Best things to experience in Iceland

[GoFaster83]

Just that, really. Husband and I are planning our first holiday together. It will be between 3 and 5 nights. I like the idea of booking the hotel and flights and then adding trips out but I'm not sure what we should prioritise. I would love to do the Northern lights trip (I know there's no guarantee) and perhaps whale watching but again, not sure the risk of not seeing them is worth the price?

Has anyone been and can recommend must do activities? We will be staying in Reykjavik.

Thanks!

There's a recent thread on this if you just scroll back a bit on holidays with lots of advice

Northern Lights tour was amazing, I would say book it for your first night, if you don’t see them most let you try again another night.

The best thing to experience in Iceland imo (apart from seeing a live volcano which cannot be planned) is climbing a mountain and seeing the views. Hafursey stands out in my memory but there are countless options.

There are so many stunning landscapes you can't really make a list, but Dettifoss, Látrabjarg at puffin nesting time, Háifoss... these are also places that spring to my mind as something truly incredible.

Just being out in the wild landscape, especially on a summer evening when the light is endless and you feel you could almost fly - that is the best experience in Iceland for my money.

You will not experience the best of Iceland by staying in Reykjavík, especially in the winter. There are lots of cool things to see and do and you can have a great time but you won't get anywhere near the peak of what the country has to offer.

We just spent 5 days in Reykjavík. We hired a car so didn't do a northern lights tour which I'm glad of as visibility was poor the whole time though we did see them very faintly at 7am one day.
whale watching was amazing but we did only see 2 and it was BLOODY cold.
the golden circle was stunning but see also bloody cold. No chance of hiking at this time of year as too cold and unsafe with ice.
we loved it. Frozen winter wonderland. Cheap plentiful heating indoors 😁 expensive though.

So many awesome things....

One I really remember was diving in a dry suit to go and view the techtonic plates in thingvellir and also going out to see the puffins

And of course the Natural hot springs (also free!) We're fab

Don't book trips - hire a car. Iceland is very easy to drive in as there is almost no traffic and it will give you so much more freedom. The northern lights trips just drive out to the middle of nowhere so you can get away from the lights of the city. You can do the same in a car but it will also allow you to see the many varied landscapes in Iceland.

Thank you everyone! Much food for thought! I appreciate all your input.

We went whale watching when there and briefly saw two minke whales... It really wasn't worth the feeling of dreadful sea-sickness for me...
Something to note is that it (was still when we were there 6 years ago) legal to hunt minke whales in Iceland so they do (very understandably) try and keep their distance from boats...
We lucked out with the northern lights - they were incredible! I would absolutely recommend trying to get a tour to see them if visibility is good...

Prawn ring

We went in midsummer and it was amazing! Obviously no Northern lights but we swam in the Blue Lagoon, saw geysers, Gullfoss waterfall , experienced the midnight sun ( obviously!), and ate and drank in some lovely places x

A prawn ring, or Vienetta. 😉

The Secret Lagoon was amazing. When we went it was -24c and just LOVELY to be in the hot water, icicles forming on eyelashes. I also loved Thingvellir and we went to Sjelljelandsfoss, saw the northern lights while there, amazing black sand beaches. Also had the best tomato soup at the cafe at Geysir. I echo others re hiring a car, though it was quite hairy at times as we went in the middle of a snowstorm so roads kept shutting. Was incredible though.

Reykjadalur is an amazing place. https://wanderful-stories.com/reykjadalur-hot-springs-the-thermal-river-you-need-to-visit-in-iceland/

Jökulsárlón is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. We stayed outside Reykjavik and it was still quite a long drive, but oh my god I will never forget it. We took a boat trip and saw seals up close on the ice and the whole thing was like a load of natural ice sculptures, it was beautiful.

I loved Iceland anyway and we did all the golden circle stuff plus went snorkelling, caving and ice climbing with a company called Arctic adventures - they were all so worth doing but the snorkelling was my favourite. Reykjavik was nice but there's much more to see if you stay somewhere else.

I'm jealous of anyone going to Iceland, I would go back in a heartbeat!

I should add, we went at the very end of April which is quite a good time as it's still icy and beautiful but not freezing!

Has anyone been to Iceland with kids?

I have been to Iceland with the kids loads of times, they always put loads of crap in the trolley.

How is it driving in February? I’m wondering if the weather is too bad to safely drive then.

It's always OK for most of the time, but if there's a storm or heavy snowfall or it gets very icy then you have to take that into account. You can certainly drive in February - they won't give you a car without winter tyres and it's generally no big deal - but it's very important to keep up to date with weather forecasts and warnings on safetravel.is. You have to be flexible with your plans and ready for things to change quickly.

This is all food for thought! Thank you to everyone for your input. Dh and I will research everything you've said and make a plan. Thanks again

OP- what time of the year are you going? We went in Dec and there was snow lying about the whole time in Reykjavik. The bus tours were so well organised, greyline and Reykjavik excursions, we didn't feel the need to hire a car. We did the Golden circle trip and seeing Gulfoss waterfall, partially frozen, was amazing! IF it had been another time of year, maybe we would have hired a car- but you'd also need to check you can park it near your hotel.

We stayed in a place with a kitchenette. It meant we could eat out, but also have breakfast and snacks in the room to save money. Alcohol in particular was expensive. There was a duty free shop at the airport and you can buy alcohol on arrival if you want a bottle of something.

I’m going in January for 3 days so am looking here and getting excited!!

We did the usual touristy Golden Circle stuff and Blue Lagoon which was great but we also went quad biking in the lava fields. So memorable. But not cheap.

I agree 100% with this. I’ve been 4 times and nothing beats staying in a log cabin with your own hot tub. We found one in a woodland and it was perfection.

my favourite thing was the geysers. I wasn’t even electing to enjoy them , my DH wanted to see them so I went along. Something incredibly primal and surreal about them, like a prehistoric scene and with the smell etc…. I’ll never ever forget it.