Going after Christmas. Any recommendations of what to see/eat/do?

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The Evo forum really is a shadow of its former self. I remember when the internet was for the elite and now they seem to let any spastic on.

IaFG Supercharged Muppet Division

The dessert aisle, chicken nuggets, and paying for your purchases.

(apologies)

Bring a warm coat.

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Entirely pointless

Alex is there at the moment, not sure when he gets back.

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You Sir, are rude, arrogant and selfish. And so is your son.

Just bear in mind it's a big old island - so don't set yourself an unrealistic schedule.

It's an utterly amazing place though - went there years ago and loved it.

Take a camera.

Beany said...

The dessert aisle, chicken nuggets, and paying for your purchases.

(apologies)

Also, Beany missed out the 'do' part. Kerry Katona, if that's the platters that matters.

That's the main reason we are going - so herself can take pics of the Northern lights.

Looks like I can get a Ford Ka for a £100 for the duration with full excesses - gravel rally stage

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The Evo forum really is a shadow of its former self. I remember when the internet was for the elite and now they seem to let any spastic on.

IaFG Supercharged Muppet Division

I was out their earlier this year, it ranks up in the top 3 of countries I’ve visited.

Most of the touristy “Golden Circle” sites can be done in a day (Geysir – water shooting up in the air, Gulfoss – Water falling over a cliff, Þingvellir – the rift where Europe and America split.) as they are quite close to Reykjavik.

The waterfall at Skogar is very impressive as well, if you are feeling active and you have the weather, I would recommend hiking the path that runs along side the waterfall and climbs up Eyjafjallajökull (the volcano that shut down European airspace in 2010) as the views are utterly stunning the entire way.

An utter must is Jökulsárlón where the glacier meeting a lagoon and breaks off into hundreds of icebergs. It is truly breathtaking. Depending on which direction the wind is blowing will dictate where the majority of the ice bergs are, but you can walk around the lagoon to get a good view. You can also take boat rides to see them as well. It is a long drive to get to Jökulsárlón (about 4 hours each way) but the scenery along the way is amazing and constantly changing from mountains to lava fields and volcanic flood plains.

A word on driving over there – the speed limit is 90kph and everywhere you’d want to see is quite spread out, so it can take a long time to get to places. The speed cameras are easy to spot but the police don’t have much else to do so are very vigilant and its very expensive to get caught speeding over there.(although I found apologising profusely in the most English of English accents you can muster makes them quite forgiving) That said, the further away from Reykjavik you go, the easier it is to “make up time”.

Everything Matt said.

Jökulsárlón is a must (clicky for a piccy). Utterly mind-blowing and do-able from Reykjavík in a day. In fact, the whole drive along the south coast road is incredible - so many truly awesome landscapes in such a short distance.

I'd also add the Seltún hot springs as being well worth a visit (some great new roads around there, too – smooth and empty).

Might be worth checking out what these places will look like at the time of year you're visiting, though - the colder temperatures may have an effect. And there's the shorter daylight hours to consider, too.

thanks chaps, appreciate it.

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The Evo forum really is a shadow of its former self. I remember when the internet was for the elite and now they seem to let any spastic on.

IaFG Supercharged Muppet Division

Currently in Reykjavik, flying home tomorrow. Will do a writeup later.

avoid anything small (carwise). Go 4x4 and ask for studded tyres. You can go from perfect roads to solid ice in a corner and some of the shorter routes involves mountain passes which are solid ice now.

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DeskJockey
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Now fueled by heavy oil...

Forgot to add that hire cars come with restrictions on what roads you can drive them on. Only 4x4s are allowed on gravel roads.

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DeskJockey
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Now fueled by heavy oil...

Only 4x4s are allowed on gravel roads.

Officially...

it was years since i last went, and we hired the cheapest car we could...Daeweo Matiz. To be fair the car was fun in a rental/mental kind of way, but 10" wheels in gravel when being buzzed by a 4X4 on wheels taller than our car was not so much fun.

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My Glass is always half full

Ford Ka with full damage/excess waiver

rekyavik to Jökulsárlón and back in a January day, do-able?

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The Evo forum really is a shadow of its former self. I remember when the internet was for the elite and now they seem to let any spastic on.

IaFG Supercharged Muppet Division

You'll have to leave when its still dark but theoretically, yes although take great care to check the weather forecast and road conditions before you leave.

http://www.vegagerdin.is/english/road-conditions-and-weather

Personally i wouldn't want to try it this time of year unless the weather is perfect.

Once you get past the town of Vik you are into a massive area of flat lava fields where the wind can really whip up. It's stunning when it is calm but a bit sketchy when the conditions aren't great. When I drove there in the summer we had to drive through a massive dust storm which brought the visibility right down to a few feet in places and the wind was strong enough to move the car (ford focus estate) carrying three adults about, so I'd imagine that would be fun in the snow. Also be aware that the roads will be empty and in parts, any help is going to take a long time to get to you.

Updated December 27, 2012 at 11:16 AM

Finally got round to writing a bit of a review!

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DeskJockey
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Now fueled by heavy oil...