Reykjavik, Iceland Touring Advice Needed!

[Under_Bored Duo]

My husband and I are on the 21 day Spitsbergen and Icelandic Fjords Explorer voyage departing Rotterdam on June 11, 2023 on the Zuiderdam. We always book our shore excursions through HAL because we will not be “dock runners” and miss the ship due to an unforeseen circumstance. However, since we are in Reykjavik, Iceland for 2 days, we are leaning towards a non-cruise line tour operator on day 1. With that said, which tour would you recommend and why? We are active and would prefer small group! Thanks! 

Edited January 21, 2023 by Under_Bored Duo
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[BobbiSox]

I did the Vikings cruise on Zaandam last July/August, 35 days. You're going to love Iceland! I am always advising folks to book everything through HAL and especially when one is so far from home. Many things can go wrong and you want all of your bases covered so book everything through HAL. They will ALWAYS get you back onboard. It's worth the peace of mind and it's money well spent.  

[Mary229]

We had a great private tour. We organized a small group of 12 through our roll call.  Our guide was excellent and was savvy enough to find better places off the beaten track for some of our activities.  Iceland is small enough if there is a motor vehicle issue it is only a short wait for a rescue vehicle.  The second day we simply walked around town.  If I am overnight in a port I definitely use the private guide for the first day. 

[highfields]

Check out Greyline Tours. We have used them on several trips to Iceland. Their prices are competitive and tours are excellent.

Edited January 21, 2023 by highfields

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Check out my Iceland blog HERE  (Select from the list to filter out the Iceland posts) - we used https://arcticshorex.com/ and were very happy.

 

 

 

[GeorgeCharlie]

We visited Iceland on the Zuiderdam in 2018 and you can see our views on Iceland in my review of that cruise.

 

 

As you will notice, we used independent arranged tours and strongly recommend them over cruise ship tours.

 

We have cruising all over the world for some 40 years now and see little value in the cruise industries scare tactic of not leaving passengers behind. They are just as likely to leave people behind as private operators are - because, in most ports, the tours they are offering are by private operators in the first place!!

 

All you have to do is read about people they left behind lately, such as, the storms in Central America last fall and the current unrest in Peru. Yes, the passengers in these cases did manage to catch up with the ships at another port, but that was because the tour operators managed it, not the cruise ships.

 

We have found the small tour operators provide, on average, a much better tour and at a much reduced cost. We have taken a number of extended shore excursions in countries where people would normally have travel concerns (India, Cambodia, Miramar, etc.) and we have seen people who booked through the ship, were with the same tour company we had used - just at 2-3 times the cost.

 

Plus, there are cases of where you can only get see some sites by a private operator, e.g. our visit to Falkland Islands last month.😎

 

[Oceansaway17]

1 hour ago, BobbiSox said:

I did the Vikings cruise on Zaandam last July/August, 35 days. You're going to love Iceland! I am always advising folks to book everything through HAL and especially when one is so far from home. Many things can go wrong and you want all of your bases covered so book everything through HAL. They will ALWAYS get you back onboard. It's worth the peace of mind and it's money well spent.  

And easier to get refunds upon missing port.

The independent operators will take their time

[Oceansaway17]

2 hours ago, Under_Bored Duo said:

My husband and I are on the 21 day Spitsbergen and Icelandic Fjords Explorer voyage departing Rotterdam on June 11, 2023 on the Zuiderdam. We always book our shore excursions through HAL because we will not be “dock runners” and miss the ship due to an unforeseen circumstance. However, since we are in Reykjavik, Iceland for 2 days, we are leaning towards a non-cruise line tour operator on day 1. With that said, which tour would you recommend and why? We are active and would prefer small group! Thanks! 

I have heard that it is a nice city to walk around and you might just stumble across interesting people or locals as well as tour operators looking for business 

[Mary229]

10 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I have heard that it is a nice city to walk around and you might just stumble across interesting people or locals as well as tour operators looking for business 

The ship is about a mile or so from the city center.  It is a nice walk but the tour operators will meet you right at the dock.  Iceland is a sparsely populated, highly developed country.   It is best to arrange tours ahead of time.   The big sites are not nearby and require transportation.  Rental cars are expensive as is the gas. 

[Oceansaway17]

6 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

The ship is about a mile or so from the city center.  It is a nice walk but the tour operators will meet you right at the dock.  Iceland is a sparsely populated, highly developed country.   It is best to arrange tours ahead of time.   The big sites are not nearby and require transportation.  Rental cars are expensive as is the gas. 

Oh I thought it was an easy walk but still the city is suppose to be enjoyable once upon arriving

[bcummin]

We enjoyed the Hop-On Hop-Off bus on one day to get around the city,  Enjoy!

Barbara

[GeorgeCharlie]

20 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

And easier to get refunds upon missing port.

The independent operators will take their time

 

We have found in most cases we did not pay for independent tours until we took the tour. We just completed a 31-day South American cruise on HAL and the only ones we had to pay in advance were tours we booked through HAL. Plus, when we cancelled one of the tours, it took multiple trips to the Shore Excursions desk to get the errors they made straighten out.😠

 

 

[Oceansaway17]

1 minute ago, GeorgeCharlie said:

 

We have found in most cases we did not pay for independent tours until we took the tour. We just completed a 31-day South American cruise on HAL and the only ones we had to pay in advance were tours we booked through HAL. Plus, when we cancelled one of the tours, it took multiple trips to the Shore Excursions desk to get the errors they made straighten out.😠

 

 

I thought the non ship tours would want prepaid or deposits.

guess you were lucky

[OlsSalt]

Check out the evening performances at  the HARPA theater complex on your overnight.

