Reykjavik /Iceland anyone ?

[BeaLola]

Any experiences greatly welcomed.

Would be me, DH & DS13 - is it worth a visit, if so how long & any good attractions you could recommend as well as hotels

TIA

It's fascinating but chilly. We went one July and it averaged about 10 degrees.

The main draws are the amazing scenery and nature - waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes, glaciers, bird life and whale watching. A driving trip around the ring road is good for a couple of weeks, if you want a shorter trip then maybe base in Reykjavik. I would definitely recommend a car. You need a 4x4 if going into the interior.

Lots of active options if that appeals to you, but not cheap iirc.

The Blue Lagoon is overrated.

Very expensive, glad I have been not sure if we would return?
You do need to drive and I would recommend the Golden Circle
guidetoiceland.is/best-of-iceland/top-9-detours-on-the-golden-circle
We went just before Christmas, enjoyed the Blue Lagoon, but not cheap, people tell me there are cheaper alternatives.

I went in January a couple of years ago, it was by far the most incredible holiday ever and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

As others have said, it is crazily expensive. Think £35 for a burger (yes and not in a Michelin star restaurant, just an ordinary place). I stayed in the centre of Reykjavik and googled cheap places to eat which helped a little.

There is so much to see, it's a really unique place. I personally enjoyed the penis museum but maybe not so good for young children! The Viking museum and the volcano museum are great (they're in the city centre) and there's the whale museum by the harbour which is mind blowing with life size whale models. The Golden Circle tour is a must and there's also a place you can visit where they tell you all about Icelandic ponies (it's a theatre/arena place with demonstrations, much better than I've made it sound!).

It's very expensive. If going in summer drive yourself, if spring/autumn/winter join an organised tour where they drive you, your guide will tell you a lot about the country/area/geology. We went at Easter and did a 2 day tour along the south coast, the diamond beach is the most amazing place I've ever been, I could have stayed forever. Clear ice blocks the size of cars, washing up on a jet black beach. Then a walk back to the glacier where they calved from.

We went February last year, me DD14 and DS 11, all loved it, we stayed 4 nights, organised tours to see the golden circle and the Northern lights and then spent the rest of the time in Reykjavik, stayed at the Hilton, expensive but worth it and we would all like to go back.

We went three nights at New Year, it was so pretty but very cold. Stayed in Air BnB in city centre. Only five or six hours of daylight too so you have to be super organised with your trips. We booked through trip advisor and did Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon and quad biking in the lava fields. Amazing experience. A free walking tour of Reykjavik was also good.
Very expensive. Think £50 for two small pizzas and two cans of beer. We took a full case of non perishables and made picnics. Saved a fortune that way.
No sign of the Northern Lights but despite having travelled pretty extensively the DC still say it was their best holiday.

I went at the end of March a couple of years back. Really enjoyed the golden circle tour but it is very touristy/busy. My favourite trip was a visit to the Laugarvatn Fontana hot spring/spa at sunset, lying in the hot pools watching the sunset, we had dinner and a northern lights bus included in the trip - the northern lights started just as we were getting on the bus and we had 2 hours of the most magical light show, it was amazing.

I live here and it's lovely, especially at this time of year. Most of the 'attractions' are just part of the landscape, so free, perhaps a parking charge. The country is best enjoyed if you are an outdoorsy family that enjoys hiking and doesn't mind a bit of wind and rain too much.

We currently have an erupting volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula which is an incredible opportunity to see this phenomenon in an area very accessible from the capital. If you want to see it, though, best to come as soon as possible since the longer it continues the further away you have to stand because of all the fresh lava in the way. Also it could stop at any time. Alternatively we could get a new vent! I've been to see it 3 times and honestly I would come to Iceland just for this, it is an absolutely mind-blowing experience.

The Blue Lagoon is rubbish, don't bother. The public pools are great and a fraction of the price (best slides are in Lágafellslaug). Or hike up Reykjadalur and get into the hot river, completely free. Driving round the country is great but you can also have a good time just staying in the capital area if you don't have much time to devote to the trip. For destinations outside the capital, we recently took a short trip to the Vestmannaeyjar and had a lovely time - the volcano museum there is really excellent and the landscape is the among the most beautiful in country, where competition is stiff!

If you're vaccinated you don't have to do a serious quarantine or present a negative test. Children born 2005 or later are also exempt from those. So if you are both vaccinated and your son is under 16 it'll likely be a test at the border and then quarantine for a few hours until the results come through. If negative, then you're all done and free to start enjoying yourself.

It's fabulous. My favourite holiday.

Love Reykjavik. Go to public pools instead of Blue Lagoon. We went in the evening and looked at stars while swimming in heated luxury at a fraction of the price.

The lake on the middle of Reykjavik is lovely. We also went to a show at the Harpa.

I've never been but my DD went on a school trip (geography A level!) and loved it so much she wants to live there.

Loads to see and gaze at. V cold. V expensive.

I absolutely hated it, there wasn’t a lot to do outside of the tours, it was very expensive (£30 for subway, beer and a burger was over £50) make sure you know which days are the weekend- we made the mistake of not realising and everything was shut on one of the days (Monday I think).

DP loved it though, the scenery is beautiful and the tours are very interesting. Their salted liquorice chocolate is delicious too.

