If you circumnavigated Iceland on a Viking ship, did you end up wishing you had done a land-based trip instead?

[miami mama]

Jneil, certainly something to factor in. Of course, weather can shut down travel on the island itself, but probably less so in the summer. 

[SJD117]

15 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

I don't regret having cruised around the island.  First, DH prefers a break from driving  when on vacation, especially when we are overseas.  Pre-Covid, his job had him on the road 5 days a week and that was enough.  Second, we were happy to have our hotel come with us.  We like traveling without the packing and unpacking; it is less stressful. 

I see your points of course. In my case, however, I confess to being biased, having driven Iceland’s entire Ring Road twice over the last decade. The scenery on this route is non-stop spectacular. I can’t wait to drive it again!

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Not sure I can respond without naming the agency. Can I do a XYZ(dot)com sort of thing?

 

You can try posting a link.  If it is on the no-no list, the offending string of letters will be ****ed out and the link will be unusable.  Instant feedback. 

 

If you booked through Viator or any other day tour consolidator, I don't think it is a problem.  You are talking about day tour, not booking a cruise and flights.  

 

[duquephart]

Just now, Peregrina651 said:

 

You can try posting a link.  If it is on the no-no list, the offending string of letters will be ****ed out and the link will be unusable.  Instant feedback. 

 

If you booked through Viator or any other day tour consolidator, I don't think it is a problem.  You are talking about day tour, not booking a cruise and flights.  

 

 

She got back to me with contact info. Thanks for your help!

[LindaAndBillTravel]

Having just returned from the May 23rd Iceland/Greenland sailing on Saturn where 5 of 9 ports where cancelled, I would vote 100% for renting a car and driving the ring road. We had a car for a couple of days ahead of the cruise and found driving in Iceland to be very easy.

[miami mama]

I think we are pretty much settled on doing just that. Good to know you found the driving easy. Thanks.

[duquephart]

On 6/2/2023 at 1:04 PM, SJD117 said:

I see your points of course. In my case, however, I confess to being biased, having driven Iceland’s entire Ring Road twice over the last decade. The scenery on this route is non-stop spectacular. I can’t wait to drive it again!

 

The scenery is, indeed, for the most part "non-stop spectacular" with the proviso that you can't always see it well. Strong winds, driving rain, low clouds, fog, etc. impact visibility.

[Mich3554]

Not instead….in addition to.  

[longterm]

On 5/31/2023 at 2:22 PM, MarkTapley said:

Good advice to OP in the earlier replies.

 

We spent 7 or 8 days driving completely around the island before the Viking Sky cruise around the island in 2021.  The self-driving tour was amazing;  the cruise was great as well.  My advice is do both;  but if you only have time (or resources) to do one or the other, then drive.  On the cruise you will experience the “highlights” of Iceland;  if you drive, you will experience Iceland.

... which can be said of almost all cruises. Our thinking is that we do a cruise, and if we see a place compelling enough to want to see more, we return and do a self-guided trip (Venice comes to mind).

[rmalbers]

OP: There a lot of youtube videos on the ring road if you want to get a preview.  I've thought finding lodging might be a problem along the road but from the replies here I guess it is not.  

[SJD117]

7 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

OP: There a lot of youtube videos on the ring road if you want to get a preview.  I've thought finding lodging might be a problem along the road but from the replies here I guess it is not.  

I've driven Iceland's Ring Road twice. Lodging is absolutely not a problem if you plan ahead, especially at this busy time of year. The Fosshotel chain is a good place to start -- there are many others.

[rmalbers]

4 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

I've driven Iceland's Ring Road twice. Lodging is absolutely not a problem if you plan ahead, especially at this busy time of year. The Fosshotel chain is a good place to start -- there are many others.

Interesting, I'm in the camp where we are doing the cruise this summer and will go back and drive, if we want more. 

[SJD117]

1 minute ago, rmalbers said:

Interesting, I'm in the camp where we are doing the cruise this summer and will go back and drive, if we want more. 

You will want more. I guarantee it. (That's not a slight on the cruise itinerary -- it's simply my familiarity with Iceland as a whole, which is incredibly beautiful everywhere.)

[CCWineLover]

13 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

You will want more. I guarantee it. (That's not a slight on the cruise itinerary -- it's simply my familiarity with Iceland as a whole, which is incredibly beautiful everywhere.)

Absolutely right!

We just finished Iceland circumnavigation on Viking Saturn.  We new we would just get a "taste" of Iceland this way, but my goodness what a taste!  We enjoyed it so much that we will now be making plans to be back next year and go explore areas on our own!

[SJD117]

35 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Absolutely right!

We just finished Iceland circumnavigation on Viking Saturn.  We new we would just get a "taste" of Iceland this way, but my goodness what a taste!  We enjoyed it so much that we will now be making plans to be back next year and go explore areas on our own!

 

Great news, Kent! Please contact Linda or me if you have any questions about what to see along the Ring Road, where to stay, where to eat, etc. 

 

After our Bergen-Reykjavik cruise beginning next week, we're heading north to spend four days in Iceland's Snaefellsnes Peninsula and the southern part of the Westfjords. We haven't visited these parts of Iceland, so they'll be a good complement to what we've seen previously in the country. We'll report on these "new" areas when we get back.