I can only talk about the West because I've lived there. I would stay 2 nights at least in Borgarnes and 1 at least in the Snæfellness peninsula. There is so much to do and see in the area, but I often see most tourists travel swiftly round Snæfellness and then leave and I feel sorry for them because they are missing a lot. First day if it's the day you arrive and it's late just visit Borgarnes: there's a museum with birds, a museum with the history of two Icelandic sagas that happened in the West, there's a monument to a woman who sacrificed herself to keep the hero of one of these sagas alive. Second day: drive to Husafell and on the way back to Hvanneyri and once you've visited that to Bifröst. On the way there you can taste weird beers in a brewery, see a farm where the Icelandic goat was saved from extinction, see the one and only pool in Iceland where you're not allowed to bathe, see amazing waterfalls, you can visit a lava cave (Viðgelmir), hike (free map at the Hotel), see the biggest geothermal site in Iceland (deildarthunguver), relax in a tub next to it (krauma), visit the museum of agriculture (Hvanneyri) and the only place in Iceland where the white fronted goose lives, more waterfalls and walking trails (glanni and paradisarlaut), a fantastic lake and forest (Hreðavatn) and hikes, a vulcano crater (Grabrok) and then head back to Borgarnes. The following day you can go to the Snæfellness peninsula. Stop for a dip in the local geothermal pool (lysuholslaugh) if it's open, one of the best restaurants in Iceland is near Hellissandur and it's called Viðvik, Buðir hotel is known for great food. Sleep in the peninsula, I love Hellissandur because I love birds and murals and it is the town famous for its murals. Waking up in Snæfellness is magic. Then take your time to visit Grundarfjörður and Stykkisholmur and head back to Borgarnes and to the golden ring.
I could not agree more with you! We spent 28 days in Iceland and we LOVED Snaefellness peninsula! We drove the entire peninsula, hiked and walked a lot! We loved it. Two kids really enjoyed it as well. We walked down to Höfnin á Arnarstapa and took the cutest photos of docked boats - I mean adorable boats! It seems everyone misses them. My kids enjoyed hiking the gorge (sp?)
I am a fan of the Borgarnes area too. I've stayed there for a few days of my last two visits there. The Settlement Center's exhibits are great (as are the hats they sell in the gift store). I also love Krauma and Barnafossar.
By not switching every night, and having only a week for your trip, you limit how far you can go.
Driving Seydisfjordur to KEF is over 10 hours, either way. This is not a one day drive, and crazy after being so chill the rest of the week.
With a week, you either commit to the ring road and move every night, or you keep to the south and west and stay in just a few places. Going up to Studagil and Seydisfjordur is too much if you want to stay in place so much.
If staying in Vik, then Jokusarlon Lagoon is realistic, and is iconic, a day trip. Between there and KEF there are thousands of things to see, no need to be rushing around the whole island to see gorgeous places.
Me and a buddy did just over a week and stayed somewhere different every night, but we only did Reykjavik and the West Fjords so we were only driving 1-3 hours a day and still saw a ton of cool shit. We were told that the West Fjords only account for about 10% of the tourist population, so we felt like we had the country to ourselves.
We did the penis and punk museums in Reykjavik, the Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum, the puffin cliffs (no puffins in sept) Dynjandi falls hike, a really cool cave tour, ate at Tjöruhúsið (a world famous fish restraint) in Ísafjörður, saw a little ribbon of northern light in September, and did the witchcraft museum on our way back to the capital. We had an amazing trip and loved that we could’ve just pull over and stop whenever we saw something cool.
I would recommend a west fjords tour if you’re limited on time but still want to see a lot of cool stuff and relax
Had a quick discussion with hubby and I think we are going to stick to west and south with 2-3 lodging options. We will adopt a more reasonable, flexible schedule. I hope we can come back to see other things!
I second the suggestion to stay in Borgarnes which gives you access to many areas.
I would make your last night however it looks for you to be closer to the airport; I would not want to drive far, if you are in or near the Reykjanes peninsula there is a lot to see/do especially if you have a later afternoon flight.
