Calling all visitors to Iceland

Soldato
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15 May 2007
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Ipswich / Bodham
I've a few days to kill mid-November, and having spent most of my recent short breaks around the Med, myself and the other half are going to have a change and go north - to Iceland.

Looking at the weather, my expectations aren't high. It looks like it will most likely be raining, snowing or just overcast, with only around 6 hours of daylight. But we might get lucky. We'll be staying in Reykjavik and don't want to move away from the one place unless we really have to - we're only going to be there for five days.

I'd love to devote a couple of days to photography. So, assuming we can hire a car, unless you have alternative ideas, what are the best places to visit within reach of Reykjavik?
 
Thanks for all the advice and ideas - we're all booked up! 2 nights in Reykjavik to start, followed by a night in Jokulsarion. That gives us two days travelling to there and back, all along the south of the island, and then two days in Mosfellsbaer - out of town but close enough to duck back in if we need to.

Fingers crossed for decent weather on a couple of days or more. 5 days is very much an in and out trip, but should still prove fun. Just wish I could take my motorbike with me!
 
11th to 16th November. I guess the weather will be whatever it'll be - I'm just excited to be going, and the prices seem pretty reasonable - probably due to the time of year. Just looking at hire cars now - I saw some great tips in the other Iceland thread on here - looks like a decent car to haul three people around can be had for around £300 for the whole trip so not too bad at all.

Looking forward to trying the blue lagoon out early in the morning whilst it is still dark and then watching the sun rise. I'd also really like to give the whale watching a try, but it'll just depend on if the weather is good enough whilst we're in the area.
 
Well, finally able to sort through some of the photos (been redecorating the study and the Mac has been out of action). What a stunning country to visit. We had mixed weather, but not much clear sun at all. The scariest part was driving the last leg to Hali at night in an absolute gale - the jeep was all over the place and we had to slow to 30 mph for a couple of hours. But there really is nothing bad to say about Iceland at all, other than the ridiculous price of alcohol of course. We'll head back one day soon at a better time of year, as all this trip did was whet the appetite. Perhaps to catch those northern lights on a clearer night!

Last embers of the northern lights by Greg Kingston, on Flickr

Big country by Greg Kingston, on Flickr

Ice lagoon by Greg Kingston, on Flickr

Ice and black sand beach by Greg Kingston, on Flickr
 
On Friday night we'll be staying at a place in Hveragerði which is 4 hours from Jokulsarlon, so we're planning to leave at 8 in the morning in order to arrive there before the Ice Caving tour starts in the afternoon. Just hope the weather is okay.

Based on the experience of our trip, I'd take that 4 hours with a pinch of salt. It may be possible if you don't want to stop for some sights along with way or if you don't encounter any poor weather, but I sincerely doubt it. It will be pitch black at 8 am, and some of those roads, particularly if they're iced up, could add hours to your journey.
 
Did you drive from Rejk? Hvergadi is an hour closer to Jokulsarlon. We aren't planning to stop off at any of the sights on the way, we're staying overnight at a place 10 minutes away from Jokulsarlon on Saturday night and then driving back on Sunday to take in the sights.

We did drive from Reykjavik, but went all the way up the north of the circle to Pingvellir before heading back down to the coast and Vik and then carrying on to Hali. The Hali Country Hotel is awesome - 10 km from the Ice Lagoon and recently expanded with very modern, warm and quiet rooms. Very decent restaurant too.

You really need to rethink not stopping. Some of the sights along the route will just beg you to stop, explore, or just gape in awe. A couple of amazing waterfalls along the way, and several glaciers too. Even if you plan not to stop, you will want to.

The weather can turn really quickly. We were fortunate enough to escape much snow and ice, but we found that the wind can really slow you down, especially if you have studded tyres on which really do reduce grip. On the descent to Vik we the signs were indicating wind speeds of 32 m/s (about 70 mph I think) and the car was all over the place - gusts just skid you across the road, and when the other side of the road has a 'significant' drop you start to slow down pretty quickly! We went sideways at one point, managed it and then carried on. It was dark, and when we returned the next day we saw roughly where we had been. Brown trouser moment! (awesome though!).
 
Yep, I'd echo that. It is completely possible to pin your ears back and go back to Reykjavik from Jokulsarlon in one trip, but the weather can slow you down really easily, plus driving in the dark really does magnify the bad weather. We saw hardly any rain but it was the wind that really slowed us - any ice at all as well and you'll be down to a crawl. It is very, very exposed.

That said, if you've seen the main sights on the route on the way out, I'd go for it and try and do it in one go. I didn't see much of interest in Vik to warrant staying two nights, whereas there's much more evening entertainment back in the capital (if that's what you're looking for).
 
Winter tyres yes, studded tyres are not a requirement though, and I wouldn't have wanted to tackle some of the roads on standard winters to be honest. Probably would be fine, but why take the chance!



We used the manual Suzuki Grand Vitara from Blue car as it came with built in GPS. Very nice little car, and perfectly capable on the snow & ice. No reason an auto wouldn't be fine, but I prefer driving a manual.

Had an epic time, will get some photos up and some info about what we did when I have some time to do some editing this week!

We had exactly the same car, with studded tyres, and a manual. We didn't take it on any serious off road tracks, but I'd prefer a manual if I did in order to have better clutch control.

We didn't have any snow but we did have some ice. When it was icy I didn't like the studded tyres - they tended to let the car drift a bit before the grip bit. Nothing difficult but it took some getting used to. They definitely reduced the grip in wet or dry conditions, and in the extreme high winds we faced they blew the Vitara all over the road!
 
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