Iceland

The best time to go for the Northern Lights in Iceland is September and October. The weather and the roads should still be good then. We were in Iceland last June. We are in our late 60's so not youngsters. There is not a lot of walking required so it's an easy place to visit. We did the ring road around the entire island in 10 days. I wish we had had more time. Iceland is fabulous. We would love to go again. You can check out the blog I Heart Reykjavik which has a ton of good info on traveling around Iceland. PM if you have any more questions. I'd be glad to answer any questions if I can.

Iceland as other countries could be very demanding and exhausting or not. It all will depend on your activities there. Strenuous hiking or trekking through the interior of Iceland or driving around the island and easy walks around villages and little towns.
By the way Iceland is considered to be in Europe not beyond.

I agree with you Ilja. It can be as demanding and exhausting or relaxing as you make it. We did not find it exhausting. We drove to the main sites and had short walks from the parking lots to the various attractions.

Ilja - There is no specific category for Iceland in the travel forum so although Iceland is in Europe the only place to ask questions about traveling there is in the Beyond Europe forum category.

Mary - or General Europe rather than Beyond Europe.

Thanks everyone....I didn't notice the general Europe option, sorry! I am convinced (based on Mary's comments) we should put Iceland back on the bucket list. This fall we are going to Europe Europe :) Paris, Lyon, Dijon, and Barcelona. But I think fall 2018 we should try for Iceland.
Marcia

I was in Iceland last October. I am near 60.

The weather was cold and rainy so for the four nights I was there, no northern lights.

There are numerous bus tours around with the most popular being the one-day Golden Circle. There is a little walking on this tour but all was done on either paved, wooden or clear paths.

No need to be in great shape to see Iceland. Definitely put it on your bucket list. Just bring money. It's not cheap.

Marcia,

Unless your heart is set on seeing the northern lights, I would also suggest June as a wonderful time to visit Iceland. The weather is decent and you will see endless fields of purple lupine. We especially loved visiting Borgafjordur Eystri in the northeast and getting to see and photograph the puffins up close and personal. The landscape is so varied in Iceland. Snow capped mountains, ginormous waterfalls, thermal pools, geysers, fjords, small fishing villages, glaciers, an ice strewn black beach and icebergs, sod roofed houses. And the people are the nicest you will meet anywhere. I could go on and on. If you enjoy photography, this is the place to go. We got a package from Icelandair which included the hotels, breakfast, rental car and insurance, gps, transfer to and from the airport. The itinerary was a bit rushed and we didn't see it all but we know we want to go back. Be prepared, however, as restaurants are very expensive. It was the one comment I heard from all the other tourists there.

Thanks for your advice, Mary. I may pm you when it's time for us to make a decision for our 2018 travel plans. I get that trying to see the Northern Lights is a crap shoot so we'll have to take that into consideration. Plus living in Phoenix makes a visit to Iceland in June very tempting :)

I'll be glad to help, Marcia.