AddyP

So my friend and I are traveling to Iceland in Feb for 5 nights and 6 days. We want to do a mix of snow adventure stuff, hopefully view the northern lights, check out the geothermal pools (not the commercial ones, but perhaps something a little remote), and obviously check out the night light in Reykjavik.

Do experts here recommend we spend all five nights in Reykjavik? If not, where can we go and for how many nights? I'm a little concerned about renting a car and driving given unpredictable conditions - is this a valid concern? Any suggestions on which parts of Reykjavik to stay, what to do while there, if we should book a tour to view the northern lights, etc would be highly appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

IMDonehere

Did you find out if they have rental cars at all that time of year?

StCirq

We've been to Iceland twice in the past two years. Never got out of Reykyavik, but didn't really want to. I would not rent a car in Iceland in February - among other things, if I recall from our research you need special add-on insurance for (separately) ice, gravel, and sand. Didn't sound like driving was going to be much fun.

Reykyavik is a blast, though. Full of art galleries, vintage clothing stores, cafés, music, and just funky things. The free student-led tours of the city are fabulous. The city is full of great historical venues and museums and exhibitions. It's freaking cold, though (we were there on the first day of "summer" and were frozen solid). We stay at the Hotel Frøn, lovely place smack in the middle of the downtown shopping area - 50 euros a night for a large, sunny, comfortable room.

Don't fall for the Blue Lagoon hype. There are lovely hotspring public pools all over that cost 1/6 of the Blue Lagoon. And don't expect a lot of culinary treasures. We have found the food to be mediocre and expensive, with the exception of the one Turkish restaurant in Reykyavik.

Enjoy, though - it's a fascinating country.

bilboburgler

as StC says.

I'd do one of the one day golden tours with a small bus, so you get a chance to chat with the tour guide, really interesting stuff.

AddyP

Thanks for your inputs! Much appreciated.

FernandoMartin

IMDoneHere, renting agencies are available all year long. They will provide you with special studded tires for winter, although the weather conditions are not the best ones, as StCirq has previously mentioned.

lisakinnear

I'm going in Feb too (Feb 27-March 3). I'm basing in Reykjavik, but doing some day tours. We are doing the Blue Lagoon (part of our flight deal) and a Northern Lights tour (also part of our flight package). Found a company that has a Golden Circle tour and a South Shore tour that are very reasonable. I usually don't go for tours, but there are only 6 people required for the tour and I also don't want to drive. This is the company I'm using, but there seem to be lots of others too. Hope this helps. Enjoy!

www.icelandhorizon.is

workandplay_travel

I'm travelling to Iceland next week for the first time, can't wait! I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere here but there is a domestic airline so if you wanted to get out of Reykjavik you could look at flights on Air Iceland. They have a good enough schedule that you could in theory leave the city for the day, though it would be an expensive option.
Have fun!