Iceland in March
Discussion
Planning a trip away in mid-March, probably 5-7 days, and have fancied visiting Iceland for a while now.
Curious if anyone has been around this time of year and does or doesn't recommend it, and also what driving will be like (and car rental company recommendations that don't take the piss about 'damage') - I'm aware the Highland roads close over winter but will we still be able to get around ok, mixed stories on other forums.
Think it'll be quieter in March which we like, and we can still visit lagoons, waterfalls, ice caves, do whale watching etc.
Swithering about whether a nice hotel/apartment in Reykjavik or a remote cabin is the best base - both appeal in their own way but the remote cabins seem to be quite pricy, no doubt due to the popularity with the Instagram crowd. Anyone positively recommend one over the other?
Curious if anyone has been around this time of year and does or doesn't recommend it, and also what driving will be like (and car rental company recommendations that don't take the piss about 'damage') - I'm aware the Highland roads close over winter but will we still be able to get around ok, mixed stories on other forums.
Think it'll be quieter in March which we like, and we can still visit lagoons, waterfalls, ice caves, do whale watching etc.
Swithering about whether a nice hotel/apartment in Reykjavik or a remote cabin is the best base - both appeal in their own way but the remote cabins seem to be quite pricy, no doubt due to the popularity with the Instagram crowd. Anyone positively recommend one over the other?
Following with interest!
We toyed with the idea of going then but, the weather conditions that time of year have put me off.
Apparently, Iceland has three temperatures, cold, colder and bloody freezing.
In the end we have decided on the first week of July. Hopefully, we can get some accommodation ideas from this thread.
We toyed with the idea of going then but, the weather conditions that time of year have put me off.
Apparently, Iceland has three temperatures, cold, colder and bloody freezing.
In the end we have decided on the first week of July. Hopefully, we can get some accommodation ideas from this thread.
Been twice, last time Nov 2021.
March is still winter. Iceland isn’t always as cold as you would think and there won’t necessarily be snow on low ground. The wind can be a bigger issue (all flights were cancelled yesterday due to storms).
Blue car rental are supposed to be one of the best and whilst a 4x4 is useful it isn’t necessary if you aren’t going to go on F roads, as all cars will have winter tyres.
I’ve only stayed in hotels so can’t comment on the cabins but some nice hotels in Reykjavik.
If you are there for 5/7 days I would do the Golden Circle, two days on South Coast and the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. I’d also do Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon and/or one of the public pools.
This site is pretty good.
https://guidetoiceland.is/
Oh and everywhere is pricy so not somewhere to go on a tight budget
March is still winter. Iceland isn’t always as cold as you would think and there won’t necessarily be snow on low ground. The wind can be a bigger issue (all flights were cancelled yesterday due to storms).
Blue car rental are supposed to be one of the best and whilst a 4x4 is useful it isn’t necessary if you aren’t going to go on F roads, as all cars will have winter tyres.
I’ve only stayed in hotels so can’t comment on the cabins but some nice hotels in Reykjavik.
If you are there for 5/7 days I would do the Golden Circle, two days on South Coast and the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. I’d also do Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon and/or one of the public pools.
This site is pretty good.
https://guidetoiceland.is/
Oh and everywhere is pricy so not somewhere to go on a tight budget
Edited by craig1912 on Wednesday 26th January 16:55
Edited by craig1912 on Wednesday 26th January 16:57
Edited by craig1912 on Wednesday 26th January 16:58
Thanks - had seen Blue car rental recommended and you can get a decent deal on one of their 'used' (i.e. high miles) 4WD Dacia Dusters - hopefully they aren't as precious about them.
Flights and accommodation should be reasonably priced in March so food and drink seems like the big outlay - Las Vegas prices seem like a good comparison.
Will take a look at the other place you've recommended.
I'm ok with the weather - we do lots of hillwalking in Scotland in cold, windy climate so as long as it doesn't disrupt the flights (no guarantee) and the main roads are likely to be passable and allow us to get out and see and do things, I'll take that in return for being able to go at a quieter time of year.
Flights and accommodation should be reasonably priced in March so food and drink seems like the big outlay - Las Vegas prices seem like a good comparison.
Will take a look at the other place you've recommended.
I'm ok with the weather - we do lots of hillwalking in Scotland in cold, windy climate so as long as it doesn't disrupt the flights (no guarantee) and the main roads are likely to be passable and allow us to get out and see and do things, I'll take that in return for being able to go at a quieter time of year.
Edited by yellowbentines on Wednesday 26th January 17:16
Agree flights and accommodation should be a bit cheaper.
