#12

Depends how long you’re there for. If 3 days you can probs just do scheduled tours I imagine. Longer than that and I would 1) not use Reykjavik as a base the entire time and 2) hire a car

#13

Depends how long you’re going for and where you want to go.

If you’re only planning on going to the glacial lagoon and Golden Circle, then no, hiring a car won’t be worth it - the tour guides are good and informative and driving conditions can be a little treacherous at that time of year as you cross the ridge of the country.

If you’re going for longer and want to do an overnight tour around Route 1, then it might be worth hiring a car. Again though, check driving conditions before you head out.

If you’re going to be in Reykjavik during airwaves then there are loads of free gigs happening in the city in loads of different locations. The set up is very similar to SXSW in that apart from the headliners, most acts play several times during the week at various showcase events. KEX hostel, in particular is a great location for seeing afternoon gigs that are being filmed and recorded for the KEXP site.

#14

hi meo. was three days enough? was it brutally cold in january?

#15

Hello
I would have like to have done more tbh but it was nice for a little break.
We did the Blue Lagoon straight from the airport which i’d really recommend as they drop you off at your hotel/airbnb after. Then on the Saturday we did a full golden circle tour which was really good. That was brutally cold seeing the waterfalls. We could barely open our mouths or get our hands out of our pockets cause the windchill factor is a lot.
I would say there isn’t actually an awful lot to see in Reykavik itself as it’s only a few streets but it’s still nice.

I stayed here on my latest trip. https://www.booking.com/hotel/is/eyja-guldsmeden.html?aid=304142

I’ve since been back and done a week long campervan trip which was 100000 x more amazing and absolutely excellent!!

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#16

Was there in November for Airwaves. Three days definitely enough for the city. Make sure to download Reykjavik Grapevine’s “Appy Hour” app to keep track of what bars are doing deals.

We stayed next to Hlemmur Square, there’s a nice food hall there with traditional and modern options. Get a hot dog from Baejarins Betsu Pyslur.

I really enjoyed the Perlan museum, I’m a real geography nerd so it was perfect for me. The hill it’s on has some nice short walking trails too - we walked down to the Geothermal beach from there, weren’t brave enough to take a dip though!

My one regret from the trip was not taking more time to just go to hot springs and chill. We did the Secret Lagoon as part of the Golden Circle tour and it was gorgeous, a nice cheaper alternative to Blue Lagoon. There’s plenty of municipal facilities for it in Reykjavik itself too.

We did a south coast tour too taking in Skogafoss and Reynisfjara black sands beach which was great. Don’t bother going to the DC-10 plane wreck though.

Weather was bearable for me there in November but I run hot. I imagine January would be worse, depends on prevailing winds I guess

#17

Winds are the main problem in Iceland really - temperature doesn’t often drop too far below 0, but the wind can be biting.

#18

The hot springs were definitely my highlight of my longer trip. also the public pools were all thermally heated so they were proper hot!
Myvatn is my favourite if anyone is doing a longer trip.

Here was also quite good mostly cause we had rye bread baked in the earth
https://www.fontana.is/en/sauna

#19

PENIS MUSEUM

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#20

Take a coat

#21

We had the worst time in Iceland. A lot of it was probably bad luck and circumstance, but still really disappointing given how much everyone else seems to love it.

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#23

Just a combination of things really. We had appalling weather, constant wind, rain and fog on the day we did the golden circle, you could barely see anything and couldn’t stand outside that long anyway. Found Rekjavik to dull as fuck and twice as expensive, didn’t feel welcome going anywhere and there was nowhere to wander because it’s tiny. One day we went to some highly recommended greenhouse restaurant where they grow tomatoes and stuff, ended up paying like £30+ for all you can eat soup, I really can’t eat much soup.

Then combined with the fact we got locked out of AirBnB because our host was an idiot which ruined our whole first evening, the fact I was driving and it was my first time on the other side of the road so I was constantly stressed… it just didn’t pan out. We flew on to Canada afterwards and it was such a relief.

I can imagine an alternative trip with good weather and when I go on a tour and feel more flush (and don’t have a toddler with me) where I’d enjoy it a lot more, but I’m not going to rush back.

Oh and the water stinks, I know it’s a dumb thing but I found it constantly offputting, like washing up never feels “clean”, showers are grim.

#25

I imagine a lot of the stress was having a small child with us tbh, it limits a lot of the freedom of wandering you have (you can absolutely have wonderful holidays with small kids, we have, but they tend to be more structured).

Anyway, it means me and Mrs HYG have both perfected the “Ah hett ASS-LAND” voice from the Scottish guy at the airport.

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#26

Reykjommendations

thank you

#27

my pal said similar, he’s done his best to talk me out of going

#28

I didn’t really mind the eggy showers tbh. My bf, who hates eggs, really didn’t enjoy them though.

I’d really recommend going back in summer for the midnight sun, although probably not ideal with a kid. I just felt Reykjavík was “ok” so the bigger summer trip was absolutely incredible in comparison. Also it was so hot one day that I got sunburned (I am insanely fair though).
Spent more on a week in Iceland than I did a week in NYC and we only ate out twice in Iceland. I also had a small bump in our camper van which added on a fuck tonne of money so that also made it the most expensive week of my life. But still, amazing in summer!

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#29

I hated my first day in Reykjavik- it was drizzly, everywhere was shut and a cider was 13 euros

Next few days were very nice when i got used to it. There’s a few cool art museums and quite a lot of open air pools (if you can’t get to the lagoons)

I’d definitely get that happy hour app next time

#30

Where was the zombie pic taken? Going to Iceland in March.

#32

Cool, was already on the itinerary!

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#34

I went in January. Drove North and stayed in Hvammstangi, which was incredibly cute and has loads of low-key tourist sites on the way to and from it. The host we stayed with was wonderful and had so much good advice for the rest of our trip. Then spent a couple of nights in Akureyri which didn’t have much going on (kind of fine because drinking and eating out is stupidly expensive) but Myvatn, Krafla volcano and a quieter baths than blue lagoon are all nearby.

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#35

thanks for the tips. have convinced the tv that we should rent a car so we can drive around and not spend the whole time in reykjavik, think we’re gonna do a day or two there and then drive to national park etc. :snowflake: prob gonna freeze my buns off eh.

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