julesm

Hi fellow travelers!

My husband and I will be taking a cruise that stops overnight in Akureyri and in Reykjavik. We have rented a car for 24 hours at each port. I devised draft itineraries of where to go with the car. We are 40 years old, and we believe we have the energy to see everything on this list. However, I don't know if the driving times on Google are accurate, and I made guesses at the appropriate amount of time to spend at each place. Could anyone with experience in the Diamond Circle and Golden Circle let me know what you think? Are the times appropriate for an ambitious yet realistic agenda? Did we pick the right sites to visit?

Diamond Circle - May 30
10:00 am - ship arrives at Akureyri Cruise Terminal
11:00 am - depart Thrifty car rental agency in Akureyri
11:45 am - Goðafoss
1:45 pm - Mývatn nature baths
4:00 pm - Krafla -- Will the road be passable on May 30?
5:15 pm - Dettifoss west side
6:30 pm - continue Diamond Circle if we have energy, otherwise return to ship
7:00 pm - Ásbyrgi
8:30 pm - Húsavík
10:45 pm - back to cruise ship

May 31
8:30 am - Kjarnaskógur Forest
11:00 am - return rental car
11:30 am - Akureyri Botanical Gardens
1:30 pm - ship departs Akureyri

Golden Circle - June 1
10:00 am - ship arrives at Scarfibakki
11:30 am - depart Thrifty car rental agency in east Reykjavik
12:15 pm - Þingvellir National Park
3:00 pm - Geysir
4:15 pm - Gullfoss
6:15 pm - Kerið
8:00 pm - back to cruise ship

June 2
8:30 am - visit Rejkjavik -- I'd love some recommendations of what to do for a couple hours in the morning.
11:00 am - return rental car
12:00 pm - ship departs Reykjavik

Thank you!

bilboburgler

I seldom recommend doing a tour with guides but I did the Golden Circle in a mini-bus so only 8 guests and we had an honest discussion about the guys political views, re-foresting of the Island, climate change as well as the sites. Well worth it.

Do go to a town spa really fun and consider going horse riding

NB you have long days to fill

worth reading up Mum's been to Iceland on this site

Fodorite018

Instead of Myvatn, go to GeoSea. It is much better! We did both last summer as well as a handful of others, and Myvatn was our least favorite. Extremely crowded, and the water was hot hot, mostly lukewarm to cool.

Dettifoss is wonderful. We went to the east side, and just before that is Hafragilfoss which was one of our favorite places. I am not sure how the access to it is on the west side, but if you decide to do the east side you can walk all over and see it from many angles.

On your Golden Circle day, two suggestions for lunch. The restaurant at Gullfoss has really good lamb soup. Or make a reservation at Fridheimer which is the tomato place. Wonderful soup and bread there, and really fun to see the tomato growing operation. There are also horses there that you can see.

For your morning in Reykjavik, be sue to stop at Braud for the best cinnamon rolls ever With the rest of your time there, I would just wander and get off the main street and venture further to the side streets and look for murals. They are true works of art! Another option would be to visit a local pool. We enjoyed Sundhollin, which is very central and only about a block or two off the main street. It is 1100 krona, so about $8 per person. They have locks and lockers for your use, and you can rent a towel as well. They have an enormous hot tub, as well as various pools.

julesm

bilboburger and mms,

Thank you very much for your recommendations! It's very helpful to have experienced people like you comment on our draft itinerary.

Fodorite018

Glad to help We have been 3x so far and our 4th trip is next summer. There is so much to see and do there! Enjoy!

bilboburgler

man, we flew into the capital at 3am and trundled through the silent town with our bags from the bus station to our flat. Scary or what, bright as day and silent, we thought the bomb had gone off.