Iceland!?

[95EagleAWD]

Anyone been? Recommendation for tours and spots other than Reykjavik? My brother and I are looking to go late summer.

[davidI]

I'd recommend staying at Kex Hostel. They have a lot of tour options available from there, or you'll find a lot of tour offices in town.

Of course, Blue Lagoon is a must. I'd highly recommend doing the Classic Circle Tour (available everywhere) and spend a day just exploring Reykjavik.

Depending on how long you have there, you can either make Reykjavik your hub and then just do day trips from there or if you have a lot of time, drive the ring around the entire country.

I got a few people together from the hostel and we rented a car and drove to the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon stopping at all of the nice waterfalls on the way. Be forewarned, gas cost us more than the vehicle. It was a definitely worth it though.

[wintonyk]

i can't remember the name of the tour i did. But I did the loop around the country in about 10 days. I absolutely loved it, such a beautiful country with a landscape so diverse it blows your mind.

The waterfalls are epic. My favourite was one called Godafoss. I waded in about halfway up my thighs at the glacier lagoon that DavidI mentioned. Of course there is the blue lagoon spa. Oh and the women :drool: :love: tall and slim and sexy as can be.

be forewarned everytime you take a shower its going to smell like rotten eggs because of the sulfur in the water.

[msommers]

A recent travel/photo log has put Iceland very high up on my next adventure.

http://international-photographer.com/gallery/iceland-gallery-2.htm

[davidI]

Originally posted by wintonyk
Oh and the women :drool: :love: tall and slim and sexy as can be.


Damn! This is what I was expecting on my trip but generally I only saw big, butch, viking chicks. I must have been hanging out at the wrong bars & restaurants!

Oh, and you have to go to the Phallic museum in Reykjavik, it's good for a laugh.

There is also a free geothermal pool out by the Reykjavik airport (not the one you arrive at, the smaller domestic airport). We walked there from town. It's what the locals recommended to me and was worth the effort.

[cancer man]

Make sure your credit cards are loaded up,whrn i was there in 2000 it was crazy expensive.(But worth it)

[davidI]

Originally posted by cancer man
Make sure your credit cards are loaded up,whrn i was there in 2000 it was crazy expensive.(But worth it)

They were hit hugely by the recession, but the prices are still definitely up there with New York / London / Tokyo.

[jutes]

Originally posted by wintonyk
Of course there is the blue lagoon spa. Oh and the women :drool: :love: tall and slim and sexy as can be.

I was there for a month in 2011 and there was nothing of the sort. :dunno: Drugs however are everywhere if you are into that thing...

[theken]

I really want to go that way one year, looks like an awesome time

[Supa Dexta]

My mothers side of the family is from there, I really should go sometime.

[LOLzilla]

One of my favorite places to visit. Been there twice, pre and post "recession". The Icelanders are doing just fine. I'd recommend Room with a View as you can get suites with mini-kitchens. Making breakfast goes a long way when your average meal is between $25-$35 Canadian. Ensure to check out the night scene if that if your thing. They go hard there. Also, late night Waffle truck is the ultimate. All of the children are forced to take English and they speak it fluently. Ask me anything?

[msommers]

Do you remember the last time you went how much it was to rent a car and gas? Did you need a 4x4 to see a lot of things?

The link I posted above consists of 30 days of travelling which is too much I feel (and expensive) for such a place. How long have you gone for each time? What brought you back for a second trip to Iceland? Did you do day trips from Reykjavik or stay elsewhere? I'm having a hard time visualizing how much time it takes to get around.

Thanks!

[LOLzilla]

We wanted an excuse to go again so we did not rent a car last visit. Instead, we explored Reykjavik by foot and did circle tours. Forewarning, the streets within Reykjavik are very narrow and the Gasoline is expensive at around $2/liter. With that being said, next time we are going to go grab a car and drive around as long as the paved road continues. Public transit is excellent. No, you don't need a jacked up 4x4 to get around most places, I do not think they'll even fit on the roads within the City.

