Iceland
The south coast in under a week, the Golden Circle in one day, and where the budget goes
This covers the south coast only, in just under a week. The full ring road is still undone, so treat everything below as one slice of the country rather than the whole of it.
Getting around
You need a car. A 4x4 is not necessary for the south coast, though it is appreciated if you want to reach anything off the main road.
The Golden Circle
Do the whole thing in a single day: Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss. It was genuinely magical and it all fits comfortably into one day. Friðheimar sits right there and makes the natural lunch stop.
Towns
- Vík: tiny and very cute.
- Grindavík, on the peninsula south of Reykjavik: very nice, and a good base for hiking volcanoes. The volcano was active while we were there and we saw lava.
- Selfoss: cute, and worth a short stop.
Otherwise we mostly drove through without stopping, which is a fair description of the south coast.
Restaurants
- Friðheimar: probably the restaurant that left the biggest impression on me. You eat inside a greenhouse that grows tomatoes year-round with no carbon emissions, and everything on the menu is made from those tomatoes. They are excellent. Best combined with the Golden Circle day.
- The Soup Company: a chain of very affordable, very tasty soups that will fill you up. This is the main way to eat cheaply in the country.
Hotels
- Frost and Fire: cute and isolated, with an outdoor hot tub and a beer brewery nearby.
- Midgardur by Center Hotels: well situated and very comfortable.
Pick hotels with outdoor hot springs where you can, and also seek out the free public open-air ones out in the middle of nowhere.
Bars and breweries
Reykjavik has a huge number of good breweries, and basically any bar in the city centre works. There is one street lined with bars, grills and restaurants that is especially good in summer. Bastard was fine. Outside the city, Ölverk Pizza & Brewery does the craft beer and pizza combination properly.
Lagoons
- The Blue Lagoon: a bit expensive and far out, and a great relaxing experience.
- There are several others we did not get to, including one you have to hike to, which sounds worth trying next time.
When to go
The northern lights are the more interesting of the two headline reasons to come, but the country gets very cold for them. The midnight sun is underwhelming, since it never really gets that light. The best compromise is May, June or September, and August is packed. Pack warm clothes regardless.
What it costs
- Fuel: cheap.
- Alcohol: fine.
- Food: very expensive, restaurants and bars especially. This is the budget line to watch, and the soup chain above is the escape hatch.