Touring Reykjavik on Day One (Again)
We're trying the Iceland Cruise again (I got Covid the day before we were scheduled to leave last time) and are trying to nail down what we want to see in Reykjavik the day before the official day one "tour."
I see the published Tauck itinerary says that after lunch we visit Old Town and the Perlan Museum. From another thread hear I understand that the "visit" of Old Town is more like a narrated bus tour, so we may want to spend time there. I gather the time at the Perlan is adequate, so we don't need to spend time there the day before. Hallgrímskirkja is not mentioned in the itinerary, but in a prior thread it seems like it's actually included. If that's correct and there is enough time there we'll skip that also the day before.
Any thoughts are welcome.
Comments
We went a day or so early. You can see what we did at https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2016Iceland-01.htm
We saw Hallgrimskirkja both before the tour and during the tour. One of the visits was spent going up to the top of the tower and seeing the sights. The other visit was spent on the main floor.
We found time walking around the town visiting the shops, bakeries, etc to be worthwhile. We also enjoyed walking along the seashore, visiting the Sun Voyager.
We went in two days early last year. We did a walking food tour on our first afternoon, and then the next day we did a Viator tour of the South Coast. We went to places not included on our tour, and it was wonderful.
I always google things to see and do or read online guide books for more ideas. People vary so much in what appeals to them and also it depends on their physical abilities.
We didn't visit Hallgrimskirkja and the bus did not even do a drive-by!
The time allocated to visit the Perlan museum was totally inadequate. There were two or three Tauck buses and there were four main areas to see, so we were broken up into groups. It was a busy day (a lot of kids) so our group didn't get to see what we were told were the two best areas which had timed entry- the "Ice Cave and Glaciers Exhibition" and the "Volcano Show!!!"
We went a day early and visited "The Lava Show" and "Flyover Iceland" attractions. Both well done and near each other in the Grandi neighbourhood (opposite side of the harbor from the Harpa Concert Hall.
We didn't think much of Old Town- typical shops and restaurants. There is really not much "there" there. The bus drive-by was short but OK. The "Old Town" is nothing like similarly named sections of most European cities- not really old, historic, or quaint. The same can be said of much of Iceland. Seriously, if you want to see quaint fishing villages- go to Nova Scotia, or PEI.
We joined a free walking tour of the old town and wandered on our own. We had the famous hot dogs and did visit Hallgrimskirkja.
The downtown area of Reykjavik is great for exploring and getting a bite to eat. Just a note if you are staying at the Hilton Nordica, it is a bit of a hike into this area - we took a cab ride back. We visited the archaeological remains of a 10th-century Viking longhouse (Settlement House) and had a hot dog at the Bæjarins beztu stand. On a previous trip (layover on the way to Europe) we also did a Puffin boat tour in the harbor which was fun.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It sounds like Hallgrímskirkja is hit or miss on the Tauck "tour" so maybe we should include that in our day before touring.
AlanS, when was your trip? Recent?
Recent- 8 - 15 Jul 2025
Thanks, AlanS. That makes your information very relevant to us.
Here is the link to my post, w/photos, of this tour: https://forums.tauck.com/discussion/18891/iceland-or-is-it-iceland-land-of-fire-and-ice/p1
Thanks for the link to your post, AlanS. It is very helpful. We too will fly Iceland Air out of RDU. We are closer to CLT but think the extra hour and a half drive to fly non-stop is worthwhile.