Last20

I can wait a couple of days, but then I have to cancel 2 hotels in order to avoid paying for the rooms.

Sorry to hear about the non-refundable room - I would have booked this too if I'd have stayed there. My flight is definitely showing as cancelled in MMB but will give it another couple of days before cancelling anything - I have until the 28th to cancel hotels.

Flexible preferences

Thanks I will wait as long as I can. I have 2 travel insurances, neither cover strike action for cancellations. Maybe BA will cover it but in the meantime I hope somehow the email was not correct and will wait and see...

Last20

Good call, Calchas. Just had an email from BA to say they had reviewed the cancellations and both the return to LHR and my connection back to MAN are reinstated.
That is great news, but a bit poor planning on BA's part - I could easily have cancelled the hotels.
Just when I'd managed to convince myself that it wasn't such a bad thing as I really could do with the extra time in work :-)

Flexible preferences

Since the email reinstating the return flight my MMB isn't quite right - the flight on the 8th still shows in red, although the outbound flight is showing as normal in black. Also on Expertflyer, the availability has completely changed - now it is all zeroed out except for 9Y and 9J. Also I think the aircraft type has changed from A321 to A320 on both legs.

Calchas

Shows as "confirmed" for me in MMB.

Given how little flex most of us have around these dates, I think we may have to take it as it comes. If it's on schedule great; if they cancel the service, we can try and investigate rerouting but I suspect we may have to cancel the whole trip.

florens

Calchas

I didn't see that actually --- I guess there is no AY fare on REKLON. It could work, but it's quite a detour and requires seats on a HEL-LON service which are already zeroed in C class that evening.

There are two FI direct services and a reasonable SK connecting option. But BA is being stingy about rerouting onto non *O. There's also a red eye on I2 to Madrid, but I'll be damned if I'm flying on a 2am Iberia Express flight.

mtikky

Calchas

Not many of us left now.

Is everyone who is going in the WhatsApp group?

I intend to share the route with the other vehicle (after I devise it again ...) and generally keep synchronized through WhatsApp.

Last20

I'm not in the group. I'll PM you.

Calchas

Removing this post for now until I figure out an easy way to post images in line.

Seems like imgur no longer allows hotlinking and the "attachments" feature doesn't let me put the images in the text.

Ned1968

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Calchas

Sorry for the delay here, been a little busy and then I found imgur no longer allowed embedding images. (After several attempts to find a reputable free replacement last weekend, I’ve given up and switched to self-hosting my images on AWS instead.)

The trip was a success. I think everyone enjoyed themselves, things mostly went to plan, and certainly I have many positive memories.

For those who couldn’t join us, here is a little summary of what we did.

Day 1
After landing and clearing formalities, we took our rental cars for a drive along the south coast, in the direction of Vik. (btw, it's probably quicker to walk to the car rental offices than take the shuttle.) We did make a detour inland to visit the Secret Lagoon after we found out that the Blue Lagoon is quite expensive and is actually a bit of tourist trap.

Krýsuvík geothermal area
This place was just a stop along the way, but it was worth the twenty minutes we spent looking at the steaming water and interesting colours produced by the geothermal activity below the surface. Like most of the touristic places Iceland, there were prepared surfaces for walking and walking off the track was discouraged with stern signs and ropes.


Next, we had lunch at Skyrgerðin in the town of Hveragerði.

Secret Lagoon
The “Secret Lagoon” is apparently frequented by Icelanders nearly as much as tourists. It’s certainly cheaper than the Blue Lagoon, with a fixed rate to pay on arrival and no need to book in advance. There are proper changing facilities, and you can rent swimwear if you forgot yours.

Unlike the Blue Lagoon, it is natural, instead of being heated by the run-off from a local power station.

There was a reasonably priced bar and a comfortable seating area for anyone who didn’t want to take the plunge.

Driving west
Virtually every twist and turn of the road brought a new scenic vista.


Seljalandsfoss
This is a series of waterfalls. Unlike most places, there was a small fee for parking (payment only accepted by card). There were a few places here where you needed good shoes to clamber over some slippery rocks, but you could also stick to the paths and still have some wonderful views.





Skógafoss
We arrived here shortly before dusk. This is the tallest waterfall in Iceland, bar one they recently found inside a cave somewhere.



We were a little late for dinner at the hotel (Hotel Fljótshlíð), so we drove to the town of Hvolsvöllur and found a late night pizza place there. It was relatively easy to find somewhere to eat that was open until midnight. I was a little concerned that Iceland might be the kind of place where everyone goes to bed early and all the restaurants close at 8pm, but providing you have access to a vehicle it seems you are never very far away from a town with an open take-away.

Day 2
This day we spent inland driving around the "Golden Circle".

Kerid Crater
This is the crater arising from the collapse of a magma chamber beneath a long-extinct volcano. We spent half an hour walking around the ridge and walking around the pool at the bottom. Swimming was prohibited.


Gullfoss
This must be the most astounding waterfall I’ve seen, contending for magnificence with Victoria Falls, Niagara Falls, and Iguazu Falls.




Geysir
This site is the origin of the English word “geyser”.

Waiting for the event (I didn’t capture it).



Then we had lunch at a burger place along the route.

Thingvellir National Park





Old Arkanes Lighthouse
This is still an in-service lighthouse at night, but in the day the present lighthouse keeper, a former aluminium smelter worker, has opened it up to the public. As we arrived here just at closing time, he happily came up to the roof behind us and spent a few minutes talking about himself and the history of the area, and took a picture of all of us squeezed up there. The locals here in Iceland were all very friendly and welcoming.



We ate dinner in our motel (Hotel Laxarbakki), which had a limited menu (a local favourite, lamb soup, another meat option, and one vegetarian choice) but was pretty good.

Day 3
I had planned to head up to the Snæfellsnes peninsula in the north west, but the rains that day were too intense, and there was not a huge enthusiasm for lots of long walks in the rain. Instead we headed into Reykjavík and checked out a museum and just wondered around town.

The Perlan Wonders of Iceland museum was a little pricey but kept us entertained for a couple of hours. It was a high quality museum with lots of electronic interactive bits and pieces, an artificial ice cave, and a roof terrace that overlooks RKV (Reykjavík's Regional Airport). Yes, we spent a lot of time on the roof watching private jets arrive and one scheduled flight depart.

Ice cave



In the evening the rain eased off a little and a couple of us found a hip bar offering brewery tours.

That evening I stayed at the Radisson Blu Saga Reykjavík. I found the hotel dated, disintegrating, and disappointing. I would not stay there again.

Day 4
We headed directly to the airport for our morning flight.

Of course, Iceland sent us off in style with a double rainbow.


Please ask me for permission in the unlikely event you want to re-use any images outside of FlyerTalk.

Where next?

Discussions for the next road trip are on going. For the next city break, why not join us in Helsinki?

CaroFos

What an amazing trip.. thanks for sharing Calchas - sorry we couldn't join you in the end but still good to see what we missed! The Secret Lagoon looks like a great alternative to the Blue Lagoon!! Love the falls. sorry you didn't get to the last point on your agenda but clearly saving something for next time! CF

Last20

Thanks Calchas. Loved the trip: superbly planned and expertly executed. Great company, and the photos bring back fab memories. Looking forward to Helsinki.