[Closed] Things to do in Iceland?

Visit the hot baths and public beach in Reykjavik, it's free.
Go to Hvergerdi, it's close to Reykavik ( http://www.hveragerdi.is/English/) and take a walk or bike ride up the valley. There is thermal river with natural hot pools.
Don't got to thee blue lagoon ffs. Going to Iceland and paying £50 to swim in a hot pool is like going to Morocco and paying to look at a sand dune.

Are you wanting to mountain bike? Again, loads of options in and around Reykjavik but weather could be any kind of rank in October.

We're off in a couple of weeks. We've booked a few tours (Northern Lights, Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon) and plan on spending the rest of the time exploring Reykjavik.

So any advice would be appreciated here too.

Avoid Reykjavik tours bus company like the plague. They are all over the place but charge a fortune. Use Straeto if you're going to any of the towns (they're the "state" bus company and much cheaper) or Trex, who are good and cheap and go to the off road locations. I went to Iceland last year and this year for biking trips so if you have any specific questions just ask.

DAMMIT I knew I should have avoided this thread!

Sorry I would have worded it slightly differently if I'd seen your post!

They have a really strong tradition of public swimming and hot baths in Iceland. I don't think any Icelander would go near somewhere the Blue Lagoon because the public baths are amazing and cost tupence. You get free coffee and sparkling facilities for your tupence. The big swimming pool / spa complex in Reykjavik is something to behold. Every small town or village has a pool and spa. If you get a map all the natural hot spas are marked on. There are lots of them.

Yeah I actually kinda knew that about the Blue Lagoon, but the Mrs really wants to see it so off we toddle. We can still sample the delights of the other ones too!

(is disappointed no-one has done the obvious jokes yet)

Punch Peter Andre.

For John ^

(is disappointed no-one has done the obvious jokes yet)

I had a gag about prawn rings all ready...

Jeff

Hoping to go in feb to catch northern lights too

Looking forward to it!

4 days isn't that long - for a relatively small island things are quite spread out once you head away from Reykjavik. Your best bet would be to spend a day or so driving out along the main highway on the south coast, take in a waterfall or two (Seljalandsfoss is a good one) and maybe a glacier (Mýrdalsjökull) if you can get that far and then head back. The highlight for us was the glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón, but it's a way east and I think you'd be pushing it unless you're happy to haul it back again without stopping.

Don't expect much in the way of night life outside the capital, and you don't go for the culinary delights. That said there aren't many places you can leave the office on a Friday afternoon and be installed with a beer in the main square getting a tan (or sunburn in my case) at 10.30 in the evening.

The best thing I've ever eaten was on Iceland - fried cod cheeks. It sounds bad but honestly the best dish I've ever had. Melt in the mouth, fatty, crispy, meaty nuggets of wonder. The food is actually OK overall, and shaped by the climate and historical links to Denmark and Norway. Dried fish is also good, amazing food for serious outdoor trips. Beer is also good, and cheap if you get it from the Vin Budin.

We went last year for a week and hiked for 4 days which left little time for anything else. The scenery is amazing!
Although there are plenty of tours which can be a bit rushed, if you only have a short amount of time, I would utilise them to see as much as you can.
Personally, I enjoyed the Blue Lagoon. We went to the public hot spa complex (leisure centre) by the campsite/hostel in Reykjavik and while it was good, the Blue Lagoon is more luxurious (and expensive). It was nice to be covered in mud and have a few drinks while relaxing in the hot water.
We also booked onto a whale watching boat too. We were fortunate enough to see whales and a basking shark.
There are loads of tour options, just depends how deep your pockets are.

There's currently an active volcano, and I've seen some terrific photos of it with aurora in the sky above.

Look for binners buying Greggs frozen pasties?

eat puffin

We went horse riding on a beach up on the west coast. Fantastic. No one around and it was like being in a living physical geography book.

We also went and looked at the North Atlantic drift (can't remember the name of the place) which was pretty cool (if you like that sort of thing)

Golden Circle is good because it will take you to many of the out of town sights in one day.

Blue Lagoon is worth a visit also just for the weirdness of it all.

Have a good wander about in Reykjavik and see Hallgrimskirche, Solfar, Perlan, Tjörnin and so on.

The Lonely Planet Guide is a must in my not so humble opinion. Do your homework before you go so that you don't miss out, especially if your time is limited.

Thanks for all the advice.

Lonely Planet Guide ordered.

In everyones expert opinion is there much point in hiring a car? We are landing at 10ish on the 12th and departing at 10ish on the 16th. that leaves pretty much 4 days in Reykjavik. Is there plenty to do in the the city and the surrounding area which is easily accessible via public transport for the 4 days? Or with a car we would be able to travel more easily to other places and see things which are unmissable?

If we do get a car I dont intent to travel the whole island, just the west and south bits I reckon. Our hotel in in Reykjavik so will be returning there every night! I don't want to spend the holiday rushing from one place to another in a desperate attempt to see everything but definaltey want to see as much good stuff that is practical....if you see what I mean!

Also Anyone ever hired a car from SADcars? They seem cheap...

I've been twice and would recommend a Super Jeep 4x4 day with "Mountain Taxi"

Not cheap but a great day out off-roading around the Glaciers 8)

I'd definitely recommend a car if your going for 4 days. Reykjavik is quite small, I like it as a city but to get the most out of 4 days a car is very useful as there is loads within 2-3 hours of the city. The buses aren't the best in general, although car hire is expensive so a good option if you're on a longer trip and time is less of an issue. Worth noting that if you hire a normal car you can't take it on any of the "F" (gravel) roads, but that is less of an issue if you stay within a couple of hours of Reykjavik.

Off there for Christmas so will keep an eye on this thread. (Before anyone mentions it I realise there will only be a few hours daylight per day.)

The guys from the mtb club in Iceland ride pretty much all year if you get the chance to fit a ride in. There weather is a bit like here (but worse), in that it's dark and wet but not so frozen that you can't ride all year.

We have decided to hire a car based on the advice above and some other research. We want to do the Golden Circle tour one day. Can this be done with any car or does part of the route take you onto the gravel roads which you need a 4x4 for?

Like I mentioned we are going mid October so the weather "should" be ok. I was thinking of getting something like a VW Polo or Similar. That should be fine right??

Also any suggestions on the route would be very much appreicated!