Iceland in July

[eyemamom]

We’re taking our daughter and her friend (they’ll be 21) this summer. It’s been a dream of all of ours. Anyone who has been there, what were your absolute favorites and what would you skip? I see there is a tour where you can go snorkeling between the two tectonic plates, I’m not sure if I’m brave enough for that. My daughter wants to do a helicopter ride (I think she’s seen too many bachelor dream dates). Is Blue Lagoon worth a trip?

[fractalmstr]

Iceland Air has itineraries you can look at and purchase. We were thinking of going last year but the plan fell through. They have a “ring road” itinerary that looks awesome.

[stradmom]

Anything you do in Iceland in July will be epic! Blue Lagoon is nice, although I wouldn’t do it a second time. The Golden Circle is a nice day trip. The black sand beach at Vik is a good stop. Jokulsarlon Ice Lagoon is a good distance but memorable. Seltun is otherworldly. In Hafnarjordur, there is an “elf tour” if they are into Harry Potterish stuff.

[123txmom]

We went to Iceland last year for 2 weeks as a graduation present for our daughters. Our trip was the towards the end of May. It was truly a once in lifetime trip. We actually rented a car and drove around the ring road and stayed in different places along the way. If you plan to go this summer, I would get your reservations for your hotels as soon as possible. Summer is high season and hotels book up. We did the Blue Lagoon. It was touristy but don’t regret going. One thing we did that was different was taking the ferry to Grimsey and getting a tour by an islander. We saw puffins up close and took pic at the arctic circle. My daughters are horse riders so we also booked riding tours on Icelandic horses. We didn’t to the diving/snorkeling at Slfra. I’ve heard its beautiful.

[greenwitch]

We went a few years ago in late June and the sun never set!

How much time do you have? We went all the way to the far northwest corner and hung out there for a few days. It is wonderful and home to the Latrabjar Cliffs where there are the most puffins and other birds. We also drove to Geyser, Thingvellir, Gulfoss, etc., and those are all really easy to get to from Reykyavik and easy to see. No 30 mile entrance roads like you would have at our National parks.

We skipped Blue Lagoon. It is expensive, there was a line and we had a long trip ahead. We did find another pool on the side of the road out in the country and just changed in the car and hopped in. The 7 public pools in Reykjavik are supposed to be great too - each one is different.

In Reykavik we loved Willlie Knudsen’s Volcano movie and the Saturday evening car parade along the main drag - I think it’s called the Laungevagar or something.

We didn’t go to the Snaefellnes peninsula but it seems there is always snow there. It looked beautiful from a distance.

[oregon101]

We did the ring road in late June 2016. While I have many great take aways
overall it was a rough and somewhat disappointing trip. We had sideway rain
about 12 of our 15 days trip.

We did find good accommodations. We did find really good! food (lots of research).
We found the people amazing.

Still, we had to cancel 80% of our plans and make do because of the weather.
July is usually great weather but sometimes it is not. I believe last year saw a week of
sideway rain as I read from a couple of photographers who could not take pictures.

Just be prepared with back up plans and be flexible. Wear many layers. Keep your gas filled
at all times if you do the ring road. Pay attention to the roads to take and not take.
(sorry cannot think of the point I am thinking about right now). Read trip advisor.
When you read that toilets are few and far between believe it.
I traveled with my own homemade porta potty–tupperware with a tight lid.

I thought I would hate the Blue Lagoon–it did rain the entire time we were there–still, it is quite the weird experience and we were glad we did it. We ate dinner in the main restaurant and it was quite good with amazing service.
So–yes! go, be flexible. Know that it might not be THE trip you imagined but there will
be highlights no matter what.

[wa1138]

Blue lagoon is worth it imo, even though its pretty touristy. Just one of those things you kinda have to see if you’re going all the way to iceland. Definitely go to one of the pools in reykjavik, they are all geothermally heated and really cool

[oregon101]

I still have all of our reservation information for our accommodations on the Ring Road.
PM me with any questions you have.

[123txmom]

@eyemamom - @oregon101 has a good suggestion about being flexible. Weather during our trip was quick nice and we had a lot of sunshine during our late May trip. There were a couple of days that we had mist but it didn’t prevent us from doing anything. Another warning - Iceland is expensive when it comes to food. Here’s our trip report with details of our trip if you’re interested in our intinery. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g189952-i223-k9632651-Our_May_June_2016_Trip_report_long-Iceland.html
Hope you get to go! I would go back again!

