Iceland: Any must-dos, must-sees and good restaurant recos?

Celebrating my sister's 40th birthday in Iceland, def. seeing Northern Lights and dipping in the Blue Lagoon.

Anything else you could offer to see/do/experience is much appreciated!!!

Iceland: Any must-dos, must-sees and good restaurant recos?

How many days do you have and where will you be based out of?

Re: Iceland: Any must-dos, must-sees and good restaurant recos?

We did 2 excursions to see the northern lights - one a jeep tour that included dinner, and a boat tour. Both were great, but the lights we saw on the boat tour were phenomenal, compared to the land tour (but it's completely hit or miss as to what you might see)

We also did a full day tour that included the geysers, waterfall and snowmobiling on a glacier - I would highly recommend that! Tour

In Reykjavik, the Hallsgrimskirkja Cathedral is beautiful and the views from the top are amazing

The Blue Lagoon was great - didn't want to leave!

Sorry, I don't remember the restaurants we ate in - some were very good. We just asked at the hotel for recommendations.

Enjoy - I loved it there!

Message edited 9/25/2017 9:57:24 AM.

Iceland: Any must-dos, must-sees and good restaurant recos?

We're heading to Iceland the last week in April, so I've done a ton of research. We're doing a self driving tour for 6 nights. When are you planning on going?

First, in regard to the Northern Lights, the best chance of seeing them is during the winter months of Sept - April. And of course, it also depends on the cloud cover. Going during that time period really requires having tours and using Reykjavik as a home base. Driving in the winter months can be very dangerous.

Some of the things that we have planned are:
Golden Circle to include Thingvellir National Park - going snorkeling between the two tectonic plates. Gulfoss waterfall, and Geyser is also around the Golden Circle.

From there, were heading to the south west coast and the Snaefellness Peninsula. Staying overnight in Vik. We're going to be going on a glacier boat tour, the black sand beach - looking for the plane wreck and horseback riding.

We're debating about doing the Blue Lagoon versus the Secret Lagoon. Playing that one by ear, although not for very long as the Blue Lagoon does require that you purchase in advance.

There is only one restaurant that we're really interested in trying and that's called Efstidalur. It's in the Golden Circle area. It is a farm to table restaurant and the windows of the restaurant actually overlooks the dairy farm so you can watch the cows get milked. The food is supposed to be very good. Because food is expensive, all of our hotels serve breakfast and we plan on bringing snacks to help control some of the costs.

Iceland: Any must-dos, must-sees and good restaurant recos?

I love love loved Iceland. My boyfriend took me there for my 40th Birthday and we went in February and it wasn't even that cold there. It was the same temperature there that it was here. I agree with the above and would do the following:

Golden Circle to include Thingvellir National Park - going snorkeling between the two tectonic plates. Gulfoss waterfall, and Geyser is also around the Golden Circle.

We rented a car and literally drove all over the country it is very small. The only tour we did was a tour called Extreme Iceland and it was by far the best experience ever. We went to the Geyser, black sand beach and hiked the glaciers which was incredible. You literally feel like you are on the top of the world. We also went to the Blue Lagoon which was fun but there are so many other pools you can also go to that are prob a quarter of the price. As far as dining there are so many places in Reykjavik. We also would stop and just grab something at a local place. There's also a famous hot dog place you must try I loved it I could have had 4 of them lol. The water there is so fresh you can drink it right from the sink. The people are wonderful and so friendly. I loved the country and simplicity of it. Enjoy!!!!!