do I need reservations in May?

I'm planning a trip from May 5-15 to Iceland. Is it important to make hotel reservations each night
in advance? Any highlights I shouldn't miss?
thanks
ecoej

It is important to make hotel reservations in Reykjavik well in advance all year, especially if you are at all choosey about where you stay and its price.

Outside R, it is a good idea to phone a day ahead. That way there will be someone there to let you in, and make food arrangements if you require them.

Any highlights I shouldn't miss?

There are sufficiently many highlights and spread over sufficiently long distances that you shouldn't try and see them all, and you can safely keep some of them in reserve for next time you come. Rather, in 10 days, I should aim to restrict myself to part of the island and see that.

A very useful blog to pick up some tips and build an itinerary: www.iceland24blog.com

We are planning our first trip to Iceland--arriving in mid-June and staying for 3 weeks. All but three days will be away from Reykjavik and touring the island. We have been surprised how many places to stay are already filled. I cannot speak to how many hostels, homestays, or hotels still have openings, but I'd say that one-third to one-half of our first selections were filled when we tried to make reservations. For a few nights, we had to book the third choice. We completed our bookings on March 2.

This does not surprise me at all given your dates: mid-June is when things start to get really busy. Even in early June accommodation in the most popular tourist areas, such as along the southern shore, can fill up completely if you don't book well ahead. There is also some seasonal accommodation - the large EDDA hotels for example are often open in July and August only, and may have some different business, such as being a boarding school, in other seasons. But OP is coming in early May when there will be many fewer tourists around - the country is hardly out of winter and really terrible snowfalls have occurred, especially in the NE, even in late May in some recent years. Reykjavik can be full any time of the year - there are lots of conferences and the like which can really fill up such a small city even if they happen in November.

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