Iceland for 9 days in the summer - where would you go/have you been?

[Spiritedlight]

We are hoping to go to Iceland in the summer - hire a car and drive around. If you've been, where did you go that you liked?

We are a couple with two teen DCs

It's cliched, but definitely worth doing the key points on the 'Golden Circle' - Geysir, Þingvellir (pronounced with a 'th'), Gulfoss.

Then I'd head east out to Vatnajokull National Park, which is a big ice cap by the coast. The southern part is the most accessible. There's Jokulsarlon (iceberg filled lake, you can kayak in it also) and the Diamond Beach, beautiful walks (Svartifoss, a waterfall through big hexagonal baslt columns, is amazing), ice caves and glacier walks (get a tour, Skaftafell is good). Selsjalandfoss en route is a beautiful waterfall you can walk behind.

Blue Lagoon by the airport is a classic geothermal pool, but very expensive and touristy - still worth it though! (Remember to slather your hair in conditioner before you get in, the minerals in the water ruin your hair). I've not been, as it opened since my last visit, but Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik is supposed to be amazing - I'd probably chose that over Blue Lagoon. For a budget option in Reykjavik, their public swimming pool is geothermally heated, and has a series of hot tubs on a balcony outside. For a more authentic and natural experience, Secret Lagoon is fab, or there are hikes which go encompass hot springs (do your research though, and ask locals, because some can be very very very hot and are dangerous - don't just plunge into any steaming river you see!)

There are lots of threads on Iceland on here. My recommendations would be public swimming pools, they are amazing. Been to Iceland twice and never been to any of the touristy lagoons. Also go horse riding. The reykyadalur hike to thermal river was great, fewer tourists as bus parties don't usually bother! Lots of waterfalls and short hikes. Don't calculate how much food is costing, it's insane. Take some snacks with you!

I'd get a 4WD and make the most of being able to go into the highlands.

I've liked almost everywhere I've been in Iceland but in the summer with the right vehicle you have all the very best bits open to you.

If you can get up north to Dettifoss I have never seen anything else that made my jaw literally drop like that. I went to Niagara Falls recently and although it was technically bigger it just didn't blow me away in the same way.

Loads of other truly stunning sights are all over. You can't really go far wrong as long as you're prepared for wet and windy weather (though you might get lucky!).

Definitely bring your swimming stuff. Almost every little town has a swimming pool and some of them are amazing (Hofsós is my favourite).

Amazing, thanks. Does this require a lot of driving on a daily basis? Thinking about teens

And is 10 days better than 7? Or can we see a lot in 7? We have to transfer some existing flights, so we're hamstrung over which airline to go with - it's either 7 or 10 days given their flight schedule.

Fab, thank you

We went for a week and stayed 3 nights in Reykjavik, 3 nights in Vik and 1 night in Grindavik for the Blue Lagoon and then airport. That’s still a fair bit of driving. I think you’d need a couple of weeks to do the full ring road.

Iceland was my favourite holiday ever. Reykjavik itself is worth a day, then you can do the Golden Circle as a day trip. The key sights are Pingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall but you can make other stops too. We self drove and added in an ice cream stop, Kerid Crater and an hour in the Secret Lagoon. Secret Lagoon is completely different to the Blue Lagoon. It’s like a hot pond surrounded by grass - we loved it!

You can explore the waterfalls of the South coast en route to Vik. The main ones are Seljalandsfoss (that you can walk behind) and Skogafoss. There’s a more hidden waterfall just near Seljalandsfoss which is lovely.

Vik is cute and has Black Sand Beach and the hexagonal columns of Reynisfjara beach. And lots of puffins. From Vik we did day trips to Skaftafell for a glacier hike and Jokulsarlon for a boat trip to the glacier lagoon and Diamond Beach. That was a long day.

We also managed to fit in DC snorkelling the Silfra fissure, a visit to a Lava tunnel and Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon looks like a power station as you approach but is lovely inside.

One negative for us was the cost. Eating out was pretty expensive as were drinks. We self catered to make it more manageable.