I've gotta say, you can prepare all you like, but you can never truly know what to expect when you touch down in a place. Even with all of my information gathering for the journey to Iceland, we still hit many surprises along the way - some good and some not. I'll do my best to highlight these points along the way.
9 Day Iceland Itinerary
Top Tips
- Rumor has it that since the global financial crisis Iceland has become much cheaper for tourists. I'm not sure how true this is, but don't be fooled into thinking Iceland will be inexpensive. At it’s best, supermarket items cost on par with Canada and America. In some areas, food will cost 2-3 times what you’d expect to pay elsewhere, and more than you’d even expect to pay elsewhere in Europe.
- Fuel currently sits at $2.50/L. Keep this in mind when deciding on which car to rent.
- The Blue Lagoon is close to Keflavik airport, if you’re renting a car you may want to go straight there after your flight to relax before arriving in Reykjavik.
- Most accommodations in Iceland feel very basic compared to their price.
- If you’re mainly following the ring road around Iceland you can easily get away with a regular car. A 4WD is only necessary if you plan to take F-roads, although it could make some dirt roads more comfortable.
- Bring a windproof/waterproof coat. It may be summer, but it’s still cold. Waterproof pants are worth having for all of the waterfalls you will visit.
Trip Style: Self directed
Transportation: 4WD rental
Average accommodation cost: CAD$270/night
Travel dates: August 31 - September 8, 2013
Saturday, August 31
- Fuel currently sits at $2.50/L. Keep this in mind when deciding on which car to rent.
- The Blue Lagoon is close to Keflavik airport, if you’re renting a car you may want to go straight there after your flight to relax before arriving in Reykjavik.
- Most accommodations in Iceland feel very basic compared to their price.
- If you’re mainly following the ring road around Iceland you can easily get away with a regular car. A 4WD is only necessary if you plan to take F-roads, although it could make some dirt roads more comfortable.
- Bring a windproof/waterproof coat. It may be summer, but it’s still cold. Waterproof pants are worth having for all of the waterfalls you will visit.
Trip Style: Self directed
Transportation: 4WD rental
Average accommodation cost: CAD$270/night
Travel dates: August 31 - September 8, 2013
Saturday, August 31
Reykjavik
Today was a day of first impressions. We arrived in Iceland around 7am, and took a taxi to our car rental, which was less than 5 minutes drive away. The airport staff recommend that you ask the taxi driver for an estimate before getting in, because you will probably be surprised at the cost. Yep, almost $20 for a 3-4 minute drive. My parents who arrived a day before Mike and I, had taken a shuttle into Reykjavik instead, and this option was $20 each one way, with the shuttle ride taking about an hour – so unless you’re renting a car in Keflavik this is a much more cost effective option for getting into Reykjavik from the airport.
Something important to consider when deciding on a rental car, is that fuel costs twice as much as in Canada, currently sitting around $2.50/L.
Blue Lagoon
In the afternoon we drove out to the Blue Lagoon, which is one of the most popular hot springs in the country. The place is a bit overpriced for what it is – costing €40 for admission, and more if you need to rent a towel. Mike and I spent about an hour in the pool, the temperature was just right. The lunch at the café was pretty well priced for a tourist attraction.
After visiting the spa, we headed past Grindavik on the 425 towards the tip of the peninsula. I can’t remember the exact name of the place but the GPS coordinates for this attraction is N 63 49.15, W 22 40.938. If you’re following the 425, you should see a sign directing to this attraction – it’s a geothermal active area, where hot sulphuric steam escapes from the ground.
There’s a few places like this in Iceland, but if you’re short on time and in Keflavik or Reykjavik area, this is an easy one to get to. We saw geothermic areas at Geysir and Lake Myvatn too that were nicer than this one on the southern peninsula.
When we got back to the hotel, we tried to get a recommendation for dinner. Well, it seems that restaurants in Reykjavik tend to book out, so if you have a particular one in mind you need to make a reservation at least more than a day in advance. The restaurant the concierge recommended was fully booked, so we ended up walking around looking for a place to eat. In the city centre, generally we found menu prices to be pretty expensive (are you noticing a theme yet?). Steaks were over $70, burgers were around $20, and eventually we settled on the Gamla Old Island café that served us traditional meat soup for $15 – this was almost the cheapest soup we had in the whole country (we ate soup almost every day for lunch –the cheapest was $10 but it also allowed for refills). The café also served some desserts – the best one was a cold pancake filled with jam and served with whipped cream.
