~~ Iceland megathread ~~

cdeb

Are tents an option?

I'd also keep a close eye on the weather forecasts. If it's to be rainy one day and sunny the next, use the rainy day to explore Reykjavik (if you're going to), and do, say, the Golden Circle on the sunny day. You'd just about manage the latter on the day of arrival if needs be, assuming you're getting the 11:55 flight.

Mr.Prodston

Hector Savage wrote: »

WE are going for a week in September (4-11) .. because its short we were thinking of Golden Circle/Blue lagoon + a trip to Jokulsarlon to see the glacier there.

Should we stay in a few different places along the Golden circle route or can you use one place as your base there ?
obviously we would stay in a place close to Jokulsarlon for that part of the trip ...

A few of us stayed in Hof 1 back in 2015. I don't know what prices are like but it's in a great location if you're set on Jokulsarlon, albeit right in the middle of nowhere. It's only about 10 minutes past the Skaftafell Glacier too.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/is/hof-1-hotel.html

Just a name anyway if you're looking for somewhere.

I'd stock up on a few snacks etc too if you're heading past Vik, shops weren't exactly plentiful, nor restaurants/cafes.

We went for a week spent 2 nights in Reykavik, 1 in Selfoss, 2 in Hof, 1 in Vik and back to Reykjavik for our last night. It kind of broke up the travelling and made sure we were able to stop in places.

bren2001

Heading to Iceland next week and flicked through the thread. I'm just wondering about bringing ISK, while I understand Iceland is pretty much a plastic culture, are there not crazy charges for using your debit card constantly? or are you better off using a credit card?

crosstownk

bren2001 wrote: »

Heading to Iceland next week and flicked through the thread. I'm just wondering about bringing ISK, while I understand Iceland is pretty much a plastic culture, are there not crazy charges for using your debit card constantly? or are you better off using a credit card?

I was there for a week last year. No need for cash. I used both credit and debit cards (mostly credit) and don't recall any charges.

The only charge I incurred was for withdrawing cash on the debit card at the airport. I still had most of this cash left at the end of the week and used it for refilling the rental car and food just to get rid of it.

Plastic all the way. Cards are accepted everywhere even remote places.

Alun

crosstownk wrote: »

Plastic all the way. Cards are accepted everywhere even remote places.

Yes, plastic including contactless, or even Android Pay, are accepted everywhere. We even paid for our hotdogs at the famous stand in Reykjavik with it. In fact I don't think I saw anyone local use cash at all, I don't even know what the money looks like!

BailMeOut

+1 on using plastic. I too took out cash at the airport when I arrived and had all of it still in my wallet when I departed.

cdeb

Be wary of tracking your expenses if you go the credit card route. It is quite expensive, and arguably handing over cash is the best way to keep that in mind. I paid E21 for a pint (singular!) - exceptional, granted, but it happens. Easy to get a big credit card bill if you just lash out the plastic.

Realtine

What was the average daily spend?
Im heading in november part of a party of four and our accommodation, tours and stuff is booked and paid for in advance but food and sundries, drinks and nights out aren't?
usually when we go away we have a kitty but it seems this isn't practical this time, partly due to the fact that we won't be able to get krona in advance - but we'll be there for 5 nights and I really don't have a clue what amount I should be aiming for.
Any suggestions anyone?
ta.

cdeb

It depends, is the predictable answer.

Plan on E12 a pint and keep an eye out for happy hours in Reykjavik, when it can go as low as 7 quid.

A chipper is about twenty quid. That's the cheapest option you'll find for dinner. A nice meal in a restaurant could start at fifty.

Self-catering in a Netto would save a lot. But it is pricey.

dmm82

Realtine wrote: »

What was the average daily spend?
Im heading in november part of a party of four and our accommodation, tours and stuff is booked and paid for in advance but food and sundries, drinks and nights out aren't?
usually when we go away we have a kitty but it seems this isn't practical this time, partly due to the fact that we won't be able to get krona in advance - but we'll be there for 5 nights and I really don't have a clue what amount I should be aiming for.
Any suggestions anyone?
ta.

