I'm thinking of going back to Iceland again this summer, for two weeks in July. It's a loose idea at the moment, but I'd like to spend some time around Landmannalaugar, Laki and/or the South Coast - I'm still very much open to suggestions, though.
My thoughts were to spend about five days at Landmannalaugar. For those who haven't been there, it's a rhyolitic area in the interior. The rock formations & colours are astounding (see photo) and, because it's on a daily 'bus route', getting food into the area is easy. There is a lot of potentially excellent walking in the area, being at the Northern end of the relatively famous Landmannalaugar - Þorsmork route (3 days).
Laki is a long line of volcanic craters (about 25Km!) a bit further East, towards Vatnajökull. It's a place I haven't been to (the cloudbase put me off going last year!) and is probably one of the places that I'd definately like to visit this time round. Again, it's easily reached via bus.
The South coast is a place that I've only caught a glimpse of and somewhere that I would like to spend a bit of time nearby. Probably not too long, though.
Finally, Reykjavik is one cool city (in more ways than one) and is a must for at least one night! If you haven't been 'round town' you've REALLY missed out!!
I can see two obvious options, here, based on a 14 night (Saturday - Saturday) holiday:
One - 1 night in Reykjavik, 3 nights Landmannalaugar, 3 nights walking to Þorsmork, 3 nights along South coast, 1 night at Laki, 2 nights North of Mýrdalsjökull, 1 night Reykjavik (all adaptable). There are good daily bus services all along this route, with the exception of the Landmannalaugar - Þorsmork track, of course!
Two - Basically the opposite way! A bus runs from Reykjavik to Landmannalaugar, then East to a place where you can get a bus to Laki. From Laki, by bus along either the South Coast or the Mýrdalsjökull route to Þorsmork, then up the track to Landmannalaugar and the bus back to Reykjavik.
Cost? I don't know at the moment - I've only just thought about doing it (will check and update the site in a few days). I would GUESS at about £500 from the UK (IKR50,000) plus food & beer. I'd be happy to meet up with people in Reykjavik.
One point about languages - for anyone who doesn't know me - I only speak English, so a good understanding of English is probably a good idea! One other thing about this holiday; some people have been confused in the past and think this is a travel site. I am not a tour operator - what I am suggesting, here, is a holiday between friends. The flights, etc, will be booked through bonded specialist tour operators.
If anyone is interested in this, or has any alternative ideas, email me at kev@arctic-ed ge.co.uk
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