Facebook Twitter Instagram

10 Tips Prior to traveling to iceland

Couple of notes for those who are thinking of traveling to the Land of Fire and Ice in the future. These are things that I observed/considered, and I hope they help you as you prepare to visit this beautiful country.

Navigation
  1. Everything is more expensive in Iceland, from food to gas. This is not an overly shocking note, I am sure some of you just rolled your eyes at the screen reading that, as most of the Nordic countries are known for being expensive for travelers compared to their home countries. Take the followings costs into consideration when setting a budget for future travels. This is pricing for one person:
    1. Eating out at a basic restaurant can run you a tab between 1500 to 3000 ISK, just for food. Add in another 1100 to 1600 ISK for one beer, maybe wine. Cocktails will be even more expensive. (~12 to 36 USD). This can swing upward of course, but at a basic level with the lower range being fast food.
    2. Gas is by the liter and cost swings with the seasons, but in October the cost was somewhere in the 220 ISK per Liter range (1.80 USD). For reference, for Americans, there is 3.785 of liters in a gallon, so ~7 per gallon.
    3. Grocery store food will also cost more then most people are probably use to. However, basic staple foods do not run that much more in comparison. Example is a loaf of Bonus made bread cost ~200 ISK, or ~1.60 USD. The minute you start to see an extreme difference in pricing is on more, I guess I would say, luxury goods like candy, chips, etc. I think this is also part of a European design to mitigate the amount of junk food sold at grocery stores (I do not know this for sure, just a guess from observation.)
    4. Looking at accommodations, I cannot really say one way or the other if it is more expensive here, because I stay at hostels not hotels. Hostel prices are similar to those in other places.
  2. Driving in Iceland allows you a lot of freedom, however there are a few warnings:
    1. Speed limit on the paved highways is 90 kph (~60 mph). Speed limit is usually 80 kph when driving gravel roads. No matter the area, FOLLOW the speed limit! Even if you are in no mans land to the south or north, you never know if you will cross paths with a camera or a car reading speed (I have heard these are used but I cannot be 100% positive). Around Reykjavík especially, as there are cameras that will land you a sizable fee if you are caught speeding. There are warnings of camera’s on the highway around Reykjavík, but they are easy to overlook. Tickets range from ~150 to ~700 USD depending on how fast you were going.
    2. When pumping gas, you do not fill up by choosing the number of liters you want to put into your tank, you choose a dollar amount. This can get confusing if you don’t know how much to put into your tank. My recommendation is if you are at half a tank, put in 3000 ISK to start. Fill up, then start your car to see how much it moved. Add another 1000 ISK till you show a fill tank, then you can use this as a measure moving forward.
      1. I would highly recommend to not hit the fill tank option, EVER. If you hit the fill tank option, your card is going to be charged 25,000 ISK (max amount you can choose at any gas pump). You might have only spent 5000 ISK to fill your tank, but your card will be charged the full amount. Do not worry, you will see the remainder back on your card in a few days, but it is never fun to have your funds tied up. Now, I will say, if you have a credit card that has a PIN number, maybe this isn’t that big of an issue. However, I had to use my debit card for gas.
    3. Driving in the dark – drive 15 minutes away from Reykjavík, or 5 minutes from any other town, and you are going to be driving in pitch black. There is zero to minimal light poles between towns till you get to city limits. In my experience, the headlights in cars are not as powerful, at least as I am use to in the United States. I had a hard time driving and often chose not to, adjusting my schedule to make sure I limited this possibility. If you are driving at night, and I cannot believe I am about to say this, but go slow if you are uncomfortable. Be safe, for both you and other drivers
    4. Parking in Reykjavík: there are certain times of day you have to pay to park, and four zones with different pricing. Monday through Friday, you must pay to park downtown between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. On Saturday you have to pay to park between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday is free parking. If you are going to park downtown, there are four zones: P1 – P4. P1 is the most expensive and are typically found in the main downtown area. As you go further away from downtown, you move into lower zones which are cheaper. I would highly recommend parking in a lower zone and walking around.
    5. Passing cars on one lane roads: everything in Iceland, for the most part is one lane. You will have to cross over into the oncoming traffic lane in order to pass.
  3. If you are going to Iceland JUST to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) I would highly recommend rethinking your trip. I do not want to across as dismissive, mean, or pushing you away from your bucket list of seeing the lights. However seeing the Northern Lights is not guaranteed when visiting Iceland. I have heard of people who have visited Iceland multiple times and never seen them. Tour guides are often found saying they are taking you “Northern Light Fishing” instead of “Northern Light Hunting”. You need certain conditions to be filled in order to see them, and even with all of these conditions it is no guarantee.
    1. Darkness/minimal light pollution from cities and the moon
    2. Solar activity
    3. Clear skies
    4. Luck
  4. If you are chasing Aurora Borealis, sometimes you will not see the color of the lights, at least not immediately. It could look like a gray cloud cutting across the sky. If you take a picture and the photo glows with color, primarily green, you are looking at the northern lights! It can look kind of dull at first, be patient!
  5. The following settings are the most widely used on cameras when photographing the phenomenon. Something I was told, before you start messing with the ISO, adjust the shutter speed to see if you get the picture you want.
    1. ISO – Range between 1000 to 2000
    2. Aperture (f) – Range between 2.4 and 4.5
    3. Shutter Speed – Between 10 and 30 seconds
    4. Focus – Infinity
  6. If you have an iPhone, your chances of being able to take photos of the Northern Lights is minimal. You can buy specials apps but I have hard they do not really work either. If you have a Samsung or Galaxy you can adjust the settings appropriately to take a good picture.
  7. Get away from the tourist destinations and go on a hike! Iceland has so much to offer you, more then the tourist destinations. For example, most people go and visits the Skógafoss (waterfall in the south of the country). Most look at the waterfall and hike to the top observation desk. However, not many people go hike along the Skóga river itself, which is also beautiful.
  8. English is spoken everywhere and most menus/websites/stores have English written next to Icelandic.
  9. Be respectful, especially when visiting the national parks and hiking into the country. This is not your home or your personal jungle gym since you will be leaving at some point.There are millions of other people who want to come experience the same thing you are. Leave only footprints and take only memories.
  10. HAVE FUN! There is something for everybody in this beautiful country, so it would be really hard to not have a good time.

Comments and Opinions