My first visit was 7 days when I was broke and in College. All of my buddies were going to tropical destinations so I decided to do something completely opposite. I didn't really get to do a lot of activities but the trip was still memorable enough that it warranted a second visit, with money. The second trip was 10 days long and was just enough time to explore most all of Reykjavik. I play a MMO called EvE Online and I just happened to be there during fanfest as well as fashion week so it worked out really well. :thumbsup:

Just some general shit you'll get from people when you mention you are going to Iceland:
Isn't is really cold there? No, not during March. It is very similar weather to Vancouver. A sweater with a wind breaker was my choice of attire for most the trip.
Aren't they bankrupt? No. Reykjavik has gotten better since my 1st visit, way better. Office and condo towers going up, big corporate names moving up there, etc etc.
What do they do for fun? Drink, eat, party. You'll have some amazing food and local beers. I highly recommend Kex for delicious to price ratio. Beer is a fairly new thing to the island and it shows in their night life.
Tell me more about this night life? Most food places along the road Room with a view is on close around 8~ and turn into clubs. There are no closing hours so they'll go right until 5 or 6 AM. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIND A LATE NIGHT CAFE AS THEY'VE TURNED INTO A CLUB. The girls there are something special too. They aren't a lot of visitors and they can spot outsiders pretty well. They'll approach you with no hesitation (it's part of their culture). Walking down the street at 2AM was interesting.

[msommers]

Appreciate the info, thanks!

[Cos]

.

[msommers]

Quite eager to do an Iceland trip next year.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Bumping this thread. Looking to book Iceland in October. Flights are cheap, it's well past high season, and apparently weather is still reasonable. Fall colors and Northern lights should be nice too.

Rather than researching and booking 10+ individual accommodations, we were looking at self guided tour packages. This one seemed very reasonable, and the Tour.is company has 200+ perfect reviews on Trip Advisor:

http://www.tour.is/tour-package/iceland_circle_snaefellsnes_peninsula_and_northern_lights_-_10_days

Does that seem like a good way to do it? Looks like ~200km of driving per day but I suspect it will be so nice I won't care. Our plan was the 10 day tour +2-3 extra days or so around Reykjavík.

Is food on the road hard to come by? Or does everyone just stock up at grocery stores along the way?

I assume there are gas stations all along the ring road? I'd hate to get caught out in the middle of nowhere, but I imagine the ring road is well traveled.

Just starting my research but the self guided tours where everything is taken care of (and includes breakfast) seems pretty attractive.

[JC522]

I'm not sure how it is in Oct but I know in their winter months the northern parts of the ring road are closed. 2-3 days in Reykjavik is plenty, most of the cool stuff you want to see in Reykjavik is honestly like a 5 minute walk from each other.

There are gas stations and small towns you can stop at too. If you wanna save some money eat the hot dogs there from the gas station. They're incredibly good with whatever that white sauce is they have.

[msommers]

Food and gas is easy to get. The drive out to the east is really nice but other than the scenery there isn't much to do or stop for out there. Most of the big attractions are on the south and west coasts.

I've done the West Fjords as well and that was by far my favourite driving. The fjords out there are stunning. However the roads aren't in super great conditions and getting out to Látrabjarg was pretty crazy. I don't think it'll be worth it in October as no puffins will be there. Cool regardless. I went end of the August/Early September and I think next time I'd go the first of August.

Some pics:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk4hQctM

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6aTwiZ

The Golden Circle has perfect roads. Lots of bakeries and some really good snacks. And the hot dogs are so damn good - ate three in one sitting :rofl:

[D'z Nutz]

Some pics:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk4hQctM

https://flic.kr/s/aHsk6aTwiZ

Great photos, Matt! What's the deal with the lower torso that was on display?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Thanks guys and great pics Matt. Are most of those waterfalls easy to get to from the ring road?

I specifically picked a "Winter" tour option, assuming that they wouldn't send us on a route with roads that could be closed - I guess I will have to look into that.

I had selected a "Kia Sportage or similar" - do I need something more substantial? I have no interest in doing any offroading or straying too far form the main roads and getting myself into trouble. I was also thinking with the amount of driving and $2/L+ for gas something a little more fuel efficient might be good. Car rental prices climb quickly for 10 days in a Land rover or Pathfinder though, and we don't really need a big vehicle.

October is the best time for us to go based on our vacation schedules so we'll probably be sticking to that unless something unexpected happens.

[msommers]

Great photos, Matt! What's the deal with the lower torso that was on display?

Given it's 1pm I'll assume you've eaten your lunch already. It's the most disturbing yet hilarious thing you'll read all day, I guarantee it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A1br%C3%B3k


Thanks guys and great pics Matt. Are most of those waterfalls easy to get to from the ring road?

