Iceland

[TooNice]

Has anyone visited there before? I am thinking of going next month and I could use some advice. My main purpose is to witness and photograph some nice scenery (I'd love to be able to catch an aurora borealis, but I guess that I should not get my hopes too high). One of my concerns is transportation: I do not drive, and with one of the lowest population density in the world, I wonder how easy (difficult) it is to go from one place to another. I enjoy hiking, but as I will be travelling alone, I want to stick to relatively safe trails that can be comfortably done in a day.

Anyway, even though I have never been there, I have a feeling that this won't be the first and last visit. For one, I would definitely want to try the Laugavegur hiking trail (http://www.fi.is/en/hiking-trails/laugavegurinn) another time, with friends, and better preparation. This time round, I'd like to stick to the safe and accessible but still with emphasis to the nature.

Cheers.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is quite cold.

[melon]

Has anyone visited there before? I am thinking of going next month and I could use some advice. My main purpose is to witness and photograph some nice scenery (I'd love to be able to catch an aurora borealis, but I guess that I should not get my hopes too high). One of my concerns is transportation: I do not drive, and with one of the lowest population density in the world, I wonder how easy (difficult) it is to go from one place to another. I enjoy hiking, but as I will be travelling alone, I want to stick to relatively safe trails that can be comfortably done in a day.

Anyway, even though I have never been there, I have a feeling that this won't be the first and last visit. For one, I would definitely want to try the Laugavegur hiking trail (http://www.fi.is/en/hiking-trails/laugavegurinn) another time, with friends, and better preparation. This time round, I'd like to stick to the safe and accessible but still with emphasis to the nature.

Cheers.

Can you ski ?

Its place Ive been curious about too though I doubt I'll ever go now..

[melon]

Is quite cold.

Coming from a Canadian that is not good at all.

[TheAnimus]

Well you're going in completely the wrong time of year for any aurora borealis, actually it might happen, its just being still white nights season you won't see it. If you go between Sep-May they say you have a good chance of seeing it. I went in April IIRC and it was rather impressive. Very cold mind.

Iceland is also very expensive, there are few places a Londoner can say that about and Iceland is definitely one of those.

Transport shouldn't be hard, they have a bus system that appears to go everywhere someone would want to go. It is, however expensive.

IcelandAir do some good deals every now and again. I paid £200 pp for a 3night stay in the Hilton and return flights to London over a weekend. It was a fun trip, very relaxing but ended up costing about £300 each for things like bus fairs, jeep rental, drinks, food, cycle hire etc. Also my friend was a space cadet and dressed very inappropriately for the conditions, so I ended up loosing half my base layers to her, 15knott winds and -15°C are harsh. However as everyone has free geothermal heating energy the inside of every building is roasting, with the windows left wide open!

[Domestic_Ginger]

I must confess I don't know much but from what I can see there are plenty of biscuits and all the women have above average bust sizes.

[melon]

Well you're going in completely the wrong time of year for any aurora borealis, actually it might happen, its just being still white nights season you won't see it. If you go between Sep-May they say you have a good chance of seeing it. I went in April IIRC and it was rather impressive. Very cold mind.

Iceland is also very expensive, there are few places a Londoner can say that about and Iceland is definitely one of those.

Transport shouldn't be hard, they have a bus system that appears to go everywhere someone would want to go. It is, however expensive.

IcelandAir do some good deals every now and again. I paid £200 pp for a 3night stay in the Hilton and return flights to London over a weekend. It was a fun trip, very relaxing but ended up costing about £300 each for things like bus fairs, jeep rental, drinks, food, cycle hire etc. Also my friend was a space cadet and dressed very inappropriately for the conditions, so I ended up loosing half my base layers to her, 15knott winds and -15°C are harsh. However as everyone has free geothermal heating energy the inside of every building is roasting, with the windows left wide open!

No way Id ever pay £200 for 3 nights anywhere , Id dont need a tennis court or swimming pool to stay inside if the whole point is to be there visiting.

