Hi, all,

pleas from DH and DS are causing a trip to Iceland to be considered for next summer.

we'll have about 12 days, possibly 14, and we'd like to see a good slice of the country, whilst not moving about too much - no one night stands.



we're used to driving abroad, so will self-drive. we'd like some walking, bird-watching, boat -rides etc.

Have we got time to see all the country, or should we concentrate on one/two areas?

any info/thoughts gratefully received.

regards, ann

Lucky you! I've long wanted to visit Iceland. I'll look forward to your trip report.

Ooo...this is one thread I'm going to pay close attention to!

Ann, would you consider pony trekking?

http://www.horsesnorth.com/

That's what I want to do. Icelandic horses are small and have a wonderfully smooth gait.

We did a similar trip in October. Arrived on a Wednesday AM and spent 13 nights. While I would have liked to have another day or two (or ten), it was a fair amount of time.

We drove the entire ring road with tons of side trips. There were one or two days that had long drives, but for the most part the driving wasn't excessive.

We basically had six locations of 2 nights each and one location where we just stayed a single night.

I'll try to get a trip report together (work has gotten the better of me), but if you have specific questions before that, just let me know.

I, too, want to see Iceland and will keep an eye on your thread. Will look forward to what you have arranged.

astein12: please do put a trip report together - thank you. Nancy

I'd love to go- as pp mentioned, Icelandic horses are amazing! A friend just came back- he went over Thanksgiving break and didn't get to see too much during the day- it was completely dark by 4 pm, but going in summer I'm sure you'll have much more time to explore. He was only in Reykjavik, but he seemed to think it was worth at least 4 nights.

hi, y'all, thanks for the interest.

I'l try to keep posting reglarly to run my ideas past you all - it's always useful to have others' thoguhts even when they are untempered by experience of the precise destination. [it never stops me having my two pen'oth!]

to fit in wth other commitments, I'm now looking at 11 nights/10 days, probably in July. flights from here in Cornwall are NOT simple - we could fly out of Newquay [our nearest airport, just 30 minutes drive] via Manchester to Rekyavik, leaving at 19.05 arriving there at 22.30. not brilliant, but OK.

coming back is much worse - leaving REK at 7.40 [am] we would travel via HTR and MAN, arriving back at NEW at 18.35. the alternative is a night [and day] in MAN. we'd need another holiday after that.

the good news is the cost - £364 pp round trip, including taxes. I've started a spread-sheet [as recommended here, thanks, guys] as I'm about to start exploring alterntive routes - via HTR and stanstead.

enzian - - I've sent exploratory e-mails to various tour companies, including one specialising in horse-riding tours, though that's not something we'd want to do much of, to be honest - we're not horsey at all, though we still have DD's donkeys, even though she's away at uni half the time but thanks for the link.

my next task, apart from flights, is to start working out where we want to stay. Rekyavik itself doesn't appeal that much; given the time available, the nights at each end of the trip would probably be enough.

astein - with our other 9 nights, I was thinking about the south and west - are those areas you would recommend? if not, where? any good hotels/ accommodation? any "must sees"?

I know that trip reports can be a pain, but a few details of your itinerary and where you stayed, would be a real help!

Happy New year to you all,

regards, ann

Ann: Can't help but following with great interest.

astein12: looking forward to your report.

Sandy

I agree with your general direction... we only spent two nights in Reykjavik (the last 2) and found it enough. While it's a charming city, it's a city and a we went to Iceland for the outdoors stuff.

I agree with your south and west idea as well. While the eastern fjords are nice, it's a long drive. I'd probably go with something like:

- 2 nights for the Reykyanes penninsula and Golden circle.

- 2 nights for Skaftafell National park (and the sights on the way there... Vik, Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss).

- 2 nights on the Snaefellsnes Penninsula (you can do boat rides, whale watches from here).

- 1 night somewhere on the way to Lake Myvatn (Gauksmyri is a good halfway point).

- 2 nights at Lake Myvatn

- 2 nights in Reykjavik

That said, Lake Myvatn is a bit out of the way. We found it really nice with the craters, hot pools, lava formations, etc. Also, we loved the Myvatn Nature Baths (as opposed to going to the Blue Lagoon). If you decide not to go that far, part of the western fjords would be a good option. Or you could spend a bit more time in the southeast and go to glacial lagoon.

