Iceland for 3 days recommendations for tours?

[40andlovelife]

Myself and husband are taking our 12 yr old son to Iceland and staying in Reykjavik the week before Christmas. The first day we will have most of the day as we will get in Reykjavik around 11am. We then have another 2 full days. At that point there's apparently around 5 hours of daylight. I am wondering what tours / excursions to book? What did you enjoy when you were there?

Will that be long enough 😬

We were there for 1.5 days in May (stopover on the way back from Canada).

We just did one tour - the Golden Circle - which took about 7 hours. I think it's a very standard thing to do. Not sure what it would be like in winter.

Years ago (in January), we did a snorkelling excursion in the national park that's on the golden circle tours. Absolutely fabulous tour.

Long enough for what? I'm not sure I follow

Yes I am considering the golden circle and a few people have mentioned the south coast tour too. Not sure which one though!

Do a golden circle tour. If your budget stretches to it, a jeep Northern lights excursion was unforgettable. We didn't see them, so they took us out again for free the next night. Driving out in the middle of the night, off road in a jeep in the freezing cold deep snow was exhilarating.

Also i did a combined horse riding/whale watching tour - you get picked up by minibus for the horse riding then taken onwards to the harbour by minibus to get on the boat. You don't have to have any experience of horse riding and their horses are quite small and easy to ride.

Deffo recommend the golden circle tour .

I didn’t think it would be for me (too much on the bus , off the bus type thing) but I loved it ! We saw so much that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise, and it was definitely worth the money. Saw the guises and lots of waterfalls, tectonic plates in the national park, where they hung the witches hundreds of years ago, it was great .

the blue lagoon- meh . It’s probably one of those things you have to do once , get the picture taken then your done . It’s a very expensive outdoor pool . 15 minutes of bobbing about and I was wondering what to do next . Can’t go for a beer because it was about £20 for less then a pint 😂

If I had two days I’d do the Golden Circle and a south coast tour. Both times that I’ve been were February, so we had the benefit of more daylight. We hired a car when we went, but with only two days and such limited daylight I’d probably be inclined to take organised tours. They will know exactly how to time the day to make the most of the little daylight that is available.

We did 3 days in January. Unfortunately, there was a hurricane on day 1 so our flight was delayed 8 hours and when we arrived it was too windy to get off the plane. We had taken extra food and this helped and were also dressed for getting off the plane into -30°. The evening northern lights tour went ahead.

Next day: Full day gold circle tour - amazing, we also fitted in blue lagoon after that although that may be tricky currently due to volcanic stuff. Last day, we did a half day guided tour underground down a lava tunnel (lifts from our hotel), with the afternoon spent exploring Reykjavik.

We packed so much into the 2 days we finally spent there! Would love to go again. Next time I’d do glaciers and diamond beach.

We bought a bottle of raspberry liqueur going out as alcohol is very expensive out there. We took a small bottle and decanted it for little nips - felt very decadent (& warming).

Food is expensive but it’s important to try the local food so we made sure to eat at a well recommended restaurant one night - loved it! Husband had Icelandic cod cooked by an Icelandic chef and it was one of the best pieces of fish he’s ever had.

Also - there is a Christmas bauble shop in Reykjavik- worth a visit ! On the Main Street

We’ve booked a Golden Circle Tour and a Northern Lights Tour.
🫣 I’m hoping that a volcano erupts whilst we’re there so that I can take a helicopter ride over it!
FlyOver Iceland is a good thing to do and so is a trip to The Perlan Museum

Sorry, didn't mean to be rude, just doesn't seem long enough to see much but reading the replies looks like it is!

We did 3 days in January .

we did golden circle , glacier and secret lagoon - last day Reykjavik and northern lights boat rides …

all tours pick up from different hotels to satalite bus station . Don’t be afraid to book before you go .

we took snacks and alcohol too.

Do a golden circle tour that includes hvammsvik hot springs....it's a fabulous spot!

Then do the south coast but find a tour which includes a glacier hike.

Try and do a northern lights trip too on a day in rekyavik. Can recommend Pelan Ice cave as an attraction in Rekyavik.

We had three days - we did a Golden Circle tour, a South coast tour with ice hiking on a glacier and a day hanging out in Reykjavik going to the swimming pool (more fun than it sounds!) and the museum. And a coach tour to see the Northern Lights - we didn't go far outside Reykjavik but we didn't need to. That was a highlight and the DC still talk about it.

It's long enough for a quick introduction to Iceland but you won't even scratch the surface of Reykjavik let alone any part of the country. But you can always go back if you liked it.

South coast and a glacier hike. Sky lagoon was mich nicer than blue lagoon but not sure on age of children allowed. Do not book through get your guide! Recently had my account hacked as have many others online. Trips booked and used the same day and company refuse to refund as didn't "cancel" on time even though they were fraudenrlent transactions! £££s out of pocket.

which pool did you go to? We’re planning a trip next year and I fancied going to a local pool but there are lots of them!

Sundhöll. It was closest to where we were staying. Not the fanciest but still fun.

Do the golden circle tour with the Secret Lagoon thrown in. It's not much more expensive and is such a lovely experience.

We did 3 days. If you book with Tui, they include two excursions.

We went straight from the airport to Blue Lagoon for a swim and lunch and then on to our hotel in Reykjavik. (I seem to recall that Blue lagoon operate a free coach service to/from the airport and hotels so it was cheaper than booking an airport transfer) Did a Northern Lights tour the first evening (so we could try again another night if unsuccessful).

Second day we did the Golden Circle tour which was amazing. That evening we walked into town for a proper Icelandic meal.

On the last day we did a snowmobiling tour across a glacier and then went into the ice caves before heading back to the airport.