Iceland advice please

We will be visiting Iceland on Silver cloud in early August with one full day (8am-6pm) each in Akureyri and Isafjordur and arriving in Reykjavik at 8am and departing at noon the following day. If possible, we would love to take our 18 year old daughter horse riding and dog sledding. We would also like to experience Blue Lagoon and to enjoy the pure beauty of the nature such as waterfalls and volcanic areas. Golden Circle tour (Reykjavik) may not be possible if we do the horseriding in Reykjavik and Blue lagoon. The ship offers a 7.5hour tour in Akureyri which includes visits to the waterfalls at Godafoss, stunning birdlife and active volcanic landscape of Lake Myvatn, the lava landscape of Dimmuborgir and the geothermal field of Namaskard. Would we be disappointed if we took this tour instead of the Golden Circle Tour in Reykjavik? It all looks stunning to us.

Without wishing to sound greedy, I would also appreciate any thoughts or advice re the other activities/places. Thanks

In the summer months there is a golden circle evening tour available, I went with Grayline but I'm sure other companies offer it.

In the same day I did the horseback riding and whale watching (with a trip past the puffin island) and the evening circle tour so it's all doable. You will have no trouble finding a place to ride, riding tours are a huge industry there.

Have fun!!

Not sure where you would go dogsled ding in Iceland in summer as there is no snow except on the glaciers.

The horseback riding is very doable though. We saw lots of places.

Iceland is beautiful and I don't think you have to do the entire golden circle tour. Pick what you have time for and enjoy,

Hi,

I spent a week In Iceland a month ago and in my opinion the Golden Circle tour is not necessary to you. The tour in Akureyri will give you exactly what you want to see.

Iceland is magical and the horses are lovely.

Would anyone know if there is luggage storage for a large suitcase at the Reyjklavik, Iceland airport? I am aware you can take your luggage to the Blue Lagoon and store it there, but what about at the Airport?

We stopped in Iceland while going transatlantic on the Crystal Serenity. Our two stops were Reykjavik and Heimaey. Originally we had signed up for the Blue Lagoon excursion but opted out when a private excursion was made available to us and got us out of the city and into the countryside. There were tours available on the pier at the information booth in Reykavik and I think you could easily take a taxi to the Blue Lagoon and spend less time than an excursion/tour would leaving time for the other things you want to do. But it sounds like you are making enough stops in Iceland that you'll get to do a lot more than we did. Enjoy. It is beautiful! My pictures are at my blog.

I too would love to know about storing luggage at the airport. Early flight out 3 days after arrival, so would need to retrieve bags early am. Does anyone know the cost. thanks very much

There are many interesting and beautiful places in Iceland the the Blue Lagoon is basically just a large pool filled w warm mineral water. If it wre me, I would skip it in facor of places that are uniquely Iceland.

Check out this site of some other pools

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g189970-i594-k3196673-Best_thermal_pool_in_reykjavik-Reykjavik.html

Also this one

http://www.swimminginiceland.com/reykjavik-and-capital-area

Finally, check out this site as it tells you some things that you may not have thought about

http://blog.icelandexpress.com/iceland/2006/11/24/reykjavik-swimming-pools-the-naked-truth/

You might also do a Google search on Thermal Pools Reykjavik.

DON

Don: Thanks for the information. We are leaving for Iceland in 2 weeks and are definitely now considering Laugardalslaug pool in lieu of the Blue Lagoon.

We're just back from 2 days in Iceland, and loved it to death!

Stayed in Reykjavik, near the main shopping street, and had a great dinner at Cucina Uno, down in the town square at the bottom of that street.

For our full day, we booked a Golden Circle tour with David of Iceland Horizons. 16 person van meant not having to wait for 50 people on a big bus, and much more flexibility depending on weather and crowds, not to mention spur of moment stops (petting the friendliest horses you've ever met!) and personal attention to all questions or other issues.

2nd day we booked the Blue Lagoon through our hotel, as it also gets you to the airport, and were very satisfied with the experience. I expect Disney will recreate it before long, but even if it isn't 100% natural, it's still very relaxing and a nice way to end a lengthy vacation.

We're just back from 2 days in Iceland, and loved it to death!

For our full day, we booked a Golden Circle tour with David of Iceland Horizons.

David is THE BEST :)

On our last visit to Rejkyavik, we hired a taxi at the dock to take us to the tourist office, and finished up keeping him all day to do a "not quite golden circle" tour - as we'd done golden circle before. We had personal service, avoided the crowds, and could stay as long as we wanted wherever we wanted. There were four of us in a Nissan people carrier, brand new, it cost about the same as a tour would have.

You're unlikely to find a language problem, Icelanders are very good English speakers.

On our last visit to Rejkyavik, we hired a taxi at the dock to take us to the tourist office, and finished up keeping him all day to do a "not quite golden circle" tour - as we'd done golden circle before. We had personal service, avoided the crowds, and could stay as long as we wanted wherever we wanted. There were four of us in a Nissan people carrier, brand new, it cost about the same as a tour would have.

 

You're unlikely to find a language problem, Icelanders are very good English speakers.

We flew in and out (this was after a 10 day Baltic cruise), so didn't get to the port. Taxi driver from airport spoke nearly zero English. Restaurants and shops in Reykjavik all spoke good English, although they seemed totally baffled by the concept of adding a "tip" to the restaurant bill.

Some of our pictures of Iceland: