Winter Itinerary Guidance

We have been to Iceland quite a bit, and two of those trips were in February. February can have rotten weather, so expect some road closures. Due to that, you will really need to be flexible.

Even though you are from NY, driving in Iceland is vastly different. The winds do blow cars off the road, and there can often be black ice. The roads are elevated and no shoulder and no guardrails, so it is a different beast. Yes, they get snow, but nothing like NY. It's the wind/ice that gets you.

We are not tour people, so get wanting to self drive. On our February trips, we only rented cars for the days that it was nice, and we have extensive winter/mountain driving experience. I remember one of those trips, every road in the country was closed, just to give you an idea.

With all that said, you might consider a multi day tour just so you can leave the driving to others and sit back and enjoy. Just a thought:)

If you drive, I would adjust the itinerary a bit. After Reykjavik I would head to Vik, bypassing the Golden Circle for now. Then do Jokulsarlon.. Then head back south and do the Golden Circle. This way, if there is bad weather further up the coast, it allows you to be back closer to KEF at the end so road closures further up would not impact you getting back to KEF for your flight. Honestly though, in February I would skip Jokulsarlon because the boat rides there do not operate in the winter and that is the biggest draw there. Instead, I would allot this time to going up to Snaefellsness (north of Reykjavik). So in essence, do Reykjavik, Vik, GC, Snaefellsness and then back to Reykjavik and/or Blue Lagoon/Reykjanes.

Note that when you go to the Blue Lagoon, the eruption in November 2024 had lava that overtook the main road. There is a little parking lot on the main road before you make the turn for the BL and you can see where the lava stopped on the road. It is very impressive! You really see the magnitude of it. I would not stay at the BL more than one night.

As for hotels and restaurants, yes I have many suggestions;) We almost always book our lodgings in Iceland through booking.com FWIW.

in Reykjavik, these are the places we have stayed and would stay at any of these again (some we have multiple times). Center Hotel Midgardur, Center Hotel Laugavegur, Center Hotel Plaza, The Centrum, 4th Floor Hotel and Hotel Fron. Center Hotels does have apartments now which might be good for you with the girls. Hotel Fron has a penthouse apartment with 2 bedrooms and a good size kitchen/seating area. We loved that as we had 3 of us in that room.

Near Vik, we like the Volcano Hotel. About 45 minutes south of Vik we loved Grund Cabin. We stayed there when we brought our 3 adult kids and it was one of our absolute favorite places in all of our trips.

In the Golden Circle, I would avoid Efstidalur. We stayed there on that same trip and I refuse to go back. The owners were so rude to everyone. I was really shocked, and at breakfast we got up and left as it was so uncomfortable. The next night we stayed at Haholt Cozy House in Laugarvatn which we loved. I really like Blue View Cabins in Reykholt there, but we did that when it was just the two of us so had a tiny cabin. There were larger ones for families, and they have private hot tubs on the deck and sweeping views, so if the aurora is out that is an ideal place to see it.

If you do Snaefellsness, we like both Hotel Egilsen as well as Akkeri Guesthouse. We had two rooms at Akkeri. Both have wonderful breakfasts! There is an excellent restaurant right across the street from Egilsen called Naryrarstofa which I highly recommend!

The Reykjanes peninsula has a lot to offer. At Gardur lighthouses there is Rostin restaurant that is very good. We had lunch there, and there is a very good (very small) museum in the same building. We drove around this area on one of the good weather days on one of the February trips and came across a lot of random things, including old ruins. There is the bridge between continents, the Reykjanes Light house and nearby cliffs (see the dueling keyboards from the Eurovision movie), Gunnehver hot springs, there is a shipwreck you can check out just before Hopsnes lighthouse, and some ruins on that same road just a little bit from there.

If your flight home is in the morning, I would stay close to KEF. The Aurora Hotel there is a 5 minute walk across the parking lot and we have stayed there several times. You often need the full 3 hours at KEF for returning home. Security usually isn't long, but passport control can be a nightmare. They don't announce the gates until 45 minutes before, but all flights to the US go out of the D gates. So we get a quick bite to eat int he main area before passport control, then when there is no line there we do that and head straight for the D gates. Seating is very limited, so find a restaurant to park yourself at and then you will be just a few minutes from any of the D gates for when they announce it. Usually I get a notice on my phone before it is on the display boards there.

When we arrive and depart, note that most flights the plane is parked out on the tarmac, so you want a jacket on you to get to and from. I think we have only had the plane come to the actual gate twice or so. They bus you out to the planes.

I would second everything mikliz97 has said about road conditions, with the additional input
that in Iceland they don't salt/treat roads away from Reykjavik the same way they do here. That,
and the days are still short, so you may not have as much driving time during a typical day as
you might assume.

When I went in April a few years ago, the roads were clear, but a week before, they were still
snow-packed.

It depends on your tolerance for risk, but, I would consider reducing the itinerary and adding
in some slack time just in case you are stuck in one place for a day or two.

If you stay in any decent-sized town/city, there is likely to be a local pool/hot tub complex
where the locals go to get their water fix. In addition to the Blue Lagoon, I'd seek out
one or two of these - it will be a nice break from driving and your kids will probably enjoy it.

Thank you both so much for your feedback! My husband and I are coming to appreciate that we need to be very flexible with our plans for Iceland. Have you booked hotels and then been able to cancel last minute if the roads are closed and you cannot reach your destination? Are there any great tour companies that you have worked with and would recommend? I am not completely adverse to having someone drive us as long as they are smooth, safe and professional drivers (we get a whole mix of jerky drivers in NY!). I quite love the idea of having someone drive us and we get to relax a bit more and take in all the scenery. I know you mentioned considering cancelling Jokulsarlon but we are really interested in the Crystal Blue Ice Cave...have you visited it? Any thoughts/feedback on this ice cave versus the Katla Ice Cave? Thank you again!!

I have not done the crystal blue ice cave, but have done Katla and it is good! We used Troll for that and have used them for a handful of excursions. They are excellent! On one of our winter trips, we had a 2 day tour scheduled with them, but then a storm was rolling in and they had to cancel the second day. They offered a full refund, or a partial if we wanted to do the first day as a day trip. We opted for the one day trip and they processed the refund right then, no waiting. They were excellent with communication as well, so I was sold on them then. We have used them a few times since then and had great experiences each time. Their drivers are good and won't scare the daylights out of you, and the guides are really engaging etc.

Editing.

We almost always book refundable hotels, but those usually mean within 24-48 hours and weather in Iceland doesn't work that way. I have only ever heard of one person saying a hotel was not flexible with them. The hotels know you may have to hunker down and if you are stuck at one, I would not worry as that means people coming in can't get there either.

This is so helpful! Thank you so much!