Iceland: South Coast vs. Golden Circle

[liberty176]

We are on a long Holland America cruise next July with numerous stops in Iceland (24 Night Iceland & Scotland, leaves from Reykjavik and finishes in Amsterdam). 

 

Unfortunately we just found out that our planned two day (overnight) call in Reykjavik has been replaced by one day at Heimaey Westman Islands (which well be stopping at earlier in the trip already) and one day in Reykjavik.  We were supposed to do a South Coast tour one day and Golden Circle the next.

 

I contacted our tour company to find out what our options are, but my questions to people who have visited are:

 

1. If I have to choose only one, would you pick Golden Circle or South Coast and why?  Fwiw, the other stops are Westman Island (island tour) Isafjordur (no plans), Akureyri (doing Lake Myvtan etc. tour) and Djupivigor x2 (we plan to go to the glacier lagoon)

 

2. We are in a hotel overnight in Reykjavik the night before our cruise, and the shop is supposed to leave that day at 7pm.  Normally we like to get on the ship as early as possible, but would consider doing a tour that morning.  What is the latest you would want to be at port on embarkation day?  

 

Thanks so much!

[ljandgb]

I've been to Iceland 3 times. I'd pick the south coast.  It's the iconic views of waterfalls and black sand beaches.  

 

Full disclosure I've only been to part of the Golden Circle.  Thingvellir is pretty, but not jaw dropping, unless you're really into plate tectonics, local history, or want to snorkel in the rift there. (We did the snorkeling and spent a good deal of time in the museum at the visitor center regarding the history and biology of the park.)  

 

I've heard the geothermal areas are interesting, unless you've been to Yellowstone.  The consensus on the TA forum is that you should do the GC first before the rest of the country.  If you do it last, people tend to be a little less wowed if that makes sense.

 

If you really want to do both, I think you could do an early morning GC tour and still make the departure.  You could even just rent a car and start out really early, since you'll have so much daylight.

[Nitemare]

I mostly agree with @ljandgb.  I definitely agree if your South Coast tour includes Jokulsarlon and the Diamond Beach opposite it.  I'd also want to be visting Solheimjokull Glacier or another glacier on a South Coast trip.

 

I'd lean a bit more towards Golden Circle if you have never seen a Geysir.  And the Gulfoss Waterfall there is just HUGE, while the two on the South Coast trip are taller (you see them from below as opposed to Gulfoss from above) and just beautiful. 

 

For Westman Island, I'd do one of the boat rides around the island to see the puffins and caves.  Fos Isafjordur I'd plan a trip over to Vigur Island, and if you like seafood, my favorite restaurant in the world is https://www.ferdalag.is/en/service/tjoruhusid

 

Edit:  just noticed you are seeing Jokulsarlon from Djupivigor, so that makes South Coast a little less "mandatory", but you definitely want a glacier visit, even if you don't take a glacier hike. You can easily walk up to the edge of Solheimjokull or Svinafelljokull, it's amazing being so close to so much ice

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nitemare

[janetcbl]

I would do the Golden Circle, Geysir is intersting, especially if you have never seen a geysir,Gullifoss Falls are spectacular, but Thingvellir National Park is, IMO, the highlight. From a historical perspective, it is the home of the oldest parliament in the world and from a geological perspective, where else on earth can you walk between two tectonic plates. In Isafjordur try to get to Vigur Island. As usual, these are just my opinions….I have been fortunate to spend time all over Iceland and discover something new each time I travel there.

[Crewbie]

Hiya. Hope your cruise goes well and that these itinerary shifts early on will mean you can relax and enjoy as the time approaches. 

 

For Golden Circle vs. South Coast, I feel that it depends on what you're interested in. If asked to compare, I think the Golden Circle, with Gullfoss and Geysir, particularly, is more of something to be experienced. A tour of the South Coast, on the other hand, is a little more something that is seen. As lovely as the falls are on the South Coast tour, being in the presence of a feature on the scale of Gullfoss, or the moment that a geyser erupts, just feels different. (As mentioned by another poster, if you've already experienced a geyser, this might swing you towards the South Coast option.) The South Coast tour, on the other hand, felt to me a longer but scenic tour of the variety of everyday beauty that the geography of Iceland holds - not that 'everyday' is not stunning in its own right, and I would have loved to have much more time with any of the stops on our tour. 

 

Both tours will involve a lot of transport from site to site. The Golden Circle has fewer high-impact sites, but they can be worth it. The South Coast has more sites - none quite with the impact of Gullfoss, I think, but not to be underestimated, either: being up close to Skogafoss, walking behind Seljalandsfoss, and a well-timed-for-puffins visit to Reynisfjara, were all worthwhile, as were seeing the black glaciers and stopping by Vik. Beautiful landscape all around, on and off the bus. 

 

If you're with an independent, small-group provider for a first-time Iceland - I'm a little surprised to find myself saying that for the 'experience' feeling, I tip just the slightest towards the Golden Circle. If you're deciding between two big-bus options, I say the South Coast might provide for a better day. Additional thoughts that I would've liked to have known if making the same choice: 1) As historic and beautiful as Thingvellir is as a site, I feel like my Golden Circle tour experience (with a big bus cruise tour, mind you) didn't provide much more than a passing glance from a higher vantage point given time constraints and where the tour bus parked. 2) The South Coast tour, even without a visit to Diamond Beach / Jokulsarlon, is a(n even) longer day than a Golden Circle tour. (I don't think my tour - in early/mid-August - would've even had enough daylight hours to enjoy Jokulsarlon.) If you happen to want to 'fill your port day' with as much of the landscape of Iceland as possible, I do think a South Coast tour has a further edge there as long as it fits into your overall port day and cruise habits. It is a very big tour (and you'd still want to make sure your tour will get back with breathing room for all-aboard)!

