trip planning Iceland and Norway

Honestly, a week in each is short changing both of them. I definitely understand wanting to see as much as possible, so I get it. I just wanted to throw that out there in case you were not aware.

Back to your questiuon. That airfare is insane. When are you looking at going and on what airline? We head to Norway in a couple of weeks and our airfare on Delta from Seattle was about $1300 each, to give you an idea. We go to Iceland often, and usually pay around $750-800 each for that , yes round trip. Icelandair is our preferred carrier. They fly to both Oslo and Bergen. If you do that, you can do a stopover in Iceland for no extra cost of the flight, and you can do that for up to 7 days. That is probably your best bet for budget.

You say you are in Florida, so does the cold bother you? Are you wanting to self drive or do guided tours? If you are thinking of self driving, then you need to have really good winter driving experience, and have plans b and c as the weather in Iceland changes on a dime.

If you don't want to bother with really inclement weather, then stick to July and August. September is good too, but snowstorms then are not unheard of.

I can help more, but that is a start to get you thinking and then to narrow it down a bit. Enjoy, both places are wonderful!

You might check on online climate (and darkness hours) reports for Iceland. I liked Iceland fine, but it's not the "prettiest" place I ever went, and there are few animals. Many European countries have huge local interest in hiking, like Germany for example. I don't dispute that you should see Iceland sometime, but if the price is wrong right now, pick another location.

This observation is out of date, but 30 years ago, we happened to hit Scandinavia in a very hot summer week, and there was just about zero air conditioning there. Things can be much hotter today.

I don't pretend to be an airfare expert, but I see much cheaper flights from Orlando to Iceland and Stockholm for Sept 23 to Oct 8. I only used Google Flights, which I would never use for purchase. But just an example. You did not say if you travel Economy class, and whether you prefer one airline over another. I'd point out that for me (NYC) Iceland is much more "on the way to Europe" than it is for Florida. Maybe you should stop in the Azores, apparently a beautiful (if unusual) outdoor destination? Or the Canary Islands? (Just making up examples, there are lots of other choices. For the least expense, I'd do local travel, which can be cheaper than a long layover booking. "More Countries=Better" is a very simplistic way to evaluate a trip to Europe.

Iceland is not set in stone, went to new zealand last november, from LA lived in north arizona. Heading to italy next april, Airline doesn't matter but looking at delta as we can fly from Pensacola to orlando or atlanta, least stops the better. Plan B would be doing a scandanavian road trip. Sweden to norway near the top, example stockholm to Abisko to tromso, lofoton islands, then to fjords, fly out of either bergen or oslo. thoughts? Yes I know this is an iceland group thx

I just did a dummy looking on Icelandair. At the end of August, they show a flight from Orlando to JFK to KEF and it is $1085 round trip. I know having a quick layover is not ideal, but it is a great price for last minute.

My 7th trip to Iceland is in just over a month and our 8th is booked for next summer already. I find it stunningly beautiful. I love how remote many things are and how unique it is. Where else can you soak in a hot spring in the morning and then go hike a volcano?The puffins in the summer are so much fun to watch. We have also seen arctic fox and seals. There are also reindeer, but those are further from Reykjavik, but still doable to go up there in a week. The food in Iceland is excellent! OMG, I could go back for the food alone! My husband is there now and keeps texting me photos of where he is eating, lol.

A road trip in Scandinavia would be great too, just different. It all depends on what interests you. If you want to check out more Iceland info, take a look at Iceland With A View. She also has a you tube channel with loads of great informational videos.

thank you so much

Norse Atlantic Airways has direct flights from Miami to Oslo August 19 returning September 2, 2024 for $356 Roundtrip! ( Yes- $356 roundtrip)! I know you’re planning for 2025 but this is just an example of unbelievable deals you can score. Norse Atlantic flies 3x weekly from some cities and being flexible with your flight dates means you can often get the best fares. Of course, checked luggage, seat selection and meals are additional. Last year, I flew Norse from Los Angeles to Oslo for $750.
You might find 10 days in Norway is better than just one week, as just Oslo and Bergen can take 4 days. Alesund makes for a great base city to visit Geirangerfjord and the Troll’s Ladder on scenic Highway 63. Iceland also takes more than a week if you want to take 7-9 days driving the 800-mile Ring Road to see Iceland’s top geological attractions.
www.Skyscanner.com shows airfares.
You can sign up for fare alerts with Skyscanner and Google Flights.

After doing alot of research I am going to do both countries, so fly orlando to iceland, stay 5 days just do the golden circle thing hopefully to see puffins, geyser, an ice cave waterfall, its good enough, we can always go back, then fly to bergen, rent a car drive up to lofoton islands will have probably 9 days total in norway, would like to see whirlpool, senja, drive coastel route as best we can runde island, basically interested in beauty and wildlife, lil shopping. No museums or that kind of stuff, would prefer not to stay in bergen, but drive closer to fjords and stay in 3 places to do this as not to live out of a suit case, input for places to not bother and must see, i can add a few days if needs. thanks Mary

How far into fall are you looking? I think the puffins leave Iceland at the end of August/ early September. Later in October you might start encountering bad weather in Iceland. Or not, if you are lucky!

naalehuretiree is spot on. The puffins leave around mid August, and weather in October can be anything. It sounds like a nice trip though, just keep in mind these few things. Ice caves and waterfalls are two different things, so wasn't sure from your post if you knew that or not. They are both great!!! You will have a wonderful time!!!

Sorry for late reply, but decided to now go august 2025, its to darn hot in north florida and need a weather break, that being said, fly orlando to iceland 5 days see puffins, buy sweater, check out a few other cool places, fly to bergen, check out fjords, flam, will have 1 week total, travel 2 to 3 days so 14 or 15 days total, I did see the norse airline tickets but its 11 hour drive to miami, so not really feasible orlando i have a friend i can leave my car at. Need hotel suggestions, nothing crappy, no ritz carltons LOL. WE are in our 60's now so easy travel is better. I appreciate all the in put you all are giving thanks so much. Mary Hermes

I can help with hotel suggestions once I know where you plan to go.

Funny, I head to Norway in a couple of days and then back to Iceland next month;)

thank you mik.. i will when it gets closer have a great trip Mary

Thank you Mary! We leave tomorrow!