Anyone been? We're thinking of going with my parents to visit my brother who's studying in London in late March / early April and the cheapest flight from Denver is on Icelandair. It would be no extra cost to stay 1-2 days in Reykjavík. Might be fun.

1/11/2015 6:28:35 PM

I have a friend who goes every year. Let me know if you want me to pass along any questions!

1/11/2015 6:48:42 PM

Yes! Could you PM me some contact information? If my girlfriend and I go it would probably be for 2 nights so we'd be looking for things to do in the city.

1/11/2015 6:51:50 PM

We went for our honeymoon 3 years ago. It was awesome. Even the "touristy" things are a lot of fun, like a morning trip to the blue lagoon, or trying to do the Golden Circle tour. But within the city there is a lot of decent (though expensive) food, and plenty of good bars.

1/11/2015 9:15:53 PM

Amazing place. I could just relax at the blue lagoon all day. Stay at that hotel if you have the cheese. If you like hiking, do a ridge tour. If not, rent a car and drive the highway that loops around the entire country. So many nice view points to stop, get out and just soak in. Breathtaking place...

and yes if you don't have time for the world class nature, you could also have a blast just staying in the city, eating, going to bars and partying.

1/11/2015 11:40:47 PM

Doing a cursory search now I want to go

1/12/2015 8:33:05 AM

i think a few of us are going to Airwaves in October.

1/12/2015 9:09:47 AM

Take a Hilux with the massive under-inflated tyres to the rim of an active volcano!

1/12/2015 9:26:39 AM

I saw a bunch of Groupon Getaways for Iceland a few months ago. These were like 7 nights (including airfare) for like $900, which is a ridiculous deal. I was wondering what the catch was, until I looked into it more -- all the Groupons had to be redeemed by like March and apparently this time of year there is only like three hours of daylight a day. Not necessarily that bad but definitely something to think about. Apparently the winter is the best time to see the Aurora Borealis while up there.

1/12/2015 9:31:09 AM

Quote :

"If not, rent a car and drive the highway that loops around the entire country."

I think that will take a little bit longer then 1-2 days . I wish we had gotten to do that when we went on our honeymoon, but we definitely plan to go back in the future and make a full loop. We took a few day trips and were supposed to go as far as Jokulsarlon but unfortunately they had (according to our guide) the worst rain they've had in 3 years, and we had to turn around. We went over a bridge that looked like the bridge scene from Dante's Peak and decided to call it quits there.

There are a tonnnn of awesome places you can visit on day trips though. However going in March/April it might be a little tougher due to the lack of daylight hours, and the climate will be significantly different.

1/12/2015 10:27:37 AM

hang out with Bjork

1/12/2015 5:29:37 PM

apparently you can still get a groupon for it that goes as late as April 5th. Five nights hotel and airfare for $799. Flight leaves from NYC but I have sky miles so I may have to look into this.

the most well-traveled person I know (70+ countries) said that Iceland was by far his favorite place. plus, checking out the Northern Lights, Blue Lagoon, etc. would be pretty awesome.

1/12/2015 6:24:05 PM

It's awesome, highly recommend. Was there for New Years 2011. Check out the waterfalls. Beware of black ice, don't rent from the cheapest rental car place and make sure you get tires with passable studs. Super nice people. Try a whale steak. Buy booze in duty free. Go caving. We went snorkeling in a rift between continental shelves, amazing experience. The lack of day light isn't terrible, I definitely want to go back.

[Edited on January 12, 2015 at 9:05 PM. Reason : F]

1/12/2015 9:02:43 PM

Quote :

"don't rent from the cheapest rental car place"

Why not?

1/12/2015 11:09:29 PM

Always wanted to go. Now this neodata guy ruined it for me.

So, if y'all need me, I'll be in Hilton Head outlet shopping and freaking out when a gator walks up on me peeing in the bushes even though the bathroom's just inside. You might--might--find me in Sanibel pretending the six dollar toll is so hefty that it's not worth leaving the island to do anything--let's drink and ride bikes!

But seriously, fuck Iceland and all my international travel aspirations--I'm even cancelling the train trip across Canada.

From here on out, the most exotic move I'm gonna attempt is stumbling down Duval Street with a greasy bag of conch fritters and a lobster roll I won't remember devouring. And, I'm not saying I'm gonna enjoy it, but there are good odds I'ma eat at yet another Margaritaville--I'll try not to buy the t-shirt.

USA 4 LYFE!

1/13/2015 1:03:57 AM

Thanks for the tips! Definitely planning on checking out the lagoon, northern lights, and ridgeline as well as hanging out in the city. Now we're thinking we may shorten our time in London and stay 2 full days.

1/13/2015 1:47:14 PM

I asked what the must-see places are and this is how my friend responded:

Blue Lagoon
Gulfoss
Thingvellir

1/13/2015 2:59:45 PM

Sweet. Yeah Thingvellir is the best place to see the ridgeline and we definitely want to check out the falls.