Accommodation
We spent the night at the Fosshotel Baron. We got stuck by the elevator and that was a bit noisy. The accommodations were very basic, and for the price the hotel felt to lack in quality. My parents noticed that though the hotel advertises it has a TV, none of the channels work – we only had access to one religious channel. The hot water in the bathroom smells strongly of sulphur – much more so than the faint aroma we experienced in every other hotel. They had a squeegee in the bathroom because the shower had no boundaries, and you had to squeegee the water from the tiles into the drain after showering. Honestly, on our last night in Reykjavik we stayed at the Hotel Centrum (for cheaper than the Baron) and it was infinitely better than this hotel. The only thing lacking at the Centrum is parking, but free street parking is available on weekends.
Something important to consider when deciding on a rental car, is that fuel costs twice as much as in Canada, currently sitting around $2.50/L.
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| Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavik |
We picked up our car – what seems a 90’s model Suzuki Grand Vitara. I’ll write a bit more on the rental later, it was quite a memorable experience.
Coming into Reykjavik we used the GPS to find our hotel to park, before browsing the streets of the city for the rest of the morning. The city centre is pretty small and for the most part can be seen in a day if you’re willing to walk a bit. There’s of course museums you can spend more time in, but most of the city’s tourism seems to involve day trips to nearby attractions.
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| Browsing Reykjavik city centre |
We browsed the boutique stores, eyeing the coats that looked glorious in the shocking cold change from our usual summer weather. This stroll lead us to the beautiful parliament house, and from here we returned to the hotel via the Hallgrímskirkja church.
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| Gardens at the Parliament House in Reykjavik |
In the afternoon we drove out to the Blue Lagoon, which is one of the most popular hot springs in the country. The place is a bit overpriced for what it is – costing €40 for admission, and more if you need to rent a towel. Mike and I spent about an hour in the pool, the temperature was just right. The lunch at the café was pretty well priced for a tourist attraction.
After visiting the spa, we headed past Grindavik on the 425 towards the tip of the peninsula. I can’t remember the exact name of the place but the GPS coordinates for this attraction is N 63 49.15, W 22 40.938. If you’re following the 425, you should see a sign directing to this attraction – it’s a geothermal active area, where hot sulphuric steam escapes from the ground.
There’s a few places like this in Iceland, but if you’re short on time and in Keflavik or Reykjavik area, this is an easy one to get to. We saw geothermic areas at Geysir and Lake Myvatn too that were nicer than this one on the southern peninsula.
When we got back to the hotel, we tried to get a recommendation for dinner. Well, it seems that restaurants in Reykjavik tend to book out, so if you have a particular one in mind you need to make a reservation at least more than a day in advance. The restaurant the concierge recommended was fully booked, so we ended up walking around looking for a place to eat. In the city centre, generally we found menu prices to be pretty expensive (are you noticing a theme yet?). Steaks were over $70, burgers were around $20, and eventually we settled on the Gamla Old Island café that served us traditional meat soup for $15 – this was almost the cheapest soup we had in the whole country (we ate soup almost every day for lunch –the cheapest was $10 but it also allowed for refills). The café also served some desserts – the best one was a cold pancake filled with jam and served with whipped cream.
Accommodation
We spent the night at the Fosshotel Baron. We got stuck by the elevator and that was a bit noisy. The accommodations were very basic, and for the price the hotel felt to lack in quality. My parents noticed that though the hotel advertises it has a TV, none of the channels work – we only had access to one religious channel. The hot water in the bathroom smells strongly of sulphur – much more so than the faint aroma we experienced in every other hotel. They had a squeegee in the bathroom because the shower had no boundaries, and you had to squeegee the water from the tiles into the drain after showering. Honestly, on our last night in Reykjavik we stayed at the Hotel Centrum (for cheaper than the Baron) and it was infinitely better than this hotel. The only thing lacking at the Centrum is parking, but free street parking is available on weekends.
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