Iceland Travel Review: Snorkeling in Silfra, Active Volcano Tour, Glacier Hike, Whale Tour

Review by traveler

Amy A.

7.28.2021

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Iceland

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

The trip was wonderful and we loved almost everything about it. We did need help a couple of times with issues with reservations and we got very quick replies and help. One day a boat tour was cancelled due to mechanical issues. Refund for the tour was super easy and it ended up working out for us as we were a bit tired on that day so we had a slower pace that morning. That same day, we showed up to our horseback riding tour and they had set the tour for the wrong day. The place sorted it out but that was a bit frustrating. I called the wrong number (not the emergency number) at the travel company so it took a bit for us to hear back and the place had already resolved the issue.
A bit later in the trip we had another tour not have our reservation for the correct day. That was the full day Jeep tour of the Askja crater. While we were disappointed to miss this, the replacement tour worked well for us. We did get a quick response from the travel company this time and we got resolution to the issue pretty quickly. Also had no trouble getting the refund for the difference in tours.
When we arrived we made a last minute decision to add on a tour to the erupting volcano. Our travel designer made that happen with ease. That turned out to be everyone's favorite day as well. She was very quick to respond to our last minute changes and did a lot of work behind the scene to make the change seamless for us.
I really think 4.5 stars is a better rating and the only reason not 5 is due to the small scheduling hiccups we had. While for the most part it didn't really impact our enjoyment of the trip, it was a little frustrating in the moment.
However how a company responds to problems is extremely important and this travel company was absolutely on top of resolving the issues that did arise.
The tours that were chosen were amazing and we loved all the people we met. Iceland is an exquisitely beautiful, otherworldly country that I feel should be on everyone's bucket list. I wholeheartedly recommend both Zicasso and this travel company to anyone looking to travel to Iceland
Our travel designer was able to craft a tour that gave us an excellent taste of what Iceland has to offer and the itinerary was perfectly detailed and guided us well. The trip was pretty close to perfect.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

We loved it all to be honest. The erupting volcano was clearly everyone's favorite day. The glacier hiking was probably 2nd coolest. The snorkeling tour of Silfra was amazing and I'm glad we did it but they aren't kidding about how physically strenuous it can be with the water temperature!
The hotel selections were great. The luxury hotel in Grimsnes was the best and was perfect place to start the trip as it was so spacious and comfortable.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

Probably eliminated the whale tour. While we did see them, we also saw several other boats, some of which were not really being respectful of the animals and kept getting too close to them.
I would have packed more water resistant pants.
Would have tried to do laundry earlier in the trip
Would have benefitted form knowing that we needed reservations for dinner at the hotel in Myvatn as we ended up kinda having to scramble late in the evening for food on the night we arrived. Again a small hassle in the moment that ended up with great pizza, but after a day of travel to have to find food at 930p was preventable had we known to make reservations. Hadn't needed to do that at any other place.

Travel Company Comments:

Dear Amy,
On behalf of our travel designer who is now on her summer break, I wanted to follow up on your comments posted with Zicasso. First of all, I would like to thank you for your kind words and positive review of the tour our travel designer has arranged for you. Our team thanks you for your feedback regarding both the highlights and some negative experiences.

We strive to provide the best experience for our clients and take negative comments seriously. I am glad that the horse-riding farm resolved the booking on the spot. Our guide for the jeep tour was very disappointed to have made a mistake with the arrangements. I am glad that the replacement tour worked well and that you were happy with the quick refund. With the post-pandemic restart taking Iceland by storm, many of our small local suppliers are still working with smaller teams and juggling lots of different situations, and even though we double-check all, mistakes may still happen.

I am happy to hear how much your family enjoyed the Active Volcano hike – it sounded like a tour your family will never forget!

Again, thank you for traveling with us and your review.

Kind Regards,

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