Iceland - Been there?

Jaden

I'm reading to Reykjavik for 3 night in April. Has anyone ever been?

I'm looking for on the ground experience of what to do, where to go, what to try, and what to avoid.....

the corpo

iceland rocks

though i remember very little of it, damn booze

most nighlife activity happens around the high street in reykjavic and is pretty easy to find. most of the bars should be as much fun as each other. i forget the name of the damon albarn owned one but its prob the most popular.
what days are you heading there though? icelanders only go out on fridays and saturdays so the week is pretty dead. be prepared for an insane weekend though, and take note of the fact that the locals don't usually head out til around midnight and stay out til at least 6 or so.
also, say a prayer for your wallet, booze is unbelievably pricey there. grand rokk can be good for gigs.

make sure you go to the blue lagoon too, and have a couple of hours to enjoy it. utterly spectacular. the gallery and the market by the harbour are pretty great too.

you should also stock up on some Malt and Apelsen, the local soft drinks. they're delicious. for the traditional icelandic chistmas drink you should mix them together

and don't eat any putrified shark.

ToxicPaddy

Originally posted by the corpo
and don't eat any putrified shark.

Dare i ask??????????????

:eek:

yellum

Rotted Shark is a delicacy and very hard to find. Basically they get some shark meat and leave it in a plastic bag to rot and ferment, The thing is the urea in the sharks skin pickles it. Its very good for the stomach.

Are you going with Wallace Travel ? Staying in the Loftleider ? Thats what I did.

The Loftleider is about 30 mins walk from the City Centre Depending on which way you go. Reykjavik is small though and any of the tourist maps that they give out will help you around.

Bring lots and lots of cash. Everything is expensive. Beer is €8 a pint and a can of coke will set you back €3.

I'd go on the day tour that brings you to see the Geisers and a lot of the sites such as the waterfalls and the site of the first parliament. If you want to see the photos I took let me know and I'll send you the link. Its a beautiful country and I'll probably head over there again in the next year or two.

Try and go to the Pearl Restaurant too. Its a dome on the top of 4 old water tanks that overlooks the city. The dome is made of glass and revolves. Be warned though that a main course can cost up to 50 quid but it might be the best meal you'll ever have. Go about an hour before twlight so you get to see the whole area before it gets dark and then when it gets dark too.

The jeep tour is crap, well it was when I went as there was no snow, but when there is snow they nearly stick to the main roads so its boring most times of the year.

Do try and go on a Whale seeing tour. I didn't but a girl on our tour did and she said it was stunning.

Go on a Northern Lights tour too. Its weather dependent though and we didn't see much at all because the moon was out and drowned out everything.

Iceland is very cultural and there are some really good art galleries and museums.

Nightlife starts after midnight and goes until 6a, as was stated. I went into a bar at 10pm and it was empty and I thought that the locals were dead boring and I went away at midnight. My mistake. They like to party and like to get utterly shit-faced. They have good english too, thank god because their language is very hard to grasp.

Try some of the local spirits too. Blackdeath isn't bad. The Icelanders dress very well too when they go out and you'll see people in the best designer gear available.

It does get cold, but only outdoors. Indoors you'll be roasting. Oh and get used to the smell of sulphur from the water.

Get to see the Blue Lagoon Spa too. Its a manmade lagoon filled with enriched hot water. Its really warm and the water is really good for you. It could be -5 out and the water is a nice 30-80 degrees depending on where you are in the lagoon.

If you have any other questions let me know.

rubberduckey

Hi,

Just wondering what operator/travel agency organises weekend trips to Iceland??

Thanks in advance