I am off to the land of Johann’s upbringing in October for 6 days. Has anyone on here been? Any must dos?
Definitely going Whale watching and to the blue lagoon. Hoping to see the northern lights, but going with the view of I probably won’t and if I do it is a huge bonus.
Over to you well-travelled people
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Another tip if you are hiring a car upgrade your insurance to be fully inclusive. Their idea of a B road is not the same as yours
Definitely go to the blue Lagoon and Geiser.
There was also a very small airport from Reykjavík are you can hire a plane to take you to the Westmann islands. It's like a taxi service in a small Cessna but well worth the trip if you want to do something little bit different
If you've got a day with nothing booked, there doesn't tend to be a lot to do...
We had Northern Lights booked for 1 day and it got cancelled so struggled to fill the day up.
Definitely do the Golden Circle Tour (includes everything you need to see), Blue Lagoon and Northern Lights.
Enjoy, it's a very friendly place.
At midday we sat down on the rocks, in the rain, a good 8 degrees above freezing and out came the picnic. Drink was Aquavit, I'd already got the taste for this, just as well given it's the only spirit anyone seems to drink. Too bad if you hate the taste of caraway seeds.
For starters we had a whole fillet of dried cod. By dried I mean dried. The texture of wooden splinters held together by Araldite that gradually breaks down after 5 minutes of chewing so you can start swallowing. This was accompanied by cold boiled potatoes.
The main course was a thick steak size piece of raw whale meat, with mouthfuls of Aquavit I was able to swallow without noticeably gagging.
Third course was cubes of fermented raw shark. Sharks do not urinate, their waste fluid seeps through their skin, so after six months of being buried in the ground before being dug up and prepared for the table, the exquisite aroma of stale urine, which is pure ammonia, gives the shark a piquancy matched only by the best quality toilet cleaner. I said it tasted a bit strong and was told that's because I wasn't drinking enough Aquavit!!!
So great people and you will have a great time, but have an excuse ready, like "I'm sticking needles in my eyes tonight", when invited for a feast of traditional Icelandic fare.
Whale watching - 'Elding' are one of the main companies, we went with them and they were great, really good!
Northern Lights trip - I planned to propose to my now fiance under the northern lights which meant I had a lot riding on actually seeing them... but when we got back to our hotel mid-afternoon they told us all trips were cancelled as it was too cloudy! Turns out that ours was actually the only trip that was still running in all of Reykjavic... I wasn't too hopeful! Our tour guide (Lionel) was bonkers but really good fun & put a lot of effort into the trip. He ended up taking us about an hour & a half out of Reykjavic and eventually found a gap in the clouds so we got to see the lights. It meant we ran well over time and didn't get back to the hotel until 1:30am, but it was great that we had a tour that put so much effort in, when all other tours cancelled at the earliest opportunity. The company was called 'Time Tours', was reasonably well priced and ask for Lionel if you can! P.S. she said yes!
Enjoy mate, but be prepared to spend £££
I've been there just the twice so far, few things;
Rent yourself a car, cabs are very very expensive. Of course if you are drinking then grab a cab.
Stay as close to 'downtown' as possible, by downtown, the central part of Reykjavik. This is very friendly during the day, also there's a lovely little tourist centre on the main 'strip' called 'whats.on' with some lovely people there that love to speak English and help you out. Then at night it turns into an amazing nightlife, they start their drinking a lot later than us English, and they party through the night until 4-5AM, the Icelandic people really come out their shell after a few drinks, same with most Nordic people - it's fascinating.
Feel free to ask for any more info, I can even put you in the direction of one of the owners at Whatson (http://www.whatson.is/)
If you are a thrill seeker and happy to travel, for the fright/ride of your life - http://vikingrafting.is/ . It's a bit out in the wilderness but the workers are happy to help you out with accommodation nearby, you can rent amazing shalet's nearby for cheap as chips. There's nothing like being out in a place like this, sitting in the hot tub, looking up at the sky (If you're going to get lucky with the Northern Lights this is your best shout) with a beer in hand. One of lifes 'WOW' moments.
Lastly, expect to spend a fair amount of Iceland Krona - it's expensive, they get paid well, they are happy to spend hundreds (of pounds) on a night out, and plenty on eating well when out.
Enjoy your trip.
http://chicagoaddick.blogspot.com/2006/04/reykjavik.html
I rented a car and drove the whole south coast. Start with golden Circle, the black beaches at Vic, wonderful nature reserve Skaftafell and the breath taking glacier Lagoon. On the road you will see waterfalls, volcanos, Icelandic horses and lava fields. blue lagoon is great just after or before the flight but the big swimming pool in Reykjavic is much cheaper and has warm pools as well.
Loved every minute.
You know that you'll only get four or five hours daylight, right?
Was so lucky that when we arrived and went on the northern lights tour that night there was no clouds perfect weather.
Went whale watching with Elding but didn't see any plenty of dolphins though.
Golden circle tour is recommend also did snowmobiling which is quite extreme but fun.
It is very expensive but found that most pubs/bars do have a happy hour where you can get good offers on drinks/food usually early evening.
Icelandic lamb is just amazing. Hotdog, sandwich and soup just couldn't get enough of it.
Beautiful and Friendly.
Strange comment. I love the place ... and Finland too. I worked in Oulu, so I know exactly what it's like in Winter.
But I thought it might be a good idea to point out the lack of daylight to the OP.
Foolish of me.