Dont forget the bakeries!!!

Monday is not the weekend, we have normal weekends here. Maybe it was a public holiday? You can check the 'red days' here: attavitinn.is/vinna/raudir-dagar/

This summer we only have two red days left: 17 June which is Independence Day and the first Monday in August (2 August this year), which is 'Merchants' Weekend'.

We did a 2 week road trip round the whole island a few years ago with dc 11 and 12. Was amazing. We were there in late July and the weather was warm and Sunny most days. The food wasn’t as expensive as we expected - if you chose sensibly and didn’t buy lots of drinks. We just had tap water in the restaurants we went to and maybe a coke for the dc. Also made use of the fish and chip vans - and the hot dog vans. I had visions of surviving on pot noodles but we only ate in a couple of times.

We went in january. Ds was 7.

I loved it into rhe glacier was fabulous tour, golden circle, we did the secret lagoon not the blue lagoon.

We saw northern lights on a boat tour.

We stayed in a hotel with an amazing breakfast. Meant we only needed tea. Took snacks with us.

Dress appropriately for the weather

I went around February a few years ago. It was a bit chilly, but not unbearably so (it was colder in most parts of central Europe). I recommend getting crampons if travelling in winter though.

No one in my group drove (in fact a local advised tourists not to drive in winter). We went with a company called Your Day Tours, and did the all day South Coast Tour. Highly recommended, as we we were part of a minibus of no more than 8 people, and our driver went out of his way to avoid other tour groups.

We went on another trip to an old airbase (little light pollution), to see the northern lights. It was a bit underwhelming tbh, we had better views on our walk back from the bus station to the hotel in Reykjavik!

I enjoyed the National Museum and Settlement Museum.

We are going later this month (we hope, worried the flights may get cancelled). Staying in Reykjavik and Vik, hiring a car, happy to self cater a little to keep costs down.

It's SO expensive and not particularly enjoyable as a holiday destination for me in the sense that I enjoy meals out, coffee shops etc. And even right in the centre despite it being a capital city there's just NOTHING going on.

Saying that, there are a lot of amazing sights to see so I'm glad we went although I wouldn't go again

Most memorable purchase was a £15 loaf of bread!

And even right in the centre despite it being a capital city there's just NOTHING going on.

That's because the centre has been gutted by Airbnb and tourism and nobody lives there anymore. I know many people who were thrown out of their homes by landlords who could make more money gouging tourists. It's a tourist enclave now. The centre used to be extremely vibrant. My name is a reference to the decline of Reykjavík 101. It's also the subject of a brilliant painting by Þrándur Þórarinsson.

@PuffinShop

I live here and it's lovely, especially at this time of year. Most of the 'attractions' are just part of the landscape, so free, perhaps a parking charge. The country is best enjoyed if you are an outdoorsy family that enjoys hiking and doesn't mind a bit of wind and rain too much.

We currently have an erupting volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula which is an incredible opportunity to see this phenomenon in an area very accessible from the capital. If you want to see it, though, best to come as soon as possible since the longer it continues the further away you have to stand because of all the fresh lava in the way. Also it could stop at any time. Alternatively we could get a new vent! I've been to see it 3 times and honestly I would come to Iceland just for this, it is an absolutely mind-blowing experience.

The Blue Lagoon is rubbish, don't bother. The public pools are great and a fraction of the price (best slides are in Lágafellslaug). Or hike up Reykjadalur and get into the hot river, completely free. Driving round the country is great but you can also have a good time just staying in the capital area if you don't have much time to devote to the trip. For destinations outside the capital, we recently took a short trip to the Vestmannaeyjar and had a lovely time - the volcano museum there is really excellent and the landscape is the among the most beautiful in country, where competition is stiff!

If you're vaccinated you don't have to do a serious quarantine or present a negative test. Children born 2005 or later are also exempt from those. So if you are both vaccinated and your son is under 16 it'll likely be a test at the border and then quarantine for a few hours until the results come through. If negative, then you're all done and free to start enjoying yourself.

I think we need to quarantine coming back I to the uk? Or has that gone now?!!

@PuffinShop

And even right in the centre despite it being a capital city there's just NOTHING going on.

That's because the centre has been gutted by Airbnb and tourism and nobody lives there anymore. I know many people who were thrown out of their homes by landlords who could make more money gouging tourists. It's a tourist enclave now. The centre used to be extremely vibrant. My name is a reference to the decline of Reykjavík 101. It's also the subject of a brilliant painting by Þrándur Þórarinsson.

Wouldnt tourism being bars/cafes etc.?

It just seems like a row of endless shops selling the same pairs of wool socks

No, Iceland is 'green' so we can enter the UK without quarantine.

It just seems like a row of endless shops selling the same pairs of wool socks

And puffin teddies. That is why they are called puffin shops and yes, it has ruined the city centre. Of course there are cafes and restaurants and bars as well, some of which are really good. It is still nice to go to Austurvöllur or Ingólfstorg on a hot sunny day and if you like heavy drinking then you will enjoy Reykjavík at 3 am on a Saturday night (not right now, though). But a lot of the character has gone and most of the people you see are tourists.

Ah that's the puffin thing then!