One Day in Iceland - HELP

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Sarah.The.Traveller
Sarah.The.Traveller

Hey everyone,

We are spending one night in Reykjavik (October 18), and want to make the most of it. We arrive at 7:40am, and don't leave until the next morning. We already have accommodations in Reykjavik. We are renting a car, so that we can basically spend the day driving and seeing the sights.

I've heard the rest of the country side is much better than the Golden Circle. So my question is - where do you suggest we drive to? I LOVE waterfalls, and would love the opportunity to see a few as well as the great countryside.

Any suggestions would be very helpful.

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icexpat
icexpat

if you like waterfalls, my first thought is the south coast. You can see two pretty well known waterfalls (seljalandsfoss, skógafoss) in one day. If you've got the time for it, hike up the trail to the right of the second one to see a LOT more. http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/iceland-waterfalls-on-the-skoga-river.html

fwiw, I lived in Iceland for nearly a decade and didn't ever feel like the landscape around the golden circle was lame. Gullfoss is an incredible waterfall, it's just the only one in that immediate area.

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nakichick
nakichick

Yes....I want to say too that the golden circle is actually very good and gives a good introduction to Iceland if you are going to be there for only one day.

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ruslendingur
ruslendingur

Drive as far as Vik unless the weather is really bad. Then stick to Golden Circle + Reykjaness.

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iviehoff
iviehoff

I've heard the rest of the country side is much better than the Golden Circle.

In a way it is, but this is the "rest" that is beyond a normal day trip from Reykjavik. But it is a generic experience, not set-piece wonders, although the set-pieces can be found here and there. It isn't really an experience you can have in just a day out of Reykjavik. The Golden Circle is very much the best of the set-piece wonders within reach of Reykjavik in a day trip.

Waterfalls - well some people think Gullfoss, the one on the golden circle, is their favourite waterfall. But as #1 mentions, there are some other nice ones within reach of a daytrip. You will struggle to do what #3 suggests, ie visit both the south and the Golden Circle in the same day, because the daylength is ebbing away fast, you lose an hour of daylight every 10 days, so you'll only have 9 hours by Oct 23 and sunset will be about 17.45.

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ruslendingur
ruslendingur
In response to #4

I'm not suggesting GC and SC for one day trip. Golden Circle is Plan B in case of bad weather in the South Coast :)

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icelandnaturelover
icelandnaturelover

I recommend the Golden Circle (half day), Reykjavik (for a nice late lunch after the Golden Circle and discover the city center) and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in the Reykjanes peninsula with the Blue lagoon or a nice swimming pool from this peninsula (late opening hours) and the geothermal area (krisuvik, ...) and enjoy a nice dinner in one of the seafood restaurant over there (Vitin, Rain, ...)
You will enjoy your day whatever you will do :)

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