Is 3 nights in Reykjavik long enough?

Gaaraz

Hi,
Just saw the Groupon deal for a three night stay in Reykjavik which is very tempting! http://getaways.groupon.co.uk/24001590

However it says this:

"The Northern Lights tour will whisk guests off in to the wilderness to scan the skies for the elusive Aurora Borealis. An English speaking tour guide will be on hand to chat about the phenomena, answer any pressing questions, find the best viewing spots and advise on camera angles. With the option of a second tour customers can choose a whale-watching excursion to take to the waves of Faxafl!i Bay to mingle with the local puffins, porpoises, humpbacks and minke whales. Complementary hot drinks will keep fingers toasty and warm overalls will be supplied by the crew.
Alternatively, the Golden Circle tour provides a guided trip around of some of the capital’s nearby natural must-sees. Geysers can be expected to bubble up every few minutes, while roaring waterfalls churn through snowy surrounds and ancient volcanoes loom into view for dramatic holiday snaps. "

You only get to pick two tours! In an ideal world I'd love to see the Northern Lights, but also do the Golden Circle Tour and the boat tour... but it's a great offer and I don't want to be greedy


Any thoughts please? I'm very tempted just to book it and then decide which of the two tours to go on, but also worried I may regret it.

daveyjp

You can always book a Northern Lights tour with a local operator. Everyone I know who has been to Iceland has thoroughly enjoyed it.

joaniemerc

We went in February for 5 nights - had a car so got out and about a lot - yes, three nights is plenty - Reykjavik itself is very small. Blue Lagoon (do it when you land or when you leave as it's really near to the airport but about 45-50 mins from centre of Reykjavik) and Golden Circle tour a must. Not sure about the boat trip - as we were a different time of year and weather wasn't good - but we still had a great time.

Didn't see the lights:-( We had five days of cloud cover so not a chance but there's lots of other things to do and if you see the lights then it's a bonus.

Have a look at the Reykjavik forum on Trip Advisor - really helpful tips on there.

marky_p

If you were just staying in Rejkjavik yes, there isn't a lot to do and it's very small.

If you want to see some of Iceland, certainly not. I spent 11 days or so and drove the ring road around the whole of the island, there is so much to see outside of that south-western corner.

Iceland is an amazing country, I'd really suggest going for longer and staying at some places outside of the capital, they arguably have the best hostel network in the world.

Gaaraz

Thanks guys! I went for it in the end, booked the two tour version

Which of the two tours would you recommend btw?

a) With the option of a second tour customers can choose a whale-watching excursion to take to the waves of Faxafl!i Bay to mingle with the local puffins, porpoises, humpbacks and minke whales. Complementary hot drinks will keep fingers toasty and warm overalls will be supplied by the crew.

b) Alternatively, the Golden Circle tour provides a guided trip around of some of the capital’s nearby natural must-sees. Geysers can be expected to bubble up every few minutes, while roaring waterfalls churn through snowy surrounds and ancient volcanoes loom into view for dramatic holiday snaps.

The Golden Circle one sounds good, but maybe it's easier to book that kind of tour when we're out there?

Shimrod

If you want a guaranteed tour, then book the Golden Circle. You haven't said what time of year you are going ,but given that it is a northern lights tour I'm assuming this autumn. The whale watching trips can be cancelled depending on the sea conditions, whereas the Golden Circle tours will definitely be running. If you want to book your own Golden Circle tour (or choose another tour) I would suggest Gateway to Iceland http://www.gatewaytoiceland.is/tours
They use small buses and mini-buses for their tours, so you are not waiting around so long for the bus to load/unload or for the tardy person who never gets back to the bus on time! There are a large number of tour operators, and you can probably book a tour directly from the hotel.
One thing to consider when booking your tour is that you may not get back from a Northern lights viewing until 2am, consider if you want to be getting picked up at 8am for the next tour.

This is (I think) the only whale watching tour than runs year round in Reykjavik ( http://www.whalewatching.is/ ) Check their diary for the same period last year to see how often the sailings were cancelled.

Gavin83

My advice is not to bother with the Northern Lights tour, Iceland isn't the place to see them. It is possible but it's hard even at the best time of year. Out of 5 people I know who have taken the tour (myself included) none of us saw anything and most of these were winter trips.

I certainly recommend the Golden Circle trip though.

Shimrod

I've been to Iceland twice, and I'll be going for a third time later this year. On both occasions I saw the Northern lights several times, with the latter trip being a spectacular display.

What you have to bear in mind is that they will (most likely) not look anything like the pictures you will see on the internet. They can be a faint green glow, and they may just be faint bands on the horizon. The big challenge with Iceland is the level of cloud cover which can interfere with viewing, although the tours use a mix of 'spotters' and weather reports to track where the clear areas of sky are. Given the time of year, you may just be unlucky and have three days of cloud cover, so treat the northern lights as a bonus on the trip.

Archergirl

Take loads of money Iceland is VERY expensive, but we went for 4 nights and had a fab time, didn't get to see the lights as the tour was cancelled. If you book the NL tour for the first night you're there and it's cancelled they reshedule it for the next night so you get more chances to go.

zzzLazyDaisy

Another vote for the golden circle tour.

Also make sure you fit in a trip to the blue lagoon.

If you are going in winter, take a fleece balaclava - with as little as possible of your face showing (when I was there, my eyelashes froze!) but it was great fun!

anika

Hiya, you have lots of good advice here and the one not to miss is the golden circle. We did the northern lights tour and saw the faint green glow just as we left, but the dark starry skies were amazing I had a stiff neck for the rest of the night! You need to have a moonless night and if you have take internet access then check the space weather.com site for solar activity, we did it everyday to see the possibility of a light show. However, if you walk down towards the river and face towards the mountains where it will be dark, you may be lucky to see them from there, we did! So you can do this every night for free. With tours, someone went to see the whales and saw nothing, but the scenery will be there and is fantastic, we walked in the snow across the rift that is pulling Iceland apart and you get to see the waterfall at gullfoss which amazing. Google the tour. We went in December and as you can tell, I loved it. Have a great time.