I remember one hotel in Peru I stayed in ( because it was the only place in this village ) had the barmaid doubling as a hooker , with a horse drawn cart outside doubling as the love taxi..( I bet they dont have that in Holland ,eh ? )

£300 for drinks ?? !!! thats a lot of 6 packs , surprised you managed to get anywhere

[HalloweenJack]

beer is anywhere between 600kr>1100kr depends on where you go


and the blue lagoon isn't that great - its not even natural anyway

[Stringent]

I have. Once officially, second time flight was diverted due to burning smell in the cockpit.

Its a lovely country. One thing though, it is expensive, so take a huge bag of money with.

[TheAnimus]

No way Id ever pay £200 for 3 nights anywhere , Id dont need a tennis court or swimming pool to stay inside if the whole point is to be there visiting.

Huh? £200 including return flights. That were over a weekend..... How is that not a complete bargain. All taxes, baggage fees etc included.

Given that EasyJet want £160 for the flights before you even get to their special fees that is a steal.

Also consider that a quick search on Kayak shows that pretty much the cheapest hotel in Iceland works out to be £50 per night. Which would mean £150, for a not-much-better-than-a-hostel room.

If it's just a weekend away, and you've got work etc, you don't want to be flying some crappy RyainAir clone, you want something that will be no hassle and clean.

I remember one hotel in Peru I stayed in ( because it was the only place in this village ) had the barmaid doubling as a hooker , with a horse drawn cart outside doubling as the love taxi..( I bet they dont have that in Holland ,eh ? )

I take it you are aware of the difference between the economic situation of Peru and Iceland? (Not sure what the Netherlands has to do with any of it either)

£300 for drinks ?? !!! thats a lot of 6 packs , surprised you managed to get anywhere

As mentioned that was for everything, food, local travel, etc. but IIRC the cheapest drink was £6.

[melon]

Huh? £200 including return flights. That were over a weekend..... How is that not a complete bargain. All taxes, baggage fees etc included.

Given that EasyJet want £160 for the flights before you even get to their special fees that is a steal.

I thought you were against benefits ?

[HalloweenJack]

I thought you were against benefits ?

so finding cheap deals is now `against benefits`???

[TheAnimus]

so finding cheap deals is now `against benefits`???

[Agent]

Iceland is a lovely place. I've been a few times and enjoyed it each time. I knew a few people over there and that helps (although I'm considering moving over there in the next few years - I'm still unsure)

The Blue Lagoon is enjoyable - absolutely worth a visit towards the end to chill out.
If you're up for a bit of sightseeing then look at the golden circle.
SCUBA diving is amazing if you're qualified and can afford it.

As above though, drinks are expensive due to the way tax is done on alcohol there.
Food isn't too bad cost wise, although it's easy to walk into an expensive restaurant without realising so check the prices on the door menu before sitting down.
Most people can speak excellent English and are friendly, so don't worry about the language.

As the name suggests, it can get cold - certainly on some of the tours away from the city. Take some long johns, or something similar as the wind chill is unbelievable. What feels no worse than the UK on a winter day quickly turns into something hellish and unbearable. It depends on the time of the year you go, but it can get nasty.

Oh and the hot water smells of sulphur due to the geothermal nature of it. It doesn't stay on you though, it's just a bit weird when you smell it for the first time. Be careful with jewellery as it can stain and tarnish as a result.

Finally - keep in mind the time you're going as they can get a lot / little amount of sun depending. This week for example has around 19 hours of light, although dimmer towards the start / end of the day. It really messes some people up

[peterb]

I remember one hotel in Peru I stayed in ( because it was the only place in this village ) had the barmaid doubling as a hooker

Didn't know Peru had a Rugby tradition

[streetster]

I went for 4 days a month or two back... Stayed at KEX Hostel which was a decent place, nice crowd, decent bar/place to grab a bite - 'locals' were coming in to eat/drink there, so a little different to other hostels I've been to.

We went whale watching (saw zero whales, but a few dolphins), Blue Lagoon is worth a visit (especially with a hangover), took a day bus trip around a few of the sights - Geysir, some national park, a nice waterfall etc... beer prices seemed reasonable but then I've been living in Copenhagen for the last year - but yeah they're around a fiver