I had a significant birthday during the week. The OH surprised me by buying me a guide book to Iceland. She hasn’t booked anything yet because she wanted to know when is best for me to go, but she’s going to take me to Iceland in May.

Any tips on where to stay in Reykjavik? Not bothered about staying anywhere flashy!

I’m aware that there are a huge array of things to do, tours to go on etc… any must do/unmissables? Any inside info?

Much appreciated!

How long are you going for? I think May is the start of the main tourist season so anywhere in the SW of the country will be busy.

We went in Sept 2016 and didn’t really get out of the SW. If it’s a holiday rather than a biking trip then the standard tourist spots will give you some good starters – Thingvelltir, Geysir and Gullfoss, there’s a constant stream of coaches so they feel crowded one minute and almost empty the next. If you walk just a couple of hundred metres away from the car park/cafe complexes then you’ll avoid most crowds. Slightly further afield are Skogafoss on the coast and Landmannalaugar in the centre. Worth having a hire car for these.

Thanks. We’re probably going for 4 days.

https://www.arctictrucks-experience.com

So June is the start of “tourist” season so some attractions are not open until then so make sure you check. But the whole “golden circle” stuff is open in May.

Its well worth booking a Super Jeep Tour to go up where one of the Glaciers is.

Also going down inside the volcano is awesome too and bus will take you out from Reykjavik.

https://insidethevolcano.com/

Having now looked at all the things we’d like to do we’re thinking of canning the end of May trip and going in the summer hols. Means we can go look at staying for 7-9 days now!

We stayed at the Hotel Leifur Eiriksson in Reykjavik. It’s right opposite Hallgrimskirkja Church, so if you have a hire car you can park in the Church car park. It’s also fairly central.

If you’re interested in the history of Iceland, the main museum is worth a visit, as is the fishing museum, which has a section on the Cod War with the UK.

We loved it, and plan to go back and spend more time there.

<span style=”color: #444444; font-size: 16px; background-color: #eeeeee;”>We stayed at the Hotel Leifur Eiriksson in Reykjavik. It’s right opposite Hallgrimskirkja </span>

Ive stayed there as well…. We hired a car last time we went and drove along the south coast to the black beach at vik and then some waterfalls and a glacier on the way back.

I’m going on Thursday!

I’ve looked at the bus tours and at hiring a car. The bus tours are a lot of money, car hire seems reasonable. I’m quite happy driving around, but I’m just wondering if the guides on the bus tours enhance the experience by pointing out interesting stuff and giving a background. Thoughts?

How about a couple of nights in Reykjavik (or however you spell it) and then hire an off-road camper for a mooch around. – Its what we did for our honeymoon a few years ago.