Hot on the heels of the last update plans for the trip have moved forward. I’ve decided on the itinerary, booked flights, the 4WD rental and even finalised all the accommodation. Which yes, does mean that I’ve come to a decision on the dates.

One of the things I was unsure of was simply the mechanics of travelling the 380km from Jokulsarlon to Keflavik in time for the flight, all on the same day. Knowing my luck, the 4WD would suffer some kind of terminal failure, I’d miss the flight and be stranded. The flip side was that, whilst the first version of the itinerary allowed a couple of extra days on the Reykjanesbaer peninsula – where the airport is located – it also spanned three weekends. That was three weekends of potential overtime at work, which ultimately pay for these trips. It was such a quandary.

I was also beginning to make the same mistake as the 2013 trip: Trying to fit in more and more locations. I had already began looking into the possibility of travelling north of Reykjavik based on a number of wonderful landscape shots I’d seen. It was only when I added up the days and cost that I realised I was attempting to do too much.

So, with a few changes, here is the itinerary:

• THR 22 MAY
  Early afternoon flight to Keflavik International, pick up 4WD rental and check in to a local hotel on the Reykjanesbaer peninsula.
• FRI 23 – SAT 24 MAY
  Go exploring on the Reykjanesbaer peninsula. In the afternoon, drive the 190km to Vik, undoubtably stopping along the way.
• SUN 25 – THR 29 MAY
  Based in Vik, spend five days exploring the surrounding area, up to 100km or so.
• FRI 30 MAY
  Drive over to the next base camp near Skaftafell national park. This is only 190km so again, I’m sure I’ll be stopping a few times.
• SAT 31 – SUN 01 JUN
  A close base camp to Skaftafell National Park means spending time around, and on, Vatnajokull, Europe’s largest glacier.
• MON 02 – TUE 03 JUN
  Move to a base 40km east of Jokulsarlon and continue exploring. The move is more out of necessity as the hotel I’m in at Skaftafell is booked after after June 1st.
• WED 04 JUN
  Drive to Reykjavik, return the 4WD and be out for some evening photography along the harbour.
• THR 05 JUN
  A day relaxing in Reykjavik satisfying my needs for some architectural photography.
• FRI 06 JUN
  Tying up last minute shots in the morning and fly out in the late afternoon.

For me, there’s a good balance of time here. In Antarctica I often found there wasn’t much time to compose shots – everything was moving and you were kept on a tight itinerary which, although understandable for certain destinations, is the one thing I dislike about organised trips. Here, there is no clock to watch and with five days in Vik alone, I’ve allowed plenty of time to slow down and work each location. Maybe too much time, but I’ll only know that in a few months.

The surprise is Reykjavik being included at all. I was quite keen to avoid it altogether and simply concentrate on the landscape aspect but, well, I can’t resist good architecture and I’ve wanted Hallgrimskirkja as a subject for a while. Plus, with just over two weeks of near solitude, being in a populated area will make a nice change.

So, the holiday is signed off at work, flights were purchased yesterday, as was the rental of the 4WD. Five sets of accommodation are all booked too and I’ve a good idea of where I want to be and see.

In short, Iceland 2014 is born. All I’ve got to do now is not mess it all up by changing things!

Now that the two, primary base camps have been chosen and dates selected – largely based on the availability of accommodation, I’m now beginning to consider the side trips. Of course, in my world nothing is ever quite as easy as it would appear, so this week has been set aside to deciding whether I should land at Keflavik, hop in the 4WD and head straight over to Vik – the original plan – or if I should hang around on the peninsula, spend a couple of days there and then heading over to Vik. Unsurprisingly, it’s a surprisingly big decision.

Ordinarily it wouldn’t really matter: I want to see both areas and given the few days difference the weather isn’t really going to change significantly – at least none more so than Iceland’s weather does anyway. The issue is not so much with what happens at the beginning of the trip but more to do with what happens at the end.

The last big base for photography is Jokulsarlon, located roughly halfway along the southern coast and approximately 420km from Keflavik. In the original plan, I drive back from Jokulsarlon to a guesthouse near the airport and then spend a couple of days driving around the peninsula. Doing it in this order has the rather handy advantage that, should something happen – such as the 4WD breaking down or absolutely perfect light descends over the glacier and lagoon – then I have the slack time to stay without worrying about missed flights etc. Visiting the peninsula first means either no slack time or additional days and cost.

Reading this far you’re likely still wondering why this is an issue, after all I’ve already mentioned that the weather is not really going to change. The problem is to do with the days I’ve picked: As it stands the trip falls over three weekends. As I use the overtime earned by working weekends to pay for these trips, it would be really handy to travel midweek and only be away for two weekends.

I’m tempted to throw all caution to the wind and finish up at Jokulsarlon and drive directly to the airport – after all, there’s nothing like living life on the edge…