Let's talk about Iceland!!
 

I am currently in the planning stages of a two week trip this upcoming August to Iceland. We plan on spending a couple of days in Rejkavik and driving the ring road the rest of the time.

We love the outdoors and are looking for some adventure type things to do. I have some guide books, but we are looking for things that may not be listed

I am also looking for accomodation suggestions all around the ring road as well.

We have a good amount of time, so we want to be sure to see and do as much as possible. Thanks in advance for any and all ideas!

DKW

click on my name and you'll find a really long trip report.....

If you are traveling the Ring Road, you should definitely consider some farmstays (www.farmholidays.is). We very much enjoyed staying with several Icelandic families, and felt that we gained a much better understanding of the country by talking to them.

In terms of adventure, I'd highly recommend taking a snowmobile trip on one of the big glaciers. Also, consider visiting the Westmann Islands, which have great birds and active volcanoes. You will also want to take a 4x4 tour of the interior highlands.

my sister-in-law recently returned from Iceland and you'd think it was the greatest spot in the world. is it just a coincidence or is everybody now talking about Iceland? it's starting to arouse my curiosity. her pictures are amazing.

Thanks for the info!!

Alf, can you suggest any particular farms that you stayed at. I like the idea of the farmstays, but it looks as if they really range in the type of accomodations that are offered.

We will be snowmobiling for sure, one of our favorite sports! Is there a tour company you can suggest for snowmobiling. I've e-mailed one particular company 2 times asking about a full day excursion and haven't heard back. So I'm looking for other companies to contact.

I am now looking into the Westmann Islands and a trip into the highlands. Thanks for those additional suggestions!

Thanks in advance for anything you may have to add (or anyone else too!!)!

DKW

Earl30:
>is it just a coincidence or is everybody now talking about Iceland?<

I have to laugh at your comment above. I posted that message over 2 weeks ago and have said every day to myself...."doesn't anybody want to talk about Iceland?"

Thanks for the chuckle!!

Well, I always like to talk about Iceland, although right now Peru (past) and China (future) are my main focus...

Anyway, I'm afraid I can't help much with the driving/ farmstays (although do go horseback riding in one of the places) but I want to be sure to recommend Thorvald for hiking; it's quite gorgeous.

Iceland does seem to be a much more popular tourist destination than when I first visited (ulp--nine years ago now!) but, of course, most of the terrific things continue to be the same.

If you haven't seen this thread http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...tid=1278237(it doesn't come up in a regular search) you might want to check it out to get a few ideas for the South/Southeast. A three day excursion into Eastern Greenland should fit in nicely for you too; you can leave right from downtown Reykjavik.

Happy trails!

We snowmobiled across the Mýrdalsjökull, a glacier along the south coast road, just north of Vik. We went with Arcanum (www.snow.is), and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Here are some photos I took: http://mysite.verizon.net/res1dm2h/index_2.html

We took a 'SuperJeep' tour of the Highlands, with Mountain Explorer Adventures (www.mountain.is). We also took a couple of trips with Oli Schramm, who runs Highlander Adventures (www.highlander.is). I cannot recommend Oli highly enough - he can custom-tailor a trip to wherever you want to go.

I don't think you can go wrong staying at just about any of the farmstay locations, all of which are friendly B & B -style accomodations. We purchased a Icelandic Farm Holidays 'Open Voucher', which let us access any of the properties on short notice (we did not want to be bound by a set itinerary. We particularly enjoyed our stays at Vopnafjörður (#490), Svarfaðardalur (#372), and Ísafjarðardjúp (#190).

We also stayed at several Edda hotels (www.hoteledda.is), which are reasonably-priced hotels that are commonly only open in the summertime, as many of them are located in school dormitories. We particularly liked our stays in Ísafjörður, Neskaupstaður, and Húnavellir.

Thanks for the good info!!

Amy - I am now thinking about Greenland as well. When will I be that close again??

Alf - Thanks for all the details on your adventure. I especially enjoyed the pictures!! What a surreal terrain!! I am looking into all your great suggestions.

DKW

ALF,

Loved your pics - just wish I could figure out where each one was taken!

We are doing a couple days stop-over in Iceland on our way to Germany in early June.

Any itinery ideas?

