Iceland advice - May half term

[CoolShoeshine]

Have been pondering an Iceland trip for next May. Aware that this is the wrong time of year for seeing the Northern Lights but would prefer to go when not freezing cold.
However, have read that because May is neither winter or summer it is considered off-season. This has put me off somewhat as I wouldn’t like to go when things are closed.
Main things we want to do are to see a bit of the landscape- volcano, geyser, waterfalls etc, swim in a lagoon and also go whale watching. Are tours for these activities likely to be running in May?
one other concern is the expense. The flight and hotel costs are fine and we have a rough idea of tour costs. Even though we are not on a strict budget we wouldn’t want to spend silly money on food and drink. We’d probably have breakfast at our hotel but what about lunch and dinner options? Is there anything reasonably priced? Can we pick up bits from supermarkets?
Thanks for advice

Any special tourist experiences / recommendations for a 12 yo please.

It's quite fun to hike up Reykjadalur just by Hveragerði, if you want to go in the hot river.

Just have a look at the pools and hot springs website I linked, it's a very helpful resource.

Can you be more specific, what do they like? What time of year? Where in the country?

@JamMakingWannaBe Super Jeep tour. Anyone would love it! Not sure about winter though.

We went in May and everything was open and easy to get to. The weather was still very mixed and cold in the evenings so check before you go and take decent coats and hats.

eating out yes is ££ but we liked the food halls for variety and teen appeal and they are everywhere.

I loved the natural town pools we found and a few more by lakes. Even in rain they are lovely. I enjoyed the blue lagoon so would say go. It is very busy and fake but also surreal and fun and if you are taking teens they will enjoy it.

easy to drive and park to geysers, waterfalls etc. We found driving in wind and rain a bit stressful so maybe keep some flexibility on driving days and don’t do too much?

the huge volcanic museum just outside rekyavik is very good if you have a rainy day - really well done

We're going soon and still undecided on booking a car or not. If we don't, is it easy to get to Reykjavik from the airport and back again? Do you have to book or is there a public bus route? Google throws up so many options, I'm not sure which is best. A bit concerned as we need to be at the airport at about 7/8 am on the way back, so need to set off quite early.

But if we have a car, then worried about finding somewhere to park it in Reykjavik as we have an apartment booked and it just says (paid) street parking outside.

We want to do the Golden Circle, obviously and spend a day or two wandering round Reykjavik. Not bothered about the Blue Lagoon but will go to a public pool, or there's a spa on the edge of the city. Then another trip, not sure what yet.

I'm excited but also a bit apprehensive and haven't done anywhere near as much research as I should have done so just feeling a bit daunted about making the best of the holiday, especially as it's likely to be expensive. But we're only there a few days, which limits the cost, and I'm almost purposely not understanding the exchange rate, so I don't know how much things are, but then I don't want to get home and find I'd done something like pay £200 for a burger

@Newgirls It looks like the Volcanic museum is closed, which is a shame.

Are the 'food halls' like street food markets? That sounds good, we like those and I'd rather have something like that than a big sit down restaurant meal a lot of the time.

You get the Flybus from the airport. You technically can get the normal bus but it is a walk to the stop and takes longer - it is also completely un-signposted and basically hidden. They really don't want you to take the normal bus because Flybus is a rip off and they want the monopoly. It's vexing but I always get it anyway if I don't have the car because they have successfully made the normal bus a lot more hassle.

Personally I would definitely book a car so that you can explore at your own pace and stop wherever you like. And have that flexibility in case of bad weather. Parking downtown is a pain in the arse, yes, but you can probably find a solution.

Don't pay more than 3000 for a meal unless you've purposely gone somewhere fancy and intend to push the boat out.

If you need another day trip from Reykjavík try Reykjanes. You can hike up and see the volcanoes from the past 3 years, which is fun. And see the geothermal area at Krýsuvík and Kleifarvatn.

Or you could drive further along the south coast if you're OK with quite a long day - there are various waterfalls and so on to stop at along the way.

Or you could go up to Hvalfjörður and do the hike to Glymur - that is a brilliant experience if the weather's all right.

Or hike Reykjadalur and take a dip in the hot river.

