Iceland: how to organize your trip

How many times have we seen a photo of Iceland and we are impressed by its beauty? His landscapes, the ice, the whales, etc … And how often have we imagined walking along with his long roads like Walter Mitty on a skateboard? (Watch the movie is very beautiful) Deciding to go on holiday to Iceland is not easy, it took me a long time to convince myself and now I can say that it was worth 100%.

WHEN TO GO TO ICELAND?

There is no perfect season, depending on the type of tourism you want to do, if you decide to go trekking or hiking, maybe it’s better in spring/summer. In case you want to see the Aurora Borealis they suggest the coldest months from January to March, but the days are very short. I chose August for work reasons, but I do not recommend it for too high prices, especially for flight tickets. In return, the bright side is that the sunset is at 11 pm, so you have longer days to spend.

HOW MANY DAYS?

The first thing to consider is how many days, we need to know if we have a week, 5 days or less. Iceland is a 3h30 flight from London and Paris, allowing you to visit the island without wasting much time at the airport.

With only 3 days, I advise you to avoid Reykjavik and go directly to the south where you will find the waterfalls and geysers area, the Golden Circle.

If you have 5 days, you can stop a day in the capital and then go to Golden Circle, I do not recommend you get up to Jökulsárlón, it is 5h from Reykjavik.

In a week you have time to go safely to Jökulsárlón and make more stops in between.

With 10 days, which was my choice, you can go around the island leaving a day and a half to visit Reykjavik.

CAR RENTING?

I would say that any decision you make regarding the days, rents a car is mandatory, in fact, is the thing that will cost you more. If you can travel in a group the cost of the rental will be less aggressive.

I would suggest renting a car at the airport, they are open until late at night, as many flights arrive after midnight or early in the day. Do not take a navigator or a wifi modem, unfortunately, when I went there was no free-roaming.

In case you have decided to take a camping holiday, when you rent, take into consideration the space for the tent and the various equipment.

CAMPING OR HOTEL?

I chose hotels, so many hour driving, I think is better to sleep in a real bed. Even if there are no real hotels on the island, just b&b, schools turned into hostels. If you choose the combination hotel + August I suggest you book hotels as soon as possible, accommodation is scarce in Iceland or very expensive. My choices were:

NAME	B&B	LOCATION	TYPE
Blue View B&B	YES	Klettás 21, 260 Keflavík	Family Room with Shared Bathroom
Stokkseyri	YES	Eyrarbraut, Stokkseyri	Appartement
Klausturhof Guesthouse	NO	Klausturvegur 1-5, 880 Kirkjubæjarklaustur	House
Litlabjarg Guesthouse	NO	Litlabjarg, 701 Hrafnabjorg	Family Room with Terrace
Guesthouse Sigtun	YES	Túngötu 13, 640 Húsavík	2 double rooms
Húni Hótel	NO	Húnavellir, 541 Blönduós	Mixed Dormitory (no sheets and pillow)
Circle Hostel	NO	Hringbraut 121, Vesturbær, 101 Reykjavik	Single Bed in Mixed Dormitory Room

If you need information about camping, just leave a comment, I will do some research for you. 🙂

ALL ISLAND OR JUST THE SOUTH?

Drive around all the island are more or less 1500km, it is working in 9/10 days, but you have to choose immediately what you want to visit. The south side is more touristic and with so many things to see.