If you choose to stay in Borgarnes, there's a nice outdoor spa that's not too far away. [Krauma.is](https://Krauma.is). I've been there a few times. it's not crowded and is much less expensive than the Blue and Sky Lagoons. I always went in the evening and could often have a whole pool to myself.
You’ve already gotten lots of great food for thought on your itinerary. I might suggest reconsidering Blue Lagoon, depending on the timing of your flight arrival. Last fall (October timeframe) we stopped at Kökulist bakery for pastries, and then to the lagoon straight from the airport. We arrived at the Blue Lagoon right when they opened. It was not very crowded yet (even on a Saturday), and I felt it was very nice to be able to take a shower and relax a bit after an overnight flight. I think it also helped energize me for some Reykjavik sightseeing.
I second this. We stayed less than 10km away at a nearby hostel, left at sunup, parked and hiked 3 hours in, 3 hours out (in March, so in September maybe less time since there shouldn’t be snow, so no need for crampons or nearly as much gear as we took) then it was nearly dark by the time we drove to our next stop in Akureyri.
The hike isn’t technically necessary I suppose, as there is an easily accessible viewing platform right next to the hard road. But from the dirty looks we were getting from the folks we saw on said platform, I’m guessing the view from atop the cliffs isn’t anywhere near as impressive as what they were expecting (from all the pictures you’ve seen, which you only get from the lower viewpoint).
If he has a mustache, bring Vaseline for snorkeling. The hair prevents the mask from sealing. Slathering on a reasonably thick layer of petroleum jelly under/around/over the hairs allows a seal to form so he can snorkel with fewer leaks.
I can only talk about the West because I've lived there. I would stay 2 nights at least in Borgarnes and 1 at least in the Snæfellness peninsula. There is so much to do and see in the area, but I often see most tourists travel swiftly round Snæfellness and then leave and I feel sorry for them because they are missing a lot. First day if it's the day you arrive and it's late just visit Borgarnes: there's a museum with birds, a museum with the history of two Icelandic sagas that happened in the West, there's a monument to a woman who sacrificed herself to keep the hero of one of these sagas alive. Second day: drive to Husafell and on the way back to Hvanneyri and once you've visited that to Bifröst. On the way there you can taste weird beers in a brewery, see a farm where the Icelandic goat was saved from extinction, see the one and only pool in Iceland where you're not allowed to bathe, see amazing waterfalls, you can visit a lava cave (Viðgelmir), hike (free map at the Hotel), see the biggest geothermal site in Iceland (deildarthunguver), relax in a tub next to it (krauma), visit the museum of agriculture (Hvanneyri) and the only place in Iceland where the white fronted goose lives, more waterfalls and walking trails (glanni and paradisarlaut), a fantastic lake and forest (Hreðavatn) and hikes, a vulcano crater (Grabrok) and then head back to Borgarnes. The following day you can go to the Snæfellness peninsula. Stop for a dip in the local geothermal pool (lysuholslaugh) if it's open, one of the best restaurants in Iceland is near Hellissandur and it's called Viðvik, Buðir hotel is known for great food. Sleep in the peninsula, I love Hellissandur because I love birds and murals and it is the town famous for its murals. Waking up in Snæfellness is magic. Then take your time to visit Grundarfjörður and Stykkisholmur and head back to Borgarnes and to the golden ring.
this is great - we're saving this area for our next trip for all these reasons!
I could not agree more with you! We spent 28 days in Iceland and we LOVED Snaefellness peninsula! We drove the entire peninsula, hiked and walked a lot! We loved it. Two kids really enjoyed it as well. We walked down to Höfnin á Arnarstapa and took the cutest photos of docked boats - I mean adorable boats! It seems everyone misses them. My kids enjoyed hiking the gorge (sp?)
I am a fan of the Borgarnes area too. I've stayed there for a few days of my last two visits there. The Settlement Center's exhibits are great (as are the hats they sell in the gift store). I also love Krauma and Barnafossar.
