Reykjavik overnight

[tedandandy]

We have an overnight stopover on our Holland America cruise in July this year and we thought we might like to perhaps do a tour around the Southern Coast.

 

Has anyone used a particular tour company or have any other suggestions on the best sights to see

Edited January 19, 2017 by tedandandy

[Traveling Library]

We did the Golden Circle tour with Iceland Guided Tours (look for igtours dot is) and enjoyed the day very much. Tour was in a minibus so we were a small group.

[Barrheadlass]

We did the Golden Circle tour with Iceland Guided Tours (look for igtours dot is) and enjoyed the day very much. Tour was in a minibus so we were a small group.

 

Ditto.

[wassup4565]

We rented a car, and that was ideal for us. However, we could not get a guaranteed automatic reservation, and sure enough, the car had a manual shift. It was not a problem for us, as one person of our group could drive a standard shift.

 

We got the car soon after we docked and spent the first day driving part of the Golden Circle. We judged correctly that trying to drive the whole loop was too much for one day. We did stop for the highlights and get out and walk (Thingamajiggie continental divide, geyser, big waterfall place). But at least as much value for us was going at our own pace. We had sheep jump into the road ahead, looked close up at another waterfall that had a great boardwalk, stopped in some pull-outs that let us gaze at the breathtaking landscapes). Went back and ate and slept on the ship.

 

Up early the next day, and took the road to the Blue Lagoon. Lingered and poked along on the way, seeing a very different landscape from the day before. Swanned around in the Blue Lagoon applying healing mucky stuff (not recommended if you must wear eyeglasses to see,

as they got completely smeared.) Spent as long as we wanted there, then drove the car slowly back to R., lollygagging all the way, parked it and had a walk around and a great lunch. Drove right back to the dock and turned the car in about an hour before sailaway.

 

The car was expensive, about $100 a day, but we were three people, so actually that was a very good value. We paid for the extra insurance for sand/wind and tire damage. In our case, we did not experience these things. Insurance is a crapshoot, right? The car was excellent, a new Toyota four-door, very peppy, capable car. We used not even one full tank of gas for all the driving.

 

The roads were in excellent repair (although we stuck to the paved ones - we heard the off-roads were probably not for us). Drivers are courteous and well-behaved, both in the city and in the landscape. There are many, many road signs in the local language, which uses a lot of letters and looks nothing like English. GPS does not work, as some of those letters are not like English. We had excellent paper maps, but the signs marking the roads often did not match up with anything marked on the map. We muddled through.

 

This was the best way for our group of three to spend the limited hours we had in Iceland. Iceland is very expensive, no surprise, as it is an island way far away from everywhere else. For about $250 all in including a tank of gas, we saw as much and squeezed in as much as we could in our short two days. By comparison, we spent $150 for lunch for three in R. It was delicious, and we each had one excellent local beer with the food. But it was in a pub, there were no tablecloths, and it sure wasn't fancy. The car was good value.

 

Have a wonderful time! See and do everything you can when you are Iceland, there is nowhere else like it.

[martincath]

We used the local Gray Line affiliate to do the Golden Circle day tour a few years back and also enjoyed it. Compare the packages offered though, as we did end up regretting doing the 'full day' vs 'half day' option - there was actually only a couple of hours difference and of the two extra sites one was among the most boring places I've ever been in my life (a dam, of which we got the see the gift shop, cafe, and so-called museum which took all of 5 minutes total - and then waited around for almost an hour).

 

Iceland is definitely pricey, but we found the relative value of eating was quite comparable to Vancouver if you ate fancy - fast food and pub grub was twice as much or more, but a nice bistro meal was only marginally more expensive and a tasting menu in one of the best restos in the city was certainly no more than we'd have paid for something similarly seasonal here.

 

While wine is all imported and a bit ka-ching, and liquor taxes are high, there's a good local brewing scene that makes for a not-too-overpriced experience.

 

I'd heartily recommend trying some of the local specialties - local lamb is very good, dairy products are also good (especially Skyr, the local yogurt) and it's a great place to eat several of the more obscure birds & animals (puffin is ridiculously good, fermented shark OTOH is very much an acquired taste... minke whale is also commonly available assuming it's not ethically problematic for you).