Iceland One-Week Itinerary & All Info

Hello! Below are all the resources you need to organize a stunning one-week vacation in Iceland. :)

Table of Contents

1. Map Routes w/ Links
2. Covid Entry Requirements
3. Iceland Notes & What to Wear
4. Full Itinerary Notes, Time, Budgets, Notable Restaurants & Hotels
5. Unmentioned Activities
6. Notable Restaurants
7. All Hotels

Map Routes

Itinerary Split: Part 1

https://goo.gl/maps/WEnYVcNf8ZNvXK427

Itinerary Split: Part 2

https://goo.gl/maps/X5kp3UBGgkynmhMD7

Covid Entry Requirements

• (As of May 2, 2021)
• U.S. citizens must show full vaccination card before boarding flight
• Europeans can take a negative test then quarantine for 5 days
• Everyone will be given a Covid test upon arrival
• Must quarantine until result given. Usually 6 hours
• Make sure contact information is correct otherwise you might be stuck waiting 24 hours
• Can leave after 24 hours automatically if you are not contacted

Iceland Notes & What to Wear

• Expect to see a lot of nature when coming to Iceland
• Northern Lights can only be seen between September 15 and April 15
• Even in the summer, bring water proof outfits because some sites have snow.
• Normally can wear normal long pants and coats
• You will be traveling along southern Iceland because that is where most of the interesting sites are
• You will have to rent a car. It’s a short drive between all attractions. From the easternmost site to the west, the drive only takes around five hours.

Itinerary

From West to East

Day 1:

1. Keflavik International Airport

• only international airport
• rent car here and return here so that you don’t pay the one way rental fee
• from here to easternmost site one way is under 5 hrs; so everything is quite close to each other

2. Blue Lagoon

• giant luxury geothermal springs
• 1.5–2 hrs in water
• $53
• worth; may be crowded during normal tourist season but the place is huge; consider Sky Lagoon as an alternative
• Lava Restaurant

Day 2:

3. Reykjavik (Capital City)

• famous tall church
• can try traditional Icelandic food of dried fish jerky, fermented shark, and grilled whale
• Fish Market Restaurant: really good 8-course-meal
• Himalayan Spice Restaurant
• lots of Vietnamese restaurants
• bars

4. Fagradalsfjall Volcano (Currently Erupting)

• looks best at night
• 1 hr hike one way; easy hike, only 3 hills
• Spend 4 hrs total there including sitting at the volcano and hikes
• $0

Day 3:

5. Thingvellir National Park

• 2 hrs b/c v small
• $0

6. Dive Silfra

• part of national park
• snorkeling btw Eurasian and North American tectonic plates in cold water
• super clear water; see rock formations and cliffs underwater
• you’re given a dry suit that wraps around your body and your entire head
• so only your lips and tips of fingers and toes are cold
• snorkeling part itself is 30 minutes but worth depending on the person
• 2.5 hours total for suiting up and chatting
• $230.48
• call to ask what the least popular time is because if there are too many people, the water is not as clear because of the dust kicked up and you’d have to wait longer
• they operate even when there are blizzards, but your dry suit will stick to your body and they will pour hot water on you to get it off

7. Geysir (geysers)

• 30 minutes
• $0
• erupts every 6 minutes
• Fridheimar Tomato Restaurant — famous for their tomato menu

8. Gullfoss Falls

• 20 minutes
• $0
• most unique waterfall

9. Kerid Crater

• 5 minutes
• $0
• kind of underwhelming but it’s on the way

Day 4 and 5:

We split these up and did half of these on the way back west because that worked best with our schedule

10. Katla Ice Cave Tour

• worth; must purchase a tour to see because they drive you through rough terrain using a Jeep with giant wheels; you get to see 3 different areas
• 3 hours
• $162
• https://adventures.is/iceland/day-tours/ice-caves/katla-ice-cave-tour-under-the-volcano/

11. Icelandic Lava Show

• worth; lava melted right in front of you; see it harden in real time
• shows only at 1:30 PM or 5:00 PM
• 1 hour
• $47.75
• Soup Company restaurant
• https://www.icelandiclavashow.com/tickets

12. Sólheimajökull Glacier

• beautiful; can walk your own path to get super up close to the glacier
• 30 minutes
• $0

13. Reynisfjara Beach

14. Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck

• exactly what you expect; do if you want; one-hour one way flat boring hike to the plane

Day 6:

15. Jökulsárlón Ice Lagoon

• recommend staying at the Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon

16. Diamond Beach

Unmentioned Activities

1. Glacier Climbing
2. Icelandic Horseback Riding
3. Puffin Island Tours in Reykjavik
4. Whale Watching in Reykjavik
5. Other Waterfalls

Notable Restaurants & Food

1. Fish Market, Reyjkavik — great 8-course meal
2. Himalayan Spice, Reykjavik
3. traditional Icelandic dried fish jerky, fermented shark, and grilled whale, Reykjavik
4. Fridheimar, north of Selfoss — famous, great tomato-based menu
5. Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon Restaurant — great vegetarian entree

All Hotels

Day 1 — Day 3: Reykjavik, Oddsson Hotel

Day 3 — Day 4: Selfoss, Bella Apartments and Rooms

Day 4 — Day 6: Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon