u/VikingMichigan

My wife and I are celebrating our anniversary with a trip to Morocco, Oct 14–20. A friend's advice: just do Morocco, just Fes and Marrakech. Here's my refined plan — would love your honest feedback.

Route:

• Oct 15: Land Casablanca 1:50 PM → first-class train to Fes (~4h, runs hourly). Night in Fes.
• Oct 16: Fes — private guided medina tour, hammam/spa.
• Oct 17: First-class train Fes → Marrakech (~6.5h). Check into Marrakech hotel.
• Oct 18: — relaxed morning, then evening at The Oberoi Marrakech: sunset in the gardens with Atlas views, anniversary dinner at Rivayat (their Indian fine-dining restaurant).
• Oct 19: Flexible — souks, Majorelle Gardens, maybe drinks at La Mamounia.
• Oct 20: Fly home from Marrakech.

Hotels (not booked):

• Fes (2 nights): Palais Faraj Suites & Spa (~$340/night)
• Marrakech (3 nights): Palais Riad El Arsat & Spa (~$740 total, 9.6 rating, free cancellation)

My questions:

1. Train or fly between Fes and Marrakech?
2. Has anyone eaten at Rivayat at The Oberoi? Worth it for a milestone anniversary dinner?
3. Is 2 nights Fes / 3 nights Marrakech the right split?
4. Anything I'm missing? (No dietary restrictions — we eat everything.)

Thanks!

Iceland — South Coast & West, an Honest 6-Day Review (mid-June,

family of 3)

Sharing a candid, day-by-day writeup of a mid-June trip across Iceland's south coast and west,

including the mistakes I made so others can avoid them. Posting to get feedback on how I'd

restructure it for a return trip. Weather notes included because, as you'll see, wind ended up

being the single most important planning variable.

Route: Vík area → Jökulsárlón (glaciers) → Reykholt (west) → Snæfellsnes → Hvalfjörður hot

springs → Reykjavík.

A Word on the Flights First

We were booked on a direct flight from the US that the airline opened, then cancelled, rerouting

us through a connection and costing us a full day — including a pre-paid Golden Circle tour and

a hotel night we couldn't use. Lesson: even a "non-stop" listing can be cancelled and

rerouted. Treat your Day-1 hotel and tour bookings as provisional until you've actually

landed, and be aware you may eat a non-refundable first night if a connection collapses.

Day 1 — Vík Area (landed in the morning)

Weather: 18–20°C, wind under 10 mph — our best weather day.

Hotel: Hotel Lóa (Hvolsvöllur, South Iceland). Checked in around 11 AM straight from the

airport — they kindly allowed an early check-in, which was a lifesaver after an overnight flight

(many hotels will accommodate this — ask). Amazing stay, would recommend. Slept off the

flight, went back out at 3 PM. Strong recommendation: don't schedule heavy sightseeing

on arrival day. Land, drive to your base, sleep, then start in the afternoon — June's 24-

hour daylight means there's zero sunset pressure.

What we did that afternoon/evening:

• Seljalandsfoss — walk completely behind the water curtain.

• Gljúfrabúi — the hidden highlight, do not miss. 5-minute flat walk north of

Seljalandsfoss; step through a narrow rock cliff opening, cross shallow stream stones,

and stand inside a secret canyon cave waterfall. Almost nobody knows it's there.

• Skógafoss + the hidden upper falls — climb the 400+ stairs, step over the metal stile-

gate at the top, and walk 10–15 min upstream to secluded canyon waterfalls most

tourists never see. Worth every step.

• Skipped Kvernufoss (had seen enough waterfalls for one evening — it's near the

Skógar Museum if you want it).

• Faxi Bakery (Sveitabakaríið) just before Skógafoss — good coffee and mountain

views.Dinner — Miðgard Restaurant (near Hvolsvöllur): lamb soup (superb, tender), beetroot

soup (good), Arctic Char (awesome), basil pasta. Lamb shank and sizzlers were sold out by the

time we ordered.

