Curator’s statement
If you are like me and would prefer that someone else does the driving, this guide will give you many options for day trips from Reykjavik. I would allow a minimum of 5–6 full days for exploration with two additional travel days, so ideally a 7–8 day itinerary if your schedule allows, to feel like you saw Iceland. Iceland is a year-round destination, but to catch the Northern Lights you would want a winter itinerary. Although it is important to know that daylight is limited during these months (about five hours).
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Things to do in Iceland
Glacier Lagoon
Golden Circle with Secret Lagoon: This was the first tour I did and a good place to start. It started around 10 am with a combination of scenery and an hour of relaxation at the end at the oldest pool in Iceland. This tour is appropriate for all ages. I took my 18 month-old son and enjoyed this one. You’ll visit Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir and Stokkur hot springs, and Thingvellir National Park. In total, it was about eight hours including pick-up time.
Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach day trip from Reykjavik: The longest tour, and an extremely long day, but by far the most scenic. You’ll visit Glacier Lagoon, Diamond Beach, and Skogafoss Waterfall. This is a good 14.5 hour tour. Alternately, there are shorter options for the South Coast that are around 10–11 hours if you prefer a tour that isn’t quite so long. It was a very beautiful tour, but given the fact that you will get back to your accommodation very late, I would not schedule an early tour for the following morning. Either leave the next morning open or schedule something to start late morning.
Snæfellsnes Peninsula: This was another long, but very beautiful scenic tour along the coast. It was cold, but I did really enjoy it. A few of the stops did require climbing up stairs for viewing points, so a mild fitness level is recommended, but all ages could do this tour and the nature stops were beautiful. It was a well-organized tour with a lot of driving. Be prepared for an 11–12 hour day. The lunch stop was wonderful—fish and chips were delicious, and you’ll have the opportunity to choose where you eat from three different restaurants.
Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon: At least one lagoon experience is a must-do when visiting Iceland! Blue Lagoon is an iconic Iceland landmark with a minimum age of two years old. A little bit farther from Reykjavik, but closer to the airport, Blue Lagoon is a luxurious experience with towels included. Sky Lagoon is close to the city center with a minimum age of 12 years old. Sky Lagoon has a cliffside infinity pool and a 7-step ritual. Sky Lagoon is more of an adult focused experience, but my opinion is that you can’t go wrong with either, or if you have the time and the budget, do both!
Northern Lights by bus or by boat: I opted to do the Northern Lights cruise, which was about a two-hour ride from Reykjavik as opposed to the five-hour van ride with hotel pick-up, due to the sake of having my toddler son with me. Honestly this was my favorite activity, we lucked out and saw the Northern Lights! With the Northern Lights, you actually want to check the weather and try to do this activity when there is a high probability reading, so my recommendation would be to wait until you are in Iceland on your trip before booking a lights tour to get the best success for actually seeing them. I heard from fellow travelers that you did not see them, then the tour company will offer to rebook you for another viewing if your schedule allows. So if you pre-book, I would either put this activity at the beginning of your trip or wait until you are in Iceland to see which night has the best potential for viewing prior to booking.
Food walking tour in Reykjavik: A super fun food walking tour around town. We had five total food stops (a couple soups and toasted baguettes topped with smoked salmon, lamb, a sample of herring, a hot dog stand, and a sweets shop). It was a great tour, a small group, and a fun way to spend half a day. You could easily combine this with one of the Lagoons for the other half of your day or one of my recommended alternate activities below.
Icelandic horseback riding: While I didn’t have the opportunity to do this tour due to having a toddler with me, I would have loved to! It’s another great half-day option with pick-up from Reykjavik. This tour has a minimum age of seven years old and is about 3.5 hours in length. Enjoy a ride along Iceland’s countryside and suitable for beginners to experts.
Alternate activities to consider for a half-day in Reykjavik: The Lava Show (a super cool, educational show about the Iceland and its volcanic activity), The Perlan Museum (an interactive Natural History Museum), FlyOver Iceland, whale watching, or the National Museum of Iceland. These are great half day activities to fill in wherever your schedule allows.
Places to eat & drink in Iceland
Northern Lights
Sandholt: A great little bakery offering sandwiches, breakfast items, coffee, etc.
La Primavera Ristorante: A delicious Italian spot that is located near The Lava Show and FlyOver Iceland if you are in that area.
Mat Bar: A trendy Icelandic Restaurant in the heart of downtown with tapas and cocktails.
Hygge Coffee & Microbakery: A delicious coffee shop with pastries.
Ox: An upscale restaurant for a fancy meal in downtown Reykjavik.
Dill Restaurant: This is a sustainable, fine-dining restaurant with a no-scrap approach to Icelandic cooking.
Arabian Taste: A Syrian restaurant and a good option for a late-night meal open until 2 am on Friday and Saturday.
Kastrup: A perfect spot for brunch.
Need to know
With this trip, I had a lot of things that didn’t go as planned. My tip for an Iceland itinerary is to remain flexible—I ended up having to cancel and rebook a few tours along the way for various reasons and it all worked out. So my advice is that pre-booking is okay, but if you end up changing plans along the way, that is okay too and it was still a great trip. As your travel advisor, I am happy to arrange airport transfers and pre-book tours.
Travel Advisor
Katie Anderson
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