23hr Overnight Itinerary in Reykjavik with my mom, looking to maximize. help pls.

[yoolykeme]

Hey there.  I'n trying to put together a 23hr itinerary for Iceland with my elderly mom.  She down to do stuff, just walks a little slow.  Would like to get as much experience in as possible.  What do you think about this itinerary?

 

We arrive at 2pm on Thursday and leave 1pm on Friday, so we maybe have 21 hours of usable time.  I'm thinking that I rent a car from Blue or whatever is local to the port, check in at a hotel downtown, spend a couple of hours at Sky Lagoon, drive around in whatever route makes sense to see stuff, have dinner and maaayyyyybe try to search for the northern lights that night, sleep.  Then the next morning just have coffee and do some shopping and get back to the boat around 11a.

 

Does this sound feasible?  Would you add or change anything?  Please and thanks.

[janetcbl]

2 hours ago, yoolykeme said:

Hey there.  I'n trying to put together a 23hr itinerary for Iceland with my elderly mom.  She down to do stuff, just walks a little slow.  Would like to get as much experience in as possible.  What do you think about this itinerary?

 

We arrive at 2pm on Thursday and leave 1pm on Friday, so we maybe have 21 hours of usable time.  I'm thinking that I rent a car from Blue or whatever is local to the port, check in at a hotel downtown, spend a couple of hours at Sky Lagoon, drive around in whatever route makes sense to see stuff, have dinner and maaayyyyybe try to search for the northern lights that night, sleep.  Then the next morning just have coffee and do some shopping and get back to the boat around 11a.

 

Does this sound feasible?  Would you add or change anything?  Please and thanks.

Unless you plan to be there in the winter, forget searching for the Northern Lights. Summer time is pretty much light 24hours/day.

[yoolykeme]

44 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Unless you plan to be there in the winter, forget searching for the Northern Lights. Summer time is pretty much light 24hours/day.

 

Oh, I'm going next week

[edinburgher]

7 hours ago, yoolykeme said:

I'm thinking that I rent a car from Blue or whatever is local to the port, check in at a hotel downtown, spend a couple of hours at Sky Lagoon, drive around in whatever route makes sense to see stuff, have dinner and maaayyyyybe try to search for the northern lights that night, sleep.

Have you  frequently flown on  longer haul flights heading west and are one of the rare folks who never suffered jetlag? And your mother?

 

If you have not, jetlag may come as an unwelcome surprise for either or both of you on your first 2 or 3 days, and for many, a casual unplanned day 1  is their choice, not a full-on busy day which even includes a rental to venture out of town to see "stuff". (even driving part of the Golden Circle will take a few hours) Perhaps you could  consider dropping some of your ideas, but keep the Sky Lagoon  which sounds like the perfect antidote to jetlag and enjoy strolling central Reykjavik which is quite compact, followed by dinner and an early night.

[yoolykeme]

5 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Have you  frequently flown on  longer haul flights heading west and are one of the rare folks who never suffered jetlag? And your mother?

 

If you have not, jetlag may come as an unwelcome surprise for either or both of you on your first 2 or 3 days, and for many, a casual unplanned day 1  is their choice, not a full-on busy day which even includes a rental to venture out of town to see "stuff". (even driving part of the Golden Circle will take a few hours) Perhaps you could  consider dropping some of your ideas, but keep the Sky Lagoon  which sounds like the perfect antidote to jetlag and enjoy strolling central Reykjavik which is quite compact, followed by dinner and an early night.

Oh, we are boarding a TA cruise out of NYC on Thursday.  I should have clarified.  We get to Reykjavik on Day 8 and have 23 hours in port.  I assume that we will be adjusted to time by then.

 

I agree that driving around to find stuff might be too aggressive.  Lunch on boat, Lagoon, drive around town to shop and dinner.  Mom can go to sleep, I can go find a nightclub.  Then in the morning, coffee and stroll then back to ship.

[edinburgher]

longer haul flights heading west and are one of the rare folks who never suffered jetlag?

 

Only realised my rather obvious  senior moment error hours later. The above should of course have read EAST not WEST.

[edinburgher]

4 hours ago, yoolykeme said:

I assume that we will be adjusted to time by then.

You probably will be , so tyour plan now makes more sense. Now you only need deep pockets for an onshore (?) dinner and nightclub. Enjoy.

[Fairwinds789]

For your time in the city, recommend a walking tour plus a visit to Culture House (selection of exhibits from major museum collections) or Settlement Museum.

[Nitemare]

To confirm, it's too late in the season for much chance of Northern Lights.  It just doesn't get dark enough long enough to see anything.

Checking out some Golden Circle sites or visiting the Reykjanes Peninsula would be my suggestions