6 Days in Late April - Puffins?

Haven't been to Iceland yet but April seems like its pretty iffy for seeing them since it's their early return time. I've have been researching a visit through and heard a suggestion that you might consider: a Whale Watching tour from Reykjavik that would go near the islands where they nest in the area. If the puffins have arrived by the time you're there, you may see them and I believe the whale watching tours run during April.

There also appears to be an option in the Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar), to go to the beluga whale and puffin sanctuary. They have resident puffins from their rescue that cannot be released into the wild for various reasons.

Late April is really iffy for the puffins. That said, Heimaey can be a great island to explore. The puffin lookout is at the far southern end, but the birds are only on land in the early mornings and later at night so a day trip presents a challenge with that. As for the weather and the ferry, that can be an issue any time of year so I wouldn't worry about that aspect. If you did a day trip here, you could do Eldfell and then the Eldheimar Museum which is at the base of it. That museum is really good! The rib boats are not running until mid May, and that is usually a draw for Heimaey as well. So just think about if this is worth a day for you.

Personally, if this were my trip, I would skip this and focus on other areas.

How many days do you have for your trip? Editing to add that you say 6 days, but does that include flight days? I ask because everyone goes to the GC and south coast, but I would not skip Snaefellsness if you have time. No matter what you do, just know that you will be missing a lot as there just is never enough time and so many great places to visit there. This is why we return time and time again;)

Thanks so much for the replies! The trip is 5 full days there, the sixth our flight is in the evening so partial day. This is our rough itinerary, we’re planning to hit most of the traditional first timer sites but please open for suggestions! (following much of the RS guide):
Day 1 - Get in during the AM, Blue Lagoon, head to SC.
Day 2/3- Westman Islands/SC exploring (Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Reynisfjara beach).
Day 4 - Golden Circle sights (Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss, +/- secret lagoon)
Day 5 - Reykjavík exploring, maybe Sky lagoon sunset
Day 6 - Reykjavik last minute exploring, Flight in the evening.
Would staying in Vik on night 2 make sense here ? I originally was thinking of having one SC place for lodging since we have a short trip, but if we planned to skip our day trip to the Westman Islands, should we make the effort to go to Diamond Beach? Or is that too much? Or do you think working in Snaefellsness on Day 5?

Thank you!!

Day 1 - Get in during the AM, Blue Lagoon, head to SC.

Day 2/3- Westman Islands/SC exploring (Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss,
Reynisfjara beach).

Day 4 - Golden Circle sights (Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss, +/-
secret lagoon)

Day 5 - Reykjavík exploring, maybe Sky lagoon sunset

Day 6 - Reykjavik last minute exploring, Flight in the evening.

I would NOT drive all the way to the South Coast on an arrival day with jet lag. It's a big long drive when you're alert, definitely not something I would do on arrival (and after soaking in a hot spring!). Do yourself a favor and schedule an overnight with a much shorter drive. You could see some of the Golden Circle sites and get a good night rest before heading out on the next part. Or flip your Reykjavik time to the front of your trip.

I agree, please rethink your arrival day. What you have right now is just not safe, for yourself and others on the road. Iceland has a growing problem with visitors coking in on red eye flights and driving and causing accidents. Do you know anyone that has fallen asleep at the wheel? My aunt did, and became a paraplegic that way, so I am fully aware of what can happen, and does.

Ok, so with all of that said, I would head straight to Reykjavik and see the town on foot, getting as much fresh air as possible. You could go to Sky Lagoon, or a local pool. Then in the morning head out for the south coast after a good nights sleep. If you are only planning to go as far as Vik, then you could do the Golden Circle the next day, then Snaefellsness the next, and that still leaves you with one full day to add in somewhere along the way. For your last day, you could head to the Blue Lagoon before your flight.

BTW, there is another option in the GC for lagoons, just in case you were not aware. Secret is nice, but there is a brand new one called Laugaras. We are stopping there in early March, so I can let you know what we think, but I have heard nothing but great things about it from the locals. Fontana is not an option as they will still be closed for renovations. If you head up to Snaefellsness, then I would stop at Hvammsvik Hot Springs which are actually my favorite so far in all of our trips, FWIW.

While Jokulsarlon is nice, the zodiac boat ride doesn't start up until May and that is the highlight there. So while you could go and see a tiny bit of the small icebergs and go to Diamond Beach, that is a long ways to go just for that, IMO. Also, Diamond Beach is hit or miss. We have seen it with gorgeous ice and also days with absolutely none, so that could be a long drive for not much.

Thank you for the insight! We were following the Rick's Best Five-Day Iceland Trip itinerary which included driving to SC on the first day... seems they should definitely update that!! We will flip the itinerary.

Interesting to hear about Diamond Beach; we were on the fence of driving out there too. May take the advice and head to Snæfellsnes instead if you think more worth it (?), and add a whale watch while in Reykjavík. I will have to do more research for Snæfellsnes thank you. IMO the hardest part is trying to figure out how to fit all the spot in with the least amount of backtracking and where to lodge. I can understand why everyone recommends staying in different places every few day(s) to see the sights!

Thank you for the Laugaras recommendation, definitely let me know how it is!!

Yes, I really hope they make that change as it is just so unsafe.

Snaefellsness has so much to offer. It is like a mini Iceland in that you can see so much variety in a smaller area. We have spent time there on 4 of our trips and still have not seen it all, to give you an idea.

Take a look at Iceland With A View. She is an expat whose advice has always been spot on. She had a website as well as a You Tube channel and her video's are great.

The other source that I have had the best luck with is the Lonely Planet Ring Road book. I know you aren't doing the RR, but the advice in that book is great and you can obviously use it for just smaller areas. You might see if the library has it since you don't need most of the books information.

I did the Blue Lagoon on the day of arrival and drove to Hveragerdi which is not that far, it's about 1-1/2 hr from the Blue Lagoon.
I drove to Hvolsvöllur the next day near a guide company who had guided tours into Porsmork. Then did Westman Island then Vik.

I did a puffin tour in Ingólfshöfði which was about halfway from Vik to the glacier lagoon. It looks like their tours start in mid-May. It was quite a unique adventure. They took us in a wooden farm cart across the tidal area to an island where the puffins nest. I have to say that it felt like a really long ride from Vik. I went to the glacier lagoon after the puffin tour and had to drive back to Vik.

https://adventures.is/iceland/day-tours/puffin-tours/ingolfshofdi-puffin-sightseeing-tour/