Anonymous wrote:Anyone been in Jan? I just found out that I may be going in Jan 2026. Is it unbearably cold and dark?

It's not unbearably cold (just make sure you have appropriate snow gear) but it is dark. You get 4-6 hours of daylight.

We visited in September for a quick trip. Loved it and can’t wait to go back. Being from DMV we didn’t find prices too high but certainly higher than other destinations.

One tip, if you are renting car for visit to southeast coast get FULL insurance. Wind and dust can be brutal.

Anyone been in Jan? I just found out that I may be going in Jan 2026. Is it unbearably cold and dark?

Iceland in June was perfect. Perfect temp and loads of daylight (23hours!) which made touring easy. Based in city for sightseeing and whale watching with excursions from there. Easy 6 hour direct flights out of IAD. Super nice people and country. Very expensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re heading in late June and we are staying just under a week so we won’t do the whole Ring Road, but are staying in Reykjavik and Vik and hope to see a little farther east of Vik with day trips. Booking our excursions and would appreciate recommendations for off road tours, horseback riding, and anything else that is a must see/do.

Highly recommend the Lava Show in either Reykjavik or Vik. We went in Vik. It’s not a long show, but there’s nothing like it anywhere else. Very cool.

Mulagljufur Canyon was a bucket list hike. Absolutely beautiful.

Thank you! Will look into these.

Anonymous wrote:We’re heading in late June and we are staying just under a week so we won’t do the whole Ring Road, but are staying in Reykjavik and Vik and hope to see a little farther east of Vik with day trips. Booking our excursions and would appreciate recommendations for off road tours, horseback riding, and anything else that is a must see/do.

Highly recommend the Lava Show in either Reykjavik or Vik. We went in Vik. It’s not a long show, but there’s nothing like it anywhere else. Very cool.

Mulagljufur Canyon was a bucket list hike. Absolutely beautiful.

We’re heading in late June and we are staying just under a week so we won’t do the whole Ring Road, but are staying in Reykjavik and Vik and hope to see a little farther east of Vik with day trips. Booking our excursions and would appreciate recommendations for off road tours, horseback riding, and anything else that is a must see/do.

Probably our best family vacation. We went in late June when the kids were 15 and 12 for 8 days. We didn't drive the whole ring road, but instead spent time on Snaefellsnes, near the Golden Circle, the South Coast and Reykjavik. We made time for hot springs or local pools every day. We had an amazing horseback ride along the souther coast of Snaefellsnes, had an incredible puffin tour at Ingolfshodi, snorkeled the Silfra fissure, and hiked waterfall way from the top of Selfoss. We also hiked the glacier and visited the glacier lagoon. Reykjavik was charming and worth a full day to explore. Would love to return one day and drive the full ring road, but glad we didn't attempt that with the teens.

NP here. We went at the end of June to do the Ring Road and did 9 days with the Snaefellenes Peninsula. It was probably one day too short to add that little extra area but other than that it was great. Most of our favorite sights were off the main Golden Circle so I highly recommend trying to do the whole thing as long as you have time. We stayed in hotels which provided breakfast, we took some snacks and also bought fruit/veggies at the grocery stores and just tried to really eat one other full meal a day (sometimes a 4 pm dinner for example). The food was pretty good, just expensive. Kids were teens and had a great time--sometimes opting to stay in the car at certain stops which was fine. We booked the whole thing through an Icelandic travel agent that I saw recommended on DCUM and I was very pleased. You can look at their self drive tours but they will do any modifications you want (we went directly to the airport on the last day instead of one more night in Reykjavik). We booked in January for a June vacay and the prices had already increased so I recommend booking as early as possible (rental cars are limited, for example). The travel agent can be found at : https://www.tour.is/tours/self-drive-tours

I would love to go back and do more in the interior of the country and some other things we didn't have time for.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best time to visit depends on what you’re interested in doing. There’s a great infographic for this here:
https://images.app.goo.gl/13Yswrr9v6kBawpL8

We went end of June and drove the Ring Road. It’s my favorite trip so far. The Iceland TripAdvisor forum is a great place to ask for itinerary advice. Many, many people plan too much in one day. They can help with realistic plans.

Also the Iceland With a View YouTube channel has excellent tips. She also sells itineraries if you don’t want to plan so much yourself. Tons of free itineraries online, though.

How many days did you stay?

11 days/10 mights. It’s the absolute minimum for a Ring Road trip IMO. And that’s seeing the highlights, not everything. We like that kind of trip. If you want a slower pace or are staying fewer days, don’t do the entire Ring Road.

We went for about 4 days and had a great time. Kids were 7 and 10 and they loved it. We spent time in Reykjavík and along the south coast.

Anonymous wrote:Best time to visit depends on what you’re interested in doing. There’s a great infographic for this here:
https://images.app.goo.gl/13Yswrr9v6kBawpL8

We went end of June and drove the Ring Road. It’s my favorite trip so far. The Iceland TripAdvisor forum is a great place to ask for itinerary advice. Many, many people plan too much in one day. They can help with realistic plans.

Also the Iceland With a View YouTube channel has excellent tips. She also sells itineraries if you don’t want to plan so much yourself. Tons of free itineraries online, though.

How many days did you stay?

Best time to visit depends on what you’re interested in doing. There’s a great infographic for this here:
https://images.app.goo.gl/13Yswrr9v6kBawpL8

We went end of June and drove the Ring Road. It’s my favorite trip so far. The Iceland TripAdvisor forum is a great place to ask for itinerary advice. Many, many people plan too much in one day. They can help with realistic plans.

Also the Iceland With a View YouTube channel has excellent tips. She also sells itineraries if you don’t want to plan so much yourself. Tons of free itineraries online, though.

We went in August and the weather is really nice. It’s too early for northern lights but there is tons to do. It’s a beautiful country.

I will say the food is ok. I didn’t love any of the food. Some things are pretty pricey. We did and Airbnb and when to the grocery store for fresh fruits for breakfast and strawberries were $10 US.

We loved it and would definitely go back.

Anyone been? Don't see much talk about it on this forum.

See cheap flights consistently from East Coast.

Also, what is the best time of year to go?