Hi

I live in Iceland. It is very popular to stay few nights and then go on. There is so much to see and I am sure you will have a good time. Go to the Blue Lagoon, Gullfoss and Geysir, ��ingvellir and more places.

I am planning to do the same thing sometime in August. I know Iceland Air allows this (icelandair.com), but have found it very expensive from the US. If anyone knows of a reasonable airline/city in continental Europe combination, please post!

RememberThis - Icelandair is the only airline to fly from North America to Iceland; Iceland Express is a low cost carrier flying from the UK, and Air Greenland may do some stopovers between Denmark and Greenland, but for Iceland itself, you're stuck with Icelandair.

llama - I usually fly from YVR to LHR then take an Icelandair flight back to KEF, just because it's easier in terms of time (seriously), and I always want to go elsewhere in Europe, and LHR is a good place from which to start. Icelandair's Take a Break offer is a not a bad price, considering how expensive Iceland is. It would be nice to break up a longer trip, and certainly two or three days in Reykjavik are always a nice treat.

I have found that fares for flights from LHR to KEF are cheaper when booked with icelandair.co.uk than with icelandair.com - don't know why*. If you're interested in flying to Europe, you might try booking two separate trips, and then hotels separately with Icelandair - a bit more work, but it might save you a bit.

*I paid 199GBP for LHR to KEF return, booked in January, flew last month. I checked the price with Icelandair North America in Feburary, and the fare was more than 500$US - almost 150$US more.

Iceland is amazing. I spent a week there last year and had a great time. One of the more unique places to visit. Definitely want to go again.

A friend and I did the Iceland/Denmark trip. We spent 3 nights in Reykjavik, then continued on to Copenhagen for 3 nights, before returning to Boston. It was GREAT!

The only thing we would do differently would be to go to Copenhagen first, and stop in Reykjavik on the way back. Because of our particular days of travel, our last day in Iceland was a Sunday, and we were disappointed to find everything closed.

Based on that experience, I would say plan to stop in Reykjavik on the way home... and make the final leg out of Keflavik on a Sunday. The timing just would have been better that way, but is no reflection on either destination.... I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

A note to Remember This... In 2001, my August trip from Boston to Copenhagen, with a 3 day layover in Iceland, was about $1000 for the airfare alone. That was before 9/11, so I'm not surprised that the fares are high... it's just the way it is, but it was worth every penny! I plan on going again... this time in December, to experience the daylong darkness, and expect to get much better fares. After this past winter in New England, winter in Reykjavik will probably feel tropical!

Thanks for all of your replies. I am very much looking forward to a trip; I have been fascinated by Iceland all my life since I was born in Keflavik but don't remember it. Thanks for the help and encouragement--sounds like it's worth the extra bit of money!

Any thoughts on the pros/cons of a self-drive vs. guided tour of the Ring Road? I like the economy of the self-drive, but will be bringing my parents along who may enjoy a guide...

RememberThis, your question is a good one, but not easy to answer! On the whole, I would consider a guided tour as a last resort, but have taken two in Iceland - one a short tour more or less along the south coast as far as Jokulsarlon, and another that more or less followed the Ring Road - no Westfjords or far north east of the country. Before the second tour I added extra time in Reykjavik and Akureyri.

Guided tours are pricey, and there are the downsides of having to go with the group - plus the risk of not having pleasant company with whom to travel! But the tours I took were fairly low key, none of that 'follow the raised umbrella' type of thing - no more than 28 people in total, including driver and guide. We'd start around 0830, which wasn't too bad, usually finishing around 1700 with plenty of stops for washroom and snack breaks. The pluses were that the aggro of having to find a place to stay and arrange meals was taken care of, as well as being able to rely on someone else to find the neat little out of the way places I'd not find on my own.

Having said that, it's easy enough to make plans on your own - especially for the bigger towns. So unfortunately there's no one answer to give you - really depends on what you fancy. Overall, though, I'd say a tour in Iceland is pretty low-key, and bearable for even the most anti-tour group type.

The only part of my trip to Iceland that was "guided", was when we took a ride through the outskirts of Reykjavik on Icelandic ponies... and that was just to prevent getting lost where there were no other people.

I found without exception, that wherever you go, language is not an obstacle AT ALL for English speakers, and the people are the friendliest I've ever met, glad to make recommendations, and go out of their way to accomodate travellers. In a nutshell, I can't think of a single reason to go on a guided tour. I'd personally recommend getting hints from locals and fellow travellers and "wing it"! The idea of paying someone to restrict my movement goes against my grain.

The last post does make valid points - most Icelanders speak very good English, and are keen to help you if you ask for it. But on both of my tours, the guides went the extra step - arranging riding and snowmobiling trips at v short notice (including pick up and delivery from the hotels), adding in extra sights I never would have found (or known to look for) on my own, and one arranged a couple of nights out at local pubs when some of us wanted to whoop it up (not too much, though, considering the price of drink).

I've been on two guided trips and they were fine, but from now on I'm more than happy to carry on on my own.