Day 2 — Moving East Toward the Glaciers

Weather: 15–18°C, essentially no wind. Beautiful.

• Checked out at 10 AM after the included breakfast, stopped at Faxi Bakery again for

coffee.

• Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon — awesome, a must-visit river gorge walk.

• Skaftafell National Park — flat 20-minute walk to the glacier tongue edge.

My honest feedback: doing the Skaftafell glacier-tongue preview walk was redundant,

because our itinerary brought us right back to the same spot the next day for the structured

glacier hike. If you're doing a guided glacier walk here, skip the preview. Also worth noting: the

3–4 hour drive along the south coast is itself gorgeous — warm, windless, and scenic the whole

way.

Day 3 — Both Glacier Activities in One Day

We stayed at Hotel Jökulsárlón – Glacier Lagoon Hotel (out east near the glacier lagoon) and

managed to do both glacier activities in a single day (morning boat tour, afternoon ice walk).

• Morning — Zodiac boat tour at the glacier lagoon — Excellent. Floating among

icebergs up to the glacier wall. One of the trip's peak experiences.

• Afternoon — glacier walk at Skaftafell — good ice, but see the operator warning

below.

Three hard lessons from this day:

1. The expensive lagoon-side hotel was a mistake. We stayed at Hotel Jökulsárlón —

beautiful setting, but there's no real advantage to staying right at the lagoon. Because of

Iceland's single-road layout, you have to drive back west the next day anyway, costing

an extra hour of backtracking. Book closer to Skaftafell instead (or even back around

Kirkjubæjarklaustur), not at the most scenic-but-isolating spot.

2. Operator choice matters enormously for the glacier walk. We booked the glacier

hike through a large-group operator whose bus does not drop you at the ice — it leaves

you a long, arduous, unstable walk over rough moraine terrain just to reach the glacier

edge. We watched smaller local operators drive their guests in modified 4x4 super-jeeps

right up to the ice. My recommendation: book a local super-jeep operator that

drives you to the glacier rather than walking you to it — companies like Local

Guide Travels (meeting point at the Freysnes service station, across the highway from

the Skaftafell park entrance) or a Katla / Kötlujökull super-jeep tour from Vík. The

approach walk on the big-group tour was more exhausting than the actual glacier time.3. The lagoon hotel dinner was mediocre. Far better food across the highway from the

Skaftafell park entrance at the local restaurant near the service station (Freysnes area)

— big portions, fresh, good value. Note: Iceland meals run roughly $200 for a family of

three, portions are large, and wasting food is culturally frowned upon — order carefully.

My optimization idea for next time: drive straight from the Vík area, do the boat tour in the

evening as you arrive (~90 min), sleep near Skaftafell, do the glacier walk first thing the next

morning with a drive-to-the-ice operator, then head straight to your next destination. Because

of the single-road layout, you cross back through the same corridor regardless — so there's no

benefit to multiple nights deep east.

Day 4 — The Long South-to-West Transit (this is where I'd replan)

Weather: dropped to 10°C, wind 20 mph — noticeably less comfortable.

This was a 6-hour drive from the far east (Hotel Jökulsárlón) back across the south and up to

the west — we stayed at Fosshotel Reykholt in the Reykholt valley. The scenery throughout is

genuinely outstanding — but it's a long, backtracking haul on the single ring road, and

honestly I'm not sure it was the best use of a day. I think I could have saved an hour or more by

staying somewhere smarter the night before.

Two structural alternatives I'd consider:

1. Stay around Kirkjubæjarklaustur (roughly 2 hours from the Vík area) — check in

by noon and do the glacier boat tour + glacier walk the same day, instead of basing way

out east.

2. The Vík bypass — skip the deep-east glaciers entirely and do glacier activities right

from the Vík hub:

– Katla / Kötlujökull super-jeep tours (operators run them from Vík) — 30–40

min across black volcanic desert to the glacier edge, blue ice streaked with black

volcanic ash, leading into a natural ice cave. ~3 hours round-trip.

