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Aurora, Storms, and Snowpants: An Icelandic Saga by Something Fishy, whYME, and ChAiM'l
@Yehuda
BrachaB
Ponash123

Airlines that fly to Iceland direct from NY:
1. Iceland Air
2. Delta
3. Wow Air
4. United (May 23 - Oct 4)

Hotels in the Reykjavik Area:
1. 101 Hotel (supposedly one of the best spas in Iceland)
2. Ion (set on a lava field and one of Iceland's newest luxury hotels)
3. Hotel Ranga
4. Blue Lagoon Clinic Hotel (provides exclusive access to a private lagoon for hotel guests only)
5. Radisson BLU 1919 (Can use Club carlson points and in the middle of town) Will warm and store food for a nominal fee.

Camper/RV Rentals:
There are several places where you can rent a camper truck or motorhome, including here:  http://www.campericeland.is/

Campgrounds:
The campgrounds in Iceland are large and never feel crowded.  Many offer excellent facilities and amenities.  You can drive in at any time of the day or night and pay the nominal fee whenever the office opens.

Kosher Food:
Kosher food is pretty much non existent in Iceland.  Even many American brands do not have a hechsher.  Some foods that have been found with a hechsher are Cheerios Cereal, Nature Valley Granola Bars, and Powerade.  That being said, several DDF members have been able to bring in kosher food/meat without being checked or stopped.  Just walk through the "nothing to declare" line.

Random tip of the day: if you are in the Reykjavik area and need to heat up a meal but don't have easy access to an oven, the Ikea food court has an oven for guest use. Right side, near the sandwich and pastry checkout.

Tons of great seating as well. (HT: SomethingFishy)

Language
Most of the populace speaks English and children are taught English starting in the sixth grade.  It is rare but you might find some older folks that do not speak English.

Communications:
The Iceland Air Saga shop sells starter Síminn branded sim cards for a nominal amount.  If you order in advance, they will even deliver the sim cards to you on your Icelandair flight (one of the cheapest options to get a starter sim card).  You can also find stores in the airport that sell sim cards.  Vodafone is the other major carrier in Iceland and also sells sim cards.  You can purchase the Saga Shop sim starter here:

http://www.sagashop.net/men/detail/?id=57860-0009

GPS - Navigation
Garmin Nordic Maps includes Iceland and can be purchased here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BS4Q3I?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Voltage
Iceland uses 220v.  Most cell phones, cameras and laptops come with a multi switching power supply (verify by looking at power supply) so you will only need to buy a cheap adapter such as this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058EG0KC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01

Currency/Credit Cards
Credit cards are almost universally accepted in Iceland.  As a result, you may find no need to exchange currency for the Icelandic Kroner (ISK).  If you use a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees, you should be set.  If you do decide to exchange currency, there are ATM machines in the airport right outside customs.

Activities:
1.  The Golden Circle Tour is very popular and takes you to Geysir (lame compared to Yellowstone), Gulfoss Waterfalls, and Thingvellir (where the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates can be clearly seen in the cracks or faults which traverse the region.  You can dive in a lake and touch both plates). 

2.  Inside the volcano tour to Thrihnukagigur Volcano.  In this tour, you either hike ( a few kilometers) or take a helicopter charter from the Reykjavik airport to the volcano.  Once there, you are lowered by a construction type lift into the magma chamber.  The least expensive way to get a semi private tour of the magma chamber is with the helicopter, which takes you there in between the regularly scheduled tours.

3.  There are various Super Jeep Tours (vans and SUV's with tractor tires), including a tour to Langjokull Glacier, where you drive onto the glacier.  Private tours can be arranged.

4. Jokulsarlon - a large glacial lake in southeast Iceland, on the edge of Vatnajokull National Park.  Here, you can take a duck boat tour or a zodiac boat tour of the lake where you will see icebergs, seals, and various birds.  Across the road from Jokulsarlon is a black sand beach where you can see icebergs on the beach.

5. The Blue Lagoon - the public lagoon gets very crowded and if you go it is recommended to get there when they open.  If you can manage a stay at the Blue Lagoon Clinic Hotel (currently 15 rooms but they are expanding to 30 rooms) you will get exclusive access to the private lagoon for hotel guests only.  Since there are only 15 rooms at present, the private lagoon rarely has more than a handful of people in it at any time. Most people do not make a full day out of the Blue Lagoon and instead go on your arrival into Iceland or upon departure before the airport. All the Bus lines have stops to and from the airport. 3-4 hours is ample time.