This probably doesn't leave time for Jokulsargljufur National Park. You probably only have time for two of the three of Lake Myvatn, Skaftafell and Jokulsarglufur, so picking two of the three is probably a first step.

I may not get the full trip report out... but here's the introduction:

--------------------------------------

The Trip: 2 weeks (actually 13 ½ days and 13 nights) in Iceland in October, 2007. Departing from JFK Airport, New York, NY, USA. Trip will be a self-drive with stays at small hotels, guesthouses and farmstays.

The Travelers: My wife Val and I. We are reasonably seasoned travelers in our 40’s, pretty fit (lots of hiking and skiing), enjoy the outdoors and prefer independent travel. We’re veterans of similar trips to New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Belize, Alaska and about ½ of the European countries.

The Planning: All of the trip planning was done over the internet. Reservations for all of the lodging was made either directly thru the proprietor, through the IcelandAir website (for both airfare and two hotels), the Iceland Farmstay Association, or through Kemwel (car rental).

The Car: A 4-door hatchback, compact car with automatic transmission (my wife doesn’t drive stick and I prefer the automatic on unfamiliar terrain). We opted not to spend the additional money on a 4 wheel drive (even expecting some snow). We found the car (a little Citroen) to be perfect for the trip. Even with vast amounts of snow, mud, and very questionable roads at points, it was never an issue. We actually ended up helping to dig out an SUV that was buried in a snow bank (more about this later).

The Weather: We encountered everything from 55 degrees and sunny, to 25 degrees and snowing, to sleet, to rain, to 60mph winds… and sometimes all of the above within a 1 hour timeframe. If you are going to be outdoors, be prepared.

The Gear: While I’m a bit of a ‘gear hound’, I don’t set out to preach brands to people. I you’d like specific recommendations, please let me know… beyond that, I’ll try to keep it pretty generic (expect for a few critical items). As with all gear, if you don’t already own it, buy it early and break it in before the trip.

Clothing: The country is very informal. We were not at all out of place in hiking pants, trail runners, and a fleece in most decent restaurants. We went into one place where the only other party was in suits and the waiters were similarly dressed. We were in hiking boots and goretex. Nobody batted an eye and people were quite interested in our adventures. Definitely think function and not style. That said… pack in layers… a good baselayer and thick fleece covered with BOMBPROOF raingear (Me: Marmot Oracle. Wife: My North Face Mountain Jacket). I’ll stress this… make sure you have good raingear. Between the wind and rain, anything cheap will prove to be just that… cheap! Also, take a decent winter hat, gloves, and sunglasses.

Shoes: If you plan to hike, take real hiking boots. While you may get by on sneakers or trail runners, there is a lot of mud, lava rocks, stream crossings, etc., where boots make life a lot easier (Me: Asolo Longitude GTX. Wife: Dunham Green Mountain WP).

Cameras: We took a couple of small point and shoot digitals (one Olympus, one Fuji), my Nikon D100 DSLR (with several lenses), lots of memory and a battery powered backup drive. One caution, cameras get wet in Iceland. Make sure yours is well sealed or invest in some kind of waterproof housing or bag.

Other stuff: We took an ETrex Legend GPS (seems to work OK at least for measuring distance) and a TMobile cellphone activated internationally (worked in a few areas, but not most. If you need to be in touch or are nervous when out in the wilderness, rent a phone in Iceland). Other required items: Swiss army knife (with corkscrew), lots of Ziploc bags, small backpack (with hydration bladder or water bottles).

The Basic Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive. Explore Reykanes Peninsula. Stay in Hella.
Day 2: Golden Circle. Stay in Hella.
Day 3: Drive to Kirkjubaejarklaustur via Vik, Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, etc. Stay in Kirkjubaejarklaustur.
Day 4: Skaftafell National Park. Stay in Kirkjubaejarklaustur.
Day 5: Drive to Egilsstadir via Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, Hofn and eastern Fjord. Stay in Egilsstadir.
Day 6: Drive to Lake Myvatn via Jokulsargljufur National Park (Dettifoss, Canyon). Stay in Vogar.
Day 7: Lake Myvatn including Myvatn Nature Baths. Stay in Vogar.
Day 8: Drive Gauksmyri via Akureryi and Godafoss. Stay in Gauksmyri.
Day 9: Explore Vatnsnes peninsula. Stay in Gauksmyri.
Day 10: Drive to Borgarnes via Stykkisholmur and Eldborg Crater. Stay in Borgarnes.
Day 11: Explore Snaefellsnes Peninsula including Snaefellsjokull National Park. Stay in Borgarnes.
Day 12: Drive to Reykjavik. Explore Reykjavik. Stay in Reykjavik.
Day 13: Explore Reykjavik. Stay in Reykjavik.
Day 14: Explore Reykjavik. Depart for USA.

