Independent Excursions in Reykjavik

[czrunner]

 

We plan to spend two nights in Reykjavik before boarding a Viking ship for their Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes cruise, visiting Iceland and Norway.  We will land at Reykjavik in the morning of July 16, 2022, and after boarding on July 18, the ship will stay in the harbor for one day before sailing off.

Originally, we planned to rent a car, but the cost for two days is almost $1,000, so we are now considering independent tours from Reykjavik.  I have booked Eric the Red Guesthouse for two nights, mainly because it’s centrally located, near the Hallgrímskirkja Church.

Our priorities are the following two tours out of Reykjavik: The South Coast and the Golden Circle.  We are thinking about doing a longer tour (probably the South Coast) on Sunday, July 17, our first full day in Reykjavik.  I found a shorter half day Golden Circle tour (starting at 12 noon), which we could take perhaps the day we fly in or right after boarding the ship on Monday.  These tours are offered by Your Day Tours.  Does anybody have experience with this travel agency?  Saga’s offers in Reykjavik are limited.  What are the advantages/disadvantages of booking the tour(s) with Viator?

Another option would be to take a Viking excursion, but we don’t know yet what Viking will offer.  We plan to skip the Blue Lagoon in favor of a less touristy small hot spring somewhere else.  We appreciate any suggestions.

[ljandgb]

You can look on TripAdvisor for reviews of different operators.  Saga, I know, is well thought of.  Definitely don't book thru Viator.  If there is an issue, you will not have anyone to contact as they are just a middle man.  Always book direct thru the tour company.  Also know that in Iceland, the pickup time is often the latest they show.  You should be prepared up to 30 minutes early.  Definitely confirm THAT when you schedule.

 

We did a food walking tour of Reykjavik which was really good, and kept us upright and moving that first day!

[Nitemare]

Double check those car prices.  Rentals are expensive everywhere, especially in Iceland, but midsize vehicles should be available for under $200/day.

 

Troll is a highly recommended provider, I agree with the prior post to avoid all third parties for tour booking, especially in a place where weather can come up any time and you don't want a third party involved in your communication to slow things down.

 

I'd recommend an overnight South Coast tour if you do go the tour route, to get all the way to Jokulsarlon.  Let the tour agency book you lodging along the South Coast and don't spend too much time in Iceland in the city

[thehowlingroad]

Iceland Everywhere has a Golden Circle tour as well. Many of the folks on my Iceland roll call are booked with either IET or Saga for most of our Iceland ports.

[Nancy&Frank]

We are also cruising in July.  We have 4 different tours going with Your Day Tours. They come highly recommended from someone who has been to Iceland several times and used them exclusively.

[MAVIP]

On 5/27/2022 at 8:24 AM, Nancy&Frank said:

We are also cruising in July.  We have 4 different tours going with Your Day Tours. They come highly recommended from someone who has been to Iceland several times and used them exclusively.

Thank you very much. I sent an email to IG tours about 3 excursions in Iceland and did not receive a reply yet. I will check Your Day Tours immediately. 🙂

[ljandgb]

Regarding contacting Icelandic tour companies, I've seen it multiple times on TripAdvisor where it's recommended you contact them via Facebook, FWIW.

[Choozin Croozin]

After reading on here about IET and Saga tours, I contacted them for September 2023 and got a response back from both of the them in less them in 24hrs.

[mpk]

On 4/27/2022 at 4:45 AM, Nitemare said:

Double check those car prices.  Rentals are expensive everywhere, especially in Iceland, but midsize vehicles should be available for under $200/day.

 

I've read scary reviews for the various rental car agencies.  Mostly having to do with being charged for damage one did not do.  To be fair, I've read the same sad stories for renting cars and scooters on Santorini too.

 

Maybe it comes with the territory.  I have a premium credit card that acts as primary car insurance even internationally.  If I summon enough courage to rent in Iceland (or Santorini), I'' probably instead buy the rental agency insurance to avoid the hassle.

[SimplyMarvie]

My understanding is that if you're renting in Iceland you need to insure every millimeter of that car, including windscreen and paint and undercarriage. The whole island is rocky and while some of the roads are gorgeous, others are basically dirt tracks. The statistic I read is that one in three rentals is returned with some sort of damage. 

 

When we were looking at rental car quotes for our Iceland ports, the car alone wasn't costly but insuring it (both to make sure we didn't have to pay and to avoid a 3-4 hour long return saga that would lead to us missing our boat) more than doubled the cost. We almost always rent cars and explore on our own but picked either excursions or public transport in Iceland.

[WisRiver]

Yes, there are scary stories about car rentals in Iceland.  On the other hand we rented a car from Enterprise for 20 days in August, 2021 and Cars Iceland/Blue Rental for two days in June, 2022.  While expensive (especially the two day rental) we had no issues with our experience or problems with damage to the car.  We did not drive on F roads, but several roads in the West Fjords and North Iceland were gravel.  We avoided the dirt tracks, and felt we missed nothing.   We picked up and dropped the cars in the city of Reykjavik did not have to return the cars at the airport.  We did stop to wash the cars before returning the vehicles at an outdoor car wash next to the gas station where we did the final fill-up.  

[FreestyleNovice]

15 hours ago, mpk said:

 

I've read scary reviews for the various rental car agencies.  Mostly having to do with being charged for damage one did not do.  To be fair, I've read the same sad stories for renting cars and scooters on Santorini too.

 

Maybe it comes with the territory.  I have a premium credit card that acts as primary car insurance even internationally.  If I summon enough courage to rent in Iceland (or Santorini), I'' probably instead buy the rental agency insurance to avoid the hassle.

 

Get any extra insurance for the car they offer you, what others said above is all true. And on top of that, they will warn you for wind gusts as they will damage your car doors in a second of inattention.

 

The roads are good to drive but with the growing tourism not everybody is used to driving in such conditions. Road grit/chippings occurs a lot and our brand new rental car (3000km when we got the keys) got hit by someone else's door on day #2 in a parking lot, big dent and scratch, hard not to notice it.. no note was left. Luckily we had all the extra insurance, so when returning it after some 1900km it was no problem.

 

Normally we decline on the extra's as we have card insurance and travel insurance but Iceland is a different story.  Don't let that get you, it's a beautiful island with lots and lots of sights to discover. 

[Nitemare]

There are lots of bad rental car agencies in Iceland.

 

There are also a few very good ones.

 

Yes, you should fully document the condition of the vehicle, inside and outside, when you pick it up.  Video or lots of photos.  And if you can do it again when you drop it off, do so.

 

We get some of the insurances, but we definitely don't get them all, and we've done 4 driving vacations covering 29 days in Iceland with zero issues.  But we drive cautiously on dirt and gravel roads keeping a substantial distance away from other cars so rocks don't fly up and hit us.  And we are VERY careful opening car doors on windy days as we've seen doors fly off of other people's cars.

[ColdCruise]

Been to Iceland 7 times, rented vehicles each time using mostly mainstream rental companies. We buy the extra insurances, the weather and road conditions are unique and it’s worth the extra cost to not have to deal with a claim after I’ve flown home.
 

 

I think vast majority of Icelandic people are honest but noticed last visit (a week ago) that there are a lot more non-Icelandic people working the auto rentals at KEF… hope that doesn’t bring issues with rental claims.