Iceland, who's been?

[Winder]

Unfortunately :) I am getting married at the end of May and to make the ordeal more bearable we have decided on visiting Iceland for our honeymoon. I have always wanted to visit Iceland since I was a young'un because my teacher used to go there every year to see his wife's family and he told us all about it.

Anyhow, I have long forgotten all his ramblings and times have changed, so......... If any of you have been to Iceland (in the summer months, we fly on 25th of May) could you please let me know the pros, cons and recommendations from your trip? I can't handle much more trip advisor.

Thank you

[DJ123]

Watch out for Peter Andre, that's my advice.

[Winder]

The other half asked the same question on Facebook so I'm expecting the "Peter Andre goes every week!" and "Avoid the chocolate gateau!" etc etc etc. But, can we limit that to the first 20 replies or something so I get some useful info?

Cheers

[DJ123]

The other half asked the same question on Facebook so I'm expecting the "Peter Andre goes every week!" and "Avoid the chocolate gateau!" etc etc etc. But, can we limit that to the first 20 replies or something so I get some useful info?

Cheers



Which part of Iceland are you going to? Or will that be more of a base with the aim to explore the whole island?

[Winder]

The plan is to drive the ring road starting and ending in Reykjavik.
Where to stop and stay, what to do and see and where to eat and drink are the sort of ideas/experiences we are looking for.

[Kenzie]

Will follow this with interest as we have always wanted to visit.

[NTECUK]

My wife and son went with the scouts.
They had a great time. The people are freindly but thier English is colorful!
They went on explorations of the glaciers.
Boat trip to see the minky Wales.
The hot springs and blue lagoon were great.
She did say that the water does have a eggy smell.
You have to try Rancid Shark and there Skyr.
They went in August and it's hotter than you think

[maviczap]

Whale watching, Orca's & other sorts

I'd go just for that.

Bit early for the Northern Lights, but maybe. Another reason I'd go.

There's the worlds largest underground cave to see I think

Live volcano's

[Littlepeahead]

I quite fancy visiting so will also enjoy this thread.

Didn't the Dwarves defeat the Orcas with the help of the Elves? I'm sure that's what I watched at the Odeon last week.

[Amadeus]

I went in 1985 when it was a lot less set up for tourism than it is now.

I like geology so liked it.
Was only 3 places on the island where you could buy alcohol - that's changed now.
It's expensive - a pizza was £25.
Rained quite a lot, especially in Reykjavik.
Their forest is **** - it's a load of bushes.
I came back smelling of sulphur - all the hot water was natural.
They eat lots of fish so make sure you like seafood.

[Ch00]

I have been but it was on a cruise ship.

Two main places we went to were Reykjavik and Akureyri.

We had a day coach trip from Reykjavik and the Golden Circle Tour along the lines of http://daytours.nordicvisitor.com/iceland/golden-circle-tours/the-golden-circle-classic/219/

Geysir about to blow

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd86/Ch00ie/DSC_0774.jpg (http://s227.photobucket.com/user/Ch00ie/media/DSC_0774.jpg.html)

Overlooking Reykjavik at night

http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd86/Ch00ie/DSC_0836.jpg (http://s227.photobucket.com/user/Ch00ie/media/DSC_0836.jpg.html)


We also went whale watching which I wouldn't bother with. Iceland hunt whales and funny enough they don't like boats and give them a wide berth. There are better places in the world to see them.

If your going to drive around the island be aware that a lot of their roads are gravel even the main roads once out of the towns. Due to the extra tourism they are slowly tarmacking the main ring road. 4x4 is a must and stone chips would be a nightmare make sure your have taken out the extra cover if hiring.

Its not the cheapest place to visit but it is very pretty. People were nice and happy to speak try there English on you.

Northern lights happen all year round but as they have midnight sun in the summer you can see them!

We went June 2013.

[shiftin_gear98]

Always wanted to go to Iceland, looking for top tips.


With regard to whale watching, having done this off the coast of New Zealand I wouldn't bother again.
Yes whales are amazing, but they also hold their breath for about 45 mins!
Which when you are bobbing up and down on a stationary boat with the engine off so as not to bother them.
Get's quite nauseous.
When they do finally surface the boats all rush as near as they are allowed, which in my case was about 100 metres away. So you get to see a black log floating on the water for 2 mins. A quick tail shot which is great if your boat is situated at the right angle, and you have a £5000 image stabilizing zoom lens.
And then more bobbing, for another 45 mins wait. Out for 4 hours saw 3 logs. Felt quite sick.


Ramble over.

[Essex of Essex]

I spent a few weeks one winter, very cold and very expensive, lovely people and I'd love to go back and spend some time away from the airport.

[Mark_h]

Didn't Jammy go last year? He'll tell you all the best bars to pick up sailors.

[Winder]

Their forest is **** - it's a load of bushes.

Is that in Reykjavik? She is wanting to go to some forest or nature reserve.

Thanks for the other tips. Never thought about road conditions (gravel) as mentioned so maybe the Google maps timings for the road trips are a bit optimistic. That could SERIOUSLY mess up the trip.

