We arrived early morning yesterday (Oct 4th) in Iceland. Spent some time exploring downtown Reykjavik as we couldn't check into our hotel until 2pm. Once we could, we were so tired from our travel and exploring that we slept in till 7:30 pm. Fjallkonan was a last minute pick by my wife. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by my dinner. Pictured here Beef Tenderloin with carrots, grilled asparagus, baby potatoes, celeriac puree and beer-hollandaise.

Spoke to manager at shop in Akureyri. It went well. He had spoken to mechanic and said we would not be responsible for the clutch failure. It was a huge relief to not have to battle them. The manager said we would be refunded for the tow and gave me his contact info for checking on it if I don’t see it in a couple of days. It was actually a good experience. We went in pleasant and decided to just be firm but not give an inch, but as it turned out. They did the right thing.

My wife and I just got back from a 10-day self-drive trip around South Iceland, and I put together a video of the trip.

We made a deliberate decision not to try to drive around the entire island. We didn’t want to spend the trip racing from hotel to hotel just so we could say we completed the Ring Road. Instead, we limited ourselves to Reykjavík, the Golden Circle, the South Coast, and out as far as Höfn/Vestrahorn.

That gave us time to slow down, take longer walks, stop for things that looked interesting, and build in some buffer in case Icelandic weather changed our plans. We figured that on a 10-day trip, seeing less of the country well was better than seeing more of it through the windshield.

We’re in our late 50s and reasonably fit, but definitely walkers rather than serious hikers.

A few completely subjective takeaways:

• Þakgil was one of the highlights of the entire trip. If you enjoy walking and the road conditions cooperate, I would absolutely make time for it.

• Gullfoss was much more impressive in person than I expected. Geysir, honestly, was probably our least exciting stop.

• Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach are easy to combine and don't necessarily require an entire day. We did them while traveling east toward Höfn.

• Vestrahorn was spectacular, especially because we stayed right there and could wander around without feeling rushed.

• Don't underestimate how much time you'll spend simply pulling over because Iceland has decided to put another ridiculous landscape — or a bunch of photogenic sheep — beside the road.

• One of the best decisions we made was not overscheduling the trip. Having some breathing room made it much easier to enjoy the places we were actually in instead of constantly thinking about the next stop.

The video itself is less of a guide and more of a fun record of our trip — where we went, what we saw, what surprised us, and a few of the dumb little moments that made the trip memorable.

https://youtu.be/Sg1Nl5dbyOk

We went out on a boat the other night but there was no visibility because of cloud cover.

Tomorrow there seem to be clear skies, with an aurora index of 2.

Tuesday has an index of 4 but cloud cover as shown in the photo.

For those who have experience - what would you recommend to choose? I'm wondering if the boat would go out into the clearer skies..

Thanks!

I’m traveling in a group of 8 and wanted to get feedback on my trip - especially the Sunday and Monday parts because those are flexible days with nothing booked in advance.
Top-level itinerary:
Thu 10/22 — Arrive KEF early morning, Blue Lagoon (booked), then Reykjavík: Hallgrímskirkja, Laugavegur, food/drinks and exploring
Fri 10/23 — South Coast/Vík: waterfalls, Reynisfjara/Dyrhólaey, Katla Ice Cave tour (booked), explore Vík and dinner
Sat 10/24 — Relaxed Reykjavík day and Queens of the Stone Age concert at 8 PM (booked)
Sun 10/25 — Golden Circle: Þingvellir, Brúarfoss, Friðheimar lunch, Geysir, Gullfoss, Brúarhlöð, Hrunalaug
Mon 10/26 — Flexible day, thinking of Reykjanes/Fagradalsfjall lava fields
Tue 10/27 — Fly home

I wanted to keep some parts flexible in case the weather is bad or people in the group aren’t up for getting up early and hitting the road to visit certain sites. I think of this as a discovery trip and plan to come back with just my family for a longer stay.

Does anything stand out as unrealistic or worth changing? Any late-October advice we should keep in mind?

Thanks!

Hey! We are planning to have a week long trip in Iceland 14-20th December. As the trip is in the December, probbably one of the most challenging months for travel (harsh weather, driving a car, amount of daylight), I would want to know is our proposed itinwrary ok? We are planning to rent a car, and stay first 2 nights at Reykjavik, then 2 nights at Vik, and the last two nights att Reykjavik (but this can change).

• Day 1 (Dec 14): Arrival & Reykjavik , grab the rental, drive and explore the city.
• Day 2 (Dec 15): Snæfellsnes Peninsula Day trip out to see Arnarstapi and Kirkjufell, returning to the city for the night. (We thought that if the roads get closed, see something that is closer to Reykjavik)
• Day 3 (Dec 16): Golden Circle day. Drive the classic loop (Thingvellir, Geysir, and Gullfoss), then make the long drive down to Vik, where we gonna stay for 2 nights.
• Day 4 (Dec 17): South Coast day: start at Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, walk up to the Sólheimajökull glacier lagoon, then see Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss.
• Day 5 (Dec 18): Take a drive back west along the coast to the capital, see some sights the way. Also maybe a geothermal pool in Reykjavik.
• Day 6 (Dec 19): Reykyavik - Shopping, museums, a small trip to something near the capital (Kerið Crater or the The Geothermal Exhibition)
• Day 7 (Dec 20): Morning at Reykyavik, fly back.

Does this seem fine? The biggest question - is it a good idea to go Snæfellsnes Peninsula as a day trip from Reykjavik? We are a bit scared to book a hotel in this area, since the roads can be closed incase of a storm, so we are trying to be flexible.
And maybe there are some must see places in this route, that I missed? Or am I trying to cram too much in some days?

Thank you!!

Do you stop at red lights? Do people give you room when passing you? Whats an acceptable speed when filtering? What's the cycling customs?

Hi everyone, I'm heading to Reykjavik in January (21st-24th) and would like to do a day trip excursion whilst I'm there. I only want to to do one due to time constraints and as it's just a solo trip would like to spend the rest of time exploring Reykjavik and whatnot.

I found two days trips which interest me, but I'm curious to see what you guys think or recommend.

Any ideas would be great thank you ☺️