More to come…

Hi again,

astein, that's terrific -thanks so much for the ideas and for posting your itinerary. i look forward to more to come.

here is where we are so far - after a torrid time on the net trying to sort out flights, [see my other thread] DH played a blinder last night and came up with flights from Newquay [our preferred starting point as it's so close to home] via Stanstead that work out at £257 each, return.



that's a saving of about £100 pp on what I'd found and the timings are much better too, getting us to Iceland in the early afternoon rather than midnight! there's a bit of a lay-over at Stanstead on the way back, but we'll be home by 6pm so that's good news too.

AND our wonderful housesitter has confirmed that the dates are OK for her.

AND DD has graciously deigned to accompany us on the trip. so there'll be 4 of us, me and DH, plus DD [aged 20] and DS [aged 17]- effectively 4 adults, though you woudln't know it most of the time.

so here's what we have in mind, starting on Mon 28th July, and returning on Sat Aug 9th, giving us 12 nights:

3 nights in the south/south west

3 nights in the east

3 nights in the north

3 nights in/near Reykavik [the last night has to be nearby as we have a 7.50am flight out.]

is that a sensible start?

should we stay in Reykavik, or just nearby?

are we spreading ourselves too thin?

our kids are NOT keen on moving around too much, hence the 3 nights in each place. I have found the farmhouse web-site, but don't find it particularly helpful - I'd like to be able to select places with restaurants for example, as I don't fancy cooking, though i don't mind being in a cottage rather then hotel proper.

could you tell us where you stayed, and whether you would recommend it?

I'm waiting for a load of brochures to come through, but meantime i'd like a good map - with tourist attractions marked, for preference. Any suggestions?

again, many thanks to astein, and to other "listeners" too.

regards, ann

Happy to be of help... I do have the second page of our trip report done. It's basically a summary of our lodging. Hope it helps... if you need any more info, please let me know!

----------

Iceland Lodging Summary – Since many people are simply looking for lodging reservations, I thought I separate out this section to make it a bit easier. In Iceland, be prepared for small, but clean rooms with Ikea-type furnishings. Bathrooms are quite small, but with modern plumbing and most do not have a tub. There are really no large, modern hotels outside of the capital and the farmstays and guesthouses are not like the typical B&B’s found in other parts of the world. Most are purpose-built buildings that were added to farms to support the tourist industry. Most of the lodging was pretty affordable with rooms generally in the $125-150 per night range for two people including breakfast and an en-suite bathroom.

Overall, I’d have no qualms returning to any of the places where we stayed. That said, my two favorites were the Hotel Geirland and the Vogar Farmstay. Both had really nice atmosphere and a great host.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hotel Ranga (Hella) – Nice IcelandAir hotel in the south. Its location makes it a good first stop. We spent our first day exploring the Reykanes peninsula and ended it at the Ranga. The next day, it made a good base for driving the Golden Circle. The staff was very nice and quite helpful in planning our sightseeing. The rooms are small but very clean (a common theme in Iceland). They do have TV’s in the room and two guest computers with internet access. Breakfast is served in the restaurant and is very good. They provide a buffet with standard mix of fruit, veggies, bread, cereal, yogurt/sourmilk, etc. with the added items of a few varieties of pickled herring, some very good cheese, and a waffle iron for making your own waffles. We didn’t eat lunch or dinner at the restaurant. It looked to be quite nice, but pricey even by Iceland standards.

