Feedback on Laugavegur & Fimmvörðuháls Itinerary (late July)
Hey folks. A hiking buddy and I are planning to do these trails this summer. This will be our first time in Iceland, and I want to get a quick sniff test of our itinerary, esp. since FI is strongly recommending that folks pre-book campsites this year. We will be car-free and plan to hike S => N, because we want to do some day-hiking around Landmannalaugar after we finish the main trail.
We plan to camp every night and will carry enough (cold-soak) food to cover our days on-trail. However, we will be supplementing at huts & restaurants in Þórsmörk and Landmannalaugar on our rest days.
As a note, we're fairly experienced backpackers capable of 20 mile days at altitude. The itinerary below is pretty chill for us, but I figure the slower pace will be relaxing while also providing some extra buffer against bad weather and other unforeseen delays. Would definitely appreciate some feedback though. Thanks in advance!
Planned Itinerary:
- Day 1 (Th): Arrive at KEF, KEF => Reykjavik (Strætó Bus 55?), camp overnight.
- Day 2 (F): Reykjavik => Skógar (Strætó Bus 52), camp at Skógar.
- Day 3 (Sa): Skógar => Fimmvörðuskáli (~7.5 mi)
- Day 4 (Su): Fimmvörðuskáli => Þórsmörk (Langidalur) (~9.3 mi)
- Day 5 (M): Chill day hiking around Þórsmörk, second night in Þórsmörk (Langidalur)
- Day 6 (T): Þórsmörk => Emstrur (~9.3 mi)
- Day 7 (W): Emstrur => Álftavatn (~10 mi)
- Day 8 (Th): Álftavatn => Landmannalaugar (~15 mi)
- Day 9 (F): Chill day hiking around Landmannalaugar, second night at Landmannalaugar
- Day 10 (Sa): Landmannalaugar => Reykjavik (using a bus service) and camp overnight.
- Day 11 (Su): Reykjavik => KEF (Strætó Bus 55), flight back home in the evening.
Questions:
- How inconvenient is it to take the Strætó 55 to and from the airport compared to booking Flybus or Grayline?
- Some research led me to believe that Strætó 51 would take people to Skógar, but this recent update suggests that it is now the 52 that we will need to take. It doesn't run every day, but it is currently operating on Fridays. Does anyone know if this might change up during the summer?
- Thoughts on doubling up on some of these days to add more time in Þórsmörk and/or Landmannalaugar? We can likely combine Days 2-3 or Days 3-4 (if it is recommended to avoid camping on Fimmvörðuháls due to weather conditions). Days 6-8 can also be reduced to two days by camping at Hvanngil instead.
- Is planning to get back to Reykjavik on Day 10 instead of Day 9 tempting fate in case we run into foul weather?