Welcoming opinions on 7-10 days in Iceland – skipping Reykjavik / Golden Circle

Posted by melT (Colorado) on 01/08/24 12:24 AM

Góðan dag!

My family of 4 (fit 50yo adults and two daughters - 13yo & 17yo) will be arriving in Iceland Sunday June 9th (9:25am). We will have 7-10 days available to tour Iceland. Iceland is our gateway to Europe, so I did not input a flight time for the first 7-10 days because I don’t know it yet! We will come back to Iceland on our way home from Europe. Hope this addition clarifies. Please excuse my clumsy details!

After our 7-10 days in Iceland, we will be flying to Spain (Barcelona is the focal point), then Paris, then Colmar/Brussels area.

Current tickets are to fly back to Reykjavik from Paris very late Friday, July 12th (I think we arrive close to midnight). Our flight back to the States does not leave until 4:55 pm on Saturday, July 13th, so I think we’ll have a little time in the morning before leaving.

I’m looking at the Rick Steves 10 day road trip itinerary: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/iceland/itinerary as a starting point.

But I don’t think it’s a good fit for my family. We don’t “do” nightlife, we don’t prefer crowds, and I’ve seen so many cities, only the unique sites or locations with interesting backstories or fascinating history draw me. I don’t care to see another church/palace/art museum unless it’s truly extraordinary. (I like museums!) We like experiences but don’t prefer “tours” unless they are small group and focused.

So, as far as Reykjavik, I don’t see a lot of “must sees” for my family there and am wondering if we could skip it or minimize our time there. One interesting note - there’s an arts festival going on at the time – anyone know anything about that?

The girls groan when I mention museums, but they actually like driving/trains where they can listen to their podcasts/music while watching scenery. Ironically, they also complain about hikes, but my husband and I will force at least a few!

In addition, with all the waterfalls, geology, natural wonders and volcanic activities in Iceland, if we go for the ring road (or a portion), it seems to me we could skip Blue Lagoon (visit another, such as the one in Myvatn instead) and also the Golden Circle as we’d be seeing somewhat equivalent (or better?) elsewhere.

So, I’d love your thoughts, insights and opinions on removing Reykjavik and the Golden Circle from the itinerary. Pros, Cons, etc. Any and all inputs are welcome and considered! And if something in Reykjavik or the Golden Circle IS truly not to be missed, sell me!

Thanks!

Melissa

Posted by mikliz97

Snohomish, WA

01/08/24 10:06 PM

2798 posts

I agree wholeheartedly with naalehuretiree.

Honestly, all of Iceland is so unique and it is not like any other place in Europe. Reykjavik is a small city, and even for those of us that prefer nature to big cities, Reykjavik has so much to offer that I would give it at least a day. There are no trains in all of Iceland, so the girls will have to get over that;)

Ten days for a ring road trip in the summer is good, although still a bit rushed, IME. We had 12 days on the trip that we did that and did so much, but still missed so much. Another option would be to skip the north and just do Snaefellsness and then on up the south coast, including a night at Westmann Island.

There are so many lagoons/hotsprings all over the country, so don't feel like you have to go to Blue or Myvatn. Our favorite commercial hot spring is Hvammsvik. Far fewer people there than the others, and it is right on a fjord so the cold plunge is the fjord. It is just a really nice place and so incredibly relaxing. Myvatn just happens to be our least favorite one, FWIW.

The Golden Circle is fine, but yes you can skip it or just do a quick trip through it. If you have been to Yellowstone, then Geysir can easily be skipped. Gulfoss is one spot I would not miss though, especially if you decide to skip the north and so skip Dettifoss etc. Even a quick stop at Bruarfoss is worth 20 minutes or so. We hiked it before there was a car park right by it, and I would recommend doing the hike to see all 3 of the falls, but if you are short on time you can just park, look and leave.

We almost always use booking.com and have never had an issue in all of our trips to Iceland. We usually book cottages so that we can just make easy breakfasts, then we do picnic lunches, and then dinners are either cooked at the cottage, or if there is a special place nearby that we want to go, then we will do that. The cottages are nice though with a family as you can sort of spread out more and it is more relaxing, even if moving locations each night. As mentioned though, you are very late to the planning so you need to decide asap what your itinerary will be and get lodging secured.

Figure out what activities you want to do and then plan the itinerary around that. Most things do not need guides, but an ice cave, glacier hike, zodiac boat tour, or kayaking will require guides and the ones we have used have always been great. All of these things book up far in advance, so again you will need to really get on this.