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-   -   Iceland 5 days - Rent a car or Day tours (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/iceland-5-days-rent-a-car-or-day-tours-1033792/)

JulianoMelao Jan 7th, 2015 01:14 AM

Iceland 5 days - Rent a car or Day tours
 
Hey guys, going to Iceland next mid may, 5 days / 6 nights.

Would like to know what are the best option about renting a car or day tours from Reykjavik.

Tnk you again!

annhig Jan 7th, 2015 01:24 AM

Hi Juliano,

it really depends what you want to do and see. You need to research what day trips are available from Reykjavik - there's the usual golden Circle tour, but also whale watching, and others, depending on season.

if you want to see a bit more of the country, you could easily rent a car, drive up to the Golden Circle, then over to the Snaefellensses Peninsular, look at the glacier, perhaps do some activities while you are there and back to Reykjavik.

the Icelandic Tourist board would be a good place to start; also companies like Discover the World which offer tours, not in order necessarily to take their tours, but to get ideas about what they think can be done in 5 days.

Good luck!

JulianoMelao Jan 7th, 2015 01:55 AM

Thank you!

I will buy my ticket and book a car (can cancel in future).

Get round trip from Glasgow x Reykjavik and Reykjavik x Amsterdam for U$ 280,00. Is it a good price?

Tnk you again!!!

annhig Jan 7th, 2015 02:16 AM

Hi again, J,

I've no idea what a good price for those flights is, but if it's within your budget, and you want to do the trip, I'd go ahead.

I'd be surprised if you can get it for less.

Cattail Jan 7th, 2015 04:04 AM

Flights from the US have come way down from a few years ago. Our booked flights from the US, at about $350 per person US, were higher than I'd seen advertised. I have no idea what they are from other locations.

Keep in mind that Iceland is an expensive location. I have been pleased to find one accommodation at under $100 per night and the other, very basic and in a remote location, at about $165 per night. And we're bringing sleeping bags.

JulianoMelao Jan 7th, 2015 04:10 AM

Hey Cattail,

I found at www.booking.com per night for a couple around 80u$ - 90u$.

Did you try this site?

Cattail Jan 7th, 2015 11:54 AM

I did, but a month ago. On Wow Airlines? Wow!

JulianoMelao Jan 8th, 2015 01:22 AM

Hey.. Just bought tickets round trip Iceland, WOW will start in June, i will travel May.

So guys, i check many places to visit from Reykjavik.

Is it possible to travel ring route in this days?

Around 7 days:
I will arrive May 15 around 3 p.m
Stay 5 full days
Depart May 21 around 4 p.m

annhig Jan 8th, 2015 05:52 AM

juliano - i don't think that you can really do the ring road in less than abut 10 days, unless you are happy to do a lot of driving every day and only stay one night in each place.

Have a look at the companies that offer self-drive tours like Discover the World to see what they propose - not to buy one of their tours but to see what they think is feasible in the time you've got.

JulianoMelao Jan 8th, 2015 06:08 AM

Hey Annhig, thank you.

My first plan in this 7 days (5 full days) was to rent a car but travel in near cities, staying one night just to relax around this places.

Some times in this kind of day tours they spend a lot of time in places that i dont like ;-)

annhig Jan 8th, 2015 06:25 AM

Juliano - i agree that tour companies may spend a lot of time in places that don't appeal to you, but they do have good ideas about realistic itineraries. why not google some, and see what they offer?

In 5 days, you might be able to go to the golden Circle, and up to the Snaefellnesses peninsular and back to Reykjavik, or even down to Vik and up to Snaefellnesses via the Golden Circle.

BTW, there really aren't any big cities except Reykjavik. The two towns on the northern coast of the Snaefellnesses peninsular are quite large and worth seeing especially Stykkisholmur, and in season, you can do whale watching trips from Grundafjordur further west along the same coast. you can also do activities on the glacier at the western end of the peninsular so long as it's not been too warm and in May you should be ok.

JulianoMelao Jan 8th, 2015 06:33 AM

Tnks again.

I will take a look at every tour in Iceland and if possible do this tours by my self with a car, i think that i can save money.

So, tnks a lot.. now its time to read many guides and websites.

annhig Jan 8th, 2015 11:03 AM

hi again, Juliano,

here's a link to the Voyages Jules Verne brochure which has some ideas for short tours of Iceland:

https://voyagesjulesverne.inbro.net/...Lights/page_31

and here's a link for Discover the World:

http://www.discover-the-world.co.uk/...e-of-the-earth

this might help too:

http://www.farmholidays.is/search-result/?tours=1

happy planning!

mikeyred242 Jan 16th, 2015 01:58 AM

Renting a car is the best option because of the total freedom it offers you. For only a short visit like yours I certainly would not attempt to travel around the whole of Iceland. I would choose one region and make that the focus. I would choose either the south coast (making Jökulsarlon your ultimate destination) or the West coast around Snæfellsness and the area around Borgarnes.Keep in mind driving times ( a lot longer than you might think) and accommodation outside of reykjavik is often booked up, so book as soon as you can.

By all means come up with an itinerary and post back here and we can advise further.

For car rental hire I recommend www.carsiceland.com

GreenDragon Jan 19th, 2015 09:06 AM

Keep in mind that some places require you to rent a 4WD to travel the roads. I am going in July, and noticed that only a couple of the places I wanted to go to require that, so I looked into daytrips for those from guides. Two day trips can do what I want, and then I save $400 in car rental. :)

Anastasia_131 Jan 20th, 2015 01:12 PM

Hi!
Concerning the tours, I highly recommend Landmannalaugar Tours (you may check their website). First of all, the place is outstanding. And second, we booked a tour during our last trip and were hugely satisfied by the excursion, the guide, and the jeep.
As for car rentals, I agree with mikeyred242, Cars Iceland is a very decent company with high standards of both cars and services.


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