Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For your Iceland questions, please consult Rick Steve's Travel Forum for Iceland, there is a wealth of information available there. My wife and I did not go to Iceland in winter, but we went in September; and the Rick Steves Forum + other resources proved invaluable for our wonderfully amazing trip to Iceland.

You may not want to drive in Iceland outside of the Reykjavik metro area/Reykjanes Peninsula in winter as it will almost certainly be more hazardous and treacherous than driving in the DMV. You will absolutely need vedur.is and safetravel.is regardless of when you visit Iceland.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/iceland

Thank you for the link. I will look into it. Been browsing the reddit sub too. The pictures are amazing.

If you are short on time - lets say just 7 days, what are the must see from your point of view? From Reddit, I gathered that the Golden Circle, the Waterfalls (Vik??), Diamond Beach, Glacier Hike are must see and the Blue Lagoon is touristy and overhyped?

Ice cave tour near Vik. That was the highlight of our trip. We did all the above. There are waterfalls everywhere, and free to walk around. We only paid for parking at one of the larger waterfalls.

I would still do Blue Lagoon even if touristy. It was fun, and quite an experience. Make sure you get traveler's insurance given all the earthquakes and volcanic activity Iceland has been experiencing lately.

-dp

I have not been in the winter but my nephew has been three times always in the winter always to try to see the northern lights. I guess there's no guarantee if you can see them, but if you get a chance the pictures I saw were pretty amazing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For your Iceland questions, please consult Rick Steve's Travel Forum for Iceland, there is a wealth of information available there. My wife and I did not go to Iceland in winter, but we went in September; and the Rick Steves Forum + other resources proved invaluable for our wonderfully amazing trip to Iceland.

You may not want to drive in Iceland outside of the Reykjavik metro area/Reykjanes Peninsula in winter as it will almost certainly be more hazardous and treacherous than driving in the DMV. You will absolutely need vedur.is and safetravel.is regardless of when you visit Iceland.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/iceland

Thank you for the link. I will look into it. Been browsing the reddit sub too. The pictures are amazing.

If you are short on time - lets say just 7 days, what are the must see from your point of view? From Reddit, I gathered that the Golden Circle, the Waterfalls (Vik??), Diamond Beach, Glacier Hike are must see and the Blue Lagoon is touristy and overhyped?

I'm the PP from this original quote, in September we based ourselves at a hotel on the main square by the Icelandic Parliament, the Althingi. Outside of going to museums, doing a food tour in Reykjavik, and general exploration of the capital city; we did the Golden Circle Tour, a northern lights tour, and spent a day at Sky Lagoon; all of which were wonderful. If you want to spend time in Reykjavik, we enjoyed the Settlement Exhibition, the National Museum of Iceland, various art galleries along Laugavegur and Skólavörðustígur (aka Rainbow Street), and visiting Harpa. I think Vik, various waterfalls outside of the Golden Circle Tour, Diamond Beach, and others would be worth visiting as well.

I can't speak to Blue Lagoon as we didn't go there, and some visitors think it is very tourist and overhyped, but I'd be more concerned with the volcano system erupting near it; as previous eruptions have covered part of the Blue Lagoon parking lot; and has periodically forced the Blue Lagoon to close and forced the evacuation of the nearby town of Grindavik. As I noted earlier, Sky Lagoon is wonderful, and is an excellent alternative to the Blue Lagoon. It is also within the Reykjavik metro area and more accessible.

As others have noted, vedur.is is for weather conditions and safetravel.is is for road conditions and hazards affecting Iceland's roads.

Whatever you decide to do, you can't go wrong! Enjoy Iceland!

Thank you all! Just saw the forecast and it looks like snow, snow and more snow the last week of December so everyone else in my family vetoed it. But I got so much information and I think I have a good itinerary for at least a week there. Hoping to go in Spring or summer.

Thanks to the PP who mentioned snowmobile and how many in one of those. I saw a vlog and it seemed like so much fun.

We went towards the end of winter (in March) and loved it. But, roads to the east of Vik were closed, and to the west/north of Reykjavik in the Snaefellsness Peninsula. Spouse and I felt pretty comfortable driving in winter weather there (we experienced strong winds, fog, blowing snow, icy rain), but in the middle of winter I wouldn't want to drive myself, especially after dark. I think parts of the Golden Circle and the southern road to Vik could potentially be closed as well at the height of winter. The websites PPs have mentioned will give the current conditions. In December I'd focus on Reykjavik and closer parts of the Golden Circle.

I used viator.com to book my tours for Iceland.

6 hours of daylight! Yikes! The temperature also sounds terrible in the winter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went Thanksgiving week a few years ago, and driving was fine. We base camped at an AirBnB in Reykjavik and went on day trips, then spent a few nights in Vik and did day trips from there.