[JHS]

We were there for a week at the beginning of June two years ago. The temperature never got above the mid-50s, and sometimes dipped below freezing. We had snow one day (but no darkness, ever). We had an absolute blast, and would go back in a heartbeat.

Blue Lagoon – We didn’t bother, it seemed eminently skippable, and sort of gross.

Ring Road – We didn’t have time to try the whole shebang, and basically stayed in the south-western quadrant of the country. We would love to go to the north sometime, though.

We loved Thingvellir. And the geysers (Strokkur, mainly), but you could love them and leave them in 30 minutes. We loved the black southern beach by Vik, which was truly scary – scary wind, scary sea.

Everywhere we went, we went swimming in the town pools. It usually cost $5-6 to get in, the pools were wonderful, the many hot tubs and saunas surrounding the pools even better, and the people very welcoming and friendly.

Three things we did that were somewhat off the beaten path:

– We hiked several miles up the river that ends in the Skogafoss waterfall. The landscape was sensational. You can book a guide and take a substantial hike through the volcanos and glaciars from Skogafoss into the area called Thorsmark, and if we went back that would be at the top of our list.

– There is an area near Krysuvik, which is not far from the airport, which is an eerie lunar landscape full of bubbling hot springs, steam vents, and volcanic debris. If you go to the top of the hill, you see two lakes that are utterly different colors. Stunning.

– Every town has a little museum or two. We spent time in some in a little town called Eyrarbakki, on the south coast, and it was very rewarding.

To prep: Try to read some of the Sagas – the most popular are Egil’s Saga and Njal’s Saga, and I also enjoyed The People of Laxendal. I learned more about Iceland from those than from anything else, and they are absolutely fundamental to the national identity. There are contemporary police procedurals by Arnaldur Indridasson that are quite good and clue you in to more current issues (although at this point I think they are somewhat dated - stuck in the Cold War). Watch the Sigur Ros video for “Glosoli” – if that doesn’t psych you up for Iceland, nothing will.

[lje62]

My daughter and I were there about a month ago. I have been in November too, years ago. One day I will go in the summer or spring. I know the weather won’t be really great , but then I wouldn’t expect it to be. Believe it or not, the weather was great last month, but by great, I mean snow included.
We loved the blue lagoon and would definitely go back ! Make sure to really go heavy with the conditioner they provide and maybe even have some type of hair oil ( like argan type ) for your hair afterwards.

I would absolutely love to do the snorkeling and volcanic helicopter excursion…or even take a day trip to Greenland

[soccerguy315]

If you are up for a 45-60 minute hike, you can skip the blue lagoon and go to Reykjadalur Hot Springs… hike is at the end of the road in Hveragerdi.

If you go toward Vik, which most people do, you will go by Seljalandsfoss (waterfall). Definitely get out and go see it, and before you leave, you can walk to the left about 1km on a paved path and you get to Gljufrabui, which is hidden in a cave. Your feet might get wet getting in to see it, but it is 1000% worth it.

I went to Iceland for a long weekend in September and I am trying to figure out how to get back for a longer trip ASAP. It was awesome.

[GCmom]

Just returned from Iceland. I loved it! We were there for 6 days, stayed in Reykjavik in a VRBO and did three long day trips. Every day felt epic and I was never disappointed.

Day trips:

Snaefellsnes Peninsula. They say that it is like a mini Iceland; you will see everything of Iceland there. Beautiful scenery–glaciers, black beaches, fishing villages, lava fields. Had some delicious fish and chips from a fish and chips truck in Arnasapi.

Golden Circle. We started the day at the Secret Lagoon, smaller and hotter than the Blue Lagoon. Then went to Fridheimar Farm, a tomato farm, for a delicious lunch–Bloody Mary and tomato soup with incredible freshly baked bread. Then off to the incredible sites of the Golden Circle. Be sure to watch the eruption of Strokkur from as close as possible, it is quite amazing. (I don’t know if it is always amazing, but I was expecting a standard eruption, but it was not at all standard!)

Jokulsarlon. Glacier Lagoon. Well worth the long drive. Really otherworldly. Stops along the way have been mentioned above, including Vik. We actually drove straight there, early start because we anticipated crowds. And made our stops on the way back.

