|
Im going to head to Iceland for a week at the end of March. Can I use American Express easily there and how far out should I plan any activities I want to do? Are there any activities that I NEED to do?
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2016 03:09
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 04:36 |
|
|
Have a hotel in Reykjavik and was hoping to do tours from there Not overly concerned about a budget. If I absolutely need a car I can rent one. Was looking to go hiking/ice climbing.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2016 15:34
|
|
|
Ah that makes sense. I was trying to avoid driving in the winter in another country but renting a car for a couple days sounds like it would be best. I really wanted to do a glacier hike, will be checking around for that on Monday.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2016 18:47
|
|
|
Yeah it doesn't look too bad. Just need to find a pair of insulated hiking boots I guess. Anything else in particular I need to bring or think of? Do most places provide equipment, snowshoes, helmets, whatever?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2016 00:23
|
|
|
I have a lighter snow pant I use for snowboarding on warmer days but I brought an even lighter shell as well. Did not get a chance to find insulated hiking boots so I will either have to buy there or deal without. Extremely excited about this now, will post on how it goes when I'm done.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2016 03:40
|
|
|
Had a pretty successful week. Have one more day tomorrow but nothing planned so probably grab food and kick back around Reykjavik, check out a museum or two. All of Whips advice has been spot on. Got in early Saturday and wandered around Reykjavik before crashing at the hotel. Partied with some Irish chicks that night. Got up a little late Sunday and grabbed a rental car and went on a northern lights tour, got to see them and get that out of the way. Monday was a drive out to Snaefellsjokull and a hike. Tuesday was a partial drive around Thingvellir and down toward Skogafoss. Wednesday we explored a bit more around the Golden Circle and then hit up the Blue Lagoon. Thursday was probably the best day even if it was just a drive to Jokulsarlon and back. Skaftafell, Jokulsarlon and the country was just amazing. Today we did went snorkeling in Safila. So I didn't really plan well or know what I was doing and wasted a bunch of time and opportunity. It's also a little tricky with the transition from winter to summer. Spend a day in Reykjavik, grab a car and head east. Keep an eye on the weather, Iceland has a page dedicated to the northern lights you can keep an eye on to figure out when and where to go. Skip a tour and just go in the car. There are a couple things you should get tours for simply due to local knowledge, safety and equipment. Glacier tours, snorkeling or scuba diving, caves. Also try to get reservations at the Blue Lagoon when you are going to be in Reykjavik. Just go for the cheap option, the fancy stuff just gives you a locker and a towel and robe you will lose in 5 minutes. Also schedule any other tours you want to take as they can fill up quickly. Driving around is actually one of the most enjoyable things just because there's so much to see and the countryside is amazing. Make sure to stop at whatever roadside local restaurant you see for usually all you can eat lamb stew and bread. The bread is also amazing as it always tastes like it was just baked and is never sourdough. That's all I can think of, I could have saved a bunch of money and done more if I had planned it a little better but I'm pretty happy with it all things considered. Very worth it.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2016 01:10
|
|
|
It's still there but they have all sorts of construction on the blocks next to it. There were huge lines at all times except early in the morning. Icelanders love their hotdogs! Also found an awesome bakery that has no indication outside or on the Internet that it exists. I was just lucky enough to walk by when there were fresh rolls in the window and a line out the door. It looked like it had been ransacked by gluten vampires or something, there weren't many options and another line of people waiting for the next batch to come out. I got lucky because within the hour everything was gone. We usually skipped American food for Icelandic if possible. Breakfast was usually bread, cheese and some meat. Maybe an egg and skyr. They don't understand omelets. It also takes a lot of effort to find anything before about 1100. I am so ready to go home to not 32F with the most vicious wind I've ever experienced. Even AK in the winter didn't feel as cold.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2016 21:28
|
|
|
They were just hot dogs. Cheap. Most of the stuff I've had has been pretty high quality or made with some effort so I haven't had too much that was bad. The coffee has been really good. The worst part was always only having enough time for one cup before having to rush off.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2016 12:30
|
|
|
What he said. You are probably getting in in the 5-7 range and check in is around 1400 so getting the Blue Lagoon and that peninsula out of the way is a good start. You can also check out Reykjavik, grab food and see the sights and museums. We ran around in a Chevy Spark, no F road access but it's transitioning to spring and there are still winter conditions. We didn't have a problem for the most part. If you get off the main road, the smaller country roads can be a mix of asphalt and gravel with large potholes everywhere so if you intend to get off the main highway get the chip insurance. Aside from Reykjavik cops aren't very common, we saw one heading in to Vik and he didn't bother pulling anyone over, just flashed his lights if people were going too fast. They have speed cameras, most of the ones we saw were on the way to Snaefellsjokull. There was one on 1 to Jokulsarlon closer to Reykjavik so I think we spent most of the trip going 90 or so. If you really want to get to the Highlands I think there might be some multi day tours that might be the way to go or at least consider. I would base the decision off of time, if you have time to do the whole exterior with some days left over I would check it out, otherwise don't worry too much about it.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2016 03:00
