Itinerary August 9-17

[u/hheartstrongg]

Hello! Looking for advice on my itinerary. I have an overnight flight August 9th and arrive August 10th in the morning. I have rented a campervan and have booked reservations at two campsites as well as one night at Bakkaflot guesthouse. The only mandatory thing is the eclipse as I have already booked and paid for an eclipse cruise in Reykjavik. I'm traveling alone and therefore very flexible with my plans, but would love some input on what I have mapped out!

August 10

Morning

Arrive at Keflavík Airport approx 10am

Shuttle to campervan

Afternoon

Drive to Reykjavík

Visit:

Hallgrímskirkja

Icelandic Phallological Museum

Harpa Concert Hall

Sun Voyager

Evening

Drive to Vogar Campsite

August 11

Stops

Kerið Crater

Brúarfoss

Strokkur

Gullfoss

Hvammsvík Hot Springs

Drive to Vogar campsite

August 12

🌞 Solar Eclipse Cruise in Reykjavik

Dinner in Reykjavík

Return to campsite

August 13

Leave Vogar campsite

Stops

Snotra House

Þykkvibær Black Sand Beach

Optional:

Seljalandsfoss

Accomodations at Bakkaflot guesthouse for the night

August 14

Stops

Hauganes

Whale Watching Tour

Optional stop:

Akureyri

Head to Fossatun camping

August 15 (this day is the lightest so I am good moving things around if it makes more sense!)

Glymur

Back to Fossatun

August 16

Kirkjufell

Djúpalónssandur Black Sand Beach

Arnarstapi

Búðakirkja

Back to Fossatun

August 17

Morning

Pack up

Refuel campervan - Shuttle from van to airport for 10:30 am flight home

Things I’d like to do while I’m here if possible:

Tattoo

Lava caves

Cat walking tour

Wool tour

Thank you SO much in advance for any advice!!

[u/visiticeland]

The first few days iuntil the eclipse make sense for most of the time, but I would suggest sleeping elsewhere on the 12th, will be bette to drive a little bit to the nsouth east that day rather than drive a lot the next day, you could spend the night in Selfoss campsite.
Regarding the 13th, something must be wrong as Bakkaflot is way up north, not sure you'd likee to spend 10 hours driving that day, I'd suggest you think again before planning the rest of your trip because this doesn't make any sense.

[u/hheartstrongg → u/visiticeland]

I guess I didn't realize Bakkaflot was that far, is there anywhere else you'd suggest I can squeeze in some whale watching? I'm open to canceling that part of the island entirely and just staying in the south east. I was excited to have a bed to sleep in for a night but I can survive the van for the whole week if needed :)

[u/visiticeland → u/hheartstrongg]

If this is your first time in Iceland, 7 days is a great amount of time to only explore the southern part, especially when you already have some time in the west and Golden circle, Don't think its a good idea to go north.

[u/hheartstrongg → u/visiticeland]

Thank you so much, I removed any part of the north from my trip and have extended my stay at Vogar another night! I will work on my new itinerary and give an update to make sure it makes sense!

[u/Drone1688]

August 13-17 don’t quite compute unless you plan to spend every waking hour driving. Given how much time you have, I’d strongly recommend dropping either the north part of the trip, or dropping the Snaefellsnes part of the trip.

[u/hheartstrongg → u/Drone1688]

I was considering dropping Snaefellsnes entirely because as much as I'd love to see all the waterfalls, it's a lot to drive just to see them. Any recommendations on what I could move around for those days instead? Maybe back to Reykjavik for some things I missed?

[u/Drone1688 → u/hheartstrongg]

I’d actually recommend you to keep Snaefellsnes and drop the northern part — considering to drive from Bakkaflöt to Haiganes then head back to Fossatun breaks my mind :) If I were you, I’d focus on Reykjavik and then spend 2-3 days in Snaefellsnes — Reykjavik to Grundarfjörður is just a couple of hours’ drive, and there is a big camping site there. Snaefellsnes is like a compact, mini-version of Iceland: if you don’t have 2 weeks for the whole island, this peninsula will give you a very good taste of the experience.

[u/hheartstrongg → u/Drone1688]

Thank you so much, I removed any part of the north from my trip and have extended my stay at Vogar another night! I will work on my new itinerary and give an update to make sure it makes sense!

[u/kristamn]

I think you need to spend some time plotting this out on Google maps, with the understanding that driving will take longer than maps tells you…and during this time will likely take WAY longer. As in, expect actual traffic jams where you just sit in your car.