6. Waterfalls abound including Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss.

7. Dog sledding in Skallafell.

8. Icelandic Horses - Horse back riding is extremely popular in Iceland. Most residents actually own a horse. Iceland is the only place in the world where you will find the Icelandic horse. It has 5 Gaits oppose to the 3 that most other horses have. They are gentle animals and very comfortable to ride.
« Last edited by yelped on June 21, 2021, 11:36:59 AM »

Author Topic: Iceland Master Thread  (Read 220545 times)

Offline foseph

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #360 on: February 19, 2016, 11:31:42 AM »
Correct, Reynisfjara and Jokulsarlon.
OK tx. Couldnt quite follow the conversation.

Also, I know people don't like cross posting but does anyone know about how to get Hertz or Avis one-way rental fee waived or taken off with a code? (Specifically from hofn to reyk)

Offline PBaruch

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #361 on: February 21, 2016, 12:55:38 AM »
In case anyone is interested we bought this book for our Iceland trip:

http://www.amazon.com/Top-Iceland-Eyewitness-Travel-Guide/dp/1465410376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456034094&sr=8-1&keywords=iceland+top+10

On the plus side its very compact in size.
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Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #362 on: February 28, 2016, 07:58:29 AM »
Looks pretty good so far; see in red above for some comments.

The Eyjafjallajokull visitors center is also worth a short stop.
I just checked and you are correct - the ice caves by Jokulsarlon are closed in the summer. The man-made ice cave by Langjokull is open, though.

Offline ejhirschberger

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #363 on: February 28, 2016, 03:03:25 PM »
Any ideas for reward travel to Iceland? I have 150K UR, 100K MR, 40K Avios, 75K United.

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #364 on: February 28, 2016, 03:24:50 PM »
Any ideas for reward travel to Iceland? I have 150K UR, 100K MR, 40K Avios, 75K United.

Direct from the US is only Delta in the summer, but very difficult to find award availability. You're other option is via Europe (for example SAS flies from OSL), but you'll lose a lot of time.

Paying cash is generally the best way to go unfortunately.
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Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #365 on: February 28, 2016, 05:56:26 PM »
Technically, you can also use AS miles (which I know you don't have right now) to fly IcelandAir, but they charge over $100 tax each way, which kills the deal. Technically, you can also use AS miles (which I know you don't have right now) to fly IcelandAir, but they charge over $100 tax each way, which kills the deal. And you can always book through the UR or MR sites directly, which usually isn't a great use of miles.

Offline ual902

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #366 on: February 28, 2016, 06:03:11 PM »
Any ideas for reward travel to Iceland? I have 150K UR, 100K MR, 40K Avios, 75K United.

I used the Barclay's arrivals which gave me $440 in free travel on Iceland Air EWR REK EWR

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #367 on: February 28, 2016, 06:17:45 PM »
I used the Barclay's arrivals which gave me $440 in free travel on Iceland Air EWR REK EWR

To clarify (nitpick ;)?), Icelandair flies JFK-KEF-JFK.

REK is mostly domestic flights.
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Offline ual902

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #368 on: February 28, 2016, 06:29:09 PM »
To clarify (nitpick ;)?), Icelandair flies JFK-KEF-JFK.

REK is mostly domestic flights.
They flew for awhile  EWR KEF EWR in 2013, they probably disconnected that flight.

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #369 on: February 28, 2016, 06:37:33 PM »
They flew for awhile  EWR KEF EWR in 2013, they probably disconnected that flight.

Interesting, never heard of it.
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Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #370 on: March 13, 2016, 05:28:18 PM »
Booked my flights! Motzai Shabbos through Friday morning.


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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #371 on: March 13, 2016, 06:32:54 PM »
Booked my flights! Motzai Shabbos through Friday morning.

Mazel Tov!

This coming week?
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Offline benjie1305

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #372 on: March 13, 2016, 06:40:36 PM »
Booked my flights! Motzai Shabbos through Friday morning.

Going with the wife? What's the plan for the week? How'd you book?
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Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #373 on: March 13, 2016, 07:03:55 PM »
Mazel Tov!

This coming week?
No no no.
Thanks, but yeah not till the summer. Leaves me with plenty of months to bombard you with questions. ::) :P

Going with the wife? What's the plan for the week? How'd you book?
Yep, iy"h. Mostly what I posted here. I used 90K MR pp booked directly through Amex. Flying DL with lie-flat J for the outbound (which is nice for the overnight flight to begin an activity-packed week). While not a great use of MR, it was still the cheapest way I could fly out on Motzai Shabbos in J and return on Friday, and it gave me the flexibility to book without Saver space being available. (Saver on DL/AF would have been 92.5K + $50-100 taxes.)

