We are two retired 66 year olds visiting Iceland for the first time in late July. Experienced travelers in decent shape that want to see a bunch but also want to be very realistic regarding our itinerary.
Our USA flight arrives at KEF at 7am on Friday, July 25th. We will have three days on our own exploring Iceland before we then board a Viking cruise at Reykjavik port on Tuesday, July 28th. The cruise is actually departing Reykjavik on Wednesday, July 29 at 6pm so we have an extra day in port to explore either the city of Reykjavik or go to a geothermal spa.
So how do we best spend the three days on our own? Here are some options we are considering but we certainly welcome all ideas ideas and coaching:
(A) Explore Golden Circle and South Coast Coast on our own:
Day 1 (7/25): Rent a car at KEF and then travel the Golden Circle. Yes, exhausting day so we would call it an early night and overnight in a hotel in that area.
Day 2 (7/26): Casually drive all day along Route 1 to Hotel Skaftafell, exploring along the way all the wonderful sights. Maybe have lunch at Vik. Overnight at Hotel Skaftafell.
Day 3 (7/27): Morning trip to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon for a zodiac boat ride and lunch, then our afternoon would be a basic glacier hike originating at Skaftafell Terminal - Tour Center. Overnight at Hotel Skaftafell again.
Day 4 (7/28): Depart Hotel Skaftafell after breakfast for our return drive to Reykjavik. We could make some brief sightseeing stops along the way as well as grab a quick lunch. Drop car at rental agency's city center location and then go to our cruise ship at the port. We would like to board the ship by 3 or 4pm.
(B) Stay in a Reykjavik hotel for all three nights and book two full-day tours while using the hotel as our base:
Day 1 (7/25): Arrive at KEF and visit Blue Lagoon for the day before taking taxi to hotel and an early dinner/bed.
Day 2 (7/26): Full day tour of the Golden Circle, then return for dinner in Reykjavik.
Day 3 (7/27): Full day tour of South Coast, traveling as far as Vik. Long tour (11 hours). Dinner at Reykjavik and crash in our hotel.
Day 4 (7/28): Check-out of our Reykjavik hotel after breakfast and explore the city, then embark on our Viking cruise ship.
BTW, Since our Viking Cruise overnights in Reykjavik before departing at 6pm on Day 5 (7/29), I suppose there is the possibility to do some other sightseeing besides exploring the city.
Finally, we are very late with our plans because we just now booked this Viking cruise last week on a whim. We are already behind the eight ball with many hotels completely booked during our timeframe and, unfortunately, those hotels with availability are only offering sky-high peak rates. Same for rental cars with very high daily rates during our timeframe. Regardless, we could not be more excited to visit Iceland in July!
Thanks in advance for your thoughts here and any other coaching you might have for us first-time visitors!