Reykiovick, Iceland

Was your Iceland stop part of the lower airfare thing?

Last August, I spent one night in Reykjavik. I stayed at Hotel Fron on Laugavegur. The hotel was fine (basic, no frills) and the location was very convenient on a main shopping street and an easy walk to both the harbour and Hallgrims Church. Reykjavik is quite compact.

No, Kent it wasn't.
I know about that offer but we are not flying Iceland Air RT so do not qualify. We are starting our trip in Prague, then to Vienna, onto Amsterdam for a repeat visit ( renting a canal boat , fingers crossed) and then to Stockholm to attend our Granddaughter's graduation from International High School. Just figured we would visit this fascinating land. We have been in their airport and it is really cool. No pun intended. Airfare was reasonable but accommodations are a tad pricey as it is very near the summer solstice. We only live once.
Thanks for asking. You do a lot of contributing on this site. That is a good thing
Sheila

Thanks Laura. That sounds like the kind of place I ann looking for. I will check it out. Any ideas on food

Sheila

I was there less than 24 hours, so only ate at one place (breakfast at hotel and lunch the next day at airport). I had dinner at Icelandic Fish and Chips. This is a very casual place and relatively inexpensive for Iceland. The fish was super fresh and in a nice crispy spelt batter. It is in the Volcano House where the show a film. http://www.fishandchips.is

I used the flybus to get from airport to hotel and booked the option that included shuttle to hotel. I didn't arrive until around 4pm, so I basically walked around the town, went in some shops, had dinner, and went to the top of the Hallgrims Church where you get a 360 degree view of the city.

The next day, I went to the Blue Lagoon and soaked before going to the airport. It is definitely made for tourists, but I enjoyed it. It is a good thing to do on either the day you arrive or depart as it is close to the airport. I booked one of the packages that included pick up at hotel/Blue Lagoon/transfer to airport.

I'd like to go back sometime for a longer trip and go see some of the amazing scenery.

In 2011 my family (2 adults and 2 children) rented an apartment at Leifsgata 26, 101 Reykjavik. It is called LM Apartments, the website is http://lmapartments.com. The owner was extremely helpful. We did not rent a car, just used the bus from the airport to the central bus terminal. The apartment is under 15 minutes walking from there. The owner actually picked us up and drove us to the apartment.

One day we took a full day tour with Iceland Horizon: http://www.icelandhorizon.is. Another day we walked all over town. A third day we spent 1/2 day at Blue Lagoon and 1/2 day in town at the different museums. Another day we went to Videy Island, and the open air museum . For us, 4 days was good for essentially Reykjavic and the day tour. Buy the city sightseeing card...well worth it. Sorry if some of the links below do not work, they may have changed since 2011. Iceland is incredible and well worth spending at least a few days there. It is very unique from most other destinations.
On a different note, and for a different trip we took, we rented an entire houseboat in Amsterdam called Phildutch...http://www.phildutch.net This was amazing and I highly recommend it in case you are still looking.

Some of my research and websites I used were:
National Museum of Iceland (www.natmus.is) , Hallgrimer’s Church, Saga Museum (http://www.sagamuseum.is/enska/english.html) , Videy Island (http://www.visitreykjavik.is/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-17/12_view-68/) , Reykjavik City Museum (http://www.minjasafnreykjavikur.is/english/) , Reykjavik Tourist/Welcome Card (http://www.visitreykjavik.is/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10/12_view-85/) City Walks-map at Tourist Office, Horseback Riding (http://visitreykjavik.is/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-17/12_view-47/) , Zoo and Family Park (http://www.mu.is/in-english/) , Thermal Pools (http://visitreykjavik.is/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-17/12_view-51/)
Perlan Restaurant (www.perlan.is) www.BlueLagoon.com
Car Rentals

www.atak.is

(http://www.route1carrental.is/) (http://www.holdur.is/en/)(http://iceland.carrentals.is/) other option
Bus Transportation
http://www.netbus.is/en/home
www.Flybus.is R/T airport to Reykjavic
http://www.visitreykjavik.is/ for excellent tourist information

I spent three weeks in Iceland on business a few years back. I was there in the Fall (mid-October to early November), so my days were very, very short. That will not be a problem you will have to deal with in June. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. The huge Lutheran church (don't miss the view from the roof!), the Saturday morning covered market, and the spa are all great, but for me the real treat was the natural beauty of the island. I had a business colleague who was willing to drive me around to view the geysers , the national park, the waterfalls, etc. I suppose there are organized bus tours that will take you to these places, but if not, renting a car would be a viable option.

