Going to Iceland in Sept....

[Geronimo]

Taking a trip to Iceland in Sept, anyone have a must see/do list? We will be centered on the small ring around Reykjavik, 8 days with a tour group and 2 days on our own.

[wdfifteen]

I'm jealous. I always wanted to go to Iceland. We'll get a full report, right?

[Ayles]

Only been there passing through the airport a couple times. Flying in, all of the scenery looks amazing.

Be prepared, the airport is CROWDED.

[Tobra]

Wear support stockings on the flight, and unless there is a compelling reason not to do so, take an aspirin the day before you travel.

Icelandic women are pretty hot, in my experience.


Take lots of pictures

[tcar]

You can visit the demarcation between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate.
It's a visible rift.

If you're into that kind of thing...

Hopefully, will still be there in September...

[Midlife930]

Go have a great trip.
I would have tried to schedule earlier when the days are longer.
The place is amazing and totally different. My sons and I went there on a motorcycle camping trip in 2017.

[oldE]

If you are with a tour group, you will probably visit Geysir and Gulfoss and maybe the site of the first European parliament.
I would also recommend a visit to the Geothermal Energy Exhibit, about 20 minutes east of Reykjavik on highway 1, as well as the thermal water storage that overlooks the city from the South and the old airport. The rift between the continents is only about 20 minutes outside Keflavik airport on the opposite side from Reykjavik.
Amazing scenery. Very welcoming people, They expect you to have a sense of self preservation on the roads and rugged landscape. No guardrails in many places and minimal signage indicating 'If you go beyond this point, you may die'.
One day we will go back again and stay for a couple of weeks. Love it!

Best
Les

[petrolhead611]

Be prepared for hugely expensive everything.
Spent more in 4 days there than a fortnight in Florida thereafter, and that was after eating in noodle bars a couple of nights because they are a third or half the price of the Rekjavik restaurants,.
Everyone goes to the Blue Lagoon for a swim, but you can get a coach trip out to the less crowded Secret Lagoon instead and see fantastic scenery on the 90 minute trip from Rekjavik.
You can walk the length of Rekjavik in 20 minutes, its small. There is an unusual museum at one end of the main strip, a look in the shop windows out front was more than enough for us.
What they claim to be the smallest watch factory in the world is halfway down the strip.
Take layers of clothing rather than polar expedition wear, actually in southern Iceland the weather was not bad in September when we went.
You can walk to the house where Reagan met Gorbachev.

[jrj3rd]

Went last spring (March) and absolutely loved it. Planning a return trip. While prices are not cheap, they are comparable with any major US city. We had some of the best food in the small out of the way places. Eat local, US import goods will be higher. (Dunkin Donuts - ~$32 a doz) but the french cafe we went to in town for breakfast was fair and had excellent pastries.

The people are very welcoming and helpful (tourism is the major industry and they know it). The scenery is very peaceful and relaxing, roads are good and well marked. Towns outside of the capital area are frequently 1 building (gas station, small shop and post office)

Gullfoss is a must see. Geysir is just ok but on the way.

We were fortunate and had great Northern Light activity while we were there (main reason we had planned trip)

[LWJ]

My wife and eldest kid went a few years ago. Loved it. They froze in June, so expect some cold temps. You will see everything I expect. A particular highlight for my kid was the penis museum and eating rotten shark.

Wife liked the beauty.

[Mericet]

Sure you will enjoy it. Some very good info on this site: https://iheartreykjavik.net/

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by LWJ

My wife and eldest kid went a few years ago....

You will see everything I expect. A particular highlight for my kid was the penis museum and eating rotten shark.

Wife liked the beauty.

I would NOT expect, nor visit, a penis museum...

Is yer eldest female? .....hopefully?

...not that there's anything wrong with that

Wifey gets a pass too

[Jeff Higgins]

Other guys have covered the "must see" and "must do" stuff already, so I won't bore you with more. All I will say is that, having lapped this big old globe about three times, Iceland was one of the first places to which I returned upon retirement. Took my wife and my younger son there. I absolutely love Iceland and everything about it. Hell, I could probably live there, I like it that much. You will have a fantastic time.

Good plan on the tour group to start out with. That will be the best way to get the lay of the land. We split out time differently, though, with just a few days on organized tours and the rest with our own rental car. The organized tours are very, very worthwhile, though, so you are probably going the right way. Be aware, though, each and every tour will land you in some sort of a gift shop, with maybe too much time to kill. Even at that, however, the gift shops are at the destinations you want to see, so how much time (and money) you spend in them is up to you.

The Northern Lights tours will have you out and about at ungodly hours. Often without seeing anything. And, if and when you do, you kind of have to prepare to be a bit disappointed. They are mostly just white or, at best, show very subdued colors. The really spectacular greens and blues and other colors we all see in the photographs are a result of the filter on the photographer's lens, not the atmospheric conditions. September might be kind of early for them anyway, but you might get lucky. Be prepared to drive all over hell and gone looking for them if they are not out, though. Kinda hard on the old sleep schedule, but what the hell.

[rattlsnak]

I have a lot of family in Iceland and always see a lot of pictures etc. on FB/Insta but have not made it out there myself yet. Hopefully within the next 2-3 years....

[Geronimo]

We have a planned dive for the continental plates separation, that should be very cool. We had planned a Greece trip, but this Iceland deal was the too good to pass.

So maybe Greece next year, or Croatia or Morocco which all look amazing. I want to pack a lot of travel in the next few years with the kids... time to memory build.

I will post pics and vids when we get back in the fall....

[j8tg]

We went in April---northern light colors were fantastic and naturally bright green to purple. We stayed at a BNB in old town off the main square and an easy walk to the fishing docks. Daughter did the dive to see the tectonic plates and she would do that again. Make sure you book the Blue Lagoon WEEKS in advance as it fills quickly due to limited entrances to minimize crowding. Nothing organized on our trip and I would also suggest to minimize the group tours and drive it yourself. This allowed us to get to the waterfalls off peak--much better experience. Iceland is getting very crowded and your travel month is in peak season.
Stop and say hi to the Icelandic horses!!
Have a great trip.

J8Tg
Littleton, CO

[tcar]

You can, but don't need to DIVE to see the tectonic plates divison...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mid-atlantic-ridge-iceland-tectonic-plates_n_5783778

[RSBob]

Pack lots of warm layers and especially good rain gear. I have been caught three times in sideways blowing rain.

[Neilk]

Went to Iceland in June, 2017 and loved it. Looking forward to going back.

If you want to do the Blue Lagoon, I would recommend doing it upon arrival into Iceland. It's a nice way to refresh after an overnight flight. The sit down restaurant was actually very good.

When you rent a car, don't be disappointed if it is a POS. After 10 days there, our car was covered in dust. I was glad we didn't have a newish car where they could really nickel and dime us.

Layers are good. Rain pants also double as good windbreakers, so make sure you have some.

[Otter74]

I've been twice, and love it.

I enjoy taking a few hours hiking around Videy island - you can walk to the ferry dock from wherever you're staying, and it's about a 5-minute ferry ride. I like modern art, and Richard Serra has a piece there. https://visitreykjavik.is/videy-island

In Reykjadalur, east of Reykjavik and west of Selfoss, there's a nice hike you can do up to a hot springs river. Bring a swimsuit and lunch and hang out in the water for a while.

I'll certainly go back eventually.