1/13/2015 3:10:46 PM

Loved every minute of Iceland when I went. If you're doing the ring road it may be the single easiest trip to plan too.

It's hard to pick a favorite area as everything there is so interesting, but the area that comes to my mind first as a place with a few cool things was near Skaftafell. Ice climbing and walking on the glacier was awesome, and an easy hike to what I thought was the coolest waterfall there, Svartifoss. Also the basalt columns in Vic which are between Reykjavik and Skaftafell are awesome and a cool invesion of Svartifoss

Then again, Myvatn and the Snaefellxxx Peninsula were packed with crazy stuff too

Also don't speed...I got 1 speeding ticket on the road that was like $450 bucks and another one mailed to me after that I didn't pay. (Yes, you must pay your ticket right then and there. I offered to pay it later and he offered to take me to jail for the weekend. They take you back into their car to start)

1/13/2015 3:29:31 PM

FYI

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/01/amazing-deal-alert-iceland-for-99-each-way-london-for-205-each-way/

1/13/2015 4:17:05 PM

Quote :

"Quote : "don't rent from the cheapest rental car place" Why not?"

If you are planning on going on the ring road you need to make sure you get a decent car. I've read stories from people getting told they are okay to rent a cheap car, then ending up with huge fines when they return it.

Quote :

"I asked what the must-see places are and this is how my friend responded: Blue Lagoon Gulfoss Thingvellir"

You can knock out two of those three (plus see Geysir) with a Golden Circle tour. There are a ton of them, well worth doing. I would recommend if you are paying for a tour to try and sign up for a more guided tour instead of one of the big tour buses. We took one of the buses to the Blue Lagoon and it was fine for that, but seeing Gulfoss and Thingvellir with a local was a little more fun. Plus we went snowmobiling at the end. Well worth it.

Thingvellir was awesome though. Would love to see it in the winter.

1/13/2015 4:28:33 PM

What time of year did you guys travel? I've been wanting to go for a while, debating between trying to make it work for spring break (late March) or wait until I have the chance during summer.

1/13/2015 4:50:30 PM

My ladyfriend suggests Blue Lagoon & a restaurant called Sjavargrillid (sp?) She made a few other suggestions, but the names were causing my ears to hurt

1/13/2015 5:35:04 PM

We went the first week of August. No chance at the northern lights but super long days and great weather. Around 60 the whole week.

1/13/2015 7:54:47 PM

Yeah looking at the weather in Reykjavík it's not that cold there currently. For some reason I thought it'd be much colder for how north it is. We're really excited about being able to see the northern lights.

1/13/2015 8:27:36 PM

personally, i'm less concerned about cold and more concerned about ability to get around due to snow/ice. went to new zealand last July and that was a big worry, but kinda lucked out there.

1/13/2015 8:50:28 PM

In response to the cheap car...the car was in overall bad condition, very dented sounded liege it was about to die, lots of broken bits and pieces. The tires were not in good shape and the ice spikes were few and far between. We ended up hitting black ice which resulted in an upside down car in a ditch. Totaled. Apparenly it's common knowledge that the ground is often colder than the air (according to the police, ambulance driver and can driver which drove us back to town) which the rental company didn't mention. LUCKILY I rented the car with my Amex who refunded me the charge for totaling the car. I guess more importantly no one was seriously injured. Makes a good story after the fact....would go back in a second...but would rent a Subaru from a more reputable place. Would post a picture of flipped car but I always fuck up posting pictures somehow.

1/13/2015 8:52:00 PM

Yeah I'll look into a decent car. I drive on snow/ice almost every weekend in the winter so I'm not terribly worried about it.

1/13/2015 9:05:19 PM

Quote :

" I offered to pay it later and he offered to take me to jail for the weekend. They take you back into their car to start)"

i would've done jail time just to see how luxurious Scandinavian jails are.

1/13/2015 10:59:13 PM

Quote :

"Yeah I'll look into a decent car. I drive on snow/ice almost every weekend in the winter so I'm not terribly worried about it."

I've heard the issue isn't so much that you can or can't drive on the roads, it's that there are roads that you can be fined for driving on if you aren't using a 4WD car. Of course the signs aren't in English so you won't hear anything about it until you return your car and get a massive fine on your credit card.

Having said that, if you aren't making a full tour of the ring road I wouldn't worry about it. If you are renting a car just to get to the places closer to Reykjavik (golden circle, blue lagoon), etc, you might be better off just taking a bus. There are a lot of buses running to the main locations. I would definitely recommend hitting the Blue Lagoon early in the morning then go to their lunch buffet. Their is pretty decent variety and they usually have some whale so you can give it a taste. Also don't forget to stop by the hot dog stand by the harbor. It is probably the cheapest/best food you can get, and I don't even like hot dogs. Also a really good fish and chips place is near the harbor, we went there a couple times and the food is cheap. Keep in mind most of the other food is going to be prettttty expensive.

