It took me a while but I just finish typing my recap of my 10 days in the West and South part of Iceland. Long reading but might be interesting for some - I have uploaded lots of pictures as well. Some of you might have read up to part 4 already... then just jump to the following ones.
1
pksf
Thank you for posting this. It was a good read! And I just checked out the company you mentioned that you booked through. Their tours look good and actually reasonable considering it is for a car, insurance, and accommodations. At the very least, it's less hassle since it's all planned out for you. One question, did you feel like it was too much driving in one day on your longer days? Thanks again for posting this, it was great.
2
Patius
Hey PKSF,
I think the longest drive was from Vik-Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon and back, but I don't think driving in general was hard because I was stopping all time. Keep in mind I did this trip at the beginning of the Summer, plenty of day time light.
Now regarding the Self-drive tours, they book their rental and the accommodation, you will receive a package with ideas for your itinerary, but you are the one that decides what you are going to do with your day, you only know the final destination at the end of the day (your hotel/guest house room).
Regarding the insurance, you have the CDW included, and as you read my posting I declined (tried) because my super AMEX covers everything in my rentals (even ash damages). If you don't have a good credit card (call them first), I might suggest to buy the extra insurance, you never know when anything can happen,
4
pksf
Kio, thank you very much again for the advice. I booked basically the same tour you did plus a glacier hike. My travel insurance company offered comprehensive car insurance for $50 (we're staying 4 more days in Reykjavik and renting another car), so that was a good deal for the peace of mind. I'm really looking forward to the trip. The accommodations look great, and overall this is a great value. By the way, you live in one of my favorite cities in the world, Montreal!
5
Patius
Glad I could help, just one thing, you don't need a car while you are in Reykjavik, just explore the city by foot, you won't regret it. Montreal is also one of my favourite cities ;-) now time to sleep, just landed from Mexico City. If you have any other questions regarding what I did, just send them in... but my review pretty much covers everyihing ;-)
6
Patius
and one last thing, please make sure to visit the Westman Islands. i cannot remember when you mentioned you are going to be touring Iceland, just remember when I visited the island it was Summer time, actually I was there for the longest day of the year.
and I finally went thru some of my videos
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
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