Mostly a Tourist: My Iceland Itinerary(ies)

The picture that started it all: National Geographic Photo of the Day
September 4, 2012 - Litlanesfoss, Iceland
Photograph by Wild Wonders of Europe

I have spent some time researching and refining my tour(s) of Iceland, and have determined that if necessary due to time and budget constraints, my tour of Iceland can be broken up into 3 or 4 trips, each doable in 4-10 days.

Here are a few options that I think would work for touring Iceland:

Part 1: Reykjavik and the Golden Circle (4 days)
Day 1: Arrive in Reykjavik, check into hotel, wander around the city (if desired)
Day 2: Walking tour of Reykjavik, covering the Harbor, Lighthouse (Grotto), National Museum, and Hallgriskirche (samples only)
Day 3: Golden Circle Tour and then spend the night at Blue Lagoon Spa
Day 4: Fly home

Part 2: Westfjords (7 days)
Day 1: Fly into Reykjavik, then fly to Ísafjörður. Pick up rental car, check into hotel.
Day 2: Drive to Látrabjarg, spend the night in Breiðavík.
Day 3: Drive back to Ísafjörður, stopping to hike the Dynjandi walking trail and see the waterfall on the way.
Day 4: Ferry across to Hornstradir Nature Reserve, hike for the day, ferry back to Ísafjörður
Day 5: Kayak around the bay, explore the area - find a hot spring
Day 6: Day trip from Ísafjörður, explore the area... maybe check out the glacier??
Day 7: Fly home

Part 3: Ring Road (10 days)
Day 1: Arrive in Reykjavik, pick up rental car, check into hotel for the night.
Day 2: Drive to Hraunfossar and spend an hour seeing two waterfalls: Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. Drive to Arnarstapi for lunch, hike the trail to Hellnar, then drive through Snaefellsjoekull National Park and on to Hestasport Cottages for the night.
Day 3: Day tour on horseback at Hestasport, then on to Akureyri for the night.
Day 4: Bus to Dalvik, then ferry to Grimsey Island. Spend 4 hours on the island, see the signpost marking the Arctic Circle, then get a certificate. Catch the ferry and then bus back to Akureyri for the night. Note: Ferry to Grimsey Island only runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Day 5: Leave Akureyri in the morning fairly early - allow 8 hours at least and plan to arrive in Húsavík around 6pm for the 7pm (last) evening departure of the "Big Whale Safari and Puffins". On the way, stop by the Godafoss waterfall, drive around Lake Myvatn, seeing the Dimmuborgir and climbing the Hverfjall crater and driving in to see the Víti crater lake. Driving time is ~3 hours, and 8 hours allows time to stop and explore the sights. The whale watching tour is 3 hours long.
Day 6: Leave Húsavík and drive to Dettifoss, on to Litlanesfoss, and then to Höfn for the night.
Day 7: Drive to Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon, tour the lagoon by boat, then climb the Svartifoss Trail before heading to Vik for the night.
Day 8: Climb Skogafoss, then hike behind Seljalandsfoss and catch the ferry in Landeyjahöfn. Spend the night in Vestmannaeyjar.
Day 9: Tour Vestmannaeyjar; find Elephant Rock. Catch the ferry back to the mainland, and spend the night at the Blue Lagoon.
Day 10: Fly home.

I believe it would be possible to do the whole thing in 17 days, as follows:

Day 1: Arrive in Reykjavik, check into hotel, wander around the city (if desired)
Day 2: Walking tour of Reykjavik, covering the Harbor, Lighthouse (Grotto), National Museum, and Hallgriskirche (samples only)
Day 3: Golden Circle Tour
Day 4: Drive to Hraunfossar and spend an hour seeing two waterfalls: Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. Drive to Arnarstapi for lunch, hike the trail to Hellnar, then drive through Snaefellsjoekull National Park and spend the night in Stykkishólmur. (https://goo.gl/maps/puIiz)
Day 5: Take the Baldur Ferry across the bay, stopping at Flatey island, and then drive to Látrabjarg, on to the Dynjandi walking trail and spend the night in Breiðavík.
Day 6: Drive to Ísafjörður, stopping to hike the Dynjandi walking trail and see the waterfall on the way.
Day 7: Ferry across to Hornstradir Nature Reserve, hike for the day, ferry back to Ísafjörður for the night.
Day 8: Kayak the bay, then drive to Hestasport Cottages for the night.
Day 9: Day tour on horseback at Hestasport, then on to Akureyri for the night.
Day 10: Bus to Dalvik, then ferry to Grimsey Island. Spend 4 hours on the island, see the signpost marking the Arctic Circle, then get a certificate. Catch the ferry and then bus back to Akureyri for the night. Note: Ferry to Grimsey Island only runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Day 11: Leave Akureyri in the morning fairly early - allow 8 hours at least and plan to arrive in Húsavík around 6pm for the 7pm (last) evening departure of the "Big Whale Safari and Puffins". On the way, stop by the Godafoss waterfall, drive around Lake Myvatn, seeing the Dimmuborgir and climbing the Hverfjall crater and driving in to see the Víti crater lake. Driving time is ~3 hours, and 8 hours allows time to stop and explore the sights. The whale watching tour is 3 hours long.
Day 12: Leave Húsavík and drive to Dettifoss, on to Litlanesfoss, and then to Höfn for the night.
Day 13: Drive to Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon, tour the lagoon by boat, then climb the Svartifoss Trail before heading to Vik for the night.
Day 14: Climb Skogafoss, then hike behind Seljalandsfoss and catch the ferry in Landeyjahöfn. Spend the night in Vestmannaeyjar.
Day 15: Tour Vestmannaeyjar; find Elephant Rock. Catch the ferry back to the mainland, and spend the night at the Blue Lagoon.
Day 16: Fly home.

Currently, my first Iceland trip is tentatively scheduled to happen after my trip to Peru, making it approximately 3-4 years from now.

For anyone interested, (or wondering why a trip that seems so excellent is still so far in the future) my travel plans currently (Summer 2015) are thus:

Summer 2016: Southern Italy
Spring/Summer 2017: Peru; Machu Picchu (my 40th birthday trip)
Summer/Fall 2017: Paris and some of France (life plan includes visiting Paris every 5 years)
Summer 2018: Tour of Canadian Maritime Provinces
Summer 2019: Iceland
Other destinations (to be squeezed in if possible)

South Africa (Spring)
Barbados (Fall/Winter)
Hawaii (Winter)
New Zealand (if Carma moves there)

And, to finish putting it all in perspective, while I have been planning this Iceland trip and wanting to go to Iceland for several years now, (3, to be precise) I haven't exactly been sitting at home doing nothing else: