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#1
09-12-2006, 12:22 PM
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Iceland Travel Guide
<font color="blue"> 2+2 Iceland Travel Guide </font>
<u>Introduction & Purpose</u> Welcome to the first of many travel guides that I plan on putting together for 2+2. I am starting with Iceland because 1) I see quite a few Iceland related threads from time to time (especially each year around Miss World/Miss Universe time!, 2) I currently live in Iceland so I have some unique perspectives, and 3) Iceland is a once in a lifetime travel opportunity: glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls, nightlife. Let's get to it: <u> Passports/Visas</u> If you hold a U.S./U.K. Passport you do not need a visa to visit Iceland. Iceland is also a member of the Shengen agreement so it is very easy to travel from other destinations in Europe as well. Here is a complete list of visa waiver (i.e. you do not need a visa) countries for Iceland: Who does not need a visa to enter Iceland? <u> Getting to Iceland</u> Icelandair is pretty much the only game in town. British Airways started service from London to Reykjavik in March but Icelandair still pretty much controls the air routes. However, despite their near monopoly on flights to/thru/from Iceland, you can still get some pretty good deals. The best deals are usually are usually associated with their stopovers or packages. The stopovers basically work like this: fly Icelandair to/from Europe and your Iceland leg is free. e.g. Fly from San Fran to Reykjavik...stay in Reykjavik for up to 7 days...continue on to Paris for the same price as San Fran direct to Paris. So if you're planning on flying to/from Europe and you've got some time to kill this is a good way to do it. The packages are good if you like to wrap airfare, transportation, and hotel (and more) into one. Icelandair owns several hotels in Iceland and a bus service that goes to/from the airport and all of the tourist attractions in Iceland as well. For example if two wanted to come to Iceland next week (Sep 2006), you could book their midweek madness package which based on two person/double occupancy price of $499 per person you get: -Round-trip air transportation from Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), Orlando (SFB), and Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP). -Two nights in a double room at hotel in Reykjavik -Scandinavian buffet breakfast daily except arrival day. -Round-trip airport/hotel transfers. <u> Transportation </u> Once you are in Iceland, transportation is pretty easy. Unless you are really intent on driving yourself, I do not recommend a rental car. Very expensive, gas is about $8.00/gallon, and once you’re in town everything is so close a car is not worth it. Getting back and forth from the Airport (about 45 minutes from downtown) is easiest (and cheapest) by using the Flybus. For abotu $15 you get transport right from baggage claim to your hotel (possibly one stop in between). If you bought an Icelandair package, this is how you get back and forth. You can also catch a cab but be prepared to pay about $100. <u>Accommodations</u> This page from Reykjavik.com gives an excellent summary of the hotel/guesthouse/hostel scene in Reykjavik: Rekjavik Accomodations If you've got money to burn my top choices are the Centrum or the Nordica. If you are on a more realistic budget then it's the Loftleidir or SAS. If you are on shoestrings one of the hostels is your best bet. If you are serious about traveling to Iceland and want to bounce stuff off me feel free to PM me. <u> Dining </u> Ok, up to now between airfare, transport, and lodging you are probably doing ok money wise (better than average for a short vacation). Here's where your budget soars. Food is VERY expensive in Iceland. For example: Last week I went to a pretty decent Italian restaurant for a business lunch. I got a simple bowl of spaghetti with butter and garlic sauce. It came with garlic bread and I drank water. Cost: $26. This was the cheapest main course on the menu. The price of food (and drink) in Iceland is just a fact of reality. I’m not trying to put you off, I just want you to be prepared. If you want a decent meal, you are going to pay for it. The food is fantastic though! Drinks are expensive as well: Coke: $3, Beer/Wine: $9, Liquor: $15. Again, Reykjavik.com gives an excellent summary of restaurants in town: Dining Out If you are looking for top notch then I recommend Kaffi Reykjavik, Apotek, Vegamont, Tveir Fiskur, Humarhusid, Vidtjornin, and Vox. If you are in for the cheap then Grillhusid, Baejarins Beztu, Hlollabatar, are the way to go. You are going to spend a lot on food and drink