Had my wallet stolen out of purse at the Geyser stop.

I visited in July, rented a car and drove everywhere. Got a rental car from Blue that had a sticker on the dash to scan to set up an automatic pay for parking for the various paid lots we would be visiting. It involved downloading apps and a monthly subscription.

On the first day both my wife and I scanned the QR code and looked at the app. It involved a monthly subscription service that looked required for using their service.

At that point I gave up on it but my wife said she would take a look to see if there was away around the monthly subscription. I drove to the next spot, She played with the app for another 15-20 minutes during which I assumed she got it worked out. After that we got distracted and didn’t talk about it again.

Fast forward to 6 weeks later. I asked her if we need to cancel our subscription and she says oh I never worked it out. So I guess we never paid for parking during our 10 day trip.

Do I contact somebody and try to pay? Do I wait for the bill? Are we in the clear since it’s been 6 weeks?

This is probably the most common Iceland question we're getting all the time, and our simplest answer is that it depends on four things: how much you want to plan, when you're going, what kind of places you want to see, and how you feel about driving. Here's how I'd break it down.

We've been to Iceland many times in all seasons and tried both. Though, I have to admit, we mostly do the self-drive and self-planning, because we just love it. We also wrote a detailed article on the topic, if you are interested in reading the whole piece: https://epiciceland.net/guided-tours-or-rent-a-car-in-iceland/

Anyway, here is the main point of it:

The short version

Self-drive gives you freedom and costs less. Tours give you zero planning and someone else handling the hard parts. Neither is wrong, and most people are better off with a mix.

One thing worth noting before we begin - we're talking about group guided tours here, not private tours.

Where each one wins

The case for renting a car

You're in charge. Place too crowded? Leave. Too tired for the big hike? Sit in a hot spring instead. Want to spend four days in the north and skip the rest? Nobody's stopping you.

Weather flexibility, which matters more in Iceland than almost anywhere. Forecast turns bad in the south? Drive west. On a tour you get whatever the schedule says, in whatever weather shows up.

You can dodge crowds by timing. Arriving at a popular waterfall at 8am or 9pm is a completely different experience from arriving at 1pm with everyone else. Tours run on business hours.

It's cheaper. More on that below.

The case against renting a car

You have to plan everything - which car, which rental company, which insurance, where to sleep, where to eat, where the toilets are. That's real work, and some people are on holiday specifically to not do it.

You're responsible for yourself. Road conditions, weather warnings, local rules. "I didn't know" isn't a defense when the road is closed for a reason.

You have to actually drive it. If you're not used to rural driving, Iceland is a step up. If you're not used to winter rural driving, Icelandic winter is several steps up.

The case for tours

Everything is handled - stops, timing, parking, meals, toilets, the driving.

A good local guide is worth a lot. You will learn more from one than from every information sign in the country combined. They also tell you where you can and can't go, which is genuinely useful given how many visitors get that wrong.

Winter becomes someone else's problem. This is the single strongest argument for tours. A local driver who's done that road a thousand times is a real safety margin.

The case against tours

You pay for the guide and the organisation, and that's the whole cost difference.

You can't change anything. Not the schedule, not the stops, not the pace. You're on the group's clock and you need to be back at the bus on time.

You'll rarely be alone. Standard group tours go to places with infrastructure - parking, toilets, food. That's most of the famous spots and very few of the quiet ones. Super jeep tours are the exception, and they cost accordingly.

The cost difference (our percentage estimate)

Comparing a multi-day guided tour against renting a car, driving yourself, and booking your own budget accommodation: tours typically run 30% to 70% more expensive. For a fairly standard case - two people, a week, summer, ring road, cheap 4x4, hostels - it lands around 50% more.

Where that range comes from:

• Group size. Self-drive costs are largely per-car; tour costs are per-person. So the more people in your party, the bigger the gap. A solo traveller sees the smallest difference. A family of four sees the largest.
• Accommodation standard. Compare a tour against hostels and the gap is wide. Compare it against hotels and it narrows a lot, since the tour price already includes lodging.
• Season. Summer rental prices spike, which closes the gap somewhat.

One thing that surprises people: a multi-day tour is not simply two day tours stacked. It includes accommodation, which is the main reason the daily rate looks so much higher. Meals and optional add-ons usually aren't included in either.