You probably need to add 30-50% on top of Vegas prices.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_citi...
The Appy hour app is useful if you like your beer
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/reykjav%C3%ADk-appy-...
November was pretty quiet and in March the days will be a bit longer. There are quite a few Covid restrictions at the moment around Restaurants and bars but I’m guessing come March these are likely to be lifted.
Aurora forecast
https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/
Weather forecast (useful as Iceland weather can change within minutes)
https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/areas/
You probably need to add 30-50% on top of Vegas prices.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_citi...
The Appy hour app is useful if you like your beer
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/reykjav%C3%ADk-appy-...
November was pretty quiet and in March the days will be a bit longer. There are quite a few Covid restrictions at the moment around Restaurants and bars but I’m guessing come March these are likely to be lifted.
Aurora forecast
https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/
Weather forecast (useful as Iceland weather can change within minutes)
https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/areas/
Edited by craig1912 on Wednesday 26th January 17:30
Edited by craig1912 on Wednesday 26th January 17:36
Just got back from a 4 day trip last week. Weather was fine not much colder than UK, i wore jeans most of the time. This was our first trip so did the usual tourist stuff golden circle, blue lagoon and northern lights tours (first three nights were cancelled due to cloud cover even though the aurora forecast was high but we managed to see an amazing display on the final night despite it being a full moon).
You might have a higher budget but I can highly recommend the midgardur by center hotels which is in a very central location, has a great restaurant and also a spa with sauna and indoor and outdoor hot tubs. Spa access is free with a deluxe room or £20 per person per stay with a standard room. Opposite the hotel is the reykjavik kitchen restaurant which is also great.
I paid £750 for flights and hotel including breakfast (this also included transfers and insurance)
Trips were
£90 each for blue lagoon with transfers
£55 each for golden circle tour
£45 each northern lights tour
There are so many other things to do such as snowmobiling up a glacier and dog sledding etc. but these can be very pricey up to £300 pp.
Overall I was amazed by the place and we are already planning our next trip to see more.
You might have a higher budget but I can highly recommend the midgardur by center hotels which is in a very central location, has a great restaurant and also a spa with sauna and indoor and outdoor hot tubs. Spa access is free with a deluxe room or £20 per person per stay with a standard room. Opposite the hotel is the reykjavik kitchen restaurant which is also great.
I paid £750 for flights and hotel including breakfast (this also included transfers and insurance)
Trips were
£90 each for blue lagoon with transfers
£55 each for golden circle tour
£45 each northern lights tour
There are so many other things to do such as snowmobiling up a glacier and dog sledding etc. but these can be very pricey up to £300 pp.
Overall I was amazed by the place and we are already planning our next trip to see more.
Expect it to be windy and chilly, but not necessarily any snow or crazy cold. First time we went we rented a Polo and it was absolutely fine everywhere, but I was a bit nervous doing a 3 point turn on a gravel road where there was quite a build up of soft stuff in the center. The last couple of times we went we hired a Grand Vitara and then a Jimny and having a bit extra ground clearance gave some peace of mind.
Book a proper 4x4 tour, they'll take you up in to the highlands or on to a glacier, the guy we went with was on his summer tyres which were only 44"
The Golden Circle of Þingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir are all accessible on tarmac roads so any car's fine for that.
Book a proper 4x4 tour, they'll take you up in to the highlands or on to a glacier, the guy we went with was on his summer tyres which were only 44"
The Golden Circle of Þingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir are all accessible on tarmac roads so any car's fine for that.
Stay in the ''old town'' by the docks in Reykjavik, got the best restaurants and right by the Whale watching tours ( roast lamb over burnt hay was stunning in ''Ox'' restaurant)
We did a couple of nights at Hotel Umi right by the Black beaches which was brilliant, so desolate and no light pollution so the skies were amazing..
Book when there's not a full moon for the darkest skies if Northern lights is your thing too..
And WRAP UP WARM, I was in ski gear for the 1am Northern Lights trip and only just coped with the cold, Ps get a 4x4 super jeep tour rather than 50 odd crammed into a coach, get to go right off the beaten track rather parked in than a layby with HGV's driving past you...
Stunning country, cannot recommend it enough..
We did a couple of nights at Hotel Umi right by the Black beaches which was brilliant, so desolate and no light pollution so the skies were amazing..
Book when there's not a full moon for the darkest skies if Northern lights is your thing too..
And WRAP UP WARM, I was in ski gear for the 1am Northern Lights trip and only just coped with the cold, Ps get a 4x4 super jeep tour rather than 50 odd crammed into a coach, get to go right off the beaten track rather parked in than a layby with HGV's driving past you...