while here. If you go the full expense route you will not be disappointed despite being lighter in the wallet. if you are going the cheaper route you can get off a little better but will still feel a pinch. I recommend at least one good/more expensive meal while you are here. <u> Things to Do </u> There are a couple must see/do's while in Iceland. There is much more than what I am listing below, but to not do these would be the equivalent of not seeing the pyramids while in Egypt, the Statue of Liberty in New York, or Big Ben in London. <u>Reykjavik</u> You should spend at least half a day to see the following sights in town: City Hall, Hallgrímskirkja church, The Pearl, and the National Museum of Iceland. You can see these sights as part of a package: (Reykjavík Grand Excursion) but I recommend against it. Unless you are really into guided tours you can easily walk to each of these sights and save yourself some money. <u>Out of Town</u> All of these trips are can be done with Reykjavik Excursions (The bus/tour operation owned by Icelandair). The prices may seem steep to you but I assure you they are worth it. The Golden Circle - Just a few the awesome sights on this tour are the Geysir hot spring, the Gullfoss waterfall, and Thingvellir National Park where the European and North American tectonic plates meet. This tour costs about $100 per person but it is eight full hours and definitely worth it The Blue Lagoon - The Blue Lagoon is a lagoon filled with geothermal heated seawater that is probably one of the most relaxing things you have ever experienced. For about $50 the bus will take you there and pay for your admission. There are a couple of glacier excursion options as well but now we are talking another full day and some big bucks ($200+). If you are interested in going to a glacier just to see it or go Snowmobiling, hiking, ice cave exploring let me know and I can point you in the right direction <u> Nightlife </u> The nightlife in town is awesome. Things usually get started around midnight and end around 6:00 am (on the weekends) several fast food type restaurants stay open til 7:00 am to feed hungry bar patrons as they stumble home. Because as I mentioned above booze is expensive, many Icelanders have a couple pops before going out. There is a liquor store downtown where you can pick up your beverage of choice to get a head start at prices a little under bar prices. Whether you like to club or mellow out in a pub you have lots of options. Again, Reykjavik.com summarizes them below but for clubs my picks are NASA and Pravda. For bars it’s Solon and the Dubliner (No trip to a foreign city is ever complete without hitting the local Irish pub!) Reykjavik Night Clubs Reykjavik Bars <u> Miscellaneous </u> To learn more about Iceland I recommend the below web sites: http://www.iceland.is/ http://reykjavik.com/ http://www.visitreykjavik.is/ as well as all of the links I listed above. Also the Iceland travel guide on wikitravel of wikipedia is really good as well. If you need to go online while here free WI-FI Internet is plentiful. Most of the hotels and coffee shops have free hot spots. I prefer OmmuKafffi for their café mochas and free WI-FI broadband access. The water here is perfectly safe to drink. Cold water is straight from the glaciers filtered by volcanic rock. The hot water does smell like sulfur however. It is safe, it just smells that way because it has been geothermally heated and pipe right to your sink/shower/etc. I wouldn’t bother to change money while you are. Everyone takes credit/debit cards from your hotel to the hot dog vendor and is perfectly safe. The currency is near impossible to change outside of Iceland so I would limit your holdings. I think an ideal stay in Iceland is 2 or 3 nights max (unless you want to see it all then 5-7 nights will do that and more). Most flights (from the U.S. at least) arrive in the early morning so you can a full day in after you check into your hotel. In summary, I think you will find that Iceland is one of those never forget it type of vacations. I will be here until the summer of 2008 so feel free bounce stuff off me. As a special offer to my fellow 2+2’ers make sure you drop me a line if you plan to come and I’ll buy you a beer or two and if I have time show you around a bit. 
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#4
09-15-2006, 01:34 AM
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Re: Iceland Travel Guide
Thanks, Loyal. I was looking forward to this.
Care to indulge us in a few more anecdotes regarding how the beautiful Icelandic girls vastly outnumber Icelandic dudes? I'll probably never get there but it is fun to dream.
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