We also went to the Blue Lagoon and two city pools in Reykjavik. All different and great.

National Museum of Iceland has an audio tour, which I always like.

Hot dogs are a big thing, there are a couple popular stands in Reykjavik.

I loved reading the blog IHeartReykjavik. I used this as a resource for our big days of driving, lots of suggested stops.

I was really reluctant to return home!

[Ynotgo]

Here’s my end-of-trip summary from another Iceland vacation thread at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19884853

We returned from our 7-day trip to Iceland on Wednesday. We had a great trip and enjoyed the sights and the experience! We had several rainy days, but most of us had the right clothes. (“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.”)

We stayed in Reykjavik all nights and took day trips from there. We’d thought about trying to fit a drive around the Island itinerary into 7 days, but that seemed rushed and we took my mother-in-law along and didn’t want to make it too stressful for her. As it was, there were some days that were too much walking for her. The steps in our hotel were difficult and she had a couple non-injury (thankfully) falls. She doesn’t normally use a cane, but we bought her a puffin-headed walking stick, which she became very attached to. DH was a good sport about doing the less challenging walks with his mom while the kids and I explored a bit.

DH and MIL enjoyed the food, especially the meat and seafood soups. None of us tried fermented shark or smoked puffin. S17, S19, and I didn’t particularly care for the food, and hoped to find a salad or simple pasta on menus. DH and MIL preferred to eat in hotel restaurants when on the road, which were pricey and time-consuming. The kids and I would have preferred getting quick food from gas station groceries and fitting in more hikes. So, a little difference of opinion on travel styles.

A quick summary of what we did for those who might come across this thread planning future trips:

Day 1: Arrived early, shopped for a few necessities since my bag didn’t arrive until evening of Day 2. Walked to Hallgrímskirkja, landmark church in Reykjavik, and took the elevator to the top. Drove to Þingvellir and did a bunch of hiking. I loved this because I’m a fan of the Sagas, geology, and Game of Thrones. Þingvellir combines all three! (Hoping the Icelandic characters for th sounds work here; there aren’t many words without special characters.)

Day 2: Drove southeast; intended to get to Vik, but didn’t make it that far before deciding it was time to turn around. We tend to spend a lot of time at stops. This was the most rainy day, and we probably should have done it another day. But, we had fun. Stops: Hveragerði Geothermal Park, Hvolsvöllur Saga Centre, Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfurárfoss falls (loved the walk behind the falls but got drenched), and Skógafoss.

Day 3: Finished the Golden Circle: geyser area, Gullfoss, and views of Langjökull glacier.

Day 4: Did the “Into the Glacier” tour of Langjökull glacier. Really cool. We’ve done several hikes on top of glaciers, and it was neat to see the inside. MIL hadn’t had any concept of how big glaciers are. She was nervous on the walk, but managed it fine. Also, Hraunfossar falls was really different and cool.

Day 5: Reykjavik sights, walked on our own. Harpa concert hall, Volcano House (S17 and I probably made them stay too long, but we loved it), Settlement Exhibition (where we got a great lecture about the Sagas from a PhD student in Scandinavian Studies at University of Iceland). Most of our group was tired after that and yet another hotel lunch. S17 and I continued on to see the outsides of several landmarks, walk around the Pond (Tjörnin), see exhibits at National Museum of Iceland, and the topo map at City Hall. Didn’t manage to fit in the art museums or the Phallological Museum, which S19 was bummed about.

Day 6: Snæfellsnes peninsula. Stops: Eldborg Crater, Gerðuberg basalt columns (loved this; hiked a lot, ate lots of wild blueberries), black sand and gravel beaches, lighthouse at Malarrif (plus a zip line that the kids loved), lots of waterfalls seen from the road, Vatnshellir lava cave (very cool), climbed Saxhóll crater, and hiked to Klukkufoss falls. Great rainbows! Several stops weren’t MIL accessible, but she was fine with waiting.

Day 7: Lazy morning and Víkingaheimar museum before flight home.

If we’d had more time, we would have gone further along the south coast, done a whale/puffin watching trip (except we have people who get seasick), and more of Snæfellsnes peninsula. I might have got up the nerve (and $$$) to do the Into the Volcano tour of a magma chamber.