Stunning country, cannot recommend it enough..
rallye101 said:
Stay in the ''old town'' by the docks in Reykjavik, got the best restaurants and right by the Whale watching tours ( roast lamb over burnt hay was stunning in ''Ox'' restaurant)
We did a couple of nights at Hotel Umi right by the Black beaches which was brilliant, so desolate and no light pollution so the skies were amazing..
Book when there's not a full moon for the darkest skies if Northern lights is your thing too..
And WRAP UP WARM, I was in ski gear for the 1am Northern Lights trip and only just coped with the cold, Ps get a 4x4 super jeep tour rather than 50 odd crammed into a coach, get to go right off the beaten track rather parked in than a layby with HGV's driving past you...
Stunning country, cannot recommend it enough..
I don’t think you can go wrong wherever you stay in Reykjavik as long as you are near the centre. We’ve stayed both times just off Laugavegur which is full of bars and restaurants, and it’s not too far to walk to the harbour. I agree the small group tours are definitely the way to go. Both times we’ve been, there have never been more than 6 in our group.We did a couple of nights at Hotel Umi right by the Black beaches which was brilliant, so desolate and no light pollution so the skies were amazing..
Book when there's not a full moon for the darkest skies if Northern lights is your thing too..
And WRAP UP WARM, I was in ski gear for the 1am Northern Lights trip and only just coped with the cold, Ps get a 4x4 super jeep tour rather than 50 odd crammed into a coach, get to go right off the beaten track rather parked in than a layby with HGV's driving past you...
Stunning country, cannot recommend it enough..
We stayed near Hof on our south coast tour. Hotel was basic but clean and the food was good
https://adventures.com/iceland/hotels/adventure-ho...
Going in 2 weeks so will report back on that if youd like.
renting a vitara as I've been before so hoping to do the golden circle a bit quicker than the bus tours so we fit more in.
Doing northern lights and staying in Reykavic the first night followed by 3 nights in a cabin with hot tub on a horse ranch in selfoss.
Booked to do the snorkelling between the plates on the second day in conjunction with the golden circle.
3rd day horse riding in the morning and hopefully a waterfall or 2 in the arvo.
4th day driving east towards the glacier and black sand beach and as many relevant sites as we can fit in on route.
morning before we fly back probably pottering around reykavic again.
all this heavily reliant on the weather so may have to jot things about but cant control the weather so just crossing fingers.
renting a vitara as I've been before so hoping to do the golden circle a bit quicker than the bus tours so we fit more in.
Doing northern lights and staying in Reykavic the first night followed by 3 nights in a cabin with hot tub on a horse ranch in selfoss.
Booked to do the snorkelling between the plates on the second day in conjunction with the golden circle.
3rd day horse riding in the morning and hopefully a waterfall or 2 in the arvo.
4th day driving east towards the glacier and black sand beach and as many relevant sites as we can fit in on route.
morning before we fly back probably pottering around reykavic again.
all this heavily reliant on the weather so may have to jot things about but cant control the weather so just crossing fingers.
Flights now booked! 5 nights 15th-20th March.
Now reading through the above suggestions and recommendations in greater detail to make some decisions.
Swithering about staying in Reykjavik the entire time and renting a car so we are in the centre of it but can get away whenever we want. Or, stay in Reykjavik a few nights without car and do tours/excursions those days, then get a car for a couple of nights and book somewhere much more remote.
Now reading through the above suggestions and recommendations in greater detail to make some decisions.
Swithering about staying in Reykjavik the entire time and renting a car so we are in the centre of it but can get away whenever we want. Or, stay in Reykjavik a few nights without car and do tours/excursions those days, then get a car for a couple of nights and book somewhere much more remote.
KAgantua said:
I went late Feb just before Lockdown 1.0
It was great but cold
Hired a car from one of the big boys, and drove it from Rejkavik to Vik
Scariest drive I ever did, and had to turn back , couldnt see 5 foot infront of the bonnet at one point
Go youll lov eit
We went in December. Had to push the rental car out of the parking bay because it was snowed in. Incredible grip on winter tyres given the road conditions , but Christ we went up one of the mountains and couldn’t see anything. Scariest drive I’ve done too, but what a country. It was great but cold
Hired a car from one of the big boys, and drove it from Rejkavik to Vik
Scariest drive I ever did, and had to turn back , couldnt see 5 foot infront of the bonnet at one point
Go youll lov eit
Hotel Ranga is fantastic
Though I'd update this in case as I go in case it's ever of use to anyone else.
