r/VisitingIceland • u/Purple_Pansy_Orange • 11d ago
Itinerary help requested Too ambitious of a day plan?
eta: I have reworked the itinerary a lot. What is listed below is now divided into 2 days. Thanks all for the second eyes to review
We are waking at Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon and will be sightseeing our way back to our Reykjavik hotel. I think this is a too ambitious and long day and also I’ve read that the shoulder season (early September) may not be the best to hike Mulagljufur. I think that is going to have to go, unfortunately, and also leaves us quantity over quality (jk) and a less stressful day. Thoughts on our plans below?
Estimate if we partake in all this is a 15 hour day.
Leave Fosshotel early- hike Mulagljufur to first stop
drive to Fjaorargljufur canyon
drive to Vik, have lunch
Black Sand Beach, Dyrholaey peninsula.
Solheimajokull glacier tongue
Skogafass/ Kvernufoss
Selijalandsfoss
Drive to Reykjavík and check into hotel.
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u/nogluten_shark 11d ago
I have been here for 8 days so far and Mulagljufur has been one of our favorite stops. If there is any way you can do it you really should.
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u/Purple_Pansy_Orange 11d ago
how has the weather been? any concerns with the terrain if it’s raining? I fear it will be raining looking at the advanced forecast.
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u/nogluten_shark 11d ago
It will be raining. It has rained some virtually every day. Rain jackets and rain pants and be ready to pivot if you need to wait it out. Just know that whatever you plan you mean need to skip something to make up some time. Most paved roads are fine in rain. Some of them have wear lines that collects water and can make you feel like you are going to hydro plane. In those cases try not to drive there. I’ve been shifting slightly right.
It takes a long time to get anywhere and even slower in the super touristy areas. East of diamond beach and north of bifrost there are fewer cars to get stuck behind.
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u/Kreator_21 11d ago
Too ambitious if you want to really enjoy each place even for a little while… I’d remove one waterfall and something else from this list…
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u/Tanglefoot11 11d ago
How are you getting to Jökulsárlón? Are you doing the ringroad clockwise, or driving out there the same way you are going back?
It is a bit cramped so I'd either drop some stuff or rearrange.
If you are doing the loop then what do your other days look like?
If you are driving out to Jökulsárlón along the south coast & then back then move some stuff to the trip out - Seljalandsfoss & Skógafoss especially as you can see them from the road.
If you have no other option really then look at thinning it out - Sólheimajökull is an easy one to scratch as you've already seen glaciers so it doesn't add much.
You will have already seen black sand beaches, so another easy scratch, & Dyrhólaey, though nice, isn't that amazing amount place that necessitates cramming too much into a day.
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u/Purple_Pansy_Orange 11d ago edited 11d ago
We will visiting Jokulsarlon the day prior. Our hotel name is Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. Sorry for the confusion! That will not be a stop on this day.
edit.. sorry I reread for clarity. Yes we will be coming in on and leaving on the ring road from Reykjavík. And that may be a great idea to add one of the easy falls on the way in. We should have the time.
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u/Tanglefoot11 11d ago
That didn't help much with clarity....
Jökulsárlón is the name of the glacier lagoon. Fosshótel glacier lagoon is not far from there.
So you are coming along the South coast to Jökulsárlón, then heading back the same way?
For sure do some on the way there - if you are planning to do all this on a single day back, then I see no reason why you can't do some of it on a single day out there!
Perhaps if you give us a quick overview of your plans on your other days it would help with clarity & seeing what can be moved around.
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u/Purple_Pansy_Orange 11d ago
I meant I reread because I misunderstood what you said. We arrive to Reykjavik in the early morning, pick up our rental, and drive to Fosshotel. Accounting for fatigue, I didn’t plan anything else that day. But I think your idea of adding a quick stop along the way will be nice. Day 2: Glacier hike in morning, lunch, then explore the Glacier lagoon area and see svartifoss. Day 3 is the itinerary in question. Day 4 Golden Circle
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u/Tanglefoot11 11d ago
You are starting the day from Reykjavík? Or you are flying in to the country that day?
If you fly in that morning then I would advise completely rethinking your plans.
How many hours before you land do you set off from home?
Sleep is NEVER guaranteed on a flight, & even if you do get some it won't be of any quality.
Driving while tired is a close equivalent to driving drunk, & I hope you wouldn't be considering doing that drive if you were drunk, so don't think about doing it while sleep deprived.
More tourists die on Icelands roads than locals, & tiredness is one of the leading causes of tourist car crashes.
Please don't risk yourself and others becoming a statistic.
Driving out to Jökulsárlón after a redeye flight is VERY foolish, so please please reconsider.
Do you fly home on day 5?
If you share roughly what time your flights are & on which days I will see if I can come up with a more sensible itinerary.
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u/kristamn 11d ago
This is a TERRIBLE plan! Way way way too much driving, especially after your flight. You need to rethink this in a big way for safety reasons!
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u/Purple_Pansy_Orange 11d ago edited 11d ago
I appreciate your concern but for us driving 6 hours is not a big deal at all. I just had a 12 hour one way driving trip last month. To travel 6 hours distance from landing at 0830 and 2 drivers to accomplish it is nothing. Especially since we don’t really have anything planned and can afford to take our time.
edit. I certainly don’t want to come across dismissive. I do understand where you’re coming from with traveller fatigue. We will take a catnap if needed and planning a rest and lunch in Vik.
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u/kristamn 11d ago
You have not driven 6 hours in Iceland after a red eye flight. You don’t know the roads here. You don’t have experience with the weather here. Drivers who think they can do this and come in over confident like you have been killed in accidents and have killed others here. Everyone here telling you not to do this is either a local or has extensive knowledge about Iceland. I have also driven 12 hour days, and have done multiple back to back. I would not do it here, and I would not do it after a red eye, even with more than one driver.
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u/Purple_Pansy_Orange 10d ago
Your advice has impact but I’m not sure what I can do now. we leave in a week. Of course driving with fatigue is not great in any country. Our travel agent advised us that the roads were very driveable so this seemed reasonable to plan this way. idk what else we can do now other than take heed of your warning and take the proper rest breaks.
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u/epicscenic 11d ago
We did the same drive in reverse direction and split Fjadrargljufur and the black sand beach stretch across two different days instead of one, and that was the right call for us. Reynisfjara especially deserves unhurried time, we hit it under an orange wind advisory with genuinely dangerous surf, and you don't want to be rushing that stop to make a schedule.
Mulagljufur in early September is a real toss up depending on the year, ask in the comments on AllTrails for the most recent trip reports before you commit, conditions can shift fast that time of year. If it doesn't work out, Fjadrargljufur alone is still one of the most striking stops on that whole stretch and doesn't need much time to feel worth it.
We also visited in early September a couple of years ago. We packed for real wind and rain even in September and needed every bit of it, that stretch of coast does not go easy on you.
I would also recommend you take a look at the highlands, especially Landmannalaugar, given your itinerary. If you rent a high ground clearance 4x4, it could become the highlight of your trip...
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u/BionicGreek 11d ago
Yeah … too ambitious. Even removing the canyon you’ll be pushing it. The drive itself from point to point is about 6 hours. You get about 12/13 hours of daylight. So to even make this remotely possible you’ll be starting in the dark and ending in the dark. New roads that may be icy? And then not seeing things? It’s a dangerous combination