– Sólheimajökull, 20 min west of Vík — a traditional glacier hike with more time

deep on the ice tongue, no super-jeep.

– The trade-off: you give up the iceberg-lagoon boat tour (which was excellent).

But you save a full day and a meaningful amount of money and driving.

Evening near Reykholt:

• Hraunfossar and Barnafoss waterfalls — very nice, unique falls flowing straight out

of a lava field.

• Krauma geothermal baths (skipped) and Deildartunguhver hot springs (observed) are

right there too.

• Candid take: I'm not totally sure why I built the west leg this way. The nature en route

is outstanding, but a 6-hour transit day is a big chunk of energy, and I'd want a better

structure if I did it again.Navigation warning: default map routing tried to push us onto unpaved gravel shortcut roads

more than once. Verify every day's route before you start and force it onto paved

surfaces — gravel is hard on both the car and your body.

Day 5 — Snæfellsnes Peninsula (the windiest day)

Weather: 10°C, wind 30+ mph — genuinely painful in the open.

• Grábrók Crater (about 20 min from Reykholt) — a steep wooden staircase to a crater

rim with 360° views. The wind made it extremely difficult. My rule now: only attempt

exposed crater/cliff hikes if wind is under ~15 mph; otherwise drop them.

• Kirkjufell + Kirkjufellsfoss and the Arnarstapi coastal area — stunning mountain,

waterfall, and coastal town — but 30+ mph wind and cold forced us to enjoy a lot of it

from inside the car.

• Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge — awesome: scramble inside a tight, wet rock cleft to a hidden

waterfall at the end.

• Frísta Food Truck (near our hotel) — baked cod fish and chips, chicken quesadillas,

vegetarian options — all fresh and very good.

Hotel: Hotel Búðir (Snæfellsnes south coast, on the Búðir lava field overlooking the

ocean). Great location and ocean view, but it's a dated building. Biggest issue — old window

shades with no blackout capability, so the midnight sun pours straight in (every other hotel

on the trip had proper blackout shades, which matter enormously with 24-hour daylight). It's

also very exposed to wind with no real shelter, which on a 30+ mph day was noticeable indoors.

Beautiful spot, but I'd look for a more modern, sheltered property in this region next time.

Big takeaway for the west: the coastal scenery is spectacular, but wind timing is the

critical variable for the entire western leg. Build flexibility to swap a windy day for a calm

one.

Day 6 — The Master Gem + the Capital

Weather: total turnaround — ~18°C at the fjord, near-calm wind. A dramatic shift from

30 mph the day before, just a couple hours' drive away.

• Hvammsvík Hot Springs (Hvalfjörður / Whale Fjord) — the master gem of the

whole trip, far better than the famous lagoon near the capital. Natural pools right on

the edge of an ocean fjord. We spent 3 hours. Strong recommendation: do this instead of

the big touristy lagoon.

My central planning question after this day: this region is so beautiful and so well-

positioned — it's ~90 minutes from the airport, and a lot of the major attractions are within ~2

hours — that I keep wondering whether a single central base here (hub-and-spoke),

rather than a new hotel every single night, would be a far better trip structure. Curious if

anyone has actually done Iceland this way and how it worked out.Reykjavík (45 min from the fjord):

• Harpa Concert Hall underground garage — very easy, excellent central parking.

Park there and explore on foot.

• Bakeries we loved, all within walking distance: Brauð & Co (closes 5 PM), Sandholt

(closes 6 PM, large, great options), Bakabaka (bakery by morning, great pizza by

night).

• Hallgrímskirkja (the "rocket" church) — same walking radius, worth a stop.

For an airport-night hotel we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Keflavík Airport

(convenient, easy early-morning departure). If you'd rather be physically connected to the

terminal, Hotel Aurora (attached to KEF) is the most convenient option for an early flight out.

Consolidated Tips for Anyone Planning This

1. 2. Direct flights only, and treat Day-1 bookings as provisional until you've landed.

