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Iceland for 2 weeks
Bubby
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey everyone, so I'm planning on going to Iceland for two weeks with my Mom starting October 1st. For anyone who's been, is two weeks enough time to see the best the place has to offer? Should I extend it to three weeks? I've heard Reykjavik is the most expensive, but also near a lot of awesome places. I was planning on renting a car and driving to different hostels/hotels after spending a few nights there. Anyway, if anyone has any tips or experiences to share I'd be appreciative.
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Do make sure to follow the news on Volcanic activity - it looks a bit troublesome at the moment and flying in and out could become a issue.
'In Iceland, there's a pretty girl waiting for you behind every tree'
(Two weeks should be plenty. Iceland is beautiful! Have a great trip!)
Alas, there are very few trees.
Bring warm clothing! The weather isn't super cold, but biting gale force winds are common.
Icelanders are odd people. Lots of them are really nice but they're all a little weird.
And yeah everything costs a lot there, with the difference ranging from "dang that's a bit steep for a burger" to "jesus, is this calculator working because that can't possibly be right". Remember that just about everything is imported. Want some fries with your Holabattur hotdog? Well those potatoes were shipped in from Europe. As was the hotdog. As was the bun. As were the onions, the ketchup and the goddamb paper tray it's served on. The only things that Iceland produces are fish, sheep, moss, hydroelectricty and strange people.
If you like to drink (I do!), make sure to buy some alcohol on the inbound duty free shop at the airport: there's no tax or duty whatsoever on the products there and you can buy a couple of bottles of good booze pretty cheap, and by that I mean at about 1/4 the price you'll pay the minute you step through the customs zone of the airport. Missing out on that is considered a schoolboy error by the Icelandics.
Speaking of burgers, IMO the best are in a little bar which is just up the road from the Aurum shop on Bankstraeti (or however it's spelled man I don't know). It's like a little bar downstairs and you go upstairs and it's also a tiny cafe with an even smaller bar. But the burgers there are pretty decent. It's on the right hand side of the road as you're walking up the hill. The people in there are always pretty cool and the beer is decent (most icelandic beer is mediocre at best). hell if I can remember the name of that bar, it begins with a 'P' and it's really cool in an oldschool way.
- The "Golden Circle" is going to be near or at the top of any must-see list you read, but just in case: definitely go see Gulfoss, the Strokkur geysir, and Thingvellir national park.
- Also, the Blue Lagoon. So relaxing... Quick tip for that: Since the majority of US-bound flights apparently take off in the late afternoon / early evening, you can get a combo deal from the local tour companies where they will shuttle you from Reykjavik to the lagoon, you'll get admission to the lagoon for the day, and then you can get shuttled to the airport afterward for your return flight, all while the tour company cares for your luggage. I definitely recommend it... It was really great to be nice and relaxed for that long flight back.
- Speaking of the airport, just in case you weren't aware the airport is a good 30-40 miles away from Reykjavik, so be aware of that if your rental car company is in the city.
- The natural beauty of Iceland is definitely the main draw, but I would still recommend taking a day to walk around Reykjavik if your schedule permits. It's a small city by American standards, but I thought it was quite charming. Lots of neat little buildings and murals tucked away in odd places. Take a closer look at Hallgrimskirkja, which is the incredibly tall church which is almost impossible to not notice. You can pay a relatively modest fee to go to the top and get an incredible view of the entire city.
- If you're interested in museums, the National Museum is not terrible. It's got some neat stuff, like the first bible printed in Icelandic and a collection of drinking horns. If you like archaeology, you could visit Reykjavik 871+/- 2. That's a small exhibit featuring an excavation of a building from the early settlement of Iceland (though I'm not entirely clear if it's recreation or not). Finally, I wouldn't really recommend the Maritime Museum, unless you're very interested in the subject. These are all in Reykjavik, btw.
- Outside of that, I would just generally recommend getting a good close look at a volcano and a glacier, and be sure to enjoy one or more of the hot springs (Blue Lagoon was my favorite, but there are more natural and less commercialized springs if you prefer).
- For restaurants, I went to Iceland alone so I didn't really partake in any particularly fine dining, but two establishments did make a good impression on me. The first was Cafe Loki, which is within spitting distance of the Hallgrimskirkja church (try the rye bread ice cream, I don't think you'll be disappointed). The second was the imaginatively named Icelandic Fish and Chips, which is in the Reykjavik harbor area.
Hope you have fun there! Iceland is a really neat place.