Bb, is it this one?

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6366046/has-anyone-been-to-iceland-in-winter#n=29

Thanks, Jilly. From your link, I searched GW for ”Iceland” and got tons of hits. Maybe my problem was that I was on Houzz. All I was getting was Icelandic countertops and such. Google was no help, either.

That’s funny, we are planning to go to Iceland next year too. It will have been 10 years since our last visit there, which is unbelievable to me. Time needs to slow down, please. I think we will be trying to just stay in an airbnb in Reykjavik and do day trips from there. There will be 7 of us. Last time, we traveled all over and stayed in several places. I don’t need that many moving parts with my family of 5 plus one wife and one boyfriend.

Sueb, I think we are going to do an AirBnB too while we are in Reykjavik. We will be 8, 5 adults (me, the paternal grandparents, and the parents) and the twins who will be close to 9 and the caboose who will have just turned 6.

Is the Blue Lagoon worth going to or should we plan on just seeing it?

This is our itinerary. I’m practicing saying Akureyri. The others I haven’t even attempted yet!

We loved the blue lagoon! It was our first stop and was kind of goofy but fun. I have great pics of all 5 of us with the mud on our faces. Of course it was 10 years ago — no idea if it has changed at all!

Admission fees are not cheap…$105 each unless you get there at 7 a.m. 😳

Yikes!

Just another opinion on the Blue Lagoon. We were disappointed overall in the experience and wished we had sought out one of the hot springs or even a pool where the locals go. The BL felt very touristy to us and not up to the hype or the cost of admission. We were also grossed out by (I kid you not) what turned out to be a massive clump of human hair pulled up from one of the little alcoves where we sat at one point. I wouldn't say we were sorry we went, but would definitely not do it again after the experience wasn't as great as we anticipated.

Thanks, IC. I value your opinion. I think for the cost to get in, we’ll just look at it from a distance.

Did anyone have a guide they would like to recommend? I think we will rent a van for the time we are in Reykjavik.

We just booked this cruise for next August. It will be our first time to Iceland. At first I thought we might be on the same cruise!

Ours is Celebrity. I had constraints on time. It had to be after camp but before school starts in early August.

Are you aware that all RCCL brands (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Silver Sea) now do status matching among the 3 brands?

Can’t edit on my phone. @texanjana, cross your fingers and let’s hope that the Aurora Borealis is active while e are there AND that there is enough darkness to see it!

@texanjana for some reason, I thought you were a travel agent. Wonder where I got that from?

Midges! I’ve been watching You Tube videos about visiting Iceland. I’ve recently run across several that recommend buying head nets to keep out midges. They say July and August are the season for them. That’s when we will be there! What was your experience with midges? @Sueb20 @mtnrdredux_gw @Rosie @Ida Claire

Did you need waterproof pants?

@User, in another thread you mentioned wanting to go to Iceland in the winter to see the Northern Lights. One of the videos I watched said late August, September, and October were the best months because the winter weather often interferes with seeing the lights.

Hi bbsx. Sounds like you have a fun trip planned.

We were there in August and we walked all over Reykjavik, sat in grass, along the shore and strolled in gardens. We also went out into the countryside to see glaciers, waterfalls and geysers. Never once did we see a midge or any other type of insect for that matter. In fact, one of the things I liked about Iceland was the absence of annoying insects.

Wish I could be more help, but that was our experience. I'd probably just pack some bug spray to be safe rather than deal with netting.

Definitely rent a vehicle. Driving is really easy over there. We did go to the Blue Lagoon and enjoyed ourselves immensely, but I imagine you could have as much fun at a smaller, less popular place as well.

Iceland is a beautiful, mostly natural land with much to see and do. Have a wonderful time!

I was there last July, we had excellent westher, and don’t recall any bugs. We did have 19 wonderful hours of daylight. I hope you enjoy Iceland as much as I did.

I don’t recall seeing any bugs!

We were just at the Blue Lagoon for a second time at the end of June. Funnily enough DH and I remarked on how they kept it so clean. They have face mask bars, smoothie bars and bar-bars, lots of people (showering before you enter is required) and floating massages. Yet we saw nothing on the surface, smelled no chlorine, and the edges (painted white rock) seemed pristine.

The girls and I loved our floating massages last time, so we did it again. It is wonderful and works much better than it might sound; not just a gimmick. The hotel there, the Silica, is lovely and their Lava restaurant is excellent. The only thing I don’t like about the Blue Lagoon so much is that it is really just runoff from a geothermal plant. The Industrial Runoff Lagoon does not have quite the same ring. When we travelled to Iceland last summer we booked a private, naturally occurring hot spring near our hotel and that was also very lovely. I like both for different reasons.

Note - there have been eruptions very near the BL. They are using temporary roads for access and they are less convenient. Attendance is down 30% they say.

I did not buy waterproof pants when we went. I did make sure I had waterproof sneakers. Neither were really necessary, but we had great weather. I’d just bring along a change of clothes if you worry about getting wet. Insects? Zero.

PS

We had a lovely trip to Iceland but had not really planned to return. However, I think it may have become my fave way to get to Europe!

I hate the feeling of being jetlagged so we always spring for flat beds. But the problem with a flatbed to from NYC to Europe is that, unlike a flight to say, Asia, there is not enough time to get a good night’s rest. Four hours if you are lucky. So when I was booking our Scandinavia trip, I decided a stopover was better.

From the East Coast, you can leave at 7pm and 4hr20 later you are in Reykjavik. That’s about my bedtime. We went to the hotel and right to sleep. Got up early afternoon, spent a few hours at the spa, enjoyed a lovely dinner. We left for our Scandinavian destination the next morning. Zero jetlag. We are a little Europed-out right now, between our holiday trip, spring break, and this trip, but I think this will be my standard MO.

Thanks all for the comments on midges … or no midges. Looks like I won’t be buying netting.

Stopping in Iceland might be my new strategy to avoid the expense of lie-flats. Thanks. Mtn.