Iceland in October half term: self-drive or guided Golden Circle tour?

[SparklyDeer]

Me, DH and 2 teens are going to Iceland for 3 night in Oct half term. The cost of guided tours for all 4 of us is v expensive (Golden Circle). It is easy /recommended to self drive - it will be much cheaper but will we miss out by not doing a guided tour?

Also any top tips for what we should see/do/where to eat?
Thanks

Self drive is easy and gives you more flexibility to avoid crowds. Geyser is great and the town nearby is a good base to stay and see things.

We did the bus tour a few years ago and it felt a bit rushed to be honest. We wished we had a car and took our own time however, when we looked into it we saw blogs saying that it was dangerous to drive on icy roads. We went in Novemeber though. I guess it depends on the road conditions for when you go and how comfortable you are.

We went on the bus tour the first week of November 3 years ago. There was already snow and ice on the ground, and some of the roads were not very “main”. It was also dark when we left (8.30 am ish) and by the time we got back (about 4pm). Just some things to bear in mind when you consider your options.

Thanks - I think I am going to look at car hire but also stopping on route overnight somewhere. Useful to know about the snow and ice as I was hoping the roads would be kept clear...

I did the bus trip and I thought it was good, especially as I was only there for a few days. We had a decent guide who gave a good amount of information, and we were lucky to have a beautiful day.

We did a self drive in Feb half term a couple of years ago. We were worried about snow/ ice so based ourselves in Rekyavik but it was actually fine. Our plan was that worst case we’d
book trips when we were there if we couldn’t drive. It’s an amazing place, we all loved it and would def go back. Have a brilliant time!

We did self drive. Don’t think sitting on a coach all day with a bunch of strangers sounds much fun and I didn’t think I needed a guide to point out great big waterfalls. Do it on your own time, have a great time, it’s a lovely place x

Sorry should have said, we had 5 days, drove the golden circle, went to Hvammasvik hot springs ( amazing and the drive around the fjord was phenomenal!), we did the inside the glacier tour, the lava tube, drove to Vik and the waterfalls and glacier down there. Really loved it! Oh and also the bridge between continents and did a volcano walk. Eating out is expensive, we ended up taking a load of itsu noodles and flasks for most of our lunches and took snacks with us. We did go to the tomato farm(?) which was nice for lunch one day. We had great lobster soup one evening and went to the food hall near the harbour in Rek which was good, also had an amazing tasting menu somewhere near there one night as a birthday treat.

Definitely drive yourself. Driving in icy conditions is not difficult because the car will have winter tyres. It's night and day compared to any experience you may have had in the UK trying to drive in icy conditions on summer tyres. Honestly it's no big deal.

It's very unlikely to be snowy in October.

Only DH and myself and we went early Dec one year. It happened to be very heavy snow falls. We've never used bus tours in other countries and would normally manage with public transport, but this was one time we did use the coach. I can't say the talks/info on the bus was vital so if you do drive, you could certainly read up beforehand.

Have you booked accomodation? We stayed in an aparthotel which had a kitchenette. We did eat out, but it meant we could at least have breakfast in the room and snacks etc.
ok.hotelsreykjavik.net/en/

We did a self drive one February half term. It was absolutely fine doing the main tourist things like Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon. For 3 nights we were well outside Reykjavik and the roads no problem. We spent our last night in Reykjavik so the drive to the airport would be easier. We did end up driving to the airport in a snowstorm in the early hours but it was fine. All the hire cars seemed to be 4WD.

One thing I remember at Gulfoss with teenage DD, she almost got kidnapped by a girls school! She was wearing a blue hoodie. There was a school trip from a British girls' school who were there at the same time as us. Also wearing blue hoodies. One of the teachers saw DD wandering around and started to harangue her and hurry her to get on the coach! Looked mortified when we intervened and hurried away.

Went on coach tour, felt like we missed out a lot. Coach was too hot and jam packed, I felt very drowsy and wished that we had chosen a hire car instead.