 

Since you mentioned your itinerary: 

1) Reykjavik: Not knowing how embarkation goes or the hours for your Reykjavik boarding and muster drill, I'm the kind that errs more cautiously and would say not trying to squeeze in such a big vendor tour the day of boarding. Even with a morning start at 8 am, a six- to seven-hour Golden Circle tour feels cutting it uncomfortably close to me. Maybe allocate that day to get acquainted with Reykjavik before boarding and that way you can enjoy your port day back in Reykjavik traveling out.

The port authority does run a free shuttle (bus) from Harpa Concert Hall to Skarfabakki Cruise Terminal (you will want to check to see where your ship is allocated). Skarfabakki is compact but *very* busy with a very large mix of buses, taxi drivers, and a Hop-On Hop-Off stop. I don't particularly recommend the Hop-On Hop-off for general purposes; it felt a little too dispersed and infrequent to really feel efficient. Walking from Harpa to Skarfabakki is possible, but will take at least 45 minutes (not taking into account luggage and overall personal circumstance).

 

2) I like Isafjordur as a port; we were lucky enough to even be able to use their in-progress cruise pier this past summer even though our stop was also listed as a tender port. It's walkable to town and pleasant, though it does slope up outside of the smaller commercial/'downtown' area close to the ship. I do recall Vigur Island as an in-demand excursion; would recommend booking early if that's of interest. The HAL Hesteyri excursion is a little weather-dependent (we had a more subdued, overcast morning) but folks seemed pleased by the general availability of animal watching and sightings overall. Dynjandi Waterfall is lovely - a local/independent vendor will (unsurprisingly) be much, much cheaper than HAL.

 

3) Akureyri: Conserve a little energy for the sail-out in the late afternoon/evening if it's a good weather day; the landscape and lighting were quite beautiful. 

 

4) Djupivogur: Djupivogur is, I believe, actually closer to the glacier lagoon than Reykjavik, so it's a great choice for this small port and a way to maybe feel a little balanced if you opt for the Golden Circle from Reykjavik over the South Coast.

 

5) Lerwick, Stornoway, and other small ports: Take the time to book ship excursions or make independent plans early as the available resources are limited. On our cruise this past summer, the ship excursions still had pretty deep waitlists; independent vendors will also be booked up well in advance. If you like birdwatching, Lerwick has a seabird boat tour that you might want to look into promptly. As an addendum, be cautious about timing and how any plans fit to your style of cruising. A lot of these small ports may include tenders, of which the process (and backlog) can be quite frustrating in fitting or delaying your plans. 

 

I hope this helps in your planning and decisions! Hope a great cruise to you; it sounds a lovely itinerary to look forward to.

[Slyfox16]

Was wondering if anyone could recommend a tour company in Reykjavik? We have never been there before and are overnighting. Any suggestions on how to find out where the NCL Prima would dock?

[ljandgb]

Troll and Arctic Adventures are commonly named on the TA board, though I haven't used them myself.

[liberty176]

Thanks so much to all who replied and especially to the incredible response by @Crewbie.  Everyone gave me a bunch to think about and I'm leaning towards walking around Reykjavik on embarkation day and then doing a day tour of the Golden Circle on our port stop in Reykjavik.  Going to skip the South Coast tour (which included Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, the black sand beach, and Solheimajokull glacier).  It did not include Jokulsarlon, which seems to be a highlight, and we'll be visiting there separately.

 

Thank you!!

[CCJack]

On 12/11/2023 at 1:00 PM, liberty176 said:

Thanks so much to all who replied and especially to the incredible response by @Crewbie.  Everyone gave me a bunch to think about and I'm leaning towards walking around Reykjavik on embarkation day and then doing a day tour of the Golden Circle on our port stop in Reykjavik.  Going to skip the South Coast tour (which included Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, the black sand beach, and Solheimajokull glacier).  It did not include Jokulsarlon, which seems to be a highlight, and we'll be visiting there separately.

 

Thank you!!

I like your plan.   Note on our GC independent tour we were 2 hours late returning to Reykjavik due to a traffic jam (I wasn't expecting that in Iceland) - however these tours have a lot of 2 lane highway driving and one problem can cause a long backup.   I am sure most tours are not late, but for embarkation day I think a big tour might be cutting it close.

 

Reykjavik downtown is a great way to spend 1/2 day.   Especially if you like to shop for expensive outerwear !  You can buy a $2k winter coat on every corner shop it seemed to me.  The store clerks told us you could get your sales tax returned only at the airport and that cruise passengers can not get a refund.   That was not true, on our ship, guest relations refunded sales tax but you needed to stop there immediately when you return to ship (before the ship leaves port.)   Might be different on different ships.  

 

 

[90scruzer]

not sure if you booked already, but we booked with Reykjavik Excursions.   

 

And while our experience will likely be different than yours, as we were there in Winter -- the one thing you can never seem to count on is the road being open.   I understand that is true all year, not just Winter.   The wind made +6C (43F) the most uncomfortable 'warm' temperature we have ever experienced!   With wind, it was down to -25C (-13F).   But it is a lot warmer (not sure about less windy) in Summer.

 

Since you are from MV, I will make some assumptions and just say do the Southern tour, unless you have a strong desire to walk the divide in Dingvellier.  On the Southern tour you will likely visit black beach (and it's true:  do NOT turn your back on the water!), glacier lake and diamond beach.   As we opted out of the hike on the glacier, we had the opportunity to spend a few hours in this area and it was well worth it.   Of course, diamond beach will either be stellar (as when we visited) or maybe ho-hum ... it all depends upon what ice has washed up on shore that day.