|
|
|
That's a total trap! They put whatever grade they want on their roads and that thing feels like it's going straight down. Got lucky on that one, gotta be going within 10-20 km of the speed limit so you can slow if you see the camera sign.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2016 04:22
|
|
|
Half the pictures I took weren't of any extreme must see landmark but just pulling off at the side of the road and taking pictures of some small waterfall or amazing scenery if that helps. I don't think you will lose either way though.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2016 17:30
|
|
|
64.143537,-21.868167 It's on Frakkastigur, between the church and Laugavegur just up from the red store. There's no signs.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 9, 2016 16:18
|
|
|
The south, including Reykjavik and the Golden Circle, can be done in 2-3 days. What will take time are any scheduled tours you want to do. Get a hotel in Reykjavik for a couple days and then pick somewhere on the other side before going north. Pick out anything special and then run around and avoid tour groups. You need to book hotel rooms. The island is pretty small, I saw the whole south from Reykjavik. It's just not easy and a hotel outside would have been much better. Breakfast is bread (excellent), meat, cheese and skyr, standard European breakfast. Lunch, whatever sandwich, skyr or bars you find at a hotel or gas station. Dinner, lamb stew and bread, fish, beef or lamb. The fish was excellent, lamb soup at many places was all you could eat with bread, totally worth it. I wasted a lot of time with poor planning and a suboptimal hotel location but still had a blast and accomplished most of what I wanted so don't stress too much. Edit: The food was excellent everywhere, you will be missing out trying to buy for a week in Reykjavik. Grab some loaves of bread and butter at least. Coffee was good too, I really miss it. Hirse is good too. Food and water is extremely high quality. The part I wasn't expecting was the large amount of graffiti and there is quite a bit of litter scattered around, especially the tourist areas. lightpole fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Apr 10, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Apr 10, 2016 00:23
|
|
|
Have to schedule at the Blue Lagoon. Glaciers and ice caves are pretty cool, you might want to consider them. Snorkeling in Thingvellir was a kinda expensive and cheesy tourist thing but it was actually pretty awesome. Quite a few hikes should be doable but there are some that would probably be better with a guide. It's only 5 hours from Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon to give you an idea, plus the days will be long. You just don't want to have to drive 10 hours round trip and rush too much. lightpole fucked around with this message at 19:13 on Apr 10, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Apr 10, 2016 19:10
|
|
|
Duty free for liquor. The beer was great so go hog wild and I think there were at least 4 local brewers. I limited my drinking to maximize my time doing things. It's easy to buy drinks, just not cheap. If you are out and about and want to buy a bottle of beer somewhere you might have to plan since there aren't many places that carry anything but restaurants do so plan accordingly. lightpole fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Apr 14, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Apr 14, 2016 16:04
|
|
|
They have snorkeling there as well. It's a real cheesy, touristy thing to do but at the same time it was pretty awesome and you at least get a taste.
|
|
#
¿
May 3, 2016 01:58
|
|
|
We did a lot of driving and the scenery was awesome the whole way, I don't feel like too much of the time in the car was wasted time.
|
|
#
¿
May 16, 2016 17:28
|
|
|
It's only 5 hours from Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon, more like 4 since you should be driving pretty fast. Add in a couple hours of stopping to check poo poo out though. Not ideal by far but doable if necessary.
|
|
#
¿
May 24, 2016 20:34
|
|
|
Even off peak times fill up for certain things and major attractions. If there's anything must see on your list try to plan ahead a little.Pablo Gigante posted:I just booked a four day trip at the beginning of my vacation this summer, end of July/beginning of August (going to Northern Ireland to visit family and then to England). Staying in Reykjavik but I'm renting a car so I can take day trips. I would love to see more of the country but that's what return trips are for right? Cover the whole south coast from Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon. If you start from Reykjavik plan to be in the car for maybe 12 hours to get there and back but you should cover most of it. There are day trips to hike Skaftafell out of Reykjavik if necessary but anything further east pretty much requires you to grab a hotel over there. You can make it with a car and leaving early but I wouldn't recommend it. Most of the closer stuff has transportation as well but driving there is much better. lightpole fucked around with this message at 06:27 on May 29, 2016 |
|
#
¿
May 29, 2016 06:25
|
|
What are some good day trips from the city
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 04:36 |
|
|
WOW was the cheapest option with an actual direct flight as opposed to waiting around JFK for a day for me. I didn't have any problems in Keflavik either. The airline did lose my buddies checked bag and I didn't get him the hotel address like I should have so that was a bit of a pain but everything else was easy aside from the terrible terminal set up. I don't remember what he flew but it wasn't WOW.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 2, 2016 10:03
|
|