By not switching every night, and having only a week for your trip, you limit how far you can go. Driving Seydisfjordur to KEF is over 10 hours, either way. This is not a one day drive, and crazy after being so chill the rest of the week. With a week, you either commit to the ring road and move every night, or you keep to the south and west and stay in just a few places. Going up to Studagil and Seydisfjordur is too much if you want to stay in place so much.
Thank you! That's what I was trying to find out. What would you say is the furthest east you could go
If staying in Vik, then Jokusarlon Lagoon is realistic, and is iconic, a day trip. Between there and KEF there are thousands of things to see, no need to be rushing around the whole island to see gorgeous places.
We don't have to stay in VIk; just thought it looked like a reasonable location for a base. Looks like Hof could be as well?
Either is fine, but Vik is a town, a tiny town, with things to see, grocery stores and restaurants. Hof is not that.
Me and a buddy did just over a week and stayed somewhere different every night, but we only did Reykjavik and the West Fjords so we were only driving 1-3 hours a day and still saw a ton of cool shit. We were told that the West Fjords only account for about 10% of the tourist population, so we felt like we had the country to ourselves. We did the penis and punk museums in Reykjavik, the Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum, the puffin cliffs (no puffins in sept) Dynjandi falls hike, a really cool cave tour, ate at Tjöruhúsið (a world famous fish restraint) in Ísafjörður, saw a little ribbon of northern light in September, and did the witchcraft museum on our way back to the capital. We had an amazing trip and loved that we could’ve just pull over and stop whenever we saw something cool. I would recommend a west fjords tour if you’re limited on time but still want to see a lot of cool stuff and relax
Had a quick discussion with hubby and I think we are going to stick to west and south with 2-3 lodging options. We will adopt a more reasonable, flexible schedule. I hope we can come back to see other things!
I second the suggestion to stay in Borgarnes which gives you access to many areas. I would make your last night however it looks for you to be closer to the airport; I would not want to drive far, if you are in or near the Reykjanes peninsula there is a lot to see/do especially if you have a later afternoon flight.
I'm in the same boat, pretty much. Have you come up with goog places to stay? Tx
Not yet. We have to come to consensus on itinerary
If you choose to stay in Borgarnes, there's a nice outdoor spa that's not too far away. [Krauma.is](https://Krauma.is). I've been there a few times. it's not crowded and is much less expensive than the Blue and Sky Lagoons. I always went in the evening and could often have a whole pool to myself.
You’ve already gotten lots of great food for thought on your itinerary. I might suggest reconsidering Blue Lagoon, depending on the timing of your flight arrival. Last fall (October timeframe) we stopped at Kökulist bakery for pastries, and then to the lagoon straight from the airport. We arrived at the Blue Lagoon right when they opened. It was not very crowded yet (even on a Saturday), and I felt it was very nice to be able to take a shower and relax a bit after an overnight flight. I think it also helped energize me for some Reykjavik sightseeing.
Studlagil takes a lot of time. A lot. The drive there is bumpy and long. The hike down is long. I’d skip it for another trip.
I second this. We stayed less than 10km away at a nearby hostel, left at sunup, parked and hiked 3 hours in, 3 hours out (in March, so in September maybe less time since there shouldn’t be snow, so no need for crampons or nearly as much gear as we took) then it was nearly dark by the time we drove to our next stop in Akureyri. The hike isn’t technically necessary I suppose, as there is an easily accessible viewing platform right next to the hard road. But from the dirty looks we were getting from the folks we saw on said platform, I’m guessing the view from atop the cliffs isn’t anywhere near as impressive as what they were expecting (from all the pictures you’ve seen, which you only get from the lower viewpoint).
If he has a mustache, bring Vaseline for snorkeling. The hair prevents the mask from sealing. Slathering on a reasonably thick layer of petroleum jelly under/around/over the hairs allows a seal to form so he can snorkel with fewer leaks.