Isn’t it everyone’s dream to travel to Iceland? The landscape is simply breathtaking and it’s a big change from visiting overcrowded tourist destinations. Iceland is always seen as an expensive destination but if you’re lucky enough to find a cheap flight and accommodation then it will give you a bit of wiggle room in your budget. Spending 5 days in Iceland is a good amount of time to see Reykjavik and a few nearby points of interest which is great if this is your first time in the country.
There are a lot of things to see in Iceland. From driving the Golden Circle route to crawling through ice caves and getting close and personal with waterfalls – Iceland has it all. As long as you plan ahead and choose a budget you’re comfortable with you’ll be able to plan the perfect trip to Iceland. Everything you do will be a once in a lifetime experience, and you can’t put a price on that.
Renting a car in Iceland
Driving in Iceland doesn’t come cheap, but the best way to see the country is by car. We used Icerental 4×4 and rented a brand new KIA Sportage and added WiFi to the package in the event we lost phone service. A car rental representative will meet you in the arrival hall of Keflavik Airport and drive you to the office. They’ll also drive you back to the airport when you drop off your vehicle.
Prices depend on what type of car you rent, how many days, and what time of the year you’re visiting. There are lots of car rental companies at Keflavik Airport, but we found Icerental to be the best in terms of value and their 4×4 options. I can guarantee you one thing – you’ll love driving around Iceland.
Currency in Iceland
The currency in Iceland is the Icelandic króna. You can get some currency before flying if you want but it’s just as east to get it from an ATM once you arrive. I don’t like to have a lot of cash on me, so I used my card for most transactions. Some of the more remote places only take cash so it’s a good idea to have some on hand. For this blog post I’ve put everything in Euros to give you a better idea of the prices.
How expensive is Iceland?
Iceland isn’t the cheapest country to visit but if you plan ahead and start booking the activities you want to do in advance, it could save you money in the long run. Food in Iceland is very expensive so I’d recommend going to a grocery store and getting some food to eat while you’re on the go. You should try at least one restaurant in Iceland though because the food is really good and there are a lot of options.
5 days in Iceland itinerary
We spent 5 days in Iceland, predominantly in the southern part of the country. The great thing about visiting Iceland in May is that the sun doesn’t set until after 10pm so you get some extra hours to explore more places without tour groups hanging around. In my opinion, May is the best time to visit Iceland. Here’s my 5 days in Iceland itinerary to help you plan your trip.
Day 1
Our flight into Keflavik Airport arrived in the middle of the afternoon and we had a very easy pickup process with Icerental 4×4. We decided to stay at Konvin Hotel for the first night which is 5 minutes from the airport and quite budget friendly. Our double room cost €88 for the night, which included breakfast for two people.
Just opposite the hotel is Langbest Pizzeria Steakhouse which is one of the only places to eat outside of Keflavik Airport. The pizza was probably double the price of one you’d get in other countries but it’s a good option if you have nowhere else to eat.
Day 1 of our 5 days in Iceland was a short one due to the arrival time of our flight but we were able to head back to the hotel early and get some rest before our hectic second day which started early in the morning.
Day 2
After a very large breakfast at our hotel, we packed up our things and headed to the Blue Lagoon for 8am to avoid the crowds later in the day. The Blue Lagoon is located in Grindavik, not Reykjavik, so it’s actually a very short distance from Keflavik Airport. From our hotel, it takes less than 20 minutes to drive to and if you’re travelling from Reykjavik it’ll take 50 minutes driving. There are also bus services you can take if you don’t have a car.
Is any trip to Iceland complete without a trip to the Blue Lagoon? There are three types of tickets you can purchase, each with their own benefits, and the prices for them vary depending what time of the day you visit. We purchased the premium ticket and received 2 face masks, a drink, and a robe and slippers.
You’re also given flip-flops which you get to take home with you. I would say that the best time to visit the Blue Lagoon is early morning. We had the lagoon mostly to ourselves for the 2 hours we were there.
After the Blue Lagoon we drove to Reykjavik to pick up our City Card’s. Having picked those up, we started driving from Reykjavik to Husafell for our Into the Glacier tour. The drive is about 2.5 hours and we passed by a couple of beautiful waterfalls on the way.
Hraunfossar Waterfall is only 5 minutes down the road from the meeting point for the Into the Glacier tour, so it’s worth a stop. We actually turned up to the meeting point early so were directed to come and check out this area for a bit. Barnafoss Waterfall is also close by so you can see two small Icelandic waterfalls at the same time!
