsarlon glacier.  Our ship offered the first, which is smaller, but still quite worthwhile in my opinion.  You walk down (and up) a gravel path and board a zodiac - not difficult, scary, cold or uncomfortable.  It was a great experience.  Since your ship stops in Djupivogur, if you see one of the glaciers from there, going as far south (southeast?) as Jokulsarlon wouldn't be needed. Of course, the glaciers are not really all that close to Djupivogur, so if you don't like long coach rides, you may not want to take an excursion to go there. But there's not a whole lot in Djupivogur to do -- though that kind of place has never stopped me from finding enough to keep me happy! 

 

Heimaey is quite a worthwhile stop  but some some ships don't make it because of a need to tender (at least for larger ships) and the weather.  You may want to keep that in mind for your two days after Reykjavik -- if you miss that port you could probably drive there on your own and have better luck. 

 

From what I've read, many people either do the Golden Circle OR head south on days before/after a cruise.  If you haven't done the Golden Circle, I would certainly consider that.  Yes, many people do it, but I feel it makes for a wonderful day trip.  Or if you want to see somewhat similar scenery closer to the airport, I feel that the thermal area on the Reykjanes Peninsula that we were taken to by a photographer/guide was worthwhile as well.  He offered a ship's excursion to Viking which turned out to be pretty good, and he does private excursions. Reykjanes Peninsula is where the airport is.

 

While many people think the Blue Lagoon is a "must do" keep in mind there are a few other options like it that are less touristy.  But if you're in that area (perhaps on the way to the airport), when we were in Iceland 5 or 6 years ago, we found that there was a place just outside the lagoon where you could at least see part of the lagoon without actually spending time there, making reservations, spending a lot of money, etc. And while close to Reykjavik we found that the Grotta Lighthouse was a worthwhile destination.  On our cruise, we loved our stop at Akureyri, but it's up north, so may not be possible to visit on a two day visit to Reykjavik.  Certainly save a little time for Reykjavik, unless you've been there before.  I found even the area around the port was fun, but I'm easy to please.

 

My Iceland photos from this past August are here, in a number of "galleries" on this photo site: www.pbase.com/roothy123.  Iceland galleries are first galleries. 

I can't recommend a hotel, but you've got some recommendations for that.  On our first trip we stayed at a cute, artsy but modest AirBnB place by the big Hallgrimskirkja (church) that now looks to be non-operational.  But the location was quite good, so perfect for us.   

 

The airport code for the international airport is KEF.  Icelandair isn't a bad airline if it flies anywhere close to you.  We found it  had the only nonstops to/from Iceland from where we live (mid Atlantic).  And their "almost business class" section isn't bad.  We bought economy seats but were then offered a chance to "bid" for an upgrade, got it, and found it fairly comfortable.  And since we traveled in August, when delta variant of Covid was around, we didn't want to fly economy.

 

Enjoy Iceland next year.  It's amazing. 

Edited October 18, 2021 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[Nitemare]

On 10/15/2021 at 8:32 AM, ljandgb said:

I'd do a 2 day overnight tour along the south coast to Jokulsarlon.

 

This is what I would suggest.  Staying in a city when you are in Iceland seems to be a waste of time to me unless you prefer really cute cities to incredible nature

[14ersco]

This summer we scrapped cruising around Iceland and instead did a 2 week self-drive around the island.  This was all arranged by Nordic Visitor.  If you want someone else to drive and make all the arrangements they have a 3 day / 2 night Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon tour.  All of Nordic Visitor's Iceland tours are here: https://iceland.nordicvisitor.com/travel-deals/iceland-tours/

 

If you are interested in natural history something within walking distance of downtown is to go to the Pearlan:  https://www.perlan.is/en-gb

[CCJack]

I have a similar question... We are on a cruise June 2022 which overnights in Reykjavik, arriving 10 am and departing 2 pm the following day.   Considering an independent tour of Golden Circle on the arrival day.   What would be some suggestions for morning only on the following day?

 

thank you.

 

 

[Traveling Library]

We've taken day trips with Iceland Guided Tours: https://www.igtours.is/

They met us with a minibus at the port. We've taken the Golden Circle and Reykjanes Penninsula tours. Enjoyed both.

For the morning walk around downtown Reykjavik. We spent an enjoyable afternoon walking around visiting the church (the organist was practicing), the city hall, concert hall. It's a very small city so easy to navigate. Walk from the port to the city along the waterfront.

[Nitemare]

For the morning you could go to the Blue Lagoon, or the local Sky Lagoon.  Or tour the city as TL suggests.

[ljandgb]

You could do the Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon.  Or a walking tour of Reykjavik.  Or venture to one of the public pools for a very local experience.

 

Or since you'll have so much daylight, consider a south coast tour the first day, and the Golden Circle or one of the above suggestions for the next morning.

[TMLAalum]

On 1/18/2022 at 8:39 PM, Traveling Library said:

We've taken day trips with Iceland Guided Tours: https://www.igtours.is/

They met us with a minibus at the port. We've taken the Golden Circle and Reykjanes Penninsula tours. Enjoyed both.

For the morning walk around downtown Reykjavik. We spent an enjoyable afternoon walking around visiting the church (the organist was practicing), the city hall, concert hall. It's a very small city so easy to navigate. Walk from the port to the city along the waterfront.

Thanks for the link, my friend!

Looking at a possible Summit cruise for August 2 years hence. DH and I previously spent time in Reykjavik and Bogarnes on a land trip so looking for something besides the Golden Circle, which was a must-see for us when we stayed in Reykjavik. Also went to Snaefelles.

 

[Slark]

We are on the NCL Star that terminates in Reykjavik the morning of June 1.  Our current thinking is to rent a car and stay somewhere along the Golden Circle for two nights, then drive to the International Airport and drop the car off there.  

Any suggestions for car rental agencies near the port that allow for a drop off at KEF? My usual go to Enterprise seems to have closed their port location.

Many thanks!

[Nitemare]

Blue, Lagoon, and Lotus are the three most recommended agencies in Iceland.  Not sure which has an in town location, but even if not at the port they won't be far.

 

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH CAR RENTALS IN ICELAND

 

Document the condition fully when you pick it up and when you drop it off.  So many reports of unexpected bills for damage you didn't cause coming in the mail weeks later.  Video is a good plan

[hallasm]

35 minutes ago, Slark said:

My usual go to Enterprise seems to have closed their port location.

Just note that due to the pandemic the requirement for rental cars is limited - will change again once there is a demand. rental cars in Iceland is expensive and also like Nitemare is saying even very small scratches can be expensive. Also rental cars are not at all roads (gravel roads).

[Slark]

Thanks to you both, Nitemare and Hallasm!

[micruiser2002]

On 1/18/2022 at 8:39 PM, Traveling Library said:

We've taken day trips with Iceland Guided Tours: https://www.igtours.is/

They met us with a minibus at the port. We've taken the Golden Circle and Reykjanes Penninsula tours. Enjoyed both.

For the morning walk around downtown Reykjavik. We spent an enjoyable afternoon walking around visiting the church (the organist was practicing), the city hall, concert hall. It's a very small city so easy to navigate. Walk from the port to the city along the waterfront.

Do you remember how many people the minibus holds?

[Traveling Library]

16 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

Do you remember how many people the minibus holds?

I think may have been 16 but not sure. I know it was on the smaller size so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a 24 seater.  It was several years ago. I do remember that for the Reykjanes tour there were only 6 of us and we all were very prompt. As a result we had so much extra time the driver took us to show us his Boy Scout Camp. I'm sure the tour company could confirm the bus size and they may have various sizes available. Enjoy your trip!