Now that I've got that out of the way, what was the rest of the holiday like? Well Iceland is a really different destination and one I'd wanted to visit for many years. It has a barren, almost primeval beauty and the soil is black as a result of all the volcanic activity. The weather is a major preoccupation there, as it is incredibly changeable - you can have all four seasons within half an hour, never mind a day! Our first day was a city tour and it was a challenge, due to heavy rain showers and stormy winds. Nevertheless we managed to see many of the main sights and get some decent photos. The next day, our local guide August decided to change the itinerary around, so that we went to see the Golden Circle, as the forecast was very good for that day. It was a fantastic experience - we saw spurting geysers, dramatic mountains and waterfalls and other beautiful vistas. If you are going over the long winter season, I'd recommend you bring tracks for your shoes as it can be slippy - you can also buy them there at the visitor centre but they are cheaper at home. That night we went out full of excitement to hopefully catch the northern lights and as you've already gathered we weren't disappointed!

We also enjoyed a visit to the Blue Lagoon to bathe in the mineral waters and visited the Viking Ship Museum to learn more about Iceland's history. The last morning was free and most of us went for a final wander around Reykjavik. The whale watching had been cancelled, due to the weather, but sightings are fairly rare at this time of year anyhow and those who booked will be getting a refund from JY.

For me the other big highlight of the tour was the fantastic food - every meal was excellent, by far the best food I've ever had on a JY holiday - fine dining all the way and a totally unexpected pleasure! Three dinners were included. Costs in general are approximately "London prices" so expect to pay around £5 for a glass of wine or beer, both of which were excellent as well.

So a great tour and most enjoyable, thank you JY! A number of us commented that we'd like to visit Iceland again some time during the summer, to see the scenery minus the snow. So perhaps JY could consider running a summer departure a few years down the road?

For those going in November and subsequent departures - bring plenty of warm clothes, a woolly hat, scarf and sturdy shoes, a sense of adventure and a good appetite and you are in for a treat!

Cheers,

Bob

I'm so pleased to hear that you had an enjoyable trip and got to see the Northern Lights, although I'm sorry that the weather wasn't favourable for the whale watching.

Would we consider a summer departure a few years down the line? The team are already on it!

Kindest regards,

Julia

Sounds like you had fun and a good tour, so no whales but what a fantastic sight to see the Northern lights, good to know that JY are working on a summer departure, as I am not a cold visitor so might have to see what JY comes up with.

Glad you and a good time, I am SURE Sally will have some great shots...

I look forward to your NEXT review

Cindy

I would add that if anyone is thinking of visiting the spa in the Grand Hotel, I can thoroughly recommend it. I had a facial massage on the last morning which blissed me out for the return journey.

All in all, a fabulous holiday and the Northern Lights experience will live long in my memory.

Caroline

A great review of our holiday and I agree with most everything you've said. I found Iceland to be a fascinating, wild and beautiful country and it's a destination that I would heartily recommend to anyone!

It was a shame that the whale watching trip got cancelled, but anyone who is considering this holiday in the future would need to accept that that is the nature of the elements in this part of the world. Day to day itineraries have to be flexible to say the least and, all things considered, I thought the Norse gods smiled on us overall.

The food was the simply the best I have ever eaten anywhere in the world. Warming soups served with the freshest bread I've ever tasted, amazing fish and meat dishes at dinner and lovely hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream at Café Paris; it could not be faulted.

All in all this was a brilliant tour and, being my first visit to 'the frozen north', it's certainly made me consider JY's Norway Huskie trip at some point in the future.

Finally, many thanks for your company on this holiday; it was great to meet you and I hope that our paths will cross again another time. Sorry I couldn't make it to the Ibis hotel for drinks with Cindy, but I had a two and half hour drive to get home and I was a bit tired after the long day.

By the way, I sent Sally the photos I took at the seafront on the Tuesday morning, so I expect they'll be on-line soon.

All the best for 'Nuneaton'.....have a great time!

Cheers

Mike

Excellent review - and so quick! Delighted about the Northern Lights and that Sally managed to get some good photos - that's twice in the last 4 months she has seen the Northern Lights - greedy!! No, not really! They sounded a lot better than when we saw them in Churchill, although I'm not complaining. I wasn't expecting to hear that the food was so good - yet another reason for me to go to Iceland!

Namibia next!

Cheers,

Hils

What a great holiday - and WE SAW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS! We were told it was the best sighting in 12 years! This was, of course, the highlight of the trip and to be honest, I wasn't really expecting to see them but they were incredible - shades of green and a little yellow swirling slowly around the sky. At one point, almost the whole sky was lit up. It was beautiful and very peaceful to watch and we had a couple of hours to take in the whole experience. One of our party took amazing photos (well done Sally!) which showed up their true colours that are invisible to the naked eye - red, blue, purple, green, yellow and orange dancing around the sky - a truly magical experience!