Into the Glacier is a surreal experience, and I’d highly recommend it. It takes around 3 hours in total, including the journey up Langjokull Glacier and your time in it. This glacier is the second longest in Iceland and the tunnels through it are mindblowing.
It’s also one of the top attractions in Iceland and is a once in a lifetime experience as the glacier and tunnels are constantly changing. Many people considered this to be the best thing to do outside of Reykjavik. We took The Classic Tour which costs €127 per person.
If you’re planning on staying in Reykjavik, Hotel Klettur is a great budget friendly option. We stayed here for two nights and had a standard double room priced at €149 per night, which included breakfast. The hotel is located located only a 5 minute walk from the main shopping street in Reykjavik, Laugavegur, so you’re in a great location.
Day 3
You’ll most likely be doing a lot of driving in Iceland, so I would recommend booking a guided tour for one day to give yourself a break. A Game of Thrones tour is always a good option as it will take you to several filming locations around Iceland. Our guide was an extra in the show and he gave us some behind the scenes insight into it. The first stop was at a horse farm where we were able to get up close to the famous Icelandic horses – some of them were even used in Game of Thrones!
Our next stop was at Thorufoss Waterfall, which was used in the scene when one of the dragons burns all of the sheep and flies off with one of them. Other than our group, there was no one else around, and we were told it’s an often overlooked area by tourists. This is a great spot to visit if you’re looking for unique places to go during your 5 days in Iceland.
We continued our tour to probably the most popular tourist area in Iceland: Thingvellir National Park. This is where you can walk between the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia. The plates are constantly moving and separate about 2cm each year. It’s also the filming location of The Eyrie, where Sansa and Little Finger entered the Bloody Gates.
At the far end of the walkway between the tectonic plates is Oxarafoss Waterfall which is absolutely stunning. If you’re not planning on taking a guided tour around Iceland this is a beautiful area to visit by car with plenty of parking spaces near the waterfall.
“Olly’s Village” is the location of the gruesome scene which saw the wildlings slaughter everyone, except for Olly. It’s called Þjóðveldisbærinn Stöng in real life, and is a reconstructed Viking village. Surprisingly there was no one else here, which was great for photos! Most of the locations we visited on this tour had hardly any people at them so they’re great additions to any 5 days in Iceland itinerary.
It’s worth mentioning that the bus will make a couple of stops along the way for toilet breaks, as well as lunch. We brought our own lunch with us to save some money but one of the stops was also a restaurant so you can always buy a meal on the day too.
Icelandic people love their fish, and while I’m not a massive fan of it, I do like to have fish and chips from time to time. One of the best spots for this is at Reykjavik Fish Restaurant near the docks. This was one of the few restaurants in Reykjavik we visited and it wasn’t too expensive compared to other nearby places.
One of the best things to do in Reykjavik is to walk around the city during golden hour. We visited Iceland in May so the sunset wasn’t until later at night, but this gave us enough time to explore the waterfront as well as the shopping streets while they had a beautiful glow on them. This is also a great time to take photos of the city as there are less people around.
Day 4
If you’re looking for something unique to do in Reykjavik during your 5 days in Iceland then you should book a trip with Special Tours. Their Puffin Watching tour is one of the best in the country and it only lasts 1 hour. It’s a great option if you’re on a tight schedule or don’t do well on long boat journeys. The small boat will circle around a little island full of puffins so you can get some nice shots of them and watch them in their natural habitat.
I find that the best way to save money in Reykjavik is to purchase the City Card which gives you entry into all of the city’s key museums and thermal pools, as well as a few added bonuses too such as free public transportation While we were walking, we came across a number of historic sites in Reykjavik that were off the beaten path too.
You can’t visit Reykjavik without stopping to look at the famous Hallgrímskirkja. The church is free to go inside but it’s a lot more interesting on the outside. If you’re visiting Reykjavik on a budget, check out Free and Cheap Things to do in Reykjavik, Iceland by The Directionally Challenged Traveler for some great travel tips.
If puffins aren’t your thing, maybe whales are. Special Tours also offers a Whale Watching & Whales of Iceland Exhibition that can easily take up half a day of your schedule. The tour takes around 3 hours and in the event you don’t see any whales you’re welcome to try again free of charge, either on the same day or another one of your choosing. The second part of the ticket gives you access to a whale exhibition nearby which is a unique attraction in Reykjavik.
