Cat - when i looked up Thakgill on the map, it seems just to be off the road no 1, which is the main road round Iceland, so unless it's a different place that you have in mind, you shouldn't have any problem getting there in a normal car.

as for Landmannalaugar, I found it on the internet, and it appears only to be reachable by F road, which is not a good idea in any rental car, 4x4 or not. definitely a good idea to take a tour and leave it to the experts!

Yup, I think it's the same place, ann.

Thanks for all of the super advice; I greatly appreciate it!

glad to be of help, Cattail.

You can take a guided bus tour right to Landmannalaugar. In fact I think you can take a regular bus without a tour there if you want:

https://www.icelandtravel.is/day-tou...laugar_by_bus/

You might find this interesting:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-...al_Region.html

I would pick up the rental car in Reykajvik, drive to the Golden Circle yourself and maybe stay overnight in Laugarvatn, which is a charming little town about 20-30 mins drive from Geysir. I know some tour companies do pick ups from Selfoss for those wanting to visit Landmannalaugar, so that could work for you as well.

Unless you want to visit some places that necessitate driving on an F-Road then I wouldn´t bother with a 4x4. Landmannalaugar is one such place but as has already been recommended, I would do a guided tour for that.

As for car rental, I recommend carsiceland, I rented from them and the level of service I got was fantastic.

www.carsiceland.com

Hi! I believe this blog can be of help - www.iceland24blog.com
And, concerning Landmannalaugar - yes, yes, yes - it is really worth seeing. And not as crowded (there are even no shops, so you'll have to take snacks and water with you)

Wow, thank you all!

If we weren't going the beginning of June, we would want to trek between mountain huts. But since we are (and cold, the weather that poster described is downright depressing!), the best thing to do based on all of your advice, seems to be to take a tour to Landmannalaugar. We're hoping to do a short hike at least. I need to thoroughly check into the private and group tours you guys have given me links to.

mikey, those are great suggestions; I was a bit concerned that we'd have to backtrack to Raykajvik to take a tour.

cold, considering the in and outs of a bus/camping or hut vs. a tour, thanks. I'm not sure that I want to camp given the hugely uncertain weather conditions in June.

Anasthasia, fabulous link with so much information I'm xcited to peruse this weekend!

I'm in the process of booking a couple of nights at Thakgil in a cabin.

Rough Itinerary thus far (ten nights):

Day 1: Arriving red-eye 4 a.m. ish: Pick up regular rental car at airport. Drive around the peninsula. Check in early to Start Hotel near airport.

Days 2 and 3: Drive to Vik area. Overnight Thakgil, campground cabins.

The rest to be decided:

Thanks again, Everyone!

Start Hostel.

lol, CAT - have you read my TR?

the words "campground cabins" strike terror into my heart. OTOH how many religious maniac icelandic camp-ground owners can there be?

Yes!

I will study up on Icelandic agriculture before we check in.

I am finally getting close to a final itinerary. What do y'all think? Because we enjoy hiking and the outdoors so much, we're concentrating our ten-night trip on just southern Iceland, but we do still have options:

Day 1: Arriving red-eye 4 a.m. ish: Pick up regular rental car at airport. Options; Drive around the peninsula. Take Golden Circle tour. Blue Lagoon or other relaxing pool experience. Whale watching or kayaking.... Check in earlyish to Start Hotel near airport.

Days 2 and 3: Julia's Guesthouse, near Selfoss. Options: Hiking, hotsprings, Golden Circle, Landmannalauger in the unlikely event that the road is open.

Days 4 and 5 Drive to Vik area. Overnight Thakgil, campground cabins.

Days 6 and 7: Hofn area, Nonhammar cabins

Day 8: Nordursild Guesthouse in Seydisfjordur, for drive around the east fjord and nearby lake, hiking, kayaking, etc.

This leaves us with 2 more days at a half-way point. A dilemma: should we keep going with little time to enjoy our surroundings, or head back the way we came?