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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 220613 times)

Offline AJK

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #100 on: October 25, 2013, 11:45:02 AM »
Also, I went scuba diving in a glacial lake there AWESOME!!! it is the only place in the world you can touch the euro-asian and american continental plates at the same time

Wow.

That's amazing.

Bucket-listed.
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Offline Dan

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #101 on: October 25, 2013, 12:14:49 PM »
Wow.
Scuba diving/snorkeling is the only time my mustache/beard really bothers me.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline AJK

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #102 on: October 25, 2013, 12:51:16 PM »
Wow.
Scuba diving/snorkeling is the only time my mustache/beard really bothers me.

Just imagine the reward you're getting... you can scuba dive for eternity in olam haba ;)
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline Dan

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #103 on: October 25, 2013, 12:55:59 PM »
Or best of both worlds ;) , just gotta get a whole head mask or something.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Mocha

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Re: Iceland
« Reply #104 on: October 26, 2013, 08:21:37 PM »
Has anyone had issues bringing in food I saw mentioned in the threads a 3 kg limit?
I know this q is old, but responding may help someone else. Officially yes the rule when I went was 3 kg. pp... 3 x 2.2 = 6.6 lbs. Sounds like a fair amount of food for 2 days or so. But either way no one checked me or scanned my luggage, so in theory you should be ok with brining in an entire buffalo carcass.

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #105 on: October 26, 2013, 08:30:52 PM »
Some good advice I got before going:
Rent a GPS and to find a particular site, find a hotel near there and put that into the GPS. If you put the name of the site itself you will often be directed somewhere else.

Offline SuperFlyer

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #106 on: June 01, 2014, 03:17:52 PM »
I have a ta'ave to go, if anyone has some advice pls feel free.

To visit on a faster pace with tours (assuming I travel alone), how many days do I need to cover all the highlights ?

Thanks.

Offline dhalpern1

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #107 on: June 01, 2014, 10:05:56 PM »
I have a ta'ave to go, if anyone has some advice pls feel free.

To visit on a faster pace with tours (assuming I travel alone), how many days do I need to cover all the highlights ?

Thanks.

I went for 4 days, and got to see almost everything. Would think that should be good enough.

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #108 on: June 01, 2014, 10:11:49 PM »
I went for 4 days, and got to see almost everything.

+1. You could drive the entire loop road in 4 days and see most of the sights. Give yourself an extra day if you want to explore the Snćfellsnes Peninsula (or you could skip some less-popular sights on the far side instead and not do the whole loop). If you're going in the summer when the highlands are accessible and want to explore there you'd need to set aside plenty more time for that.
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Offline ushdadude

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #109 on: June 01, 2014, 10:34:27 PM »
The most important parts are all south near the golden circle

Offline SuperFlyer

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #110 on: June 02, 2014, 02:41:19 AM »
Thanks a lot.

4 days assuming the base is in Reykjavik?

I assume in the summer all the glacier and ice related tours are not possible, right?

Offline ushdadude

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #111 on: June 02, 2014, 07:28:01 AM »
Thanks a lot.

4 days assuming the base is in Reykjavik?

I assume in the summer all the glacier and ice related tours are not possible, right?

i made the mistake of basing myself in Reykjavik. The first day we drove east and then had to backtrack for a few hours to get back. The next day we did the same drive just to get back to where we left off the day before. If i did it again, i would find a small hotel near where i think i'm gonna end each day.
the glaciers don't melt in the summer. i'm sure you can find tours.

Offline SuperFlyer

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #112 on: June 02, 2014, 08:16:03 AM »
Great, thanks, most people gave the impression on this thread that you stay in Reykjavik.

Offline Something Fishy

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #113 on: June 02, 2014, 08:28:25 AM »
Great, thanks, most people gave the impression on this thread that you stay in Reykjavik.

Being based in Reykjavik is like being based in Anchorage - i.e. a total waste of time.

Check out these guys - cheaper than a car+hotel (at least when I checked) and you could stay wherever you want to.
http://www.happycampers.is/
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Offline dhalpern1

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #114 on: June 02, 2014, 09:23:58 AM »
Great, thanks, most people gave the impression on this thread that you stay in Reykjavik.

Thats because the vast majority of hotels are are in Reykjavik. Not all people are small inn/camper types.

Offline SuperFlyer

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #115 on: June 03, 2014, 02:29:49 AM »
Being based in Reykjavik is like being based in Anchorage - i.e. a total waste of time.

Check out these guys - cheaper than a car+hotel (at least when I checked) and you could stay wherever you want to.
http://www.happycampers.is/

Quite cute, but doesn't include a bed.

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #116 on: June 03, 2014, 02:30:29 AM »
Thats because the vast majority of hotels are are in Reykjavik. Not all people are small inn/camper types.

Especially on this forum.

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #117 on: November 07, 2014, 02:59:13 PM »
so to get to Iceland from nyc, Iceland air only direct flight they dont have any mileage partners, any other ideas?

Offline ual902

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #118 on: November 07, 2014, 03:54:36 PM »
so to get to Iceland from nyc, Iceland air only direct flight they dont have any mileage partners, any other ideas?

DL has seasonal flights to Iceland, I flew EWR > REK on Iceland Air using the Barclays landing card $440 in free travel.

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Re: Iceland Master Thread
« Reply #119 on: November 07, 2014, 03:56:29 PM »
DL has seasonal flights to Iceland,

I believe he wants to go in the winter; no DL then.
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