 

One running show is "How to become Icelandic in 60 minutes" - a fun insight into things uniquely Icelandic: https://www.harpa.is/en/how-to-become-icelandic-in-60-minutes

[Mary229]

32 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I thought the non ship tours would want prepaid or deposits.

guess you were lucky

In Iceland you will find the honor system alive and well.  Actually all through Northern Europe I have  paid at time of service not prior. I guess it depends on operator.  I usually like small group tours hosted by locals 

Edited January 21, 2023 by Mary229

[VacationCharlene]

I have organized and booked, MANY small group tours using Your Day Tours in Reykajavik and EVERYONE enjoyed their tours.  The best excursions are the Golden Circle or South Coast Tours....BOTH are amazing.  They also offer a Secret Lagoon Tour where you enjoy the hot lagoon.  

 

https://yourdaytours.is/

 

They have excellent vehicles and guides.  Live locally and awesome personalities.  You would be amiss if you dont check them out.  Whatever you do have a GREAT TIME in Iceland!

[Essiesmom]

There is an excellent review over on the Disabled Cruising board from a woman who did several days prior to cruise in Iceland.  EM

[alyssamma]

4 hours ago, Under_Bored Duo said:

My husband and I are on the 21 day Spitsbergen and Icelandic Fjords Explorer voyage departing Rotterdam on June 11, 2023 on the Zuiderdam. We always book our shore excursions through HAL because we will not be “dock runners” and miss the ship due to an unforeseen circumstance. However, since we are in Reykjavik, Iceland for 2 days, we are leaning towards a non-cruise line tour operator on day 1. With that said, which tour would you recommend and why? We are active and would prefer small group! Thanks! 

I would suggest renting a car for the day and seeing all of the waterfalls and other scenery. Very easy to drive, and relatively inexpensive (compared to the cost of a tour).

[Aliciap]

I highly recommend Your Day Tours. They are a small local family ran company. Tours are small group and there vans are really nice. We took two tours with them and really enjoyed both. We picked up cruise passengers at the terminal when we went. Iceland is beautiful!

[djett]

We used FAB tours in 2018. We booked day tours in the three ports we visited and were picked up and returned to the dock. All three were excellent with wonderful guides, comfortable vans holding 6-8 passengers. Couldn't have been done better and much cheaper than booking thru Holland America.

[fkfad]

We have visited Iceland twice -- once in the winter and once in the summer.  Both visits were awesome -- it is such a beautiful island!  During our first visit, we did a "Golden Circle" tour, which took us to the most popular tourist sites, including a stop at the "Secret Lagoon," which is a natural hot spring and actually had a geyser erupt every so many minutes right on the shore of the lagoon.  During our second visit, we booked a "Silver Circle" tour through an online international tour re-seller.  This tour took us to numerous waterfalls and a stop at a natural hot spring that sits in the middle of a volcanic crater (it is a dead volcano LOL).  It was magical!  Our tour of only eight people had the entire area to ourselves!  We also did a Northern Lights tour in the the winter -- going out on a boat.  After freezing out on this boat for about an hour, the sky lit up with green and purple lights!  There is an app you can use to track northern lights activity to see if they are forecasted to be active when you are there.  It is a great place to visit!  So much to see and do!

[ellbelle]

On 1/21/2023 at 7:12 AM, Under_Bored Duo said:

My husband and I are on the 21 day Spitsbergen and Icelandic Fjords Explorer voyage departing Rotterdam on June 11, 2023 on the Zuiderdam. We always book our shore excursions through HAL because we will not be “dock runners” and miss the ship due to an unforeseen circumstance. However, since we are in Reykjavik, Iceland for 2 days, we are leaning towards a non-cruise line tour operator on day 1. With that said, which tour would you recommend and why? We are active and would prefer small group! Thanks! 

We are on the same sailing and we’re thinking of using Artic Shorex for day 1 doing the Golden Circle Tour, I did check out  yourdaytours.is but their pickup time at the port is the same as the ship arrival time. 

[milolii]

We are using Iceland Everywhere for three tours in July.  Folks from some of the 2022 cruises recommend them.  Our port tours are about booked full, but I don’t know if the the company will be adding more tours. Dodo at ICE writes they are trying very hard to meet demand.

 

https://www.icelandeverywhere.is
 

We are also using  Arctic Shore Excursions for Seydisfjordur as Iceland Everywhere  doesn't offer tours there.
 

https://arcticshorex.com

 

[ericosmith]

22 hours ago, ellbelle said:

We are on the same sailing and we’re thinking of using Artic Shorex for day 1 doing the Golden Circle Tour, I did check out  yourdaytours.is but their pickup time at the port is the same as the ship arrival time. 

I emailed yourdaytours and they responded that they do schedule tours specifically for cruise ship arrivals.

[Balliett]

Here's a recommendation for a private or group guide:  Stefan Vallson.   You can check him out on the internet or by Tripadvisor.  We two booked him for a tour in 2020, then 2021 both cancelled by the pandemic then the cruise line.  The first year he refunded our deposit.  The second he said no deposit needed. and finally we met him from the ship for a ten hour day last summer.  Not inexpensive but great reputation.  Our experience was first class.