Iceland in March trip advice, please

We went on a 1-week trip in April 2014 (aligned with school Spring Break), when Icelandair first served DIA in Denver. We rented a 4x4 Chevy SUV from Hertz, for driving the Golden Circle and also a daytrip onto the Snaefullsness Peninsula.

The Westman Islands to the south were inaccessible, but would be a priority on a future trip later in the year, partially for seeing puffins. Maybe March/April access is available now??

We took a 2-day private guided trip from Reykjavik to the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, staying out there, before returning to Reykjavik. It included a glacier climb, and we brought our own ice axes from home. Our guide was moving to Denmark later in the year, and I don’t believe that company is still in business. There anre still others, though.

We got a promotional lodging deal with Icelandair when they were introducing their new Denver flight service, so we stayed in Reykjavik every night except the one by Jokulsarlon.

We took a “Warm Nights, Cool Lights” tour one night, which involved a bus from our Reykjavik hotel out to the Fontana baths for hot springs soaking and saunas, dinner, and potential Northern Lights viewing. The baths were fantastic, but overcast skies prevented seeing any Aurora. Refunds weren’t part of the deal.

For driving, while you undoubtedly already get your share of tricky winter driving conditions, especially if you venture up by Monument Hill, Iceland has some particular hazards. Super high winds can occur without warning, and digital highway signs show sustained wind speeds, along with gust speeds. Be prepared to get blown sideways, when the conditions exist. Also, black ice is a real danger. We witnessed a VW coming towards us go airborne, shortly before sundown. My husband managed to get stopped on the non-obvious black ice, while I called 112 (Iceland’s 911). One passenger who was in the VW died. After the road got reopened by the authorities, we got back to our hotel hours later, after the hotel’s restaurant had closed. It could’ve been worse.

We never had deep snow (or any snow on the road, really) while visiting, but the roads were still hazardous.

March might be different than our April experience, so hopefully you’ll get additional information from others. Have a fabulous (but safe) trip!

March is still solidly winter in Iceland. That is a good time for the northern lights:)

Good thing the cold doesn't bother you, but trust me, you will be colder than you could imagine;) We almost always rent a car on our trips here, but sometimes it stays parked due to bad weather. You just have to check the roads and forecast multiple times a day for safety.

I suggest staying in Reykjavik for your first and last nights. The first night for obvious safety reasons of not driving far after and overnight flight. Again trust me, about an hour driving tops is the wisest. Then in Reykjavik again the last night so that you are close to the airport in case of bad weather and closed roads.

As for northern lights tours, I highly recommend Aurora Experts. We have used him a few times and cannot speak highly enough! He does give you a second chance if the first time does not work out. He also will not take anyone out if the chances are slim, where other companies will take you regardless. He has a small bus, so you are only with a dozen or so other people. Many of the others are on large coach buses that park in the same field, so you are with hundreds of new best friends. With Heimer, he does not do that.

If you decide not to rent a car, take a look at a multi day tour for 3 or 4 nights. Snaefellsness is fantastic and far less crowded than the Golden Circle and south coast. Not to say to skip those, but I personally prefer Snaefellsness over the GC hands down. But the multi day tours are great and some cover both the south coast and Snaefellsness. I like Troll tour company (www.troll.is) as we have used them for excursions that required a guide. Every interaction with them has been excellent, including the time we had booked a 2 day tour in the dead of winter, and a storm came in cancelling the 2nd day. Their communication was excellent and they processed that refund immediately.

March is too early for the puffins, those arrive around mid April. The ferry over to Westmann Islands operates year round. However, if the weather is bad, the ferry does not return to the usual port, but rather goes to another one that is 3 hours away. So you really need your vehicle in case of that, and you don't want to do this close to the day you need to be at the airport. At any rate, I would not head over there in March. The tours are not running and the puffins won't be there, so spend your time on the mainland. If you make it back in the summer, it is wonderful!

I can help with lodging once you have an itinerary. Do take a look at booking.com and that will give you an idea of what options you have. I almost always use this to book our lodging on our Iceland trips.

Thanks to both responses. Just to add to the not worried about the cold---I also lived in WI for 3 winters. I feel confident that even with the wind nothing will approach the 10 days where it never broke 0 (FAHRENHEIT) and I ran outside in all but 1 (the day of a blizzard).

I am concerned a bit about the wind in terms of driving.

The wind will surprise you!!! We were stationed upstate NY for a few years and those winters paled in comparison to Iceland, FWIW. Yes, the wind is not to be messed with in Iceland. It does blow vehicles off the road. This is not a rare event either, it happens several times a year in various locations, but especially around the south coast. One time when we had a camper, we had to get to a campground asap as the winds became too strong to safely drive. That was in late July. Another friend had to find a hotel quickly due to this in June. The roads in Iceland are 2 lane and there are no guardrails and no shoulders. They are built up a bit, so if you cross that line on the right side of the road, you will roll down an embankment, sometimes quite steep. So if the wind is blowing hard, it will blow you a bit and can easily blow you down the embankment.