We managed to stick to our usual holiday budget of around €100 each a day. We brought some food over with us and did a little grocery shop in their budget supermarket "bonus" when we arrived and had breakfast everyday in our room. We then packed rolls and snacks to bring with us each day and ate out everynight. Just check the menus of restaurants before you go in so you know what prices to expect. We made good use of the happy hours too and had a few late nights out, some great pubs over there Download the appy hour app it's dead handy. Like you, we had paid for all of our excursions before we went so all of our spending money was for food/ drink/ a little bit of shopping.
Oh and as a late night snack the icelandic hot dogs are lovely and only around a fiver each

Sorting our own breakfast and lunch helped a lot as we could treat ourselves each night then

Realtine

dmm82 wrote: »

We managed to stick to our usual holiday budget of around €100 each a day. We brought some food over with us and did a little grocery shop in their budget supermarket "bonus" when we arrived and had breakfast everyday in our room. We then packed rolls and snacks to bring with us each day and ate out everynight. Just check the menus of restaurants before you go in so you know what prices to expect. We made good use of the happy hours too and had a few late nights out, some great pubs over there Download the appy hour app it's dead handy. Like you, we had paid for all of our excursions before we went so all of our spending money was for food/ drink/ a little bit of shopping.
Oh and as a late night snack the icelandic hot dogs are lovely and only around a fiver each

Sorting our own breakfast and lunch helped a lot as we could treat ourselves each night then

BRILLIANT! Thats very helpful - thank you.

dmm82

Realtine wrote: »

BRILLIANT! Thats very helpful - thank you.

No problem. Enjoy your trip, it's fantastic over there i would love to go again

_Dara_

Hi all, I'm heading to Iceland this weekend.

We're giving the Blue Lagoon a miss but are trying to decide between the Secret Lagoon and the Fontana Geothermal Baths for our lil dip. We don't have time for both. Both have a 4.5 rating on Tripadvisor. Has anyone done both? If so, which one would you recommend?

Thanks!

sydthebeat

I haven't don't both but the fontana is such a luxurious treat, it was one of the highlights of our trip last November. That being said the darkness really adds to the relaxing atmosphere, and I don't know if you will have some when your there this weekend.

_Dara_

sydthebeat wrote: »

I haven't don't both but the fontana is such a luxurious treat, it was one of the highlights of our trip last November. That being said the darkness really adds to the relaxing atmosphere, and I don't know if you will have some when your there this weekend.

Yeah, we'll be there in daylight hours. I dunno, I think either darkness or light would be cool. I loved the outdoor heated pool at Farnham in Cavan, looking at the lovely countryside whilst relaxing in the pool was lovely. And Iceland will be a big step up from that in terms of scenery!

But on the other hand, if it was a starry night, it would be amazing. Iceland is touch and go for lack of cloud cover though, much like Ireland. Hence why we're not expecting to see the Northern Lights even though we are going at a time of year that a sighting might just about be possible.

_Dara_

I have a weird question. I'm arriving into Keflavik on Friday morning from Dublin. I'm meeting my friends there who are going to be arriving on the flight from Cork at around the same time. In case our phone can't get data (probably won't happen but just in case), does anyone know of any landmarks in the airport that we could arrange to meet at? (an information desk, restaurant etc.)

sydthebeat

There is a "meeting point" in the airport

Das Kitty

There's free wifi in the airport

_Dara_

Das Kitty wrote: »

There's free wifi in the airport

Cool, I'm just concerned because Dublin Airport's free WiFi can be hit and miss!

_Dara_

_Dara_ wrote: »

But on the other hand, if it was a starry night, it would be amazing. Iceland is touch and go for lack of cloud cover though, much like Ireland. Hence why we're not expecting to see the Northern Lights even though we are going at a time of year that a sighting might just about be possible.

We saw them! Very cool if a tad underwhelming.

_Dara_

Got back from Iceland yesterday. Had an amazing time but this post is to inform the forum about an attraction that we as a group felt was not worth the time investment of our very limited time - the crashed US Navy plane.

You used to be able to drive quite near it and then only had a short walk. That would probably be worth it. In March 2016, the landowner closed the road so the plane is now a 3.6km walk from the parking lot. There is nothing to inform you of this before you start out. We had great weather and are a pretty fit bunch and we still found the walk arduous as it is a long, straight path through effective wasteland. Iceland has so much stunning scenery - this is not it. There are mountains around but you see those while driving along and looking at other sights anyway.