Now that I've got that out of the way, what was the rest of the holiday like? Well Iceland is a really different destination and one I'd wanted to visit for many years. It has a barren, almost primeval beauty and the soil is black as a result of all the volcanic activity. The weather is a major preoccupation there, as it is incredibly changeable - you can have all four seasons within half an hour, never mind a day! Our first day was a city tour and it was a challenge, due to heavy rain showers and stormy winds. Nevertheless we managed to see many of the main sights and get some decent photos. The next day, our local guide August decided to change the itinerary around, so that we went to see the Golden Circle, as the forecast was very good for that day. It was a fantastic experience - we saw spurting geysers, dramatic mountains and waterfalls and other beautiful vistas. If you are going over the long winter season, I'd recommend you bring tracks for your shoes as it can be slippy - you can also buy them there at the visitor centre but they are cheaper at home. That night we went out full of excitement to hopefully catch the northern lights and as you've already gathered we weren't disappointed!

We also enjoyed a visit to the Blue Lagoon to bathe in the mineral waters and visited the Viking Ship Museum to learn more about Iceland's history. The last morning was free and most of us went for a final wander around Reykjavik. The whale watching had been cancelled, due to the weather, but sightings are fairly rare at this time of year anyhow and those who booked will be getting a refund from JY.

For me the other big highlight of the tour was the fantastic food - every meal was excellent, by far the best food I've ever had on a JY holiday - fine dining all the way and a totally unexpected pleasure! Three dinners were included. Costs in general are approximately "London prices" so expect to pay around £5 for a glass of wine or beer, both of which were excellent as well.

So a great tour and most enjoyable, thank you JY! A number of us commented that we'd like to visit Iceland again some time during the summer, to see the scenery minus the snow. So perhaps JY could consider running a summer departure a few years down the road?

For those going in November and subsequent departures - bring plenty of warm clothes, a woolly hat, scarf and sturdy shoes, a sense of adventure and a good appetite and you are in for a treat!

Cheers,

Bob

Thanks Bob for a great review which I wholeheartedly agree with, I can still taste those amazing meals we had. It was good to meet you and some other long termers and community posters as well as quite a few first timers.

I too would be up for a summer visit - I bought a DVD home with me which is an absolute joy to watch. There are some spectacular waterfalls as the snow and ice melt and I would love to visit the Botanic Gardens but can JY avoid June as there is a Viking festival and I think we would struggle to tear August away!!.

Chris;)

Thanks Bob for your review. It brought back memories of my two trips, though minus the lights.

Sylvia

Hi Hils, yes the food was out of this world! The hotel was very good although the service could be a bit slow. I should also add that the group was very friendly and everyone mixed very well together - it was a big group of 37 but this didn't cause any problems; everyone got on and off the coach promptly (there were two doors which is a big help) and generally time keeping was good. It was easy to exchange money - there was a bureau de change at the airport and the hotel had an ATM machine. Debit and credit cards were widely accepted.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but if anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them!

Cheers,

Bob

What a great review. Glad you got to see the Northern lights, fantastic. I went to Iceland last year at New Year with just you and I can totally agree the food is amazing.

Hopefully Sally will post a picture of the lights.

Shame about the whales but a trip in the summer sounds good. If they can arrange it. Perhaps they could also organise another trip to Churchill in the summer months, to see the beluga whales.

Thanks again Bob

Hi Bob,

A great review of our holiday and I agree with most everything you've said. I found Iceland to be a fascinating, wild and beautiful country and it's a destination that I would heartily recommend to anyone!

It was a shame that the whale watching trip got cancelled, but anyone who is considering this holiday in the future would need to accept that that is the nature of the elements in this part of the world. Day to day itineraries have to be flexible to say the least and, all things considered, I thought the Norse gods smiled on us overall.

The food was the simply the best I have ever eaten anywhere in the world. Warming soups served with the freshest bread I've ever tasted, amazing fish and meat dishes at dinner and lovely hot chocolate with fresh whipped cream at Café Paris; it could not be faulted.

All in all this was a brilliant tour and, being my first visit to 'the frozen north', it's certainly made me consider JY's Norway Huskie trip at some point in the future.

Finally, many thanks for your company on this holiday; it was great to meet you and I hope that our paths will cross again another time. Sorry I couldn't make it to the Ibis hotel for drinks with Cindy, but I had a two and half hour drive to get home and I was a bit tired after the long day.

By the way, I sent Sally the photos I took at the seafront on the Tuesday morning, so I expect they'll be on-line soon.

All the best for 'Nuneaton'.....have a great time!

Cheers

Mike

Hi Mike it was great to meet you, you are a real gentleman! Many thanks for forwarding the seafront photos, I look forward to getting them from Sally at some stage.

All the best,

Bob

I can really only underline what everyone else has said - this is a terrific tour (not my first JY experience but my first in the company of the legendary Mr Bob 'Fifty Shades of' Gray!) .

