Hello all! It’s my 50th this year along with my best friend so we are going crazy thinking of all the things we could do. Iceland came up but we are kinda bad at thinking of all the things to consider when planning. We would be coming from the East Coast of the US and have multiple months to choose if needed. We love hiking and relaxing with dinners and drinks. We don’t need to see EVERYTHING but want enough time to hike a few places. How much time is enough and where’s the best location? Do we need a car? Thank you in advanced.
Posted by
Snohomish, WA
3713 posts
IMO any excuse to go to Iceland is good;) We head back again very soon for my 60th.
You say you have multiple months to plan. When are you thinking of going? I ask because Iceland is very different than most places and lodgings book out 9-12 months in advance. So you would be late to the game already, but that just means that the most coveted places are sold out. We go often and I know to plan far in advance, but we have done some trips with just 4-6 months notice and it has worked out but we did need to change our itinerary around just to find lodging. Now if you are thinking of August this year, the eclipse is happening then (the 12th) and places have been sold out for over a year already and everything is REALLY expensive.
How much time? IME there is never enough time. Our upcoming trip will be our 9th and will put us at over 70 nights there and we still have more to see. That said, for a first trip and wanting to see a lot, I would not go for less than 8 days, 10-12 preferably. If you do 10-12 you could do the ring road. If 8, you could do the south coast and Snaefellsness.
Note that besides Reykjavik, Akureyri is the only other city, otherwise everything else is very small towns.
We always rent a car unless it is winter, and then in winter we decide last minute since the roads are totally different than anything you could imagine. The wind can and does blow cars off the road, can blow a door off a car, etc. So between the wind, ice, fog, and snow, driving can be treacherous. Winter pretty much goes through April.
Another option would be to rent a camper van. Those are great as they give you complete flexibility. We have used Happy Campers and were very pleased, FWIW.
If you are thinking summer, then definitely rent a car. You mention drinks, but know that they are extremely strict and have a zero tolerance and they can and will pull you over for no reason other than to check. So even one drink if you still need to drive anywhere is not smart there. Wait until you are at your lodging and then walk somewhere.
If you are thinking winter, then do multi day tours. Those are great for winter and it allows you enjoy the tour and not have to worry.
Hiking is fabulous there, but again only in summer. Not sure what you are thinking in that regards, but Thorsmark is great and you can take the Southcoast adventure bus in (have to cross a river) and stay at the Volcano Huts. We did that on one trip.
Or if you really want to get away, head up to the Westfjords and hike at Hornstrandir. Those are full days and absolutely amazing! There are no roads there, no trails, etc. We used Borea Adventures and did the Green Cliffs of Hornstrandir and that is still a highlight even from all of our trips.
If you like hot springs, there are more than you can imagine. I told my husband for my birthday trip I want to do a hot spring everyday and we are:)
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
25024 posts
An impossible question and the post prior to this demonstrates that. Everyone is different. I went to Iceland once. Not one of the better choices for what interests me. Would be on my list, for my enjoyment, just below Moscow. But thats me. I know people that just keep going back because its that good for them.
If I were young again and wanted to do some hiking and eat good food and be a little spoiled at the same time; I would do Montenegro. Well, read my posts and you will see still do it often but not the hiking .... just too old and stiff. But there are some amazing places for the outdoors, then there is a lot of good food and unique historical sites, not just more of Western Europe. My second choice, or maybe my first choice ? hmmmmm, would be the Albanian Alps starting with the hike from Thea to Valbona then the river ferry back out after a few days of fishing and hanging out in the mountains. More good food there, some of the most beautiful nature and, well, just diffrent than anyplace else in Europe.
Well you could do Montenegro and Albania. Thats a good two to four weeks. including the hike over the Albanian maps https://www.strugglingpoettravels.com/post/a-guide-to-hiking-the-theth-to-valbona-hike How do you feel about river rafting https://youtu.be/LI16mZETyi0?si=m5g71M2YBUcw89_n and zip lines https://youtu.be/WwnHZC4Ss08?si=dQFAPQQhuS4DSvjM and scuba diving https://youtu.be/PTFNIsQ2-cA?si=bqSjEfoaLvpI6S2G or hiking https://youtu.be/C0HRuKP_bts?si=8dWxwmGqxOVM6Ith