Thanks all. We have booked a 4wd hire car and going to do the golden circle in 2 halves. I am really looking forward to this as hopefully it will mean we miss the throngs of tourists from the buses.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the best lagoons that aren't Blue or Sky? They are so expensive for effectively 4 adults and i think our teens may get bored after a while...

Just go to a normal swimming pool. Kópavogslaug, Lágafellslaug and Álftaneslaug are our favourites. It is much cheaper and the teenagers will have a great time on the slides.

We went last year in Nov - we hired a car, the quality of the car was so bad I had to ask if it was more than 10 years old as our excess insurance wouldn't cover it. No instructions were given about the roads - we asked if the roads were salted he laughed and walked away.
There was more snow than we expected and tbh we weren't convinced the car (4XDrive) would last the journey so we booked a coach - £100 each, the guide spoke in a monotone all day, went into extreme detail, repeated everything three times, he never shut up - it was a real relief to finish the day trip...top tip for the coach - take earphones at least you can switch off if you need to and the stop over for lunch (not included in the price) was the equivalent of a poor roadside dinner, so maybe not a bad idea to pack some food.
I wasn't overly thrilled with Iceland as a destination, it has become like a theme park but it was beautiful.

The hire cars can take a bashing in Iceland, especially the 4x4 cars as they can go on roads not open to standard cars. If anyone is a nervous driver, don’t drive in Iceland in the winter.

We had a 4x4 Honda but that was ok. Icelandic people are used to poor weather and I cannot imagine they salt all the roads. I think going after about now is a lottery regarding weather and obviously daylight is in short supply.

https://secretlagoon.is/

The Secret lagoon is great and a small fraction of the cost of the Blue Lagoon, much closer to the genuine experience and not full of influencers filming themselves.

We did self drive along the south coast from Reykavik to Diamond Beach but it was early September. It was a really lovely trip, roads are really good.

We went in August and had done 3 days of self drive round the Golden Circle when my DH fell off a horse and broke his arm (only driver) so the rest of our two week holiday (with plans to do the ring road) were spent in Reykjavik doing tours. They were actually really good quality with excellent guides. We went to the Blue Lagoon (without plaster casted DH!); we knew it was tacky but felt it had to be done and really enjoyed it (DC were 15 and 17). We really loved Iceland and hope to get back to the ring road one day but it is expensive.

@angelcake20 We found shops selling filled rolls and salads and had picnic lunches. It definitely saves quite a lot.

@SparklyDeer we are in Iceland right now and it has been a constant 9-10 degrees with lots of rain, so I can't see the temperature dropping significantly between now and half term.

The Golden Circle is very busy with group tours - avoid the weekend if you have a choice. It gets quieter the further you go from Reykjavek.

All very beautiful and impressive.

If you hire a car buy all the additional insurance coverage. It is worth it for peace of mind if nothing else.

Self drive is way better but get up early to beat the coaches. Again it's worth it.

It could easily drop significantly. Autumn will soon be over and winter can come with a bang. It is usually freezing by the end of October so it depends when half term is exactly for your schools. Should still be rainy rather than snowy - but you never know! Last year at the end of October we suddenly had about a metre of snow all in one day. And then nothing for months!

My partner and I were there in May and we rented a car. Driving is very easy in Iceland and nowhere is particularly busy traffic-wise, even Reykjavik. The main sites are fairly far apart so you will need to set aside plenty of driving time between them and there's only so much of the island that you're realistically going to be able to do, but the scenery is very beautiful.

A word of advice on renting a car. We booked online in advance and opted for a 'VW Golf or similar' and got a Dacia Jogger with several dents and a missing wheel cap and whilst it was mechanically sound, it was easily the worst hire car I've ever had, so be careful.

Have a great time.

I would self drive and then you could always join a day tour if you wanted to head off the beaten track to somewhere like Thorsmork or onto a glacier?