Iceland

RepentBirthingPersonFucker · 2021-12-05T23:51:53+00:00

I am hoping, covid permitting, to go to Iceland next year. I know several posters have been/chatted about it so am looking for advice please What is the best time of year to visit? We are thinking 3 night, could stretch to 4 if needed. Friend wants to see the northern lights, she is aware its not guaranteed, I want to swim in a hot pool Neither of us wants to drive so I'm thinking we need to stay in Reykjavik and book a tour?

Original poster

RepentBirthingPersonFucker · 06/12/2021 17:09

🥶 🧊 ☃️

OP posts:

SleepWoof · 06/12/2021 17:23

I went in October, pre-Covid. Absolutely loved it and will be going back. I hired a car and, after escaping all the city roundabouts, the roads were easy. I also did a few bus tours, easy to organise them there. I officially saw the Northern Lights but looked like a small smudgy cloud so hopefully I'll have more luck next time. Lots of standing about in the dark while staring at the sky and it's the coldest I've ever felt so wrap up, take hand warmers.

MrsWooster · 06/12/2021 17:32

We stayed in Reykjavik and did the fantastically efficient bus tours-grand circle, iirc, and a northern lights viewing one. Apparently the Blue Lagoon isn’t the best-though it was good- and the Secret Lagoon is better. There are local municipal ones within Reykjavik as well that you might be able to do under your own steam, if you’ll pardon the pun.

PuffinShop · 06/12/2021 17:59

September or October if you want to see the northern lights in my opinion. November to February is mostly horrible weather and very gloomy and late winter is not nearly as pleasant as autumn. March or April if you must do that side of Christmas although it is more likely to be snowy and soggy with melting snow, and all the grass/foliage is still dead. That's why I prefer autumn and find it a lot more beautiful.

Swimming in a hot pool is easy, there are lots.

Original poster

RepentBirthingPersonFucker · 06/12/2021 19:56

Did you book the bus tour before you went or is it better to find one there?

OP posts:

SamanthaVimes · 06/12/2021 21:13

We went in October and it was great but very very cold!
We did a golden circle tour that we found once we were there and another one that went out to vik and some gorgeous waterfalls. We also did some whale watching.
It’s very expensive though so make sure you’ve got plenty of spending money!

CaptainMyCaptain · 06/12/2021 21:17

We booked the bus tours when we got there.

NavigatingAdolescence · 06/12/2021 21:19

@MrsWooster

We stayed in Reykjavik and did the fantastically efficient bus tours-grand circle, iirc, and a northern lights viewing one. Apparently the Blue Lagoon isn’t the best-though it was good- and the Secret Lagoon is better. There are local municipal ones within Reykjavik as well that you might be able to do under your own steam, if you’ll pardon the pun.

I hate the Blue Lagoon with a passion. The secret lagoon (look for it on golden circle tours) is much better.

CaptainMyCaptain · 06/12/2021 21:20

I really enjoyed the blue lagoon.

NavigatingAdolescence · 06/12/2021 21:21

Went for 5 nights over new year some years back - kept missing the lights.

Had a 3 night stopover on the way back from the US in August and couldn’t move for lights over Reykjavik.

It’s my favourite place on the planet (so far) and I dream of living there for a year. The seasons are all so different!

ibelieveinangels · 06/12/2021 21:44

I went the end of August, was supposed to go in November but Covid happened.

We stayed in Reykjavik and hired a car, so glad we did that. I enjoyed the blue lagoon , went whale watching, saw the glaciers, volcano's.

Would love to go back and see a different part of Iceland, and the northern lights

Indoctro · 06/12/2021 21:56

I went in December and the weather was crap and almost all our tours were cancelled because of storms
Only one we got on was secret lagoon and northern lights hunting - also crap don't bother

We did go Icelandic pony riding which was fun and we bother really enjoyed the blue lagoon.

PuffinShop · 06/12/2021 22:24

The northern lights are definitely not crap if you see a good example. They can be weak and underwhelming, like whispy white clouds, and they can also be absolutely breathtaking green, pink and purple dancing all over the sky. It's just luck.

I honestly would avoid the deepest darkest winter period. It is so expensive and unless you specifically want to see Christmas/NYE or something like that, or you are going to visit Iceland multiple times, I can't understand why people waste that trip on the stormy dark season. It's not better for northern lights. You're just as likely to see good northern lights in late August as mid January.

BookFiend4Life · 06/12/2021 23:45

May is a fantastic time to visit, there are so many waterfalls you'll get tired of them! Northern lights much less likely. The Golden circle is fab. We did rebt a car and found the driving to be easy enough.

Scarby9 · 06/12/2021 23:56

We went in August, mostly camping, and it still went down below zero on two nights and we had snow.
Fabulous place.

PuffinShop · 06/12/2021 23:57

May is gorgeous but would be a bad choice for anyone hoping to see the northern lights, because by mid May you are in 24 hour daylight.

TuftyMarmoset · 07/12/2021 00:02

I went for I think 5 nights in December a few years ago and it was great but very expensive. We also stayed in Reykjavik and did a couple of bus tours which I think worked well. We also did a northern lights tour which they were good at rearranging for us as we kept not seeing anything although unfortunately we never did see anything in the end.
I also enjoyed blue lagoon although didn’t visit any others in Iceland to compare.

