Iceland: 7-Day Itinerary (Winter Season)
- kieronseah
- Apr 30, 2016
- 4 min read
DAY 1 – Whale-watching, Exploring Reykjavik City Centre, Northern Lights
DAY 2&3 – Horse-riding in Hveragerði
DAY 4 – The South Coast
DAY 5 – Snaefellsnes Peninsula
DAY 6 – The Golden Circle
DAY 7 – Nature Places Within Reykjavik, Northern Lights
DAY 1 – Reykjavik City Centre
Whale-watching with Elding, Old Harbour, Reykjavik
The friendly Humpback whale bidding us goodbye.
Night shots around the City Centre.
DAY 2&3 – Hveragerði
Horse-riding Tours with Eldhestar, Hveragerði
Traditional Icelandic meat soup and sandwich buffet that accompanies a full-day riding tour.
DAY 4 – The South Coast
South Coast Tour with Extreme Iceland Tours
Glacier Hike
Skogafoss
Seljalandsfoss
Reynisdrangar, Vik
DAY 5 – Snaefellsnes
Snaefellsnes Peninsula Tour with Reykjavik Excursions
Black Sand Beach
Spotted wild harbor seals.
DAY 6 – The Golden Circle
Golden Circle Tour with Reykjavik Excursions
Geysir
Gullfoss
Þingvellir National Park
DAY 7 – Around Reykjavik, Self-Exploratory
Ellidardalur, Reykjavik City Centre
Gledinganes, Reykjavik City Centre
Heidmork, Reykjavik City Centre
Solfar, Reykjavik City Centre
Hljomskalagardurinn, Reykjavik City Centre
Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik City Centre
Aurora Borealis at Grotta Lighthouse with Reykjavik Excursions
Aurora Borealis at Þingvellir National Park with Bus Travel
For gifs of the dancing Northern Lights, head over to https://www.instagram.com/aroundtheworldwithmyeyes/
Panoramic shots of Iceland.
A review on the tour companies and accommodations:
1) Elding - Uses a big ship, you will need to run on the deck and compete with other tourists when a whale is spotted. But I guess that it will be the same for other companies unless you chose a private speed boat which costs double of the price that Elding offers. They will give you another ticket if there were no sightings of whales or the sightings are brief. So do this on your very first day and keep your last day free.
2) Reykjavik Excursions - The cheapest travel agency in Reykjavik. However, each tour consist of at least 3 full buses. Hence, alot of waiting. The free wifi isn’t functioning. I do not recommend this travel agency unless you’re on a budget. I went on the Golden Circle Tour, Northern Lights Tour and Snaefellsnes Tour with Reykjavik Excursions.
2) Bus Travel - Very hospitable, hence time taken up for the tour guide to try to know each and everyone who boards the bus. Only a full bus of travel, slightly better than Reykjavik Excursions. I went on the Northern Lights tour with Bus Travel and Reykjavik Excursions. Bus Travel provided free hot chocolate, snacks and let us try the smoked shark meat that is a delicacy in Iceland. The good point is that Bus Travel drives all the way to Þingvellir National Park to view the aurora, a much more scenic place than the Grotta lighthouse that Reykjavik Excursions went to.
3) Eldhestar - Fell in love with this horse-riding company in Hveragerði as they provide so many different tours. I went on 2 days worth of horse-riding. The best thing is that they do not waste too much time teaching you the basics of horse-riding. You just mount on the horse and get going and figure out yourself along the way. Never, I repeat, never give negative comments about the horses you ride on as it would offend the tour guide. The free Icelandic meat soup and sandwich buffet is delicious and filling. Not to worry as there is still homemade rhubarb cake and coffee after your ride. Do help me say hi to Ms. Louisana, who is from Denmark. She was my tour guide for both days and she’s amazing!
4) Extreme Iceland - Slightly more expensive as compared to Bus Travel and Reykjavik Excursions. However, there are only a maximum of 11 people per tour. The guide is very knowledgeable and they would refund you if there is bad weather. My glacier hike got cancelled due to the bad weather and a partial refund was given. A full refund can be obtained if you do not wish to continue seeing other parts of the tour other than the glacier hike.
5) Bus Hostel - They are very short of staff, one staff per day who does the reception and the bar. Alot of waiting time is needed if you require assistance. The female staffs are very unfriendly while the male staffs would go the extra mile in finding out information you require. The plus points is that it is very safe, cheap and extremely clean. The wifi is quite bad, you have to keep logging in to the wifi even though no password is required. This hostel is not as near to the city centre as expected and be prepared to know that you will be the last to be dropped off on every single tour as Bus Hostel is located closest to the bus terminal.
Traveling around Reykjavik City Centre is pretty easy, either on foot or on the public bus, Straeto. You can purchase bus tickets directly from the bus driver or at Kringlan Service Counter, where you can buy day passes. Do download the Straeto Bus App. It’ll not only plan your journey, but also give you the locations of the buses in real time.
The good thing about tours to see the whales or the Northern Lights is that if these Nature spectacles are not seen, they will give you a return ticket. So, do plan ahead and go for tours of these natural sights on the very first day and keep one day free to ‘return’ if needed.
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