So we thought "OK, but the plane on the beach will be worth it!" - it's not. It's a small, stripped out wreck and it's a good bit away from the beach still. The people on the beach looked far away even when we were at the plane. And then having looked at the plane for about ten minutes, we had to do the walk back. Oh, and it's more like brown mud than black sand. The true black sand is further along the Vík route.

In all, the excursion took two hours out of our day and because of it, we had to miss out on Black Sand Beach where there is cool basalt rock formations, puffins and sea stacks. Really sad to miss out on that.

The crashed plane site has a 4 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor but you will see that the reviews from March 2016 are much more mixed and many are quite negative. There's a reason for that. Don't waste your time!

BailMeOut

_Dara_ wrote: »

Got back from Iceland yesterday. Had an amazing time but this post is to inform the forum about an attraction that we as a group felt was not worth the time investment of our very limited time - the crashed US Navy plane.

You used to be able to drive quite near it and then only had a short walk. That would probably be worth it. In March 2016, the landowner closed the road so the plane is now a 3.6km walk from the parking lot. There is nothing to inform you of this before you start out. We had great weather and are a pretty fit bunch and we still found the walk arduous as it is a long, straight path through effective wasteland. Iceland has so much stunning scenery - this is not it. There are mountains around but you see those while driving along and looking at other sights anyway.

So we thought "OK, but the plane on the beach will be worth it!" - it's not. It's a small, stripped out wreck and it's a good bit away from the beach still. The people on the beach looked far away even when we were at the plane. And then having looked at the plane for about ten minutes, we had to do the walk back. Oh, and it's more like brown mud than black sand. The true black sand is further along the Vík route.

In all, the excursion took two hours out of our day and because of it, we had to miss out on Black Sand Beach where there is cool basalt rock formations, puffins and sea stacks. Really sad to miss out on that.

The crashed plane site has a 4 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor but you will see that the reviews from March 2016 are much more mixed and many are quite negative. There's a reason for that. Don't waste your time!

We loved the crashed plane and especially the hike out to it.

Is it 3.6kms there and back or each way as did not seem that long when we did it?

_Dara_

BailMeOut wrote: »

We loved the crashed plane and especially the hike out to it.

Is it 3.6kms there and back or each way as did not seem that long when we did it?

Yeah, we measured the walk back and it was 2.26 miles or 3.6kms. So it was a round trip of 7.2kms. It felt every bit of it to me! I was completely exhausted at the end of it. I can't imagine doing it in bad weather. Maybe you did it before March 2016 when you could drive up closer? I think there should be an information board in the car park with distance and timings so that you can decided whether to do it or not. The fact that there was no tour buses there should have tipped us off. Many visitors have limited time in Iceland and for us, two hours was much too long for something quite anticlimactic. It's the kind of thing that I'd take fifteen minutes to have a look at and think that amount of time was worth it but missing out on Black Sand Beach because of it was disappointing. The wasteland on the walk down was pretty ugly too especially after being surrounded by such beauty in everything else we have seen. Was it snowy when you went? I could see that improving its appearance. It's not the true black lava sand so descriptions are a bit misleading. I think also, it has nothing really to do with Iceland's culture or landscape so it felt a bit incongruous to me, just like something to check off the list. Not a fan, as I'm sure you can tell. :pac:

_Dara_

Oh and we also missed out on Skogafoss rushing to it.

Skogafoss + Icelandic Giant's Causeway > Stupid Crashed Wasteland Plane

:pac:

BailMeOut

_Dara_ wrote: »

Yeah, we measured the walk back and it was 2.26 miles or 3.6kms. So it was a round trip of 7.2kms. It felt every bit of it to me! I was completely exhausted at the end of it. I can't imagine doing it in bad weather. Maybe you did it before March 2016 when you could drive up closer? I think there should be an information board in the car park with distance and timings so that you can decided whether to do it or not. The fact that there was no tour buses there should have tipped us off. Many visitors have limited time in Iceland and for us, two hours was much too long for something quite anticlimactic. It's the kind of thing that I'd take fifteen minutes to have a look at and think that amount of time was worth it but missing out on Black Sand Beach because of it was disappointing. The wasteland on the walk down was pretty ugly too especially after being surrounded by such beauty in everything else we have seen. Was it snowy when you went? I could see that improving its appearance. It's not the true black lava sand so descriptions are a bit misleading. I think also, it has nothing really to do with Iceland's culture or landscape so it felt a bit incongruous to me, just like something to check off the list. Not a fan, as I'm sure you can tell. :pac:

we definitely parked car on the main road and walked to the plane. We got some incredible photos there which was probably why we liked it. Anyhow we did some other odd stuff there that would not be everyone's cup of tea including finding Bobby Fischer's grave which is at a tiny church in the middle of nowhere and is quite bizarre where he ended up. If interested in him and his connection with Iceland there is an excellent documentary about him on Netflix.

_Dara_

BailMeOut wrote: »

we definitely parked car on the main road and walked to the plane. We got some incredible photos there which was probably why we liked it. Anyhow we did some other odd stuff there that would not be everyone's cup of tea including finding Bobby Fischer's grave which is at a tiny church in the middle of nowhere and is quite bizarre where he ended up. If interested in him and his connection with Iceland there is an excellent documentary about him on Netflix.

Oh yeah, think we passed a sign relating to him somehow on the way to Vík. I think with the plane, it's something of more niche interest but is sold as a more universal landmark.

I loved all the tiny churches we passed in Iceland and I *really* loved Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavik. Just such lovely, clean lines inside and out - Nordic design through and through. And the views from it were AMAZING!

cubix

Dara
Where did your gang base themselves as hoping to do a 3-4day Thur-Sun sometime in Oct, flying into reykjavik with the view to doing the south coast tour. Going to have a look at some AirBnB

_Dara_

cubix wrote: »

Dara
Where did your gang base themselves as hoping to do a 3-4day Thur-Sun sometime in Oct, flying into reykjavik with the view to doing the south coast tour. Going to have a look at some AirBnB

Hey cubix, we based ourselves in Reykjavik, we stayed in an airbnb which was right in the centre of things.

I'm going to PM you a link to our Airbnb. It was nothing too fancy but it was clean and comfortable with piping hot water. And it was keenly priced compared to hotels in Reykjavik which are just a scary price! :eek: It housed 4 people.

We were there from Friday to Monday. Flew out very early on Monday though. So we only had half an day to check out Reykjavik, Friday afternoon. An extra full day would have been nice to see more of the city. Get to Hallgrímskirksja church! It's a sleek Nordic masterpiece both inside and out and it's well worth the €8 or so to go up the tower, the views are amazing! A day apiece is enough time for both the south coast tour as far as Vík and the Golden Circle. The Reykanes peninsula could also be seen in a day. Anything farther out than that would probably require an overnight stay along the way. I'd recommend hiring a car, much more freedom. And a trip to the Secret Lagoon!

If you get any clear nights during your stay, in the city people head out to the Grotta lighthouse which is near Reykjavik to try and spot the Northern Lights. There was still a lot of light pollution there though. We got a faint glimpse of them though. Outside of Selfoss, the Reykjavik side, there is a viewing point where you can pull in which is much darker. Download the free Aurora app which will inform you of your chance of seeing the Lights.

Little Reykjavik restaurant tip: Islenski Barinn. Great food and good value compared to other Reykjavik restaurants. We got to try smoked puffin and reindeer burgers there!

My hubs and I spent €515 total from Friday to Monday including some duty free presents and our taxi home from Dublin airport. Not bad at all. We got in some groceries but we treated ourselves a lot too. You could do it for even cheaper again. Get to the Bonus supermarket to get some groceries in.

In Vík, Sudur Vík restaurant is great, high quality food and we had 3 or 4 starters (can't remember), 3 pizzas and 3 desserts for €125. There was four of us and we were stuffed. €30 a head for Iceland is very good. Some of the main courses are bit more expensive than that but the quality is excellent.

cubix

Thanks Dara, appreciate all the info. Can anyone confirm if Wow dont allow the standard wheelie type carry on suitcase free of charge that other normal carries would

_Dara_

cubix wrote: »

Thanks Dara, appreciate all the info. Can anyone confirm if Wow dont allow the standard wheelie type carry on suitcase free of charge that other normal carries would

You can take a backpack or laptop bag on for free. Anything that will fit under the seat in front of you. We brought two backpacks and a paid-for carry on suitcase.