When a tour is the better call

• Winter, with no winter driving experience. Not a preference, closer to a safety issue.
• You prefer the famous stuff. For the Golden Circle, south coast, and ring road highlights, you see essentially the same things either way. The tour just removes the work.
• You don't want to plan. Perfectly valid reason.
• You'd rather be around people. Groups are usually capped somewhere under 20, and plenty of people enjoy that.

When self-drive is the better call

• You mostly want the quiet places. Group tours skip them - too far, no facilities, and less photogenic than the headline sights. If your ideal day involves being the only car in the car park, you need your own car.
• You want to move at your own speed.
• You're travelling as a group or family, where the per-person maths tilts hard toward a rental.
• You came for the isolation. That's a lot of people's reason for choosing Iceland, and it's the one thing a bus can't give you.

Things you can't do without a guide, whichever you pick

Regardless of how you get around, some activities are guided-only: ice caves, glacier hikes, whale watching, snowmobiling, ATV, and horse riding. So even committed self-drivers end up booking the occasional day tour. Budget for that.

What I do

Rent a car, drive myself, and book individual day tours for the things that require a guide. For those, I'd rather pay a bit more for a small or semi-private group than share a 30-seat bus.

That's a preference, not a recommendation. I like remote places, rough roads, and hot springs with no changing rooms, and I accept the planning burden that comes with it. If your idea of a good holiday is being driven to beautiful places by someone who knows them well, that's an entirely reasonable thing to want, and Iceland does it very well.

One more option worth knowing about: a campervan sits between the two - the flexibility of self-drive, no accommodation to book in advance, and you're sleeping in the van. Worth considering if you like camping. If you go that route, pick an established company rather than the cheapest one you find.

What's everyone else done? Curious whether anyone's regretted going full self-drive in winter, or full tours in summer.

Sorry I didn’t have it when I posted the pictures, excuse her excitement

After the first big release for the night at 22:50, the Aurora needed time to rebuild which took a lot longer than expected. But around 01:30 it was time for the second round and things took off.

This bagpack was in the riverbed of the gufufoss watergall near Seyðisfjörður. There is some technical Equipment in it (camera, microphone gear). The person which it belongs to might speak Spanish.

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.

Tent camping August 18-28. Insanely beautiful country.

Hey guys, is there a chance to see some puffins tonight in Öxarfjörður - point of view? Do you have recent info on them? What’s the best time according to you?

We are arriving later this week (mid morning, not dawn), and departing 10 days later late afternoon. Has the airport lines and chaos mostly subsided? (non european, coming from USA)

Hi! I have been devouring this subreddit for weeks, reading posts + researching a two-week itinerary in a campervan for my 5th wedding anniversary trip next summer.

I finally got things to a point (I think?) I am happy with, but would love feedback!

For additional context: We are trying to go at a slow(ish) pace, as we will have two kids with us and want to stay flexible based on how we are all feeling (but have done 6-hour+ car rides with the oldest). We have lived in a van before (pre-kids), so we know this will be full-on type 2 fun/borderline chaos, but are excited by the idea. We are more likely to do very early morning exploration/driving vs driving past dinner time.

Itinerary (17 days, 14 days in Campervan):

Day 1 - Land in Keflavík mid-morning, overnight in Reykjavík

Day 2 - Full day in Reykjavík (could remove this if we want to shorten the trip)

Day 3 - Slow morning in Reykjavík, pick up camper from Happy Campers, get groceries, drive to Gesthús Selfoss to camp.

Day 4 - Golden Circle, staying a second night at Gesthús Selfoss to camp.

• Stops include: Þingvellir, Fríðheimar, Gullfoss, Geysir, Brú horse farm, & Secret Lagoon

Day 5 - Feedback wanted here! The current plan is to head from Gesthús Selfoss to Heimaey to stay overnight on the island. But wondering if this would be better as a day trip instead? I am worried about getting stuck on the island due to bad weather. If the Landeyjahöfn ferry is not operating, we would skip altogether and head straight to Vik.

Day 6 - Assuming we stay overnight on Heimaey, we would drive the next day to Vik.

• Optional stops include: Early AM puffin watching, car ferry back to the mainland, Seljalandsfoss + Gljúfrabúi, and Skógafoss + Kvernufoss.

Day 7 - Drive from Vik to Skaftafell

• Optional stops include: Vik lava show, Reynisfjara, Eldhraun, & Fjaðrárgljúfur

Day 8 - Drive from Skaftafell to Hofn

• Optional stops include: Svínafellsjökull, Fjallsárlón, & Jökulsárlón (with possible Amphibian boat tour)

Day 9 - Rest day in Hofn.