First night = low intensity. Land, drive to base, sleep, sightsee in the afternoon. 24-

hour June daylight removes all time pressure.

3. Wind, not temperature, is the real go/no-go variable. Under ~15 mph = go. Over

15–20 mph = drop exposed hikes, crater rims, cliff edges, coastal viewpoints.

4. Don't pay for a premium hotel you'll have to backtrack from. Book near the

activity, not at the most scenic-but-isolating spot.

5. For glacier walks, book a local super-jeep operator that drives you to the ice (e.g.

Local Guide Travels at Freysnes, or a Katla super-jeep tour from Vík) — not a large-

group bus tour that leaves you a long moraine walk to reach the glacier.

6. The single-road reality: the ring road forces you back through the same corridor —

plan hotel placement around this, not around scenery alone.

7. Default map apps will route you onto gravel. Verify each day's route and force

paved roads.

8. Install the parking-payment app as soon as you land — most major attraction lots

bill automatically by license-plate camera.

9. Take full rental insurance — gravel spray and wind-driven door damage are real

risks. (We rented from Blue Car Rental — desk is a one-minute walk from the

terminal, and they upgraded us to a Mitsubishi Outlander 4x4 which was excellent.

Good experience overall.)

10. Consider a hub-and-spoke structure rather than a new hotel every night — see my

open question above. Feedback very welcome.

Quick Hotel Verdicts (where we stayed, region by region)

Hotel Region My verdict

Hotel Lóa Hvolsvöllur, South Amazing. Allowed early

check-in after the

overnight flight. Great

Hotel Jökulsárlón – Glacier Lagoon Hotel
Fosshotel Reykholt
Hotel Búðir
Courtyard by Marriott Keflavík Airport
Hot springs verdict: Hvammsvík Hot Springs (Hvalfjörður / Whale Fjord) was the single best experience of the trip — natural pools on the edge of an ocean fjord. Do this instead of the big, crowded, expensive lagoon near the capital.

Must-Pack List (the things that actually mattered)

This isn't a generic checklist — it's the gear that earned its place based on what we actually hit

(heavy waterfall spray, 30+ mph wind, scrambling wet gorges, 24-hour daylight).

Non-negotiable, learned the hard way:• Waterproof hiking boots — not water-resistant, fully waterproof. You wade a shallow

stream at Gljúfrabúi and scramble a wet gorge at Rauðfeldsgjá. Wet feet otherwise.

• Quick-dry hiking pants (not jeans) — you will get soaked walking behind

Seljalandsfoss and at Skógafoss. Jeans stay wet all day; quick-dry pants are dry in an

hour.

• A proper waterproof shell jacket — wind + waterfall spray + rain, often all three at

once.

• A warm mid-layer (fleece) — temps swung from 18°C calm to 10°C with 30 mph wind,

sometimes two hours apart.

• Gloves + beanie + a buff/neck gaiter — the wind is the thing that makes 10°C feel

brutal. Keep them in a jacket pocket, accessible, not buried in a bag.

• An eye mask for everyone — this is the sleeper item. 24-hour June daylight is real,

and not every hotel has blackout shades (ours at Búðir didn't). An eye mask saves your

sleep.

Practical / logistics:

• Swimsuit (worn under clothes on hot-spring day) — Hvammsvík has changing rooms,

but wearing it under saves time.

• Your own towel if your hot-spring package doesn't include one (the basic tier usually

doesn't — towel rental adds up).

• A dry-bag or ziplock for wet clothes after the waterfalls, so you don't soak the car.

• Sunglasses — low-angle sun at all hours.

• A phone mount for the car + offline maps downloaded — and verify routes to avoid

gravel (see tips).

• A card-based setup, minimal cash — Iceland is effectively cashless; you'll tap for

everything including parking via the app.

Don't bother over-packing: you re-wear layers, laundry is doable, and shops exist. The

mistake is packing cotton (slow-drying) rather than packing light in the right fabrics.