If you visit Iceland in May you’ll find that the sun doesn’t set until nearly midnight, which makes the evening a great time to drive around the Golden Circle with a few additional stops along the way. Our first stop was the Kerid Crater which has an entrance fee of 400 ISK (€2.50). The volcanic crater is a magnificent sight, and is very easy to get to from the Golden Circle route. It’s also only a 1 hour drive from Reykjavik so if you’re only spending 5 days in Iceland, it’s very easy to add to your itinerary.
Driving Iceland’s Golden Circle is a lot of fun but you should also consider taking a few detours. Skalholt may not be on everyone’s list of things to do in Iceland but it’s only a 20 minute drive from the Kerid Crater so it’s worth a quick visit. It was a very important settlement in Icelandic history, and dates back to the 11th century. This spot was completely empty when we arrived which was perfect for photos.
After Skalholt, I would recommend driving to Strokkur, which is only 25 minutes away. This is one of the main stops on any Golden Circle tour. The geyser erupts every few minutes and it’s located in the famous Geothermal Area. If you go later in the day you’ll find that there are no crowds or tour groups around.
No Golden Circle route is complete without a stop at one of the most popular waterfalls in the whole of Iceland. Gullfoss Waterfall falls in two stages, and is by far one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen, although it wasn’t my favourite one in Iceland. Strokkur to Gullfoss only takes 10 minutes and if you’re driving from Reykjavik to Gullfoss directly, it’ll take you about 1 hour and 40 minutes in total.
Thingvellir National Park is also on the Golden Circle route, but since we visited there on our Game of Thrones tour we didn’t need to stop there again. If you’re worried about the driving conditions in the Golden Circle, we had no problems at all driving in May. That’s going to be a different story if you’re visiting Iceland in the winter though.
Day 5
During your 5 days in Iceland make sure you venture outside of the Reykjavik area because there are a lot of great things to do in Iceland further afield. Vik is one destination in Iceland you shouldn’t miss. It takes around 2.5 hours to drive to from Reykjavik and is where you can go on an ice cave tour with Katlatrack. The meeting point is at the only service station in Vik, so it’s very easy to find, and this off-road adventure will take 3-4 hours in total.
The Katla Ice Cave Tour will take you across a black sand beach, past green mountains, and through the unbelievable Katla Ice Caves, which are considered by many to be the best ice caves in Iceland. At upwards of €250 per person it’s not the cheapest tour in Iceland but it’s worth the money and I would definitely go on one of their tours again.
It’s a moderate difficulty tour, so don’t worry if you’re not great at climbing. You’ll be kitted out with the appropriate gear before starting off and the guide makes an easy trail for you to follow. The tour is limited to a small number of people too so it feels more like a private tour than a group one. You would be crazy not to add this to your 5 days in Iceland itinerary.
After the ice cave tour I would recommend visiting Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. Southern Iceland is stunning and one of the most beautiful spots is this black sand beach right next to Vik. The large basalt columns found on the beach are another pull for tourists and some scenes from Game of Thrones were shot here as well.
Just up the road from the black sand beach is the famous Solheimasandur plane wreck. The walk from the parking lot to the plane wreck is 4km each way so if you’re short on time this may not be a good option for you. It’s a unique place to visit during 5 days in Iceland though.
Skogafoss Waterfall is a mighty waterfall and you can walk right up to it but be prepared to get soaked. There are also steps leading up to the top for a different view. If you’re driving, you’ll easily see it from the road and Skogafoss is only a 30 minute drive from Vik, heading back in the direction of Reykjavik. This is a very popular attraction in southern Iceland be prepared for crowds during peak season.
What’s a visit to Iceland without seeing multiple waterfalls? Seljalandsfoss Waterfall is very unique and is one of the most popular waterfalls in Iceland. It’s only 25 minutes from Skogafoss too so you can easily see both waterfalls during your 5 days in Iceland.
After a long day of exploring southern Iceland it’s only natural that you’ll want to finish your 5 days in Iceland with a good meal. Sushi Social offers a blend of Japanese and South American cuisine and even if you don’t like fish I would recommend booking a table here. It’s located in the heart of Reykjavik and their menu has something for everyone.
Iceland is an incredible country to explore and although we were only able to travel around the southern part of it during our 5 days in Iceland, we loved every minute. Although activities can be pricey in Iceland, you’re probably only going to do each of them once in your lifetime, so you might as well as go all out if you can!
If you have any questions about how to spend 5 days in Iceland or have any recommendations for where I should travel to when I return, don’t hesitate to get in touch. And remember to follow me on Instagram too!
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