A big birthday for my partner incoming, so I decided to book us time in Iceland. We’ve got a week there which, as far as I can tell, is far too long to hang about in Reykjavik, but not enough time to do the full ring road.
So far, I’ve booked a couple of nights in Reykjavik at the beginning, with plans to go Somewhere Else for the rest of the week. I’m not sure whether it’s worth investing in car hire or sticking to buses (we’ll be on a bit of a budget)? Whether we should travel to one place elsewhere in the country and explore that area thoroughly, or to travel about a bit? Whether any of the big tourist sites are worth avoiding, etc?
Anyone got any tips? Easy wins on cash-saving? Any real highlights we shouldn’t miss? Also, what are the accommodation options like outside the capital? We’ll be there very late September, so outside the tourist season, which I guess could have some complications?
Been ages since I’ve planned a big holiday… 
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I’d look at day trips and use Reykjavik as a base for the week if you’re not driving.
Reckon if you did 3 all dayers you’d get more than public transporting it.
-Golden circle with hot springs
-South coast
-Highlands
-northern lights
Think there’s a Reykjavik thread on here that had some good tips.
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I don’t think you’ll have any issues with accommodation, I went in January and the only issue was whether roads would be closed because of the snow.
We had two nights in Reykjavik, one night in Hvammstangi, which is a very cute village up north, and two nights in Akureyri, the highlights round there were Krafla, Myvatn, Hverir and Dimmuborgir. Having a car was useful as it meant we could adapt to the weather (we only visited Þingvellir in the Golden Circle as the weather was freezing and miserable whilst we were in Reykjavik) and were able to break up longer journeys by stopping off at little sightseeing spots that are all over the place.
But you’ll have a lot more daylight and better weather in September, so coach trips would be more appealing and cheaper. I also think those Akureyri sites are quite similar to the Golden Circle places, so you might not want to do both.
Cheers for the tips, folks. Think we’re going to get a car after all and do the south coast. Already got too many places to go, so some more research will be required…
Get yourself to Jökulsárlón and the Diamond Beach in that case.
It’s going to be the eastern extent of our trip. 
Is there enough paths there to fill a few hours without spending cash on a tour/boat trip? It looks very pricey to book anything.
Yeah, I think we spent a couple of hours there last time. Walked up the eastern border of the lagoon, then spent about 45 minutes walking along the shoreline where ice had washed up.
Sounds good to me. Cheers.
Forrettebarrin and Loki restaurants were delicious (we’re vegetarian)forrettebarrin is right next to Reykjavik harbour. We had booked a boat trip to see northern lights, but they advised it would be cloudy so I asked if we could swap to whale watching, absolutely no problems no fuss, simples. (Loki is right by the weird cathedral/church)
The sky lagoon was fantastic, expensive, but beautiful, do the full experience. I’ve seen there are some fantastic lagoons up north as well.
Something I wanted to do but didn’t, was go on one of the big mega fucking monster glacier trucks
Recs for some inexpensive eateries in Reykjavik. This place is gonna bankrupt me
Saegreifinn for lunch, fish shack on the harbour, amazing soup.
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Good shout. Appears I am round the corner from there
I also enjoyed Tres Loco which was mexican but with the protein done with icelandic ingredients and styles was like £20 for a couple of tacos.
It’s dear but no more expensive than going out in london i didn’t think
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I guess there’s only so many soup recommendations you need but the seafood soup at https://turf-house.is/ (next to the big cathedral) is the tastiest soup I’ve ever eaten.
Deig bakery near the harbour had cheapish bagels, although closes 4pm.
Hot dogs and supermarkets are other options but be prepared to make this face: 
even at the prices of those.
How long are you there for? It took us 3 days to finally accept that financial ruin was inevitable regardless of how many corners we tried to cut. Eventually a zen state will fall upon you as you remember you don’t necessarily need to keep checking your credit card spendings. I think it was the cost of entry to Perlan (the natural history museum) that finally cracked our fragile state of budget consciousness.
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Here for a week. Made my peace with not eating for the rest of the year.
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It was 10 years ago so please take these recommendations with a pinch of salt, but Forrettbarin and Reykjavik Fish I found really good and reasonable.
The famous hot dog stand has got to be done as well. That’s more a snack than a meal though.
Oh, the restaurant in the Kex Hostel was nice and cheap too. Had a nice burger there, buffalo I think.
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