I'm going to do some globetrotting in August this year. Have booked flights for Calgary-New York and Machu Picchu. Before I fly out to Machu Picchu, i'm planning on one other trip from New York to either Italy, Turkey, or Iceland. Leaning very strongly towards Iceland.
I know it sounds crazy to go to Iceland and Peru in the same month, but wife and kids are going overseas to spend 8 weeks with her parents and i'm using the opportunity to tick of some locations from my bucket list in the 4 weeks i'm taking of in August.
I've been doing a lot of research on where to go in Iceland, and I'm planning on doing the self drive around Iceland on my own. I wanted to get some advice on which locations to spend the more time and where to stay hotel wise, so that i'm close to the key locations for sunrise/sunset.
From what I read, staying close to Reykjavik is good for the golden circle (Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir hot spring area, as well as the blue lagoon).
The other areas i want to hit are:
- Godafoss waterfall
- Dynjandi Waterfall - supposed to be near Isafjordur, not sure if that's the best place to stay.
- Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall - situated near the impressive mount Kirkjufell, at Grundarfjordur, on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, but not sure where to stay
-Number of places on the south coast that i want to hit, but not sure if one place is a good base camp to stay at for the following locations:
1) Skogafoss waterfall - supposed to be close to Skoger
2) Seljalandsfoss waterfall - cool waterfall you can walk behind
3) Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon - South Coast - south of Vatnajokull national park that is easily reached by the Ring Road.
4) Vatnajökull glacier is the largest glacier in Iceland - and is situated in the south-east of Iceland - still trying to figure out how far it is from everything else.
I've seen a lot of tours by plane to Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, which is supposed to be a 5 hour drive, or a 1 hour plane ride, but not sure if there is somewhere close by to spend the night. I figure i probably want at least 2 sunsets there.
Anyway, i'd appreciate some feedback on if these are the main places to hit - too much for 8 to 10 days? Where to stay, what i can see on my own and what i should book tours for.