Help with short Iceland getaway
 

Hi everyoneeeee! Today I spontaneously booked a flight for me and my husband to visit Iceland next week. We arrive next Sunday early morning and depart Wednesday afternoon. We definitely want to rent a car and road trip as soon as we land. My main question is what town with a hotel would you recommend as a must for one night if we do the other 2 nights in Reykjavic? Or should we just keep our home base in Reykjavik? I heard the national park and Vic are spots we should consider to get a hotel around?


Thanks for your help!

Good for you to being spontaneous! I went to Iceland twice last year (Sept & January), plus have visited twice a few years ago. Since it's a relatively short visit, i suggest one night in Reykjavik - probably the night you arrive. I think Reykjavik is charming, but you could see the majority of the sites by walking around the city in a day. Have dinner and pick up your rental car the next morning. I stayed one night in Vik at an Airbnb since the 2 hotels were all filled up; in September, I paid almost $200 for a room (it was nice). I went to the black sand beach before Vik (the one with the famous basalt columns) but honestly, I enjoyed Vik's black sand beach more. I also did a horse ride along the beach, because why not? I didn't bother walking to the downed airplane since it was a hike in, from the road and i really didn't have any desire to see it.

I also stayed at a hotel near Skaftafell national park since I was doing a glacier trek in the park, and then driving farther east to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. There was so much scenery just from driving on the Ring Road, pulling over to stare or take photos. I drove straight from Skaftafell to the airport and it was about 6 hours drive; very pretty, but a lot of hours of straight driving.

I did the Golden Circle and thought it was over-hyped and haven't recommended that any of my friends go. Crowded. You'll see so many amazingly beautiful waterfalls as you're driving along the Ring Road, and tremendous changes in terrain, and sky. I think that with your timeframe, one night in REK and the rest of the time driving would give you the best chance to experience Iceland. Keep in mind that the route i describe is the "southern route" which i'd say the majority of visitors do; an alternative would be to do one night in REK and then drive north to the Snæfellsnes peninsula. I haven't done that route yet so can't recommend any hotels but you can research them.

I suspect lodging may be difficult to find - look for AirbnB as well hotels, esp outside Rek and know that you're going to pay a lot. That's just the way it is!!

I really appreciate this info! I've been toying with wether or not to do the Golden Circle. Or at least the national park. I've been staring at sites all day and it seems like the Glacier Lagoon is a must especially for the scenic drive. Did you do the Blue Lagoon or Fontana Hot Spring? Wondering which to choose... Thanks again!

I did Fontana. It was OK; expensive( well done but there was no sense that was a “natural” wonder. Maybe I’m not that much of a hot pools person though. I would definitely choose Fontana over the Blue Lagoon though-Fontana is lake front and much much smaller than (read, less gimmicky) than the Blue Lagoon. Fontana had a good cafe and turf roof.

We've been in Iceland twice in the past 4 years and never set foot in either of those lagoons. Instead we went to the local places. For about 1/10 the price. Years ago I went to the Blue Lagoon and was less than impressed, but I like wilder, less visited spa-type experiences all over Europe.

Both times we were there we stayed at the lovely Hotel Frón on the main street in Reykyavik for 50€ a night for a large double room and big breakfast. I guess we just got lucky, but that wasn't expensive at all to us for what we got.