Below are my notes post-Iceland 2018. Iceland is truly the quirkiest place I have ever traveled to – and I live in Austin, Texas – a place that prides itself on its weirdest! Check out the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” to see what I’m talking about! (It’s also the movie that convinced me that Iceland was a place I needed to check out!). Iceland is also the most beautiful place I’ve ever
ICELAND NOTES 2018
Study up on the geology of Iceland so you’ll know what you’re seeing. It is super interesting. Ditto for the Viking history.
Watch the Secret Life of Walter Mitty before you go – you can thank me later!
Bring your RAIN GEAR. Water proof, not just repellant. Pants, hooded jacket and boots. no umbrella needed. It will just break with the wind!
Bring wool long johns.
No need to bring dressy clothes. You can basically wear your hiking boots everywhere!
Bring eye covers for sleeping. The sun won’t set until August!
Bring plenty of extra t shirts, underwear and PJs. You will most likely not find a place to wash any clothes. There are no laundromats.
No need to change more than $50 or so – you’ll use cards everywhere – including pay toilets!
Wow airlines is not bad at all!
Reykjavik is tiny – you really don’t need to spend any time there. We stayed at the Reykjavik Centrum hotel and also Rey Apartments. All highly recommended. Eat at Messin and at the bakery of the Sand Hotel. Avoid touristy meals like fermented shark, puffin, horse, and meat soup. All super gross!!
Fly Bus will drop and also pick you up at or near your hotel from/to the airport. You need to reserve. REYKJAVIK EXCURSIONS website is easy to use for booking bus and other tours. Know which bus stop number is near your hotel. Tourist busses will also meet you at one of the tourist bus stops (all have a number and a pink sign) since busses are not allowed in the city proper – just around it.
Did not love the Blue Lagoon – but many people do. It is beautiful but totally full of tourists and super expensive! Every town has a thermal pool. If I had it to do again, I’d only try those. No sauna culture here – everyone hangs out at hot pools! Icelandic culture dictates that you must shower without bathing suit before entering the pool. They have male and female changing rooms, but get ready for people to see you au natural!
The Golden Circle was not my favorite part. We did an 8 hour tour , but you could really do it in less time. Gullfoss and Geysir were the only parts of it that were really cool. If driving you can just visit those 2 if you ask me!
My favorite part was the drive along the south, especially the part from Vik to Glacier Lagoon. Wow! We could not stop taking photos.
Highly recommend the ferry to Westman Islands while going on this southern route if you have time. You can rent bikes and tour around, or just walk over to the golf course. You’ll see some puffins flying around.
Black Beach – very cool!
If you have a 4×4, drive off road once you start to see the glaciers. Find a track and just drive toward the glaciers. You’ll probably be able to walk up and touch one.
Walk behind Seljanfloss. Wear rain gear!
If you want a cool day hike – go up the stairs next to the Skogafoss waterfall and there is a spectacular walk along the series of waterfalls. You could spend a whole day hiking back there.
Eat at the Bistro Bar next to Skogafoss – it was really good!
Drink an Appelsin (Icelandic orange Fanta ) and try an Icelandic Coke. They make it with their own water and are supposed to have the best cokes in the world. Try the lamb and the Arctic Char. Many restaurants have a soup and bread special – all you can eat – for lunch each day. Try the skyr pie (like cheesecake).
Make sure you visit the glacier Lagoon. We didn’t do the boat tour, but my niece did and loved it.
We spent a night while on the south drive at Hekla Adventures – on an Icelandic horse farm – very cool!
You must have a credit card with a PIN to buy gas. Gas is way expensive BTW – but we enjoyed driving in Iceland.
I bought international roaming with ATT for $10 a day. Worth it.
We also did a 3 day hike with Arctic Adventures. Loved it – but it is not for people who don’t enjoy camping. We stayed in very basic huts and slept 40 to a mixed gender room. Big mixed gender bathrooms that were outside the huts. Pay for hot showers. No electricity The Laugevegur Trail where we stayed is behind Mt. Hekla and is a very beautiful, remote area. Not as beautiful as the south though, in my opinion. Next time I would do hiking day trips and sleep more comfortably at night. We did meet some amazing people though, and had a great time. I just need about 10 more showers before I will feel like myself again!
