We’ve just returned from our 8 day road trip around Iceland. The itinerary was planned and organized through Guide to Iceland, an online platform where you can book tours, accommodation, and transport for your trip. They also offer all-in-one packages which are customizable based on the length of your visit. This March my parents, Javi, and I completed our 8 Day Winter Self Drive Package and the experience was unforgettable! We did experience a few mishaps on the trip so if you’re on the fence about organizing a trip yourself or getting a tour package you may find this review helpful. 😉
Things to consider before booking with Guide to Iceland
There are a few things to consider when booking a full itinerary package—specifically the advantages and disadvantages of letting someone else organize your schedule and accommodation. Here are the main takeaways from our experience:
Pros
- Booking the entire trip with Guide to Iceland saved me hours of research and making reservations. We received exact GPS coordinates for each attraction and interesting information about each stop.
- We were able to purchase trip insurance (section 6.5.5) in case any last minute issues prevented us from making the trip. This is an option you won’t have if organizing the trip yourself.
- The itinerary provided by Guide to Iceland was great; we had the perfect amount of time to see all of the main attractions and the driving distances between each stop was ideal.
Cons
- When you book the package you can choose your “level” of accommodation and transport; your options are budget, comfort, or luxury/quality. My family chose “comfort” for both options. We were very happy with the rental car, but I think there were some inconsistencies as far as accommodation. We stayed at some very nice hotels, but a few nights our accommodation was sub-par and I don’t know if we got the full value of what we paid for. Keep in mind if you choose quality accommodation you can hand-pick your hotels.
- We had a disappointing experience with Guide to Iceland’s customer support when faced with a mix up regarding our ice cave tour. I’ll paste the screenshot below so you can read the full review. I had stopped by the Guide to Iceland office earlier in the week and the staff was super nice, so I was surprised we had such a negative response when I called for help….I’m hoping our experience was a one-off fluke.
Should you use Guide to Iceland to book your trip?
The short answer is yes. Despite a few hiccups we were happy with our road trip overall. Having everything planned and reserved by their team enabled me to relax and enjoy the experience. I found their itinerary concise and well planned—it would have been difficult for me to gage the amount of time to spend in each spot (they give you sightseeing estimates in your itinerary) and how many attractions to fit into each day.
Therefore, I would recommend checking out Guide to Iceland’s packages and itineraries to anyone planning their first trip to Iceland. We loved our visit so much we want to return to see the northern part of the country. After this experience and with the additional resources provided by Guide to Iceland (when you visit their office in Reykjavik they give you lots of great maps and info) I feel comfortable planning our next trip myself.
I hope you found this review helpful. Please note this review is 100% my opinion based on my personal experience using Guide to Iceland. This post is not sponsored. If you’ve used Guide to Iceland too let us know about your experience in the comments below!
Guide to Iceland abandoned us at the pier. We were on the Carnival Pride which was late getting into port due to the MSC Fantasia docking before us. Guide to Iceland were aware that we were arriving on the Pride and they had recommended this tour. When we got to the meeting point, they had left without us. We called them immediately and asked to be on a later tour. We were denied. We then asked to be allowed to catch up to our tour at a stopping point and were denied. We asked that they ask another tour company to provide our tour. Again we were denied. Finally we asked for a refund and were denied once more!
Oh that sucks! 🙁 Yes we had a similar experience with their staff at HQ, luckily their tour guides are super nice.
This company is a disaster. We booked a car with them, and it was supposed to be covered by windshield insurance. However, when we needed to file a claim, we were forced to cover the costs ourselves.
The main issue is their poor communication. They repeatedly assured us that they were handling the matter and liaising with the car rental company, but in reality, they were just stalling. Their strategy seems to be delaying responses until customers give up on their claims. Despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue, we received no concrete solutions—only empty promises.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience, we had a similar issue with lack of communication. The itinerary itself was fantastic, but their customer support left much to be desired.