1/15/2015 8:27:15 AM

This thread has made me really, really want to go to Iceland.

Are those groupon deals legit, or will I wind up in some hostel in a ghost town?

1/15/2015 2:00:44 PM

I am not sure where you would be staying but the city is not very big, and neither is Iceland. As long as you are in Reykjavik you will be fine. Even if you are in a "bad" part of town you wouldn't be that far from the center of town. We spent a lot of time walking around and exploring the city and there really were not any areas that seemed crappy/run down.

1/15/2015 2:28:45 PM

There aren't a whole lot of hostels in Iceland actually. Most cheap lodging is people renting out rooms in houses. There's a fair amount of bathroom sharing and community space, but overall much nicer than the average hostel I've stayed in.

That said, I know nothing about the Groupon/Living Social deals, and it seems unlikely they'd have relationships with these smaller, independent guest houses I'm talking about

1/15/2015 2:30:53 PM

I took a brief look on AirBnb. There seem to be a lot of really nice places in town for under $125-150/night. Not bad at all.

1/15/2015 2:38:05 PM

i, too, will vouch for the golden circle tour. well worth it

1/15/2015 3:47:39 PM

^^^ I'd be willing to be the Groupon deals are in a hotel.

If you are trying to stay in the city you should definitely look at renting an apartment, instead of a hotel. We went with Apartment K. They were awesome, very accommodating and their rooms (we actually saw two - we got to stay in a family sized apartment our first night and then moved to a smaller one the next) were really nice. They were fairly cheap, and in the middle of the bar/restaurant area.

1/15/2015 3:58:33 PM

I'm sure they're not, I was mostly just illustrating that there aren't really even that many shady places in Iceland period, even if you do get a hostel or guest house

1/15/2015 4:09:18 PM

the icelandair hotel by the marina is pretty nice

outside of reykjavik we stayed in guesthouses/farmhouses that would rent out rooms and provide meals -- but we were there in july and drove the west coast, west fjords, and up to akureyi so there weren't a lot of hotels along the way

food is great in reykjavik, expensive but high quality (unlike my experience in other nordic countries where you pay a lot for the lower tier meals and it only goes up from there)

it's so touristy but the blue lagoon is completely worth it

have fun!

1/16/2015 3:52:52 AM

double post, sorry!

[Edited on January 16, 2015 at 3:57 AM. Reason : oops]

1/16/2015 3:54:53 AM

Drink this
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/01/13/iceland-brewer-promotes-whale-testicle-beer-yes-really

1/16/2015 10:48:08 AM

!!!

well isn't this timely...

http://thepointsguy.com/2015/01/amazing-deal-alert-iceland-for-99-each-way-london-for-205-each-way/

1/20/2015 1:55:39 PM

Yeah someone already posted that ITT a week ago. Good deal though!

1/20/2015 3:00:00 PM

oops sorry!

the more I think about going over there, the better of an idea it sounds like. especially if I can go soon and catch the Northern Lights (my main reason for going)

1/20/2015 3:19:35 PM

I've reached out to my friends about it but they either don't have the PTO or the money. I may just say fuck it and go by myself.

1/20/2015 3:28:21 PM

Psh, late to the party slappy

1/20/2015 3:38:28 PM

^SHOVE IT

1/20/2015 6:59:40 PM

Sky over Thingvellir, Iceland on Saturday night

3/2/2015 5:05:06 PM

Going over with my best friend Oct 15-22.

So stoked, but haven't planned anything solid yet. Have been reading a ton of blogs and recommendations from people. We're definitely getting a car. We want to do the ring road but we obviously won't have time to make it count, so I'm thinking a day or two in Reykjavic (with a day trip doing the Golden Circle, maybe a guided tour?), and then the rest spent exploring the south and southeast on the ring road?

We're both checking a bag - should we stuff them with beef jerky and PB? What did everyone do about SIM cards? What is the deal with the booze?

9/16/2015 12:49:35 AM

I'm so bummed. Me and the wife have been planning to Iceland for months (would have left on Friday ) but she got real sick and the doctor said she can't go. Already had everything paid for too.

From what I've read if you are going south from Reykjavik you should definitely check out Vik and the black sand beach. There are two really awesome waterfalls along the way too -- I can't remember their names (you prob already know how ridiculous some of the names get there) but they both begin with an S! Also there is that plane that got shot down. Also it appears food (at least in restaurants) and alcohol as very expensive so if you are trying to keep costs down take as much with you as you are legally able to.

9/16/2015 3:52:48 PM

I posted my suggestions for stuff to see between Reykjlakjsdf and Skaftafell above

For food you should definitely bring as much as you can. Beef jerky, pb&j, etc. Reykjskldfjj has some decent cheap but good food options, but once you get outside your options are generally fast food or expensive food that's not usually worth the price. Lots of lamb and fish

9/16/2015 4:32:26 PM