Indoctro · 07/12/2021 07:31

@PuffinShop

The northern lights are definitely not crap if you see a good example. They can be weak and underwhelming, like whispy white clouds, and they can also be absolutely breathtaking green, pink and purple dancing all over the sky. It's just luck.

I honestly would avoid the deepest darkest winter period. It is so expensive and unless you specifically want to see Christmas/NYE or something like that, or you are going to visit Iceland multiple times, I can't understand why people waste that trip on the stormy dark season. It's not better for northern lights. You're just as likely to see good northern lights in late August as mid January.

I was meaning the secret lagoon a long bus ride for something we didn't think was that special

NavigatingAdolescence · 07/12/2021 07:36

I wouldn’t drive to the Secret Lagoon from the city specially. Do it as part of the golden circle!

BreastedBoobilyToTheStairs · 07/12/2021 08:58

Sorry in advance for the essay...

We went at the end of October and it was perfect. It was chilly without being intolerable, but beautiful sun and clear skies. We were lucky though, it isn't generally that consistently clear.

We quite liked the Blue Lagoon (the face masks were great for my skin at least, and the restaurant is absolutely lovely) but we made a full afternoon/evening of it with dinner after, and it wasn't particularly that busy. It is a lot more touristy (they have staff who will take your photo etc) and there's sludge that builds up in the rock crevices which can get a bit whiffy.

We also did the Sky Lagoon which was much more beautiful and only 15mins or so from Reykjavik. It's an extremely lightly chlorinated pool (you can't actually tell - no stinging eyes!) that overlooks the sea, has a little waterfall, and is simply breathtaking. The sauna has the best view of any sauna I've been in too. It was really windy and started raining when we went but we didn't mind at all because it was so lovely. Of the two I'd choose that one

The northern lights tours usually let you rebook so it's worth trying early so you can go again later in your trip, but it's a long miserable night if you don't see anything. Keep an eye out on the northern lights trackers online so you aren't booking when the conditions are less than ideal and wasting your time. We were lucky enough to book when there was a solar storm so they were dancing in glorious colour, and it was honestly one of the most memorable nights of my life!

We did day tours of the West and South coasts and the Golden Circle - they're long days but worth it. Next time we go we'll be hiring a car, but it was worth having a structured tour the first time around so we could ask questions/get timings right/learn a bit of history. Have a good think about what you want to see most (geysers/black sand beaches/waterfalls/glacier etc) because that will dictate which tour you end up doing.

We pre-booked all of our tours and restaurants before we went so we were guaranteed to get spots. It makes the trip itself much easier.

Either way, it's an absolutely stunning place. Definitely budget a lot for food and drinks though because it isn't cheap, but the quality is worth it, even in the little cafes and breakfast spots. We had some of the best food we've ever eaten!

ErickBroch · 07/12/2021 11:19

Went early October this year. Stayed at Storm Hotel in Reykjavik for 3 nights - flew back morning of 4th day. You have to buy the expensive return tickets from the airport unless you have a car - around £55 return per person (extortionate IMO).

I booked three tours beforehand, linked below:

Northern lights tour was crappy - we didn't see them (no problem, expected) but was nothing from the guides at all so just 5/6 hours in the freezing cold in silence basically. Both full-day tours were absolutely fantastic and can't rave about them enough.

CaptainMyCaptain · 07/12/2021 11:22

We did a glacier walk too. The ice was unusually wet and slippery due to global warming and we had to take evasive action from a rock fall on the path. It was seriously scary and the guides (who all look like Thor with long blonde hair and beards) were very anxious that we were OK and came on the bus afterwards to check on us. This happened in February 2015.

Laughingravy · 08/12/2021 09:03

We went for my birthday in February 2017 and my DP had booked everything with the travel company. Iceland was hit with a snow storm that our guide said was unusual, it's more often a couple of days of snow, a couple of rain and then dry for a while. Our Golden Circle trip was cancelled due to weather (and our Travel Co refused to refund the £800) Getting on the coach to the Blur lagoon thee driver showed me his tablet with road updates and every road on Iceland except the one out to the airport was closed. When we got there they had closed the road behind us! Obviously we never even attempted to see the northern lights though we did get to do the glacier walk. It is ferociously expensive - £25+ for a bowl of very nice soup - but despite the weather it was magical. Sure the Blur Lagoon is a tourist trap but being up to my neck in lovely warm water while it's -5, sipping a beer and laughing we all had hailstones in our hair was something I'll never forget.
Hope to go back in 2023 and really torn between summer or winter.
The one thing we would do different is to book the excursions directly. Loosing £800 when we knew the local tour company only gets paid if the tour goes ahead was hard to swallow.

CaptainMyCaptain · 08/12/2021 12:48

It is ferociously expensive - £25+ for a bowl of very nice soup
Was that the soup at the waterfall - if you can manage another bowl you get it free? In 2015 it cost £9 and we thought that was expensive so I made sure I ate two bowls.

We booked all our trips there so didn't bother booking a Northern lights trips as they said there wouldn't be any that night, and again the following two nights.

Nanasueathome · 08/12/2021 12:49

My son is there at the moment
I’ll report back one I speak to him

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