We did some tours (snorkeling in Sintra - in a dry suit, lava tube - on our way from the airport to our airbnb that we couldn't check into yet, but our favorite was snowmobiling from Skjol) through www.amazingtours.is and drove the rest (lots of different waterfalls, diamond beach, Glacier Lagoon, Blue Lagoon)

Did you buy crampons before you went? For snowmobiling, how easy/difficult is it for someone with zero experience on a ski slope. I see adult double ride in the lik you posted. Does that mean an adult and a child can ride together or it doesn't matter. Can 2 kids be in one too?

My goodness no! They give you a giant snow suit thing, that keeps you warm and comfy. It's 2 per snow mobile, our teens, 17 and 19, decided to ride together, so it was me and my spouse. Other snowmobiles had a parent and child. None of us had ever been on a snowmobile before, and it was one of the highlights of the trip - for all of us

Anonymous wrote:Any tips when traveling with kids and what are the must have's that should be packed for a trip in winter?

I'm a little nervous about booking the flight but it seems like a cheaper destination than going anywhere else in Europe this season. But from what I read on Reddit, flights will be cheap and everything else is expensive there.

I really like this lady’s videos. I watched a ton before our trip and it was all helpful.

Here’s her winter packing tips: https://icelandwithaview.com/what-to-pack-for-a-winter-trip-in-iceland/

She’s an American living in Iceland with a kid, so she also has kid-specific videos and blogs. Lots of info about budget (lodging, food, etc) as well.

Any tips when traveling with kids and what are the must have's that should be packed for a trip in winter?

I'm a little nervous about booking the flight but it seems like a cheaper destination than going anywhere else in Europe this season. But from what I read on Reddit, flights will be cheap and everything else is expensive there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For your Iceland questions, please consult Rick Steve's Travel Forum for Iceland, there is a wealth of information available there. My wife and I did not go to Iceland in winter, but we went in September; and the Rick Steves Forum + other resources proved invaluable for our wonderfully amazing trip to Iceland.

You may not want to drive in Iceland outside of the Reykjavik metro area/Reykjanes Peninsula in winter as it will almost certainly be more hazardous and treacherous than driving in the DMV. You will absolutely need vedur.is and safetravel.is regardless of when you visit Iceland.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/iceland

What's vedur.is safetravel.is?

Websites for weather, volcano, and road conditions.

https://en.vedur.is/
https://safetravel.is/

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:We went Thanksgiving week a few years ago, and driving was fine. We base camped at an AirBnB in Reykjavik and went on day trips, then spent a few nights in Vik and did day trips from there.

We did some tours (snorkeling in Sintra - in a dry suit, lava tube - on our way from the airport to our airbnb that we couldn't check into yet, but our favorite was snowmobiling from Skjol) through www.amazingtours.is and drove the rest (lots of different waterfalls, diamond beach, Glacier Lagoon, Blue Lagoon)

Did you buy crampons before you went? For snowmobiling, how easy/difficult is it for someone with zero experience on a ski slope. I see adult double ride in the lik you posted. Does that mean an adult and a child can ride together or it doesn't matter. Can 2 kids be in one too?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For your Iceland questions, please consult Rick Steve's Travel Forum for Iceland, there is a wealth of information available there. My wife and I did not go to Iceland in winter, but we went in September; and the Rick Steves Forum + other resources proved invaluable for our wonderfully amazing trip to Iceland.

You may not want to drive in Iceland outside of the Reykjavik metro area/Reykjanes Peninsula in winter as it will almost certainly be more hazardous and treacherous than driving in the DMV. You will absolutely need vedur.is and safetravel.is regardless of when you visit Iceland.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/iceland

What's vedur.is safetravel.is?

I just traveled with some one and every third sentence has Rick Steve's in it. Rick Steve's says... I brought Rick Steve's book... My Rick Steve's suitcase.. Now it is here . Nooo. I am sure he has fantastic info but his fans seem to become infomercials. I guess he is a good marketer

Good for RS to have built a solid travel business model. But personally, I feel like his info is geared to a white male, not families, women (safety) or anyone who has any other special needs or is interested in seeing anything off the beaten path.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again - Is PLAY airline like Spirit? Never heard of this before

They have dropped their Dulles route and likely cutting BWI soon. Do not assume a future flight booked with them will end up operating.

https://crankyflier.com/2024/10/24/play-airlines-plans-to-play-in-the-sand-instead-of-the-states/

Yes - Play is scaling back on its North American routes to focus on southern Europe

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For your Iceland questions, please consult Rick Steve's Travel Forum for Iceland, there is a wealth of information available there. My wife and I did not go to Iceland in winter, but we went in September; and the Rick Steves Forum + other resources proved invaluable for our wonderfully amazing trip to Iceland.

You may not want to drive in Iceland outside of the Reykjavik metro area/Reykjanes Peninsula in winter as it will almost certainly be more hazardous and treacherous than driving in the DMV. You will absolutely need vedur.is and safetravel.is regardless of when you visit Iceland.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/iceland

What's vedur.is safetravel.is?

I just traveled with some one and every third sentence has Rick Steve's in it. Rick Steve's says... I brought Rick Steve's book... My Rick Steve's suitcase.. Now it is here . Nooo. I am sure he has fantastic info but his fans seem to become infomercials. I guess he is a good marketer