At the beginning of May we finally flew to Iceland via the Icelandair Golden Circle City Break package. I say finally because we had a version of this trip planned back in the fall of 2020. It of course got postponed and rebooked but the trip was worth the wait. I will share the ins and outs of what the Golden Circle City Break was like in this Icelandair Vacations Package Review.
Icelandair Vacations Package Review
We left Toronto in the evening flying Icelandair to Reykjavik overnight. The flight was good and we had no issues but we did fly with just carry on luggage. You are allowed one carry on and one personal item without any additional fees so use that accordingly.
Arrival at Keflavik airport in Reykjavik was smooth enough although the airport design leaves for bottlenecks in odd spots. I think I am used to larger airports that will have you walk for a long time to create space between arrivals. With Keflavik we had a short bus to the terminal from the plane and walked smack into a long line to go up some stairs to passport control. Many people were at risk of missing their connection so tight turn arounds might not be the best option for Keflavik flights.
After passport control we needed to figure out the whole Fly Bus situation. I paid for airport transfers as part of our package. In the baggage area there is a Fly Bus desk that you need to visit to get the ticket to get on your bus. Then you transfer to your city bus when you reach Reykjavik. The bus ride from the airport is about 40 minutes in a coach bus. We then transferred to the Pink Line to get to our hotel.
We stayed at the Fosshotel Reykjavik which is slightly out of the touristy part of town (only a few blocks away) in the business district. The hotel was very modern and the rooms were spacious for European standards. We were lucky to get a room right away, but more importantly they were still serving breakfast.
There are no meals included on the Icelandair flights so we were very hungry.
Find out more about everywhere we ate in Iceland
We were very jetlagged from our overnight flight but we ventured out to go find a grocery store for some lunch supplies. We walked to a Bonus to get some bottled water, bread and cold cuts.
Then it was time for a nap because that overnight flight was catching up with us. The bed was large at the Fosshotel Reykjavik but it was kinda hard.
We didn’t add on any days to our Golden Circle City Break vacation package. So we had 4 days in Iceland but really only 3 days of touring, including this first day where jetlag ruled our life. I like how the city break package could be as busy or as laid back as you want depending on how many tours you book.
After a rest we went back out to wander through Reykjavik and have some early dinner before turning in for the night.
The plan for our second day was to get on the hop on hop off bus tour around Reykjavik. Usually I am all about the hop on hop off bus tour to get oriented to a new city. I take in all the neighbourhoods I want to visit later. However Reykjavik is a pretty small city. The vast majority of the tourist sights are all in the same area. It isn’t super vital in Reykjavik to get on the hop on hop off bus. That being said we did find some sights that we weren’t expecting and learned more about the history of the island beyond the Vikings.
The rest of the day we spent wandering around Reykjavik. I really wanted to find the rainbow road as we had somehow missed it the day before even though we easily found Hallgrimskirkja the day before. The key is that only a portion of the street that leads to Hallgrimskirkja church is painted rainbow and it is the more lower portion. So if you are looking for the rainbow street and can’t seem to find it keep walking.
Golden Circle Tour Icelandair Vacations Package Review
Day three was our Golden Circle Tour and it did not start off well. We were told by the front desk to be out in front of the hotel 30 minutes early and we were. The time listed is when the tour leaves from the Bus terminal and not from the Hotel.
Reykjavik Excursions, who is the tour provider that Icelandair works with, is the same company as Fly Bus; the hotel transfer service. You may not have a Reykavik Excursions coach bus come pick you up. In fact it is very likely that you should be looking for the Fly Bus at your hotel.
The Fly Bus drivers will not get out of the bus and look for you. They will leave you behind. This is what happened to us. We were waiting in front of our hotel and didn’t realize that we needed to get on the Fly Bus bus. Unfortunately they left without us. All the other tour providers get out of the bus and make sure to pick up who they are assigned to pick up. We were not the only group left behind. Some came out to meet the bus too late, others like us were just not looking for the right bus.
Also the bus stop in front of our hotel was BOTH sides of the street. We thought it would be more like North America that the other side of the street would be a different stop. It was not. So that was another reason that we missed our bus!
So we were able to get on the same but slightly shorter Golden Circle tour (missed out on the greenhouse stop only). Make sure to check in with the front desk of your hotel to get all the ins and outs of the pick up situation!
The Golden Circle Tour with Reykjavik Excursions (the shorter one we ended up with) has three stops. The first stop is Thingvellir National Park which is where you can travel across two tectonic plates. The actual stop is closer to the original site of the worlds oldest parliament. We were able to quickly hike down to see the area around the Icelandic Flag and come back up. Make note that there are no switch backs at these parks and the hiking can be quite steep.
Read More: What to pack for Iceland
The second stop is the geothermal area of Geysir. Here you can see hot springs and the Stokkur geyser erupting every few minutes. There are also some more dormant geysers that bubble but don’t erupt regularly.
The third and final stop on the Golden Circle tour is Gullfoss waterfall. It is an amazing stop where you can view the waterfall from above and up close. Again there is some steep terrain here but you can get some good views of the waterfall without too much effort if you so choose.
Things I would do differently
When we came home from the trip I really felt like we had DONE Iceland. I saw all I wanted to see with Reykjavik. As I said above it is a small city and you can see it in a day really. The Golden Circle tour was the highlight and we ticked that box. Now that I am more removed from the trip I think tacking on another day to do the South Coast would have been a great addition. And if I go back to Iceland it will be a must visit for me. I would also make sure to return in the fall to see the Northern Lights.
Aside from our tour hiccup all in all I think the Icelandair Vacation Package was good value for money. We didn’t have to organize anything on the fly. Didn’t have to drive ourselves or rent a car. The front desk was really helpful when we missed our tour. I don’t know that this would have been the case had we booked everything ourselves. Our hotel was comfortable enough and I liked being a bit removed from the touristy area. All in all I would recommend booking one of these packages, especially for your first time travelling to Iceland.
Have you been to Iceland? Did you visit with Icelandair?