soulbutter

Hello,

We are 3 people who will be in Iceland from Friday August 29 to our departure on Saturday September 6th. HIPPEE!!!! We have 8 full days/nights to play with and wish to spend the first Friday & Saturday nights in Reykjavik (witness a little of Renfur)and then spend the remaining 7 nights between the South to Skaftafell, the Southwest, and Western Snaefelles Peninsula. Looking for suggestions on how to make a fun itinerary tying these areas together. Need advice on a driving itinerary. Head North & west from Rekjavik first, or head southwest and across the south first? How many days in each place? What are the best lodgings in those regions to use as a base for daily hikes. It'd be nice to find places central enough to many places of interest as we don't wish to be in a new lodging every single night of our trip (every 2 nights would be best). We'll have a rental car. We want to do day hikes, check out museums & points of interest along the way, soak in hot pots, and hit galleries & museums in Reykjavik. Also... we are predominantly vegetarian (we eat a little fish from time to time) so any recommendations for veggie food/restaurants is greatly appreciated.

astein12

I'll try to post a bit more detail later...

I'd probably hit the Snaefelles Peninsula first (hiking along the cliffs, the glacier and the Eldborg crater). Then cut thru the Golden Circle area on my way down south (hitting Pingveller, gulfoss and geyser on the way). I'd then head towards Skaftafell (which was great... we were there in October... there were a total of 4 people in the whole park and great fall colors).

I'm not sure that you can make it too much past Skaftafell, though you might want to drive as far as the glacial lagoon. So, probably something like 2 nights in Reykjavik, 2 on Snaefelles, 2 somewhere south of the Golden Circle, and two out towards Skaftafell.

Let me know if this is basically the type of itinerary you were planning and I'll post some more details.

soulbutter

Thanks! Your suggestions mirror my initial thinking of how to plan this out. And as far as the South/Southeast region, I only wanted to reach Skaftafell becaue I MUST hike to the awesome SVARTIFOSS. Would it make sense and be do-able to do this itinerary:
2 nts in Reykjavik, 2 on Snaefelles, 1 somewhere south of golden circle, 2 near Skaftafell, 1 back near south of golden circle/ or Vik area, then fly out next afternoon?
I would love any details you'd like to post. Especially best locations for logding and hotel/farmstay recommendations. Thanks again!

~ Amber

astein12

Amber,

Yes, that would definitely be workable. The hiking in Skaftafell was really nice. There is a short (1 mile) walk to the tip of the glacier on an easy path. The you can return to the park office and head to the falls. Svartifoss is a definitely a unique waterfall and work the walk (it's actually a pretty easy hike).

That said, there are a number of waterfalls along the way to Skaftafell that I felt were just as spectacular.

I'll post a few additional details over the weekend.

Later,
Alan

soulbutter

Thanks again Alan. I can hardly wait!