Anyway I recommend doing a proper hike, which is really the best way to enjoy the Icelandic landscape imo.

We went 20 years ago and just used public buses to get around! That was when the Internet was very basic too!

You can get a pass in Reykjavik which gets you on all the public transport and into the public pools free, as well as discounts in museums.

We went at the end of April - it was great.

We had an apartment, so that helped with food, as we stocked up in a supermarket and didn't have to eat out as much.

The museum is called Perlan. It’s more like a brilliant natural history place with an ice cave and a 360 viewing platform. I’d be amazed if that was closed as it’s quite new. Puffin can prob advise.

we parked ok near our sort and paid with an app or bought tickets. It’s not far to then walk closer. Parking wasn’t expensive.

food halls are in covered buildings and do pizza, noodles etc and some slightly more Icelandic things but not hugely authentic. Seemed full of Icelandic people though. We had great bowls of soup at lunch very hearty so good value too. Lobster or tomato on the whole.

Choosing cod for dinner when eating out was fairly affordable to be honest - prob cheaper to eat fish in Iceland than the uk so eating out can be ok

lots of very cool cafes, bars and restaurants so a shame to not try them a few times - just don’t order 3 courses etc!

We went to Skogar Open Air museum. It has a large indoor section too. You would need a car though.

I agree with the advice not to drive every day and rush on to the next town. Go a bit slower to appreciate everything.

Yes Perlan is definitely still open and it's brilliant.

I really want to go to that museum @TizerorFizz we have driven past it a couple of times. Was it really good?

Thanks for the clarification on the museum, I've found at least two other 'volcano museums' on Google maps, that are closed, so that was what caused the confusion.

I went in July with my teenage son. We stayed in the Grand Hotel and they had an amazing buffet breakfast which kept us going all day (even for my teenage son which is unusual!). One day we got a takeaway pizza from one of the international pizza chains (can't remember which one) which did a deal on a Tuesday and sat by the shore and ate it. We also did one of the restaurants where they serve a stew/soup in a loaf of bread (which was refillable and very filling) - sorry can't remember the name. And we also did a Food Hall one night. If you are a family you might want to look at an Airbnb and self-cater which might be cheaper for you but it's nice to eat out. You'll love it - we had such a fabulous and interesting time.

I went with a friend in mid May a few years ago. We went for a week and drove right around. We enjoyed the Blue Lagoon but the public pool in Rekjavik was just as good for a fraction of the cost. Skogar Museum was really good. Vik beach and so many waterfalls, the golden triangle. The highlight for me was the amphibious boat ride round a glacial lagoon, can’t remember the name. South coast somewhere.

We had unseasonably bad weather and had to cut a couple of activities due to snow. Whale watching on the North coast was cancelled as the boats couldn’t go out.

It was an amazing trip and I dream
if retained day.

Jokulsarlon is the glacier lake. Def worth booking.

We also did an ‘into the glacier’ experience which was quite amazing

The best volcano museum I think is on Heimaey. The main exhibition is about the 1973 eruption which came without warning in the middle of the night right on the edge of town. Miraculously everyone escaped the island unhurt. They dug a few of the houses out of the lava and built the museum around them. It's absolutely fascinating. I can't recommend the Westman Islands highly enough! The pool's good, too, there's an aquarium with semi-wild beluga whales, puffins and other birds in the summer, you can walk up the 1973 volcano, incredible landscape of sheer grassy slopes and cliffs.

@Zonder We really enjoyed it. Especially the house with the animal barn attached. Very atmospheric. Has quite a lot of Icelandic life artefacts inside too so if the weather is a bit questionable there’s more to see.

There's also Árbæjarsafn in town if you like open air history museums. It's pretty good, lots of olden days houses to explore. One of them has a historic toy collection that kids are allowed to play with and there are go karts outside, farm animals and a café. It's a good day out with children but also interesting for adults. It's right by Elliðaárdalur which is a nice park in a valley with a river and a waterfall and a population of feral rabbits - very exotic for Iceland 😆

Thanks @TizerorFizz - on my list for our next visit!

I like the sound of that too @Puffinshop thanks