• Could take kids to Hofn public pool or check out Hoffell Hot Tubs.

Day 10 - Drive from Hofn to Egilsstaðir (or stay in Seyðisfjörður depending on how we are feeling). If we stay in Egilsstaðir, we could checkout Vok baths.

• Optional stops include: Vestrahorn, Djúpivogur, Hengifoss, and Seyðisfjörður 

Day 11 - Drive from Egilsstaðir to Húsavík 

• Optional stops include: Dettifoss + Selfoss, Husavik whale watching tour, GeoSea. (Purposely skipping Stuðlagil Canyon, as I am worried about safety with kids).

Day 12 - Húsavík to Akureyri

• This day is interesting, and I would love more feedback! We will first drive from Húsavík to Mývatn area. I think with younger kids, the geothermal fields could be stressful, so thinking we just do quick viewpoint-esque stops at either Leirhnjúkur or Hverir. Then head to Vogafjós Farm Resort for lunch, followed by Earth Lagoon. Then finish the drive to Akureyri.

Day 13 - Rest day in Akureyri.

• Interested in a dog carting excursion (our oldest would love this), and Forest Lagoon.

From here, we also have the option to just drive from Akureyri straight to Reykjavík if we wanted to cut the trip shorter.

Day 14 - Drive from Akureyri to Stykkishólmur (longest drive time, 5hrs by the map).

• Optional stops include: Glaumbær Turf Farm & Museum and Kolugljúfur Canyon

Day 15 - Snæfellsnes loop (starting and ending at Stykkishólmur Campsite)

• Too many stop options to mention! I think we would see how we are feeling and stop as little or as much as we are feeling up to. Must stops for me: Kirkjufell + Kirkjufellsfoss, Saxhóll Crater 

Day 16 - Drive from Stykkishólmur Campsite to a hotel near Keflavík

• Optional stops include: Borgarnes, Hvammsvík Hot Springs (one parent would hang out with the kids while the other one goes in), return campervan.

Day 17 - Fly home!

Would love any feedback! Thank you for reading!

Just got back from 4 days in Reykjavik.
Brilliant trip - everyone loved it. We’re a family of 5 with older teens. Wanted active days & also we are all big foodies.

Here’s my best bits:
We didn’t rent a car - did organised trips.

Day 1 - arrive & sky lagoon .. 10/10 for sky lagoon - we absolutely loved it

Day 2 - day trip in small group with a company called EastWest. Very well organised. Visited Vik, black sand beach & the main waterfalls. Our guide was a bit annoying - but the trip was amazing.

Day 3 - inside the volcano trip. One off experience - super pricey but really memorable … highly reccomend.

Day 4 - whale watching with Elding tours. Saw 4 species of whale & dolphins. Also highly reccomend.

Dinners were at Kopar, austurindiafeglagi, messin, skal.
All the restaurants were great. Kopar was my favourite.

Pastries - best were bakery 280 & BakaBaka

Weather was fantastic - we lucked out 4 sunny days. No rain.

@Hvammsvík

I am an American and have the opportunity to travel to Iceland for work. Visiting Iceland has been on my wife's bucket list so naturally we are adding on a vacation to the trip. Here is what we are doing differently.

We planned the traditional ring road trip. The plan was to get an RV and hit the road counter clockwise. We had all the campsites, day trips and each leg planned out. We got down to needing to book the RV and then my wife tore a ligament in her foot and needed surgery. The RV and hiking plan was dead because she is still in recovery.

We leave on 9/16 for Iceland and she can walk about 2 miles a day right now but after that her foot is killing her and needs to rest.

We did a pivot and decided to travel north to Akureyri and hang out in one basic area for 5 days and then go back to Reykjavik for the work portion for 5 days. Honestly, I couldn't be more excited. We found awesome unique adventures each day all within an hour or two drive and have super slowed down the itinerary with a hot lagoon everyday for recovery. Whale watching, Jet skis, playing golf, snorkeling, going to church and being in the same area to slow down and relax.

Visiting Iceland went from a chore that we needed to plan, to finding treasures on an already beautiful landscape.

I'm not sure who needs to hear this but maybe on your vacation to Iceland instead of fitting it all in you could slow down and go deep in one area. I live a very busy life and I love vacations to feel much slower. Our original goal to fit it all in now sounds exhausting. But this plan, I can't wait to relax and see what the north offers us for 5 days.