Whale watching seems like hit and miss from the research I've done so far.
I fancy glacier walks and ice climbing if anyone has any experience of those?

To those also thinking of going from the few days research I have done I can tell you it is shockingly expensive!

Any other experiences and good to know info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[Sv650lee]

Our friends live there, basic rules are :
1) never ever insult Iceland
2) never ever insult Iceland
Stick by this and you will enjoy the most beautiful place on earth with the best people ever!
Take a day out kayaking too👍


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Amadeus]

I think it was some way from Reykjavik. The bushes were about chest height, not tree like. I'm a nature fan but there wasn't much there - much more in other areas (bird life on coasts). Oh I picked up a load of skulls in Iceland, herring gull, razorbill and something else. When a bird died near cliffs, it seems that ther are very few predators or scavengers. Something your other half may like.

[NTECUK]

The scouts had allot of organised trips. Big 4x4 one of which broke a steering arm.
So it can be expensive

Iceland 2011 Dancing Video (watch in HD): http://youtu.be/VRaQ7GibuBo

[Ch00]

I priced up a 4 day weekend and I couldn't get it under £1000 for the Mrs and me.

[keith_d]

Iceland is on my list of places to visit in the summer. High on my list of things to do is diving in Þingvellir, the lake on a tectonic plate boundary.

A few years back one of my friends went, she took a decent amount of money with her and came back with a large credit card bill. Just about everything except fish is imported so it's jolly expensive there.

If you go I'd be interested to hear how you get on,

Keith.

[Winder]

basic rules are :
1) never ever insult Iceland
2) never ever insult Iceland


I'll keep my opinions of Bjork to myself then!

[Drew Carey]

Haven't posted in eons but here's my thoughts on our trip to Iceland.

Lily and I went there a couple of years ago. We spent 4nights staying at a city centre hotel in Reykjavik called "City Center Hotel" (original name I know!!!). It was ideal as its right next to the majority of restaurants, cafe's (plus an Irish pub!!) etc.

The food whilst very expensive is amazing. We ate at a number of more reasonably priced restaurants - best of which was "Icelandic Fish and Chips" which was far from what we get in the UK and the food was amazing!!

We also ate at a very expensive restaurant called www.sjavargrillid.com which was some of the best food we have ever eaten whilst travelling. It is comparable with most Michelin starred food in the UK.

In terms of excursions, we booked everything through the main tour operator who are based at the bus station. Depending on the time of year you go will depend what you get to see. We went at Easter, which enabled us to see;

1. Nothern Lights bus trip. Easter is about the latest that you can see the NLs due to the near permanent daylight they have setting in from spring. Some others in the hotel had gone three nights in a row (as if you don't see any they allow you to return again at no extra cost). However, on our first night there we witnessed some brilliant displays.

100% you MUST take a DSLR and learn how to setup it up for taking pictures of them in advance. To the human eye they are very hard to see - but what looked like a whispery cloud to the human eye - magically turned into green shapes accross the night sky when taken on a DSLR.

2. Whale watching, again seasonal as they are rarely visible in winter. Most of the time you would see Minky whales. However, we were again very lucky, we witnessed a family of Humpback whales which had returned for spring. They were eating fish that were harbouring in and around our boat.

One word of caution the boat trip consists of a trip by coach first to one pininsular, with a boat trip then back to the capital - its long and can be very rough!!!! :smt078

One of the key things I learnt on the whale trip is around the culling of whales for whale meat. Everyone believes its a regular staple of the Icelandic diet - it no longer is and hasnt been for sometime now. The trade is now approx 90% entirely to satisfy the tourism that comes to the island. Hence for us we are pleased we did not try any of the icelandic specialist dishes in restaurants etc - especially having seen whales in the sea so close by!!.

3. Our third trip was the "Golden Circle" tour. Which encompasses a brilliant trip by coach to see many of the best sites in Iceland, wont list them all, can see them here;

http://www.icelandexcursions.is/tour/day_tours/AH11_golden_circle_afternoon_tour/Iceland.is

The highlight on the Golden Circle Tour was the national park at Þingvellir. Natural water and lakes filtered through volcanic rock that is incredibly deep - yet feels like you could touch the bottom it is that clear.

The people are amazing and we would 100% go back again, in fact I would like to go back for 2 reasons. 1. To hire a car and do as much of a circle of the island as possible. 2. To go back in the depths of Winter and do some of the Extreme Glacial walks etc that they do.

The people are lovely and when you put aside the cost to shop etc its an amazing place. If based in Reykjavik you really don't need a car. The entire city centre can be walked in about 30mins.

Hope you enjoy no matter when you go and what you do. Stunning place.

[Winder]

Cheers Drew, loads of really useful info in there. The more info you guys send my way and the more research I do on line the more I look forward to it. The flights are now booked but everything else is just ideas on paper.
Thanks again

[NTECUK]

Yes Sarah loved the golden circle tour.

[Matt-EUC]

Yes Sarah loved the golden circle tour.


Tehehe.