Hotel Geirland (Kirkjubaejarklaustur) – While called a hotel, this is a really a farm guesthouse in the south-central area. The town of Kirkjubaejarklaustur is small but has a couple of nice waterfalls and a nice trail that leads up the cliff behind the town. It was a good stopping point on the way from Hella and Vik. We liked it as a base for going to Skaftafell NP, but it may be a bit far away for some. Lodging consists of a number of purpose-built buildings on a farm in a beautiful location at the base of some cliffs just outside of town. The rooms are very nice, decent in size and very clean. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Breakfast was very good with the standard mix, the fresh breads and hardboiled eggs being the standout items. The onsite restaurant was excellent and we ate dinner there twice. The arctic char was especially good.

Guesthouse Egilsstöðum (Egilsstadir) – This is a large, centrally located guesthouse in a nice lakefront location. It’s very convenient to town and the ring road and makes a good stop when coming from the eastern fjords. This was the only location that be booked through Iceland Farm Holidays (we had trouble with emails directly from the hotel). Rooms are quite cute (more country feeling as opposed to the modern décor in most other hotels) with TV’s and coffee/tea facilities. There is also a guest PC with internet access. Breakfast was very good with better than average variety plus some hot egg and potato dishes. The staff was very helpful and called ahead to check out some of the road conditions for our sightseeing.

Vogar Farmstay (Vogar, Lake Myvatn) – This farmstay consists series of ‘motel’-style log buildings in a convenient location just off the road around the eastern side of the lake (not lakeside). The rooms are nice sized with a nice log cabin feel and are very clean and cozy. Breakfast is served at the Cowshed Café across the road. It’s basically a little café that’s part of the milking shed for the dairy farm. It has a neat atmosphere and the owner is really nice (introducing us to her favorite calves). The breakfast spread was excellent with the standard fare plus brown bread that was baked in the lava fields, smoked lamb and great smoked trout (which is smoked with sheep dung instead of wood).

Gauksmyri Lodge (Gauksmyri/Hvammstangi) – Lodging consists of rooms in a single large building on a horse farm just off of the ring road. It’s a good midway point between Lake Myvatn and areas closer to Reykjavik. It’s a nice spot for tours of the Vatnsnes peninsula and also appears to be a good location if you want to try out horseback riding. Rooms were again nice and clean. We had a few minor issues because the owners were away on vacation and the remaining staff spoke no English and weren’t quite aware of our reservation (plus, we were the only guests). This was resolved fairly quickly. Breakfast was good with the standard variety and good fresh breads.

Hotel Hella (Borgarnes) – Another IcelandAir hotel in a nice location for exploring the Snaefellsnes Peninsula (although some might like to be further out on the peninsula). Very clean with nice rooms with TV’s. It’s also on a golf course. This is somewhat of a ‘business’ hotel and holds meetings and small conventions, so there may be some large groups. It didn’t really present a problem, but just something to be aware of. There are TV’s and coffee/tea service in the rooms. Breakfast was very good with a good variety including some excellent pastries.

Sunna Guesthouse (Reykjavik) – A nice guesthouse right across for the big church and sculpture garden in Rejkavik. It’s a very clean and simple guesthouse in a nice location with offstreet parking. The owner is very nice and quite helpful with suggestions. She also went out of our way to buy a new supply of tea for my wife (they had run out of her favorite variety). There are TV”s in the rooms (limited channels) and a guest PC with internet access. The kitchen is also available for use by guests. Breakfast is very good with a nice variety. Expect lots of other travelers, so the breakfast room can be a bit lively and somewhat crowded.

Just a correction: It's the Hotel Hamar in Borgarnes... not the Hella. Sorry about that...

hi astein,

that's so helpful - thanks for posting, especially as you say the accommodation information, though
i woudl be interested in places/acitivities that you most enjoyed too!

I'm a bit horrified by thecost of lodging and food, and DH had a fit when i mentioned that car hire was going to be about £1000 for 11 days. [yes, folks, that's U$ 2000!!]

can you remember who you rented your car through?

of course, there are 4 of us travelling so it's bound to bump up costs. I've downloaded the info from the farmholidays people, and we're looking at guest houses/ cabins with restaurants near-by - I'M NOT COOKING!

thanks again,

regards, ann

I'll try to get the rest of the trip report done with the best of our sightseeing highlighted. As a starting point, we did a lot of hiking and really enjoyed the three national parks. We didn't do a ton of planning around the sightseeing... much of the time we just did some reading the night before and looked out for interesting signs along the roads (there are signs pointing to most points of interest and many are not in any book).

