Please tell me about Iceland!

Cameron Hewitt has a blog on Iceland here on the RS website, https://blog.ricksteves.com/cameron/2017/08/budget-tips-iceland/.

Both Fodors and Trip Advisor have extensive forums about Iceland.
Some day, this forum will have one too, but until then your best bet is to visit the other ones.

I am heading there for 4 days at the beginning of April...haven't firmed up the itinerary totally yet but here's our general plan.
Arrive Reykjavik on Saturday afternoon. Sleep in Reykjavik.
Sunday - explore Reykjavik and sleep there again.
Monday - drive/explore the Golden Circle. Sleep in Reykjavik.
Tuesday morning - drive to the area of Hella and check in to a remote farm stay I found near there. See one of the nearby waterfalls. Sleep at the farm. Northern lights if we're lucky!?
Wednesday - drive out from the farm stay and explore some of the southern ring road out towards Vik. See the iceberg lagoon, diamond beach, and maybe find a hot spring to sit in. More waterfalls? Drive back to Reykjavik and sleep near the airport.
Thursday - fly to London.
Of course, all of this hinges on decent weather. We'll see what it's going to be like and go with the flow if necessary. If it's icy or super snowy we won't rent a car but will hire a driver/guide.
Here are three online resources I've found so far but will be hunting more soon...
Guide to Iceland
Iceland Souty Coast Attractions
Secrets of the Ring Road
If you just type "Iceland Sightseeing" into google you will get a TON of ideas.

Rick Steves Iceland (the guidebook) will be out in March of 2018.

Google the Icelandic and Reykjavik visitor/ tourism websites..or stop at the visitor center in Reykjavik. They'll have all the info you 'll need. I used Lonely Planet as well. Iceland is one of the easiest countries to travel to, their tourist infrastructure is excellent. With only 3-4 days, plan on at least 1-2 just in Reykjavik and perhaps a day trip or two (there are lots of companies that can take you just about anywhere - I used Reykjavik Excursions).

Thanks! I did not realize Rick has an Iceland book coming out. I can wait for that. The blog is quite helpful and informative.

Nearly every aspect of Iceland is unusual.
The landscape is magnificent, the casual manner of national security is both refreshing and surprising, the costs of nearly everything is astonishing - you won't forget your visit - no matter how long it is.
A few suggestions - read the comments to Cameron's blog - there are some helpful remarks, there.
Use caution when driving in the countryside - there are sheep grazing everywhere - sometimes inches from the road.
I visited Iceland in late July of 2017 - four days total - not long enough. Two days in Reykjavik, one at Geyser and one near the Blue Lagoon. I rented a car at KEF (an airport constantly under reconstruction - not a memory of Iceland you will want), drove to Reykjavik, took a walking tour and stayed at a nice guesthouse.
Knowing what I know now about Iceland, I would have skipped Reykjavik all together - although it is certainly a nice place. Instead I would have focused my visit on what makes Iceland unique...and that is the countryside.
I like Anita's suggested plan in her post and I would have benefited from her suggestions. I would have traveled directly to the "Golden Circle", then south on the Ring Road thru Hella (be sure to wear your Portland Thorns shirt - or, if you want puffin poop on your rented vehicle - wear your Seattle Reign shirt), arranged to stay at Heimaey overnight, and continued east to Jokulsarlon prior to returning west. If I had more time, I would have encircled the island, but that's a lot of driving.

Plan to picnic when you can. Bring lots of money - you will need it, and watch the fuel gauge in your rented vehicle. Outside of town, filling stations are sparse - you will need a chip enhanced credit card.
Walking on ice and the volcanic landscape is rough on your boots.

Another thank you. Anita's and Blue's comments provide a good starting point. I am well aware of the cost issue, which is why it will be a short visit. We are most interested in the rural landscape, waterfalls, etc. so I will look into guesthouses.

And I would love to ride an Icelandic horse at some point.

Anita---wishing you good luck with the aurora.

Bring lots of money

I would take this figuratively, not literally. There's no need to have cash (or Icelandic Kroner) - Iceland is very credit card friendly. I don't remember even using an ATM when I went.

As for Reykjavik, I wouldn't skip it - it's a wonderful city. The rest of Iceland is wonderful, but there is a lot of life, great food, and culture in Reykjavik. Tons of interesting museums too.

It is expensive. I did not use an ATM. Credit cards were sufficient everywhere except where restrooms required a 100 Kr coin to enter. There were machines there that would convert US dollars or Euros

i think the "bring lots of money" statement was not to be taken literally. He was probabaly referring to the fact that Iceland is very expensive

What can you tell me about the food in Iceland ( apart from the fact that it is expensive!). We are happy eating seafood ( fish and shellfish) and chicken, but not lamb. What about vegetables and fruit?

Having been presented with oddities like puffin eggs ( too fishy tasting) and raw whale meat ( rejected without trying) while in Norway, I am a little worried about Iceland. . . .

The lobster is ridiculously good (and expensive). You'll see a lot of cod and other fish on the menu - Iceland is a huge cod exporter, similar to England. The veggies and fruit are mostly imported since they don't grow so easily on lava fields. Iceland has an abundance of fusion, modern and traditional food so no need to worry about any lack of variety (you'll even see Thai and Mexican restaurants which is a bit crazy for such a small country). It's expensive but very high quality. It's also worth trying the Icelandic yogurt which is called Skyrr since the taste is (likely) different from what you're used to.

Thanks, Agnes. Lobster sounds lovely. And I already like Icelandic yogurt; we can buy it here at Trader Joes. But maybe it is just "Icelandic style" and not imported.

Lola,
Yes, it does taste just like the TJ's brand (I think it's authentic)...I like it a lot.

I've been through Iceland a handful of times. My last time there was Sept. 2017. Yes, it's expensive. So expensive that, when I accidentally shrunk my wool sweater in a French laundromat, it was a better deal to spend 165 euros for a new sweater in Galleries Lafayette than wait and buy something in Iceland.

Bring lots of room on your credit card.

They don't call it yogurt in Iceland. They consider theirs to be different and unique, can't remember their name, essentially it fills the same niche as yogurt.

Lola...you mentioned a possible stay in a guesthouse in a rural area. On the suggestion of someone on another travel forum I booked a night at the Fagrabrekka Guesthouse out near Hella, southeast of Reykjavik. It's on a pretty horse farm and the buildings are classic Scandinavian modern design.