My wife and I arrive for 13 days in Iceland at 6:40 am on a Monday in June. We'll pick up a rental car and baring any issues should be on our way mid morning. Flying in from the east coast though, I expect we'll need to call it a day around dinner time. Figure maybe 8 hours max.
We don't want to over do it day one, but want to make the best of the short day before the jet lag kicks in. I'm considering several options for our first couple days on our clockwise ring road trip. I wanted to see what other travelers have found best to start off and avoid the feeling of being shortchanged the first day on their tour.
First option, Reykavik. Walk around Reykavik, Hallgrimskirkja, Parliament Building, Rainbow Street and maybe the National Museum or Whales of Iceland. Overnight in Reykavik, Golden Circle on day 2, head north on the ring road on day 3. This option feels like its shortchanging Reykavik. But one day for Reykavivk seems to be the opinion of most folks, so maybe this is the best option. Particularly if we return to overnight in Reykavik after spending day 2 on the GC.
Second option, jump right in on the Golden Circle, Kerid, Gullfoss, Geysir, Thingvellir, Fridheimar, Skalholt, Secret Lagoon. Overnight in the Golden Circle, finish up what we weren't able to see of the GC on day 2. Give Reykavik a full day on day 3. Start the ring road on day 4. This one feels more relaxed and gives us some flexibility on our schedule.
Third option, Skip both Reykavik and GC, head towards Borgarnes, Grabok, maybe Deildartunguhver. Overnight around Borðeyri. If we did this route, we'd come back to Reykavik and GC at the end. This gets us a jump on the Ring Road, and lines up more with the RS suggestion of doing GC at the end of the Ring Road.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thanks