annhig

hi neal,

I think that I would aim to do the golden circle in a day, [easily done, even with a long hike along thingvellir] and leave my overnight for vik. this is because you could then see the glacial lagoon on the south-east coast - it's really too far to do in a day from Reykjavik, but from Vik you vould get there in the morning, then take your time to get back to Reykjavik. remember that it'll be light til about 10-11pm in july, so you don't have to worry bout driving in the dark plus there's reallu only one road so you can't get lost!

the lagoon was one of the best things that we most enjoyed, especially our kids - you get to explore the lagoon [which featured in a James Bond film] on an amphibious vehicle and eat 10,000 year old ice!

Vik is also quite fun - a black beach where they offer amphibious tours and a good cafe in the tourist office. there's a very high waterfall on the way there too. [skogafoos i think]. you can walk up the side of it and look down, or walk round the back and get wet if you're so inclined.

if you click on my screen name, you can find my trip report. also have a look for Astein's trip report - I think that he mentions a hotel near Vik that he liked.

wasleys

Iceland is an amazing country but you might want to consider getting away from the more crowded areas around Reykjavik perhaps by flying onto Akureyri or Eigilsstadir and hring a car from there.

To my mind car hire is essential if you want to do what you want in your own way. Driving is easy with generally good roads and very little traffic, but does need considerable care. Roads are narrower than you may be used to, shoulders can be deceptive and there are hazards like sheep, horses, boulders and sheer drops. There are many unsealed roads which are fine if treated with care. Sadly many visitors come to grief on Iceland's roads not because driving is hard but because drivers have been foolish.

We took our own car to the east on the ferry from UK (no longer running sadly) to the east a few years back. We also had brief stops in Reykjavik en route to and from Greenland more recently. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/y8jdabx

doloressilva

Hi,

I strongly recommended Iceland! I spent there exciting time last sumer.
Blue lagoon is the best place in whole Iceland!
There is one famous company that offers day tours www.re.is but they are very expensive and you can´t stay in every place as long as you wish. I found car rental offering used car and that was much nicer way of traveling (http://www.iceland-car-rental.com/)
My kids loved zoo in Reykjavik and horse riding.
Here you can find all information about city http://www.visitreykjavik.is/

Have a nice trip!

annhig

well there's a surprise - doloressilva turns out to have made jsut one post - this one.

I can't imagine anyone thinking that the blue lagoon is the best place in Iceland...it's nice for an afternoon, but that's all.

Neal623

For those who have been to Iceland: I was reading and looking at unbelievable photos of the Rhyolite Mountains in Landmannalaugar. The colors seem unreal! Have any of you been here for a hike?

annhig

hi Neal,

I goggled and ended up on wiki at the following site -

http://www.isafold.de/sprengisandur96/galerie.htm

I see what you mean! the article suggests that there are various hiking trails in the area, at and around the highest mountain in Iceland, which is called Hekla. the article also suggests that taaking a horse-riding trip might be better than driving; one because horses can go where cars can't, and two because the roads are dodgy. [I can vouch for this]. also one sees a lot more than one could walking.

there are lots of companies offering horseriding for experienced riders and novices.

Amy

It's been way too long since I've been there (although it's been three times altogether) but here's a list for those Iceland fans...feel free to add to it, now that there are more of us!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-iceland.cfm

astein12

We did a fair amount of driving out Rt 26 to the hydro plant (actually drove almost to the end of the road). The road was fine and the scenery from the road was very nice.

That said, in the limited time of a typical vacation (2 weeks in our case), I'm not sure I'd spend the time again. There were other areas that held more interest.