Iceland - Golden Circle Tour and Blue Lagoon

[chives]

A group of us (around 8 people) will be on a cruise in July that takes us to Isafjordur and Reykjavik, Iceland. We are fortunate to have nearly 2 days in Reykjavic in that we arrive at 8 am and leave at 5:00 pm the next day. We want to do the Golden Circle Tour, the Blue Lagoon and see the City sights. Trying to decide which day to do what. It seems that the Golden Circle tour takes around 8 hours, so I believe we would need to do that tour the first day. Since we leave at 5:00 the second day, will we have enough time to do the Blue Lagoon and see the city? How long do people usually stay at the Blue Lagoon? Any suggestions for tour operators for these sights would be appreciated.

[Nitemare]

Reykjavik is a cute city, but not much different from other cute Nordic cities, so don't feel a need to really see it. Going to the top of the cathedral is fun, but you can "see" Reykjavik fairly well in 2-3 hours. If you want to shop you can spend much longer. But if Blue Lagoon is a must do, then take time away from the city, not from the natural wonders of Iceland

[hallasm]

As by Nitemare only few hours for Reykjavik. You can do Reykjavik and Blue lagoon in one day and then you will need a full day for the Golden Circle.

Blue Lagoon as well as the Golden Circle with the Geysers and Gullfoss waterfall is a must. Easiest for Blue Lagoon and Golden Circle its a rental car. Easy to drive.

 

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[ljandgb]

If you want to avoid the crowds, consider a south coast tour instead. It is as spectacular as the Golden Circle, but doesn't yet have the "must do" status that the GC has. I'm fairly certain the GC "must do" is partially because it's shorter and easier to see from Reykjavik. That time of year is high tourist season and you have a good chance of being in a long line of tourists shuffling past the sights. Part of the beauty of Iceland is it's isolation, which is lost with so many people.

 

We used Goecco tours, in a large van with 8 of us. We saw several 'famous" water falls (sorry, can't begin to spell them), stopped to feed the icelandic horses, saw the popular downed airplane, went to the basalt columns and black sand beach in Vik, then went looking to see puffins. We also stopped at the Icewear factory (their local wool clothing brand), which was indeed better prices than in town. There was an option for an off the beaten path geothermal pool, but we had to pass to get back in time to Reykjavik for Viking portraits. You'd have enough daylight in July to pack all that in, easily.

 

I agree Reykjavik has not much to do, at least for prolonged periods of time. It is a nice city, but doesn't require all day.

 

You could easily do the Blue Lagoon the next day. I've heard 2-3 hours is good enough, though it is a 50 min drive from Reykjavik, so add that time in.

[Wrightwoodsbest]

A group of us (around 8 people) will be on a cruise in July that takes us to Isafjordur and Reykjavik, Iceland. We are fortunate to have nearly 2 days in Reykjavic in that we arrive at 8 am and leave at 5:00 pm the next day. We want to do the Golden Circle Tour, the Blue Lagoon and see the City sights. Trying to decide which day to do what. It seems that the Golden Circle tour takes around 8 hours, so I believe we would need to do that tour the first day. Since we leave at 5:00 the second day, will we have enough time to do the Blue Lagoon and see the city? How long do people usually stay at the Blue Lagoon? Any suggestions for tour operators for these sights would be appreciated.

 

We, husband and I, are doing the Blue Lagoon on the 1st day in Iceland. Have been there before so just plan to see the city by foot the second day. If you go to http://www.grayline.is you will find transportation to Blue Lagoon. Buses will pick you up at the pier, take you to the Lagoon and return you to the pier. Cost for transportation is 26 euro, then buy entrance tickets to the Lagoon at 50 euro each. I believe you can also buy a combination ticket at grayline web site for the bus and the entrance. We plan to spend a good part of the day there but you can do it in 2 hours, very relaxing.

[vplsh]

We booked a 1/2 day tour to the Golden Circle with Iceland Luxury Tours to pick us up at KEF and drop us at our hotel in Reykjavik when we are done. It's rather expensive, but we figured it was worth it since we are flying overnight and arriving in Iceland at 6:30AM.

Do you think doing it ourselves with a rental car is a better idea?

[Talent312]

Blue Lagoon opens at 9AM in May; 8AM in June. We booked a direct AM visit to Blue Lagoon from the airport with delivery to our hotel after lunch via Rek-Excursions. The next day, we'll do the Golden Circle via GeoIceland -- small groups, not much more $$ than Grayline.

 

I'd think that in the OP's situation, reversing the dates would be doable.

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[chives]

Thank for all of your input. I will check with the group and see what they want to do.

[Nitemare]

Advance reservations are now required at Blue Lagoon.

 

We do everything on our own, but we are very glad we had a tour guide for the Golden Circle. Although we could have seen all the sites by ourselves, we learned SO much more from our guide that we think it made the difference between liking Iceland and falling in love with Iceland so much that we're returning for our 4th visit this summer

[vplsh]

Advance reservations are now required at Blue Lagoon.

 

We do everything on our own, but we are very glad we had a tour guide for the Golden Circle. Although we could have seen all the sites by ourselves, we learned SO much more from our guide that we think it made the difference between liking Iceland and falling in love with Iceland so much that we're returning for our 4th visit this summer

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That's about what my husband was thinking as well. I hope we are working things in the right order- going on the Golden Circle tour, then on the Reykjavik and heading to the Blue Lagoon prior to the airport the next day. Guess we'll find out and have to go back if we need more time!