I did find the prices of lodging, food, and drink to be quite expensive ...

I travelled to Rekjavik solo a few years ago. I got a good deal on Hotel Leifur Ericcson, which was directly across the street from Halgrimskirkja (the giant Lutheran "rocket" church that cane seen from everywhere in the city.) The hotel met my needs, but I really liked being able to navigate just looking up and spotting the church. That said, Rekjavik is small and very easy to navigate. I walked everywhere in town (that's my travel stye). As for attractions, I enjoyed the National Museum and walked to the harbor to hop on a Puffin boat tour, as well as just using a guide book to walk around. I also used a tour company called Bustravel Iceland to take two day trips out of the city to some nature sites. Paradoxically, that company is both cheaper and uses mini busses, so I was with groups of no more than 15 (in early July), and spent less than some other companies I researched. Both guides I had were knowledgable and friendly, and as a shy person who normally avoids group activities, I loved listening to the driver/guide discuss history, politics, religion, science, etc, as we drove through the countryside. At one point, the weather kicked up and he decided to wait it out for 15 minutes before re-starting our trip so he read to us from a book of Icelandic sagas while the wind and rain lashed the bus. I had a great time.

One last thing--while you are assured lots of daylight, do not count on lots of sunshine. Iceland can be very rainy, and the weather changes quickly. Weather protection is a must!

We spent two weeks in Iceland a couple summers ago. How much you can do is entirely dependent on how long you're going to be able to stay. If you are only there for a few days, it will probably be easiest to base yourself in Reykjavik and make day trips out to various locations: Geysir, Vik, the Blue Lagoon, Þingvellir, Gullfoss, Skogarfoss, etc. These locations are relatively close together, so you could see several on a single day trip.

If you have more time, take the ring road (route 1) around the circumference of the country. Driving is easy in summer and it will allow you see all of the various landscapes that the country has to offer. There are a number of little towns on route 1, so it's pretty easy to go at your own pace and not feel that you have to rush to get to the next town. If you take the ring road, you should also include time at Svartifoss, Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, the eastern fjords, the Myvatn thermal baths (which I preferred over the Blue Lagoon), Godafoss, and Akureyri.

Regarding restaurants, there are a number to choose from in Reykjavik. My favorite was Sjávargrillið, but it is not for the budget traveller. Outside of Reykjavik, the restaurants are all quite good, especially considering the freshness of the fish. Fish and lamb are the two main local proteins, and you won't go wrong with either.

Can anyone give advice on the best time to go please?

Want to see the northern lights, golden circle and blue lagoon.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

The best times of year for the Golden Circle and Northern Lights don't coincide. You need the long periods of darkness in winter to raise the chances of a solar storm hitting the atmosphere at night. Conversely, touring the Golden Circle takes up the bulk of one day and you need sunlight to see it.

The time of year doesn't rally matter for the Blue Lagoon.

Because your chances of seeing the Northern Lights are low unless you budget for a very long stay, I'd go in the spring-summer and enjoy the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is always there, the Northern Lights appear unpredictably (well, somewhat predictable over the short term, at least).

Thank you very much for your reply. How many hours would I need to see the golden circle (daylight hours) and you say chances are slim to do northern lights and golden circle in one trip?

How many hours would I need to see the golden circle (daylight hours) and you say chances are slim to do northern lights and golden circle in one trip?

The bus tour I took of the Golden Circle lasted about 8 hours. I was there in May, and it never got completely dark, even though the sun dipped briefly below the horizon.

Understand the Northern Lights. They don't show up on schedule and to see them, you need the perfect combination of circumstances- a solar storm, dark skies, low ambient light, little to no cloud cover and wide open horizons. All of these factors have to line up and you have to be at the right place at the right time to see the lights. In the late spring-summer-early fall, there simply aren't enough hours of darkness to give you any more than a remote chance of a solar storm coinciding with the very brief periods of darkness available (not even considering that you need relatively cloudless skies and you usually need to be outside of the city).

In winter, Iceland sometimes has as little as 4 hours of sunlight. That raises the chances significantly that all the factors will align at some point. But of course, that's not nearly enough time to see the Golden Circle.

To compare, though... I spent one month in the interior of Alaska during the winter. Even in this much drier climate, I only saw the lights twice, and I had multiple failed attempts, even on nights that forecast a high probability.

I wouldn't plan a visit to Iceland specifically for the Northern Lights. Take it as an added bonus if you do see them, but don't count on it unless you book an extended stay in the winter.