My husband, daughter (15) and I are going to be spending the week of August 4-11 in Iceland. We plan on renting a car and consider ourselves pretty active. We did a 5 night camping/hiking trek in Peru a couple months ago and my husband and I are both marathon runners. I don't mind a bit of driving, and frankly, I'm happy to do day hikes (and sleep indoors!) and I want to make sure I don't miss the important natural wonders. So, any suggestions? Should we plan on doing the entire Golden Circle or plan on concentrating our time in a few places?
Best use of 8 days/7 nights in Iceland
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hi Traci
better not do all ringroad but fly from Akureyri to Reykjavik
aby
if you prefer a quick glance at sites on the way
look at
http://iceland.nordicvisitor.com/travel-deals/self-drive-tours/express-iceland/175/default.aspx
The Golden Circle can be done in a day. Definitely worth it, but even two days with a bit of hiking in between is stretching it as far as possible. Plan for two days minimum in Reykjavik - very walkable and a good bit to see. The Snaefellsness Peninsula is quite striking and I've read the Western Fjords are as well (we didn't make it that far - weather wasn't good - but in August you should be able to do it).
It rained our entire trip so we didn't really get hiking in, so I'm afraid I can't comment on trails and routes. But if you don't mind driving the roads are quite good. We got a European card for the GPS and it worked beautifully. Since you like the outdoors, consider a day riding the Icelandic horse. Beautiful animals. And you can loop toward the east toward Vik to see some lovely waterfalls and Eyjafjallajokull in the distance. With your timing though I would be careful not to plan too much. Maybe 2 days in Reyk, 3-4 days to fjords (and Snaefells penin), and then a day for golden circle and an extra day or two to drive somewhere or do something fun.