How much time in Iceland?

Hi, Brooke. I have only been to Iceland once, so I am certainly not an expert. However, we went in November, and a lot of the interior part of Iceland is inaccessible throughout the winter (especially so in February). There's still a lot you could do at that time. Definitely explore the capital, Reykjavik. The national museum there is small but gives a pretty interesting overview of Icelandic history. Day trips to the Golden Circle (including Gullfoss waterfall, the geysers, and Thingvellir national park) will run yearround. You can take half-day or day horseback-riding tours, even if you don't have much experience. We didn't make it to the Blue Lagoon, but that is an option. Also, in the winter, there will be a lot of evening and/or overnight tours to look for the Northern Lights, though of course, the weather has to cooperate. You might check out iceland.is for more ideas. I would strongly recommend having back-up plans, as the weather at that time of year will be pretty unpredictable. Good luck!

Like Anna, I've been to Iceland only once, a day in Reykjavik off a cruise ship. I could easily have spent another day going out to Thingvallir and Gullfoss, and maybe another day in Reykjavik too. It was September not February and the weather was OK. I don't know how I'd have spent 4-6 days unless I'd gone further afield in the country, which I doubt would be a good option in midwinter. The best thing I saw in Reykjavik was the National Museum, http://www.thjodminjasafn.is/english/. I regret not having had time to get out of the city (see above). If you haven't been to London before and your total time is two weeks, even three days in Iceland seems too long in comparison. London has so much to offer, including day trips to nearby places. But if you've been there before you might want to give Iceland more time. Am I making sense? ;)

Hello Brooke, I think how long you stay in Iceland would depend on how often you travel to London if you have already spent a lot of time in London on prior trips, you might want to spend more time exploring Iceland. But otherwise, I would suggest perhaps 3-4 nights at the most in Iceland (this would give you 2-3 full days + the day you arrive). You could spend one day seeing the "Golden Circle", one day seeing sights in Reykjavik, and also some time swimming (perhaps excursion to nearby Blue Lagoon). (As you probably know, Iceland has great geothermal resources, which cheaply heat Icelandic homes, and provide cheap heated swimming pools for great swimming outdoors even in the midst of a freezing winter day). FYI, I have been to Iceland once before (when I stayed with childhood Icelandic friends this was in the winter, in February). This August I will be staying in Iceland again, en route to London, with the same friends. I will be on a 45-day trip to Europe with my family and even having a friend to stay with who recently became an official Icelandic tour guide and can show me all around - I opted for only 3 nights before continuing to London. NOTE ALSO: I don't know how big a consideration this is for you, but Iceland is VERY expensive.

I've been to Iceland twice (about 10 days total) - once on a stopover and another time because I had so much fun the first time. About 5 days should be fine, unless you're going to fly up north to Akureiyri. Reykjavik is wonderful to stroll in and there are lots of half day or full day excursions you can take - check out Reykjavik Excursions and the Reykjavik and Iceland websites - they do a fabulous job at advertising the country. Ditto the comments about the National Museum - it was great! There are others as well and they were also very interesting (there is an underground city museum called "Reykjavik +- ...". You should also swim in one of the hot pools and stop over at the Blue Lagoon - it's an unforgettable experience. In February you may want to check into a northern lights tour - that seems to be a good month to take advantage of it. You'll have to fly north to Akureiyri to do it. Iceland Air has a lot of Northern Lights package tours.