Iceland

The Blue lagoon, good day trips with tour companies around the island, pony rides, etc. I am certain there will be new trips related to the volcano, too. We had planned a trip to Iceland a few years ago, but it never happened.... maybe sometime in the near future....

If you're ony there for two days, you could spend the entire time in Reykjavik, or you could spend one day in Reykjavik and do a day trip on the second day. For day trips, you could go to the Blue Lagoon (already suggested) or head the other direction to Pingvellir and/or Gullfoss waterfall. I've not been to the Blue Lagoon (struck me as too Disneylandish) but the other two places are well worth the trip.

A great hotel in Reykjavik is the Centrum, though it might be pricey in the summer (it was very affordable this past spring).

Have a great trip.

Iceland is great! With two days, you will be able to tour around Reykjavik and spend another day on a day trip. I would personally not miss the Blue Lagoon as it was one of the highlights of our trip; I certainly have not been anywhere like it. This is easily seen on your way into town from the airport or on your way out. The Golden Circle is a popular day trip that visits the site of the first parliament, Geyser, and also some additional spots. Highly recommended.

PM for more info.

Definitely try a thermal swimming pool if you've never had that experience before. If you don't want to spend a whole day out to the Blue Lagoon, there are lots of city pools you can go to where you can meet and connect with the locals.

You can also do some whale or puffin watching too if you're interested into a boat ride, but just remember to dress really warmly because it is artic sea air.

Take an ATV tour of the Reykjanes peninsula. We did it through a great little company- find them at www.lavatours.is.

Rent a car and take a tour of the Golden Circle. You can book a full or half day whale watching tour. There are even puffin watching tours. Blue Lagoon is quite relaxing.

Take a stroll through Reykjavik. See the waterfront, and parks and the university. The people are warm and friendly and the capital city is quaint and easily walkable.

We LOVED Iceland. We were only there for a day, and wish we could have stayed longer. It's cool during the summer- only in the 50's and often overcast. The terrain is rugged, virtually treeless, rocky and covered with green lichen, but it is sooooo calm and quiet and uniquely beautiful. I can't explain it, but you will understand what I mean once you are there.

One other thing, the Keflavik airport is a silent airport. No PA announcements. Watch the TV monitors and the clocks very carefully. The monitors will tell you when to board, and there are no "last calls". But again, you will love the calm quiet atmosphere of the airport, and of the country as a whole.

In response to an earlier post, Blue Lagoon is not Disneyland-ish. It is apparent that the poster has not been there, so he cannot judge. It is a top-notch spa with facilities for everyone. If you miss out on bathing in a thermal spa while you are in Iceland, you are really doing yourself a disservice.

We spent a week in Iceland in July of 2005. It was one of our best vacation ever. There is so much to see that I wish we could have stayed longer. We met a wonderful taxi driver named Adi and he took us (6 adults) around the Country for 5 days. The only place we didn't get was far North. We went to the Glacial Lagoon in the South east after passing beautiful black sand beaches. We walked up on the cliffs to be with the Puffins. We toured the center of the Country as well as the West coast. Each area was different . We even went dog sledding on a glacier. There are geysers , termal pools, lava fields, moss fields, beaches, you name it and they have it. It really is the land of fire and ice. The blue lagoon is fabulous. Not like a disneyland. i only had a few hours there and regret that I didn't have more time to spend there. What an experience.

Iceland was great. We did a three day tour as part of a Scandinavian trip. The Blue Lagoon was a great experience and a lot of fun. Seeing Geyser (actually Strokker is more reliable) and Gulffoss was also neat. If you want to try one of the grossest things you will ever taste or smell, go to the store and buy a pack of Hákarl or kæstur hákarl (IPA: [?hau?k?artl?]) (Icelandic for "fermented shark") is a food from Iceland. Hákarl is an acquired taste and has a very particular ammonia-rich smell and fishy taste, similar to very strong cheese slathered in ammonia. (stolen from Wiki) We did and it was really foul, worse than many insects, etc. On the other side, there is great lamb and great lobster.

Go to the Pearl restaurant on top of the water tower. It slowly revolves so you have a nice view and very good food. It's expensive, but worth the splurge. And remember, the policy on tipping in Iceland is, "no tipping." An Icelandic woman told me that.

We just got back from 4 days in Reykjavik and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Hotel Phoenix, which is about a 10 minute walk from the center. The location was nice since it was a close walk, but far enough away from the partying to be quiet. The owners are very detail oriented with very clean rooms and an excellent breakfast.

We rented a car for one day to do the Golden Circle on our own, which I would recommend over a tour, and booked a bus trip and entry for the Blue Lagoon through the hotel, which was fine. I would probably have tried to go the Blue Lagoon on the day with the car rental if you have the time. It may be touristy, but it's really beautiful and relaxing.

The best part of our trip was a hiking trip we booked though Goecco Reykjavik. They do a free walking tour of Reykjavik during the summer. It wasn't running when we were there, but I've heard good things about it. The tour we took is called the "White Night Hike". It's a hike into a valley near Reykjavik with natural hot springs, lamb, whale, shark, etc. If you can do a little hiking, I would definitely do this tour.

I agree that there should be a Rick Steves guide to Iceland!

We just did the same thing in June. I recomend getting the flybus ticket at the airport. Flying out of Seattle we arrived very early in the morning so we took the bus directly to the Blue Lagoon for a long hot soak after a long flight. I strongly recomend it! Hotel Baldursbra ([email protected]) is reasonaly priced and is clean and quiet and an easy walk to downtown. You do share a bath and shower with another room but they are spotless and we never had a conflict.
We took the golden circle express tour on our second day. Very much worthwhile. Transportation to and from your hotel is easily arranged through flybus and the tour operators. For the best view of the city walk up the hill to the new church and go up in the bell tower. Have fun! Iceland is spectacular. Keith

I'm definitely intrigued by the Blue Lagoon. Just wondering, because my wife is fairly modest, are there private facilities to change in? Would there be any problem with women wearing shorts in the lagoon?

There are lots of good options. My favorite would be to join a day trip to Thingvellir, which is the site of the ancient national parliament of 1000 years ago. It is located on the dramatic ridge line that is essentially one of the volcanic fault lines of the planet-wide mid-Atlantic ridge. It is a unique experience, both in history and geology. By the way, in Icelandic, words that start with Th are written with a "Thorn" character which looks a bit like a "P" but is pronounced like "Th". Others might prefer the golden circle tour of waterfalls and geysers. Or art museums, or shopping, or the viking exhibit, or the museum at the university. Or just walk around and meet people. You can find excellent English speakers on the street at all hours of the daylit nights there. Go have a drink in the bar of the old hotel next to the active house of parliament, near the city lake. Go to the tourist information office bookstore and discuss with them which saga translation to buy and read. Or see about a day-trip or overnight flight to the Westmann Islands. There are so many options. Enjoy. By the way, the Blue Lagoon is nice. In Iceland, there are separate changing facilities for males and females. But one is expected to shower naked there in the facility before getting into any swimming pool, including the mud-filled blue lagoon. After all, it is used as a health spa, where people soothe themselves by putting the mud on their faces, etc. And Scandinavians are not as up-tight as Americans about bodies. So one must get used to this if one wants to enjoy the natural warm waters.