Companies We Used & Recommend

For transparency, here's exactly who we went with and how each worked out:

Service Company Verdict

Car rental Blue Car Rental (desk

~1 min from KEF

terminal)

Recommend. Smooth,

upgraded us to a

Mitsubishi Outlander

4x4 which handled

everything well. Take

the full insurance.

	Service Company Verdict
Glacier boat tour	Iceberg-lagoon Zodiac operator (glacier lagoon, east)	Excellent experience — the Zodiac itself was a trip highlight.
Glacier walk	Large-group bus operator	Would not book again — long moraine walk to reach the ice. Instead recommend a local super-jeep operator: Local Guide Travels (meets at the Freysnes service station near Skaftafell), or a Katla / Kötlujökull super- jeep tour from Vík.
Hot springs	Hvammsvík Hot Springs (Hvalfjörður)	Highest recommendation of the whole trip. Do this instead of the big crowded lagoon near the capital.
Parking payments	Parka.is app	Mandatory — install it the moment you land.

My Question to the Forum — How Would You Restructure This?

Having done the every-night-a-different-hotel march once (and felt the 6-hour backtrack and

the wind-exposed misery), I'm now convinced there's a smarter base structure for a return trip.

I'd love feedback from experienced Iceland travellers and especially locals/Icelanders on

these two options. I'm deliberately dropping the deep-east glacier lagoon (Jökulsárlón) in

both — the boat tour was great but the driving to reach it is brutal, and I've now done it once.

Option 1 — Single Base for a Week (Hub-and-Spoke)

Camp for the whole week in one base around Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord) — hotel,

guesthouse, or Airbnb — and radiate out on day trips:

• West: Snæfellsnes Peninsula (Kirkjufell, Arnarstapi, Rauðfeldsgjá, the black-church

coast)

• South: down to the Vík area (Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi, Skógafoss, Reynisfjara, plus a

Vík-based glacier tour)

• Local: Hvammsvík hot springs, Reykjavík, the Golden Circle, Glymur waterfall

• Excluded: the deep-east glacier lagoon

My questions on Option 1:• Is a single Hvalfjörður base realistic, or are Snæfellsnes (~2.5 hrs each way) and Vík

(~2.5–3 hrs each way) simply too far to day-trip comfortably?

• Does the central location actually save driving, or just convert it into long radial round-

trips?

• If you think it works — what specific hotels, guesthouses, or Airbnb areas

around Hvalfjörður / Kjós / Mosfellsbær would you recommend for a week-long

base with a car?

Option 2 — Two Bases (Split the Trip)

Split the week between two bases:

• Base A — Hvalfjörður / Whale Fjord → west (Snæfellsnes), Reykjavík, Golden Circle,

hot springs, airport

• Base B — Vík area → the entire south coast + a Vík-based glacier experience (Katla

super-jeep or Sólheimajökull)

This keeps every day trip under ~1 hour from whichever base you're on, with only one hotel

change all week.

My questions on Option 2:

• Is two bases the genuine sweet spot — or would you still add a third (e.g. a night

actually on Snæfellsnes) so the peninsula isn't a long day trip?

• For the Vík base — which specific hotels or guesthouses would you choose? (I

stayed near Hvolsvöllur at Hotel Lóa and liked it, but I'm open to better-positioned

options closer to Vík itself.)

• For a calmer, more sheltered Snæfellsnes stay than the wind-battered coast hotel I had

— any specific recommendations?

What I'd Most Like to Hear

1. 2. Which option would you pick for a relaxed week with a family, and why?

Specific stays — hotels, guesthouses, Airbnb areas — that you've personally used and

would vouch for, for either base.

3. Anything I'm missing — a region, a base location, or a routing trick that makes this

whole thing easier than either option above.

Thank you in advance — trying to turn a beautiful-but-exhausting first trip into a smarter

second one, and the collective wisdom here is exactly what I'm after.

Posting this to help others and to get input on restructuring it for a return trip — especially on

the central-hub idea and whether a single base or a two-base split works better. All thoughts

welcome, and thank you.