DeeDee

ttt

Here's where the pix were taken:
1-8; Reykjavik
9-10; Kerið volcanic crater
11-21; Gullfoss waterfall
22; Geysir
23-27; Þingvellir Natnl Park
28-33; Seljalandsfoss waterfall
34-38; Skógafoss waterfall
39-49; Mýrdalsjökull glacier
50-55; Beaches near Vik
56-66; Blue Lagoon & surrounds
67-73; Reykjanes Peninsula
74-84; Flying over Greenland

If you are stopping over for a day or two, you should definitely do the 'Golden Circle', which includes Gulfoss, Geysir, and Þingvellir. If you are at all adventurous, you can hire a car and do this trip on your own, with a guidebook. Otherwise, you can book a tour with several companies. I recommended Highlander (see above), or there are larger companies with big buses, such as Reykjavik Excursions (www.re.is). Another fine daylong tour would be to go along the South Coast. On our last day, we took the Reykjavik Excursions tour of the Reykjanes Peninsula and the Blue Lagoon. The advantage of this tour is that it drops you at the airport at the right time to catch most flights out.

Al F.

Thanks, ALF, for taking the time to describe your delightful pics. I'm looking forward to revisiting them with your descriptions.

Am curious what you mean by "adventurous" in terms of doing the "Golden Circle" with a rental car and guidebook. Is it difficult finding your way? We have one full day, and 2 partial days only. We certainly don't want to waste time, given this terrific opportunity to briefly explore Iceland. Do you think we'd do better with a tour? Do the tours allow enough time to see everything?

Thanks again for the great pics!

You do not need to be very adventurous - roads are well-paved and well-marked, and there are several good guidebooks. If there are only two of you, it may or may not be economical to hire a car, as opposed to going on a tour. We have both driven and toured the 'Golden Circle' destinations - there are obvious pros and cons. Tour guides tend to be very knowledgeable and informative, beyond the content of guidebooks. On the other hand, I don't like being crammed into a bus with a bunch of other tourists who only tend to reinforce my fears of being perceived as an, 'Ugly American'. Furthermore, tours end up taking you places for a short time, where you might want to linger. I could have spent at least another couple of hours at Geysir, but the bus had to move on. Conversely, tour buses stop where you might wish to quickly move on. Most of the big bus Golden Circle tours stop at, 'Eden', a geothermally-heated greenhouse complex, which, while mildly interesting in itself, has the primary purpose of selling knicknacks to tourists.

I think that the best answer is to take a tour with a small-time operator. We put together a South Coast tour with Highlander, and had a great time. The only problem there is that it was only economical if we put together a group of 6-ish people. Otherwise, the cost would have been prohibitive.

We also took the Reykjavik big-bus tour of the Blue Lagoon and Reykjanes Peninsula; this was fine, and as noted in a previous post, was very time-efficient, as we ended up at Keflavik an hour before our plane left.

If time is short, a bus tour of Reykjavik might be a good idea too. We did that, and saw several museums and sites that we would probably never have even noticed.

Al

Alf,

Another big thank you for identifying your fabulous photos. Now I'm curious about the pics over Greenland. Did you take a particular excursion, or did the flight to or from Iceland pass over Greenland?

DKW

This was merely the commercial flight from Keflavik to NYC. I am actually amazed at the quality of those photos, as I have rarely had good success shooting out of commercial jet windows.

I want to read Elizabeth S' report, but can't seem to get it despite clicking on her name. Can anyone help please?
Lyndy

Hi Lyndy,

I just topped the thread you were asking about. It is a great thread with tons of good information about Iceland.

Hope this helps!

Whoops....I topped the wrong post. I have now topped Elizabeth's post as well.

If you're traveling the ring road, don't miss Seydisfjordur in the East fjords. Charming little town! There is a very nice hike into a hanging valley that begins at an old decaying tin shack just north of the youth hostel. (There are markers for the trail, can't remember if they were yellow or orange.) When you descend into Seydisfjordur, take a left where the road "t's", the hostel will be on your right, the shack will be a little further on your left.

Another favorite was Hindisvik, at the northern tip of the Vatnsnes Peninsula. Gorgeous, isolated spot to watch the seals. The Osar youth hostel is a very charming old farmhouse with an excellent host. Tell him Kathy from Michigan sent you!

Iceland is fantastic! have a great trip!

Kay in Michigan