The food was truly incredible (I think MikeW might have dug through the bottom of his pudding bowl and into the table if we hadn't stopped him trying to scrape his very last drop of the Icelandic version of Eton Mess).

Our local Guide, August (or Douglas as the TM kept calling him, for some reason!) was an old sea dog with Viking blood in his veins and a brilliant line in salty tales. As Mr G mentioned, the weather really kept us all on our toes but August was quick to adapt the programme around it to make sure that we had the best experience which we truly did (not wanting to rub it in about the Northern Lights of course...... teeheehee)

It's true we did miss the whale watching but, even at their most calm, the Icelandic waters in March really didn't look inviting (Julia - do we have to apply to JY Customer Services for our refund or will it be processed automatically? The TM wasn't very clear on that). Sadly, a small group of us also missed out on our planned helicopter ride due to the weather but the local company were so friendly, helpful and tried to get us in the air if they absolutely and safely could, that I would certainly book with them again and I am also interested in doing the tour again in summer to see the difference in the landscape. (The parts that we saw which were not snow covered looked very like 'Middle Earth')

So, back down to earth now, still nursing my 'Northern Lights stiff neck' (the only downside of standing on a golf course on the outskirts of Reykjavik in the middle of the night in sub zero temperatures looking up going "ooooooo" for two hours....)

Have fun in Texas, Mike, it looks like Herculaneum for me next, and as for Sally and Mr G - we await your reviews of Nuneaton with interest ;)

All the best

Mandy

The main difference was obviously the weather with a covering of snow and VERY cold. We 'saw' the northern lights, with some imagination we could make out vague areas of green, but nothing like you obviously had. Went went out into the countryside, on top of a hill in temperatures way below freezing 6 inches of snow, so I am very jealous!

However, where the NY trip excelled was the New Year fireworks. We all agreed that we had never seen anything like it anywhere in the world (see my separate review).

So, think of NY as well as summer for another experience.

Am looking forward to seeing them Sally! And great review as always Bob! Thank you. :thumbup:

Sally was very generous in sharing her photos with the group and they are well worth looking at. The Northern Lights ones are brilliant - I managed to get a few 'snaps' on my point and shoot camera which I am very proud of but they do not show the depth of colours that Sally's have. It's just a pity that you don't see these colours with the naked eye. Does anyone know how you would see them - are there special glasses you can use as with an eclipse? I suspect not or JY/August would have mentioned it.

Greetings All

I can really only underline what everyone else has said - this is a terrific tour (not my first JY experience but my first in the company of the legendary Mr Bob 'Fifty Shades of' Gray!) .

The food was truly incredible (I think MikeW might have dug through the bottom of his pudding bowl and into the table if we hadn't stopped him trying to scrape his very last drop of the Icelandic version of Eton Mess).

Our local Guide, August (or Douglas as the TM kept calling him, for some reason!) was an old sea dog with Viking blood in his veins and a brilliant line in salty tales. As Mr G mentioned, the weather really kept us all on our toes but August was quick to adapt the programme around it to make sure that we had the best experience which we truly did (not wanting to rub it in about the Northern Lights of course...... teeheehee)

It's true we did miss the whale watching but, even at their most calm, the Icelandic waters in March really didn't look inviting (Julia - do we have to apply to JY Customer Services for our refund or will it be processed automatically? The TM wasn't very clear on that). Sadly, a small group of us also missed out on our planned helicopter ride due to the weather but the local company were so friendly, helpful and tried to get us in the air if they absolutely and safely could, that I would certainly book with them again and I am also interested in doing the tour again in summer to see the difference in the landscape. (The parts that we saw which were not snow covered looked very like 'Middle Earth')

So, back down to earth now, still nursing my 'Northern Lights stiff neck' (the only downside of standing on a golf course on the outskirts of Reykjavik in the middle of the night in sub zero temperatures looking up going "ooooooo" for two hours....)

Have fun in Texas, Mike, it looks like Herculaneum for me next, and as for Sally and Mr G - we await your reviews of Nuneaton with interest ;)

All the best

Mandy

Hi Mandy. It was great to meet you and all the Group. I can't see that Julia has replied about the refund but I phoned up on the Friday we got back and was told it would be processed although nothing has hit my bank yet. It might be worth the whole group requesting the refund rather than expecting it to happen. I need mine to pay for the fabulous hot stones massage I had in the Hotel Spa on the last morning - a perfect end to a perfect holiday (apart from not seeing the whales!)

Chris

Hi Chris, I'll wait another week and see if I get any correspondence from JY for the whale watching refund - only once before was an excursion cancelled on me and they were very quick with the refund, which came without me having to chase it up. If Julia is reading this, she might even have time to run upstairs(?) and give them a nudge!

Best wishes,

Bob

Sorry, I missed the reference to me. The refund on the cancelled excursion is processed automatically.

Kindest regards,

Julia