An Iceland stopover: what to do with 1, 2 or 3 days between flights

Icelandair lets you break a transatlantic journey in Iceland for up to seven days at no extra fare; PLAY and others sell the two legs separately, which comes to the same thing. The airport is Keflavík, 50 minutes from Reykjavík, and the flights that make a stopover tend to land in the early morning from North America and leave in the afternoon or late evening, which shapes the plan.

The one rule: do not plan anything on the last day that depends on the weather or a road. A storm on the South Coast on departure day costs you the flight.

Land in the morning, fly out the next morning. No car needed.

• Morning: the Blue Lagoon straight from the airport by shuttle (book the slot before you fly; your bags go in lockers), or the Sky Lagoon in the city if the Blue Lagoon is full.
• Afternoon: Reykjavík on foot: Hallgrímskirkja and the tower, the Harpa concert hall, the old harbour, the Sun Voyager, a hot-dog stand and a swim at a city pool.
• Evening: dinner at the harbour; in winter, a northern-lights tour by boat or bus if the forecast is clear.
• Sleep in Reykjavík if the flight is after 10:00, near the airport if before.

Rent a car at the airport, or take a day tour; both work.

• Day 1: the Golden Circle (Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss, the Secret Lagoon), sleeping in Reykjavík or, with a car, at Flúðir or Selfoss.
• Day 2: the South Coast as far as Reynisfjara if the flight is in the evening (Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara, back by 16:00 for a 20:00 flight), or the Blue Lagoon and Reykjanes if it is in the afternoon.
• Winter swap: the Golden Circle both days is too much; make day 2 the Sky Lagoon, the city and a northern-lights tour.

With a car this is the Golden Circle and the South Coast properly, with a night in Vík.

One day: no car; the shuttles and the city do it. Two days: a car gives you the dawn at Gullfoss and a flexible last day, but a tour is fine. Three days: a car, because the night in Vík is the point and no tour does that loop on your schedule. A small 2WD is enough from May to October; a 4x4 with winter tyres from November to April, and the South Coast only.

The timing of the flights decides the beds.

• A departure before 09:00 means an airport hotel in Keflavík the night before; the drive from Reykjavík at 05:00 in winter is the stopover mistake people make.
• A late-evening departure means a last day on the road is fine, with the Blue Lagoon as the final stop: it is 20 minutes from the airport and takes bags.
• Book the Blue Lagoon slot, the glacier walk and the car before you fly; everything else can wait.
• Luggage: the Blue Lagoon and the Sky Lagoon have lockers; the BSÍ terminal and most hotels hold bags for the day.