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #374 on: March 16, 2016, 06:05:47 PM »
After compiling as much data as I could find on the different camper rental companies, I created a spreadsheet and attached it here for future reference for others. It only lists summer prices (high season) and automatic campers (since I don't know how to drive manual).

As SomethingFishy pointed out in his TR, Kuku Campers (and later I found out Go Campers is owned by the same person) had a history of being anti-Israel and weren't renting out to Israelis a year+ or so ago when they publicly said they were doing it to protest Israel's presence in Gaza. Their low/cheap season on their site used to actually say "Jew season" (per SF's TR). While they seemingly have retracted their stance on the issue (by changing their low season name), I still feel uncomfortable and won't be using them for my trip despite their much lower cost. I also came across an AirBnB-style website for Iceland cars/campers, but it doesn't look professional enough for me to trust it for my trip. Therefore, I think I'll be going with the green-highlighted option - Cozy Campers. They have almost 100% positive feedback on a few different sites, their sleeping area seems to be on the higher-end of comfort (based on pictures), and their prices are in the middle of the pack.


Offline @Yehuda

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #375 on: March 26, 2016, 11:50:29 PM »
I'll give you the Something Fishy guarantee that that won't happen 8).

If you do decide to go, keep in mind that Verturhorn is over an hour past Jokulsarlon. If you're going that far, I'd say go another 20 minutes further and check out the incredible Laekjavik Coast instead. Doing both doesn't make much sense, as Vesturhorn to Laekjavik is 45 minutes (look at the distances chart in my TR to see how this timing math works out).

Once you see the upcoming part of my TR you won't have this question anymore... Here's a tiny teaser, of something you won't see on an Hawaiian beach:



So yes, the beaches are an absolute must-do, especially as your'e there already anyways (one parking lot for the lagoon and beaches).
Showed that picture to my friend who went in the summer, and they said there is no way I'll see that on a beach in the summer. When they were planning their trip, they spoke to tour operators who told them not to expect to see any ice except for on the glaciers. They were also told to expect enough rain on 1 our of 4 days to cancel that day's activity. Thoughts from the crowd here?

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #376 on: March 27, 2016, 12:15:55 AM »
Showed that picture to my friend who went in the summer, and they said there is no way I'll see that on a beach in the summer. When they were planning their trip, they spoke to tour operators who told them not to expect to see any ice except for on the glaciers. They were also told to expect enough rain on 1 our of 4 days to cancel that day's activity. Thoughts from the crowd here?

Plenty of ice on the beaches in the summer. The pieces tend to be smaller, but not any less beautiful. Look through some pictures here - this is filtered by pictures taken last July.

Weather-wise, expect rain every day. If it doesn't, consider it a bonus. Dress properly and don't let it distract from the awesomeness.
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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #377 on: March 27, 2016, 07:29:14 AM »
Plenty of ice on the beaches in the summer. The pieces tend to be smaller, but not any less beautiful. Look through some pictures here - this is filtered by pictures taken last July.

Weather-wise, expect rain every day. If it doesn't, consider it a bonus. Dress properly and don't let it distract from the awesomeness.
Thanks for that link! I appreciate it. Unfortunate news about the rain, but going in with the right mindset will definitely help.

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #379 on: April 07, 2016, 02:05:22 PM »
Trying to decide how many days I should book a camper for vs. stay in REK at a hotel. Minimum rental is 3 days.

I land on Sunday at around 9:30AM and leave Friday morning. Part of me says to stay at least the last night (Thursday) in a hotel so I can return the camper the night before and not have to worry about returning it (in REK) and making my way to the airport all in the same busy morning. (Assuming there's even a campsite in REK to stay Thursday night.) The volcano comes with included transportation from REK, but Golden Circle would need to rent a car (or the camper) to do it without a tour.

Here are my planned activities. How many days should I allocate to being able to stay in REK vs. needing a camper, and any recommended order to do it?

Thrihnukagigur Volcano
Golden Circle (Strokkur geyser, Gullfoss Waterfall, Kerid Crater Lake)+ Silfra snorkeling
(Maybe: Langjokull Glacier for Into the Glacier ice cave tour)

Vik: Reynisfjara black sand beach, salt seastacks, lupine flower field
Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
Sólheimajökull Glacier: hike with ice picks
Eyjafjallajökull Erupts Visitor Center
Skogafoss Waterfall
Fjadrargljufur Canyon
Jokulsarlon Glacier: Zodiac boat tour
Hike on 1 of the glaciers: Falljökull, Vatnajökull or Svínafellsjökull
Svartifoss Waterfall