As for the car, we rented through Kemwel. We use them frequently. They are basically a consolidator/wholesaler for other rental agencies. They'll also beat any quote that you get (even after you've made your reservation, just call them if you see a better rate and they'll beat it). We paid $910 for a compact 4/5 door automatic with all insurance (they thru in the insurance... I didn't really need it) for 14 days. They can be reached at 1-800-678-0678 or kemwel.com.

Hi astein,

thanks again. I've put our dates into Kemwel's search engine and it comes out significantly cheaper than others I've looked at.

I've also looked at a number of the hotels/guesthouses you mention, all of which look good.

to judge by the hotel prices, i think that we'll be going the guest-house/log cabin route. did you see any of these cabins on your travels?

regards, ann

We didn't really look into the cabin route, so I can't help you there. Prices are definitely a bit cheap if you go with places without en-suite baths as well (wasn't an option for us).

If you do find anything interesting, let me know and I'll see if they ring any bells or we're familiar with the area.

Another big money saver for us was picnic lunches. We basically bought a couple of bottle of wine (very cheap at the airport and not too bad at local wine stores) and beer (cheap at gas stations and super markets) along with some local cheese (cheap and good), smoked fish (also cheap and good), bread and pastry at the local bakery (cheap and good) and fruit (apples and grapes mostly (expensive but good). We also brought some peanut butter and granola bars from home. Basically, lunch each day cost less than $5 and we got to enjoy it looking out at whatever scenery we happened to encounter. Plus, in many more remote locations, there aren't many (if any) places to eat anyway.

Hi again, astein,

it looks like we are losing a day from our dates, for tedious reasons which won't interest anyone, not even me.

so we now have 11 nights, leaving tuesday 29th July returning Sat aug 9th.

your tip about packed lunches is good; we don't normally have a lot of luck with eating like that at mid-day - DH dislikes picnics and DS dislikes anything preserved, like ham, salted fish, etc. but this time, we'll have to try harder, or eat bigger breakfasts. or both.

i have two itineraries in mind at the moment:

Day 1 - arrive - night in Reykjavik.

Day 2-4 - skallafelness peninsular. I'm looking at the Hotel Framnes at Grungarfjord on the north coast, which has Doubles for 13,900 per night, and a quad for 21,500. all rooms have baths and include breakfast. this works out at about £50 each for B & B is the most we really want to pay.

Day 5-7[this is where I'm not sure what to do]

EITHER - head up to the western fijords for 2 nights [there's a nice place out near the western tip called the Hotel Latrabjarg with prices similar to the above] and then spend one night near Gulfoss or husafell

OR - spend 3 nights near Gulfoss or husafell.

Day 7-10 - head south to the Vik or Hvolsvollar area.

Day 11 - head over to towards Keflavik for a last night at teh Northern lights hotel near the Blue lagoon, or similar.

we have more or less decided against trying to see more than the west and south, given the amounts to see even in those areas, and our kids' dislike of moving around too much.

also I expect they will want to be quite active, river rafting, snow-mobiling, etc., and we will want o be walking and bird-watching so we will need quite a few days when we are not having to travel too far.#

any thought about the above wil be gratefully received.

regards, ann

Glad your planning is progressing... I think you've got a good plan going.

I can't really comment on the western fjords since we didn't make it up there, but everything that I've read made the area seem very interesting.

That said, I like the idea of spending 3 or 4 days in the south... as you cut back from Snaefellsnes (assuming that there was a typo in your post and you didn't mean Skaftafell) you'd have a good opportunity to explore the Golden Circle (Gulfoss, Geysi, etc). Then once in the south, you'd have time for Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, etc...

Since this would itinerary would mean that you'd miss Myvatn, you could check out the hot pools, caves, etc. that are within driving distance of the Blue Lagoon/Northern Lights Inn.

BTW, there are a lot of good bakeries in Iceland (in fact, we didn't find a bad one)... but the best we found was in Stykkisholmur on the Snaefellsnes peninsula. They have some soups and sandwiches as well, but the baked goods were fantastic. We had some giant cinnamon and chocolate pastry kind of thing that was awesome.