I specifically picked a "Winter" tour option, assuming that they wouldn't send us on a route with roads that could be closed - I guess I will have to look into that.

I had selected a "Kia Sportage or similar" - do I need something more substantial? I have no interest in doing any offroading or straying too far form the main roads and getting myself into trouble. I was also thinking with the amount of driving and $2/L+ for gas something a little more fuel efficient might be good. Car rental prices climb quickly for 10 days in a Land rover or Pathfinder though, and we don't really need a big vehicle.

October is the best time for us to go based on our vacation schedules so we'll probably be sticking to that unless something unexpected happens.

Here's a map I made when organizing our trip. I hope you (and others) find it useful.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Gesjyz-IZVbMPXv3DDR_00cuB9U&usp=sharing

And one for the West Fjords:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xEYv5vd2qno_NWGhc4wJBbsfYps&usp=sharing

Yes all the waterfalls are super easy to access, minus one in the north and another, Glymer, that requires a small hike, but was very rewarding, highly recommended. Make sure to take some time around Vik, I really wish I had done that. I believe it's all the white highway signs to be the ones that advise to have an offroad vehicle. Many of these roads lead to the interior and shortcuts between the main highways.

We took an Opel stationwagon through the West Fjords and survived just fine but an SUV would have been much more ideal for that section. The Golden Circle is like driving around Hawaii and with the price of gas there I would get the most fuel efficient vehicle I could.

The hot river is a must see, you'll likely never see something like that ever again. Located right by Hveragerði. Stop in the bakery by the Bonus (grocery store) in the main shopping center by the highway. I became addicted to a pastry called Vinarbraudslengja. I'd go back just for one of those and a hot dog (or eight).

[D'z Nutz]

Given it's 1pm I'll assume you've eaten your lunch already. It's the most disturbing yet hilarious thing you'll read all day, I guarantee it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A1br%C3%B3k

It's 1:30 and as soon as I read "Nábrók (calqued as necropants":

https://media.giphy.com/media/6mQad87UCFUKA/200.gif

I'll come back to it later. You can assume I've eaten, but you can't assume I've digested hahahaha

[Mitsu3000gt]

Given it's 1pm I'll assume you've eaten your lunch already. It's the most disturbing yet hilarious thing you'll read all day, I guarantee it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A1br%C3%B3k



Here's a map I made when organizing our trip. I hope you (and others) find it useful.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Gesjyz-IZVbMPXv3DDR_00cuB9U&usp=sharing

And one for the West Fjords:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xEYv5vd2qno_NWGhc4wJBbsfYps&usp=sharing

Yes all the waterfalls are super easy to access, minus one in the north and another, Glymer, that requires a small hike, but was very rewarding, highly recommended. Make sure to take some time around Vik, I really wish I had done that. I believe it's all the white highway signs to be the ones that advise to have an offroad vehicle. Many of these roads lead to the interior and shortcuts between the main highways.

We took an Opel stationwagon through the West Fjords and survived just fine but an SUV would have been much more ideal for that section. The Golden Circle is like driving around Hawaii and with the price of gas there I would get the most fuel efficient vehicle I could.

The hot river is a must see, you'll likely never see something like that ever again. Located right by Hveragerði. Stop in the bakery by the Bonus (grocery store) in the main shopping center by the highway. I became addicted to a pastry called Vinarbraudslengja. I'd go back just for one of those and a hot dog (or eight).

That's great, thanks. I bookmarked your maps, but there is no way in hell I am going to remember the names of anything like that pastry :rofl: I'm going to be doing a lot of pointing when I am there I think, or find a way to get back to this thread.

[msommers]

I would definitely get a SIM card anyways. Iceland's coverage is pretty damn amazing and cheap - it puts Canada's to utter shame.

I used Siminn.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I would definitely get a SIM card anyways. Iceland's coverage is pretty damn amazing and cheap - it puts Canada's to utter shame.

I used Siminn.

Seems like a good idea. There is an option in the tour package to add a SIM card for $25, seems reasonable. I don't know what data that includes though.

[roopi]

Iceland's coverage is pretty damn amazing and cheap - it puts Canada's to utter shame.

9.985 million km² vs 103,000 km²