Have now booked the Black Beach Suites in Vik for the first couple of nights, to allow us to see the plane wreck, black beach, do a glacier hike/ice cave tour (to be booked), and a few of the waterfalls and sights on the South coast.
Then onto the Exeter Hotel in the old town/docks area of Reykjavik (as recommended above!) for the following 3 nights as a base to tour the Golden Circle, visit Thingvellir National Park, Kirkjufell and as much as we can see up the West coast as time will allow.
I'm not a big fan of organised bus tours, so our noble steed for the trip will be a 4WD Dacia Duster that I'm childishly excited to drive. Renting it through a local firm Blue Car Rental. They've been great to deal with so far, and offer their older higher mileage Dusters at a more competitive price.
We'd love to do whale watching, snowmobiling, but we'll need to see how much we can fit into the 5 days.
Have now booked the Black Beach Suites in Vik for the first couple of nights, to allow us to see the plane wreck, black beach, do a glacier hike/ice cave tour (to be booked), and a few of the waterfalls and sights on the South coast.
Then onto the Exeter Hotel in the old town/docks area of Reykjavik (as recommended above!) for the following 3 nights as a base to tour the Golden Circle, visit Thingvellir National Park, Kirkjufell and as much as we can see up the West coast as time will allow.
I'm not a big fan of organised bus tours, so our noble steed for the trip will be a 4WD Dacia Duster that I'm childishly excited to drive. Renting it through a local firm Blue Car Rental. They've been great to deal with so far, and offer their older higher mileage Dusters at a more competitive price.
We'd love to do whale watching, snowmobiling, but we'll need to see how much we can fit into the 5 days.
yellowbentines said:
Though I'd update this in case as I go in case it's ever of use to anyone else.
Have now booked the Black Beach Suites in Vik for the first couple of nights, to allow us to see the plane wreck, black beach, do a glacier hike/ice cave tour (to be booked), and a few of the waterfalls and sights on the South coast.
Then onto the Exeter Hotel in the old town/docks area of Reykjavik (as recommended above!) for the following 3 nights as a base to tour the Golden Circle, visit Thingvellir National Park, Kirkjufell and as much as we can see up the West coast as time will allow.
I'm not a big fan of organised bus tours, so our noble steed for the trip will be a 4WD Dacia Duster that I'm childishly excited to drive. Renting it through a local firm Blue Car Rental. They've been great to deal with so far, and offer their older higher mileage Dusters at a more competitive price.
We'd love to do whale watching, snowmobiling, but we'll need to see how much we can fit into the 5 days.
Good stuff. I think whale watching is better in the north of the country. We went from Reykjavik but didn’t see any (just a couple of dolphins!) Have now booked the Black Beach Suites in Vik for the first couple of nights, to allow us to see the plane wreck, black beach, do a glacier hike/ice cave tour (to be booked), and a few of the waterfalls and sights on the South coast.
Then onto the Exeter Hotel in the old town/docks area of Reykjavik (as recommended above!) for the following 3 nights as a base to tour the Golden Circle, visit Thingvellir National Park, Kirkjufell and as much as we can see up the West coast as time will allow.
I'm not a big fan of organised bus tours, so our noble steed for the trip will be a 4WD Dacia Duster that I'm childishly excited to drive. Renting it through a local firm Blue Car Rental. They've been great to deal with so far, and offer their older higher mileage Dusters at a more competitive price.
We'd love to do whale watching, snowmobiling, but we'll need to see how much we can fit into the 5 days.
You can visit the hot dog stand as part of this tour
https://wakeupreykjavik.com/tour/the-reykjavik-foo...
We went on it in November and it was excellent. It’s not just the food but some history and background from the guide. There were twelve people in our party and it really was a good laugh with some excellent food and drink.
https://wakeupreykjavik.com/tour/the-reykjavik-foo...
We went on it in November and it was excellent. It’s not just the food but some history and background from the guide. There were twelve people in our party and it really was a good laugh with some excellent food and drink.
Nico Adie said:
In addition to everything else mentioned so far, make sure you get a hot dog (or several) from Bæjarins Beztu. Outstanding.
My Mrs dragged me there. Tasted like any other Frankfurter, ie metallic crap. Do yourself a favour and go to a decent restaurant instead, there's plenty around. If you want relatively cheap (for iceland), try The Laundromat for American style burgers and the like, or find a tapas place so you try puffin, shag, minke whale, etc in small portions in case you don't like anything. We found a great restaurant last time with about 15 species in a multi course meal, can't remember the name of the place though. Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff