Iceland Travel Guide

First of all, Iceland is strikingly beautiful. We went from Reykjavík along the southern coast, then north along eastern Iceland, all the way north to Akureyri. We snorkeled in two-degree water, hiked with an ice pick in hand on a glacier, and saw countless whales and waterfalls. It was magnificent! The trip was well planned and fabulously executed. Thanks to our Zicasso travel team, it was stress-free.

Our guide was great.  He met us at Keflavik Airport at 4:50 AM in his 17 passenger mini-bus, showed us a lavafield on our way to the Blue Lagoon, and took us to a very nice breakfast at a small café in Grindavik, before taking us to our hotel in Reykjavik which had a great fish and chip on the menu.

Iceland was a great trip and our guide was a great guide for it.  We were a family of 5, ages 16 to 85, and Our guide was able to accommodate all of us.  My wife and mom were not up for the more challenging hikes, so he got them to lunch and a museum.  My son wanted to get the morning light for his camera, so he was in the lobby on two mornings at 3 AM.  My other son forgot his toiletries bag in one of the 8 hotels we stayed in, so our guide coordinated with his niece to have the bag delivered to us before we got on the plane. Lastly, I have an interest in the sagas, Njal's Saga in particular, so our guide got me to the site of the Njal burning (which was not easy), the saga museum, and various landmarks along the way.  Also, waterfalls, a hike on the glacier, a hike in the glacier, in a cave, Thingvellir, Thorsmork, Geysir, Guilfoss, Reynisfjara, Jokulsarlon, and more.  Stops at Bonus, souvenirs, the new Iceland Costco?  No problem!

It was also a great help to have him as a driver.  If you want to see the scenery, you're going to have to drive out, in a country on the metric system, where you might not see another car for an hour.  Our drivers knew which one lane road or dirt road was the right road, and that is  tricky if you're not a native.

The trip was great overall.

Plus points:

Zicasso’s travel agency took time to plan the whole trip meticulously. It included all the attractions we asked for and wanted to cover. We received timely responses to all inquiries.

Issues/areas for improvement:

The south coast trip, per the detailed itinerary, was to begin at 9am, but the tour guide/driver came at 8am, saying he had information for an 8am pick-up.

The amphibious boat tour on Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon was only half an hour, whereas the itinerary said it was one hour 20 minutes.

Skaftafell Natural Reserve and Vík í Mýrdal town were included in the itinerary. However, the driver said the natural reserve tour took around two hours to hike and we didn’t have enough time. We just drove through Vík town. The driver said there was really nothing to walk around and look at and also a lack of time. He said the planner included a lot of items and there was definitely not enough time to cover everything as the south coast tour involved 500-plus kilometers of driving. He suggested we definitely bring this to your notice.

On the Snæfellsnes peninsula tour, more time was needed for the Gatklettur stone arch. It was a little rushed and, in terms of different viewing points and attractions, not properly explained. The time for Ytri Tunga and the Búðir church should have been shortened.

The Silfra snorkeling tour was allocated five hours and 30 minutes, but took an extra one hour and 30 minutes, and the hotel charged storage fees to move bags from the room to the storage area.

Except for the above areas of improvement, I must say that, overall, it was a very good trip experience and I would recommend it to family and friends without any hesitation.

Thank you.