I want to go to Iceland...

Gilly

Gilly

Gilly

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I'm back baby!
...with the wife. I want to book today.

I've got knee op on the 16th of January, so ideally need to avoid 3-4 weeks after that. Need to fly from somewhere northern England, though not precious where. Want to have the best chance of seeing the northern lights and I'm told that Feb-March is the best time for that so looking late Feb, early March.

Got an Expedia deal with a studio apartment in central Reykjavik for the two of us for a little over £1200 for 10 nights including flights, transfers, taxes and luggage allowance for one suitcase. Flights are with Icelandair.

Can anyone beat that? Can anyone recommend things to do whilst we are there? Wanting to see Gulfoss and the warm pools and all that sort of stuff. Happy to hire a car and go out exploring - what's the snow likely to be like at that time of year? 4x4 needed?

Thanks for any assistance :)

[edit]inb4 the rubbish Kerry Katona/Peter Andre 'jokes' ;)
 
Best flight dates for price seems to be these?

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As for getting around, you're better off doing a Golden circle tour in a massive 4x4. (they take you round, so no need for transport of your own.)
 
Friend of mine just come back from there, 830 mile round trip staying in hostels on route 1, from what I saw they are quite decent to. He said at this time of year hardly anyone there sharing them.

Out of a population of over 300,000, only 22 people in prison. No chavs there either, happy days.
 
Icelandair are really good to fly with. We went 2 years ago.

I will say, you'll be lucky to see the lights, so don't pin your hopes on it, otherwise you'll have a ruined holiday.

We did:
- The blue lagoon, straight after landing we picked up the hire car and drove to this at night. What an amazing place! Put it on the list as a definite.
- The golden circle tour - we drove it, which added to the excitement of the tour! The weather was terrible, vision was so bad, and we were in a little Kia Picanto!! Gulfoss is a might sight, Geysir is really cool and Thingvellir National Park is really interesting. This is where the North American and Eurasian plates meet.
- Islenski Hesturinn, The Icelandic Horse - Riding Tours. This was probably one of the highlights of the trip for me. Iceland is famous for their small donkey like horses. Iceland only have 1 breed, and they are forbidden from exporting or importing any other breeds. We went on an afternoon ride, and got taken around some old volcanic sights. The scenery was breathtaking.

I'd definitely recommend hiring a car, if you're confident, you certainly don't need 4x4. I managed in the little KIA in very poor driving conditions. Winter tyres are brilliant!

This is me at Gulfoss car park next to the custom 4x4 tour operator trucks.
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Take a look at Easyjet flights. From my experience they're about 1/3 of the cost of Icelandair. Granted they are not as nice as Icelandair but it's only a pretty short flight so not really much of an issue in my opinion. As for other money saving options, that'll come down to how cheap a hotel you want to stay in - you could also maybe consider renting an apartment. I'm doing this with a few mates in March for Eve Online Fanfest and it's working out as about £900 for the apartment between 6 of us (4x twin rooms), flights there and back for a week are ~£100.

If you end up in Reykjavik during Fanfest you'll be surround by nerds ;) Hotels will also be pricy as hell if you go around then (19-21st March) unless you book early. But on the other hand the place will be very lively with regular tours and flights. You'll also get the opportunity to see the Lunar Eclipse if you're there on the 20th.

Central Reykjavik is awesome. Nice restaurants, friendly people and plenty of bars. It's not a cheap place to be but if you are sensible it's not really much more expensive than most UK cities in my experience.

Do the Golden Circle tour, this will cover seeing Gulfoss, some hot springs and a trip to Þingvellir national park. All great places to see. It's definitely worth considering a hire car and driving south to see some of the other falls though, Skogafoss and Selandjafoss are both just off of the main road and around 2 hours drive. Nice opportunities for walking there if your knee is up to it by then. Not really sure whether 4x4s should be needed though, in March it might be advisable perhaps, but the hire companies have a decent selection.


Re: the Horses.... Icelandics get upset if you say they look like Ponies :D
 
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I've done a bit of research on this as I was planning on doing 3 weeks this spring. You shouldn't need a 4x4 unless you plan on going into the interior and in winter that's probably not a good idea on your own. The ring road will be fine for 2WD.

The other point to note is Car hire is expensive, but 4x4 hire is eyewateringly pricey. The cheapest I could find for 3 weeks in April was over £2k for an older 4x4 from a company that had as many complaints of "extras" at the end as positives... The well known companies and companies with a reputation were in the £4-5k region IIRC

Not sure spending the entire 10 days in Reykjavik is the best idea for Northern lights though, you'll have to travel out every night to see them properly. How about staying a few nights in a B&B somewhere instead? The flights themselves can usually be had very cheaply.
 
Thinking about the car hire - I think a lot of places won't let you take 2WD cars anywhere off of main roads without completely voiding the agreement. Make sure you check this should you plan on doing any serious site seeing.
 
Amp34 said:
Not sure spending the entire 10 days in Reykjavik is the best idea for Northern lights though, you'll have to travel out every night to see them properly. How about staying a few nights in a B&B somewhere instead? The flights themselves can usually be had very cheaply.
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It's more of a base camp than anything really. I was expecting to spend a night or two traveling around elsewhere and finding a cheap B&B, then we can plan around the best nights whilst there for the lights. Least cloud/most expected activity, etc.

PinkFloyd said:
Thinking about the car hire - I think a lot of places won't let you take 2WD cars anywhere off of main roads without completely voiding the agreement. Make sure you check this should you plan on doing any serious site seeing.
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Great tip, thanks :)
 
Definitely hire a car, the roads are typically fine and if they become not fine you become aware very quickly.

Blue lagoon is a tourist trap, but still awesome. Any geothermal spa will provide a similar experience for less money.

Northern lights tours are good, but try to get one which offers you a 'free' second attempt if the first is unsuccessful.

Reykjavik is expensive, beer is extortionate and eating all blubbered creatures is overrated - but - Burger King etc are priced similarly so no way to win.

If you see a stream running down the side of the road which looks hot, it is, don't touch it no matter how drunk.

The middle of the island is really off limits!

Enjoy what is an incredible country; the terrain is breathtaking and unusual.
 
Skeptic said:
beer is extortionate
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In my experience most places are £4-£4.50 a pint. So by no means cheap but not sure it's worth than any big city in the UK? Most places have happy hours for a couple of hours each day too.

You certainly wouldn't go to Iceland purely to get hammered though!
 
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