I wasn’t even 10 years old when I heard about Iceland for the first time. During primary school, one of our teachers traveled to Reykjavik for a reason I don’t remember, but when she came back and was telling us about this magical island, I knew that one day I will go and see it myself. During the years, even though I lived in Europe, my Iceland dream seemed to be very far away and I tended to choose sunnier, and more importantly, cheaper destinations. iceland travel tips
In 2018, when I was planning our trip from Australia to Slovakia in May, Tomas came to me with a question if I really want to stay in Slovakia for the whole month, that he’d rather go to Iceland for a week. Well, he didn’t have to ask twice, I was in! My childhood dream about the Land of Elves was finally coming true! iceland travel tips
Iceland has got so much natural beauty packed on a relatively small piece of land in the northern Atlantic Ocean that you need some good planning beforehand. I was personally overwhelmed by the amount of information I found online on different blogs, travel guides and TripAdvisor. We stayed there for a week, travelling all around and moving every day. In this article I summed up the travel tips that are good to know before arrival, but don’t forget to check our complete itinerary around Ring Road here, best stops along the Golden Circle here, or tips for visiting the Blue Lagoon here. iceland travel tips
Flights to Iceland
We flew to Iceland with Wow Air from London Gatwick. When I was doing my research, Wow Air was the most reliable and the cheapest option of all. The biggest international airport is not located directly in Reykjavik, but in Keflavik, approximately 40 minute drive from the capital. The airport is new and modern with good choice of restaurants and souvenir shops. Check-in and bag drop are basically a self-service which makes waiting time short and quick. Today over 20 airlines fly in and out of Iceland – you can find the complete information here. iceland travel tips
Driving in Iceland
The most popular way to visit and explore Iceland is driving. Even though I wasn’t the one who drove, I dare to say that it was quite stress free in terms of traffic (weather is a different story). Outside Reykjavik the traffic is almost non-existent and the speed limit on most of the roads is 90 km/h. There aren’t any highways and we came across only one toll road, when we had to use underground tunnel on our way to Akureyri (on the north). Some of the countryside roads can be tricky, because they are not paved with asphalt.
We got our car from Cars Iceland with a free upgrade which was a nice surprise! You will definitely need 4×4 car, because even in summer the roads can be icy and slippery. Cars Iceland was the cheapest company I could find (at the time of booking – January 2018). Their office is close to the airport, but you will have to take a short shuttle bus ride, which is for free. Their office doesn’t say Icelandic cars though, but Blue Car Rentals. iceland travel tips
As everything on Iceland, gas is quite expensive – we paid about $3.00 AUD/litre = 1.90 EUR.
Weather
Iceland doesn’t have ‘ice’ in its name for no reason. Iceland is cold! We traveled there in May, which is already spring time in the rest of Europe, but not here. We would suffer a great deal without winter jackets and waterproof shoes. I thought that in May it won’t be that cold, but I was mistaken. The average temperature was about 10 to 14 degrees, but it felt much colder.
Even if you travel in the middle of summer, pack layers, heat tech socks, beanie, warm jacket, and of course rain coat. Weather on Iceland changes with a snap of fingers – 5 minutes rain, then wind, then 5 minutes of sunshine and rain again. You have to be ready for it all. You can find more information about Icelandic weather here.
Accommodation
You can find all sorts of accommodation on Iceland – from luxury hotels to affordable backpackers. Because it was four of us, we opted for Airbnb for the whole duration of our trip. It is a great option if you want to prepare your own meals and stay every night somewhere else. Also hiring an SUV and staying in Airbnb cost us less than hiring a big motor-home for 4 adults. Even though I love camping I couldn’t imagine sleeping in a tent, simply because of the weather. You want to be warm at the end of the day. iceland travel tips
Currency
Iceland is using their own currency – Icelandic Krona. iceland travel tips
1000 ISK = 7.70 EUR / 8.95 USD / 12.60 AUD
However, during our stay I didn’t see or came across any Icelandic money. You can pay with your credit or debit card everywhere. If there is paid public toilet, it’s got EFTPOS terminal. If there’s a shop in the middle of nowhere, you can pay by card. Same with the petrol stations. Seriously, don’t bother exchanging money, you won’t need them.
Landmarks
On Iceland you’ll rarely find something and think for yourself – “yay! What a bargain!” Because everything is quite expensive. However, all the natural sites are for free, there are no entrance fees to see the geothermal areas, waterfalls, craters…. The only entrance you have to pay is to the hot pools in Blue Lagoon and Lake Myvatn, where towels, bath robes, showers etc. are included in the price.
Daylight
This was my biggest surprise! I’d known about long arctic days and almost non-existing summer nights before arriving to Iceland, but I also read that the Sun actually sets in May. Late at night and only for 3 hours, but it does. I still didn’t expect that it won’t be dark at all. Daylight all day and night! iceland travel tips
In most of the Airbnbs they had black curtains or blinds, but we could still feel the light peeking through. This tricked us couple of times, when we thought it is only around 5 or 6 pm, we wanted to do some shopping and only when we found out everything was closed, we realized it was actually 10 pm. If you are light sleeper, you can have troubles to fall asleep, but on the other hand, we were so exhausted after every day exploring that we slept pretty easily.
Icelandic Food
As everything on Iceland, food is expensive as well. If you can, bring some snacks with you and that will help you save some money. This was our mistake that we didn’t bring a single chocolate bar! We were preparing our own meals most of the time, but we went to couple of restaurants as well. From my experience I can say that food on Iceland is really good and you can find here basically anything your heart desires, not only fish and dried meats. Restaurants across the country offer great variety of domestic and international dishes and I keep saying that the pizza I had in Hofn in South-east Iceland was the best I’ve ever had! (Sorry Italy).
The most famous Icelandic dish is probably kaestur hakarl, which means ‘fermented shark’. The most famous doesn’t mean the best and you’ll need a lot of courage to eat it. Chef and traveler Anthony Bourdain described it as “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” he has ever eaten. Well, we tried hard to find a restaurant that would serve it, but couldn’t find any. Locals even laughed at us not to do it! Apparently there are only 2 restaurants in Reykjavik that serve this dish only on Saturday. Maybe next time we’ll have “better luck”. iceland travel tips
After you finish your shark, you should get a shot of their signature alcohol Brennivin, which is also called ‘the back death’. The liquor was introduced after the prohibition in 1935 (beer wasn’t legal until 1989 – how crazy is that?), and it used to have a white skull on the bottle to warn people against consumption. Now the skull is replaced by the map of Iceland and with its 40% it’s nothing to be worry about.
Icelanders are also crazy about ‘pylsur’, which is basically a hot dog. You can get them anywhere on Iceland and they are always delicious, covered in crunchy pieces of fried onions and creamy mustard. I’ve never eaten as many hot dogs in my life as during one week here. Another typical thing to try is skyr – traditional thick yogurt. To me it was a bit weird at first, definitely not a ‘normal’ Greek yogurt I am used to, but our relationship grew and even though I don’t love it, I don’t hate it either.
Which Souvenirs to Buy
The most typical souvenirs from Iceland are sweaters, blankets or shawls made of wool from Icelandic sheep with their traditional patterns. The sweaters are called ‘lopapeysa’ and they are very cute and warm, although quite expensive. The price range is generally 16,000 – 19,000 ISK (123 – 147 EUR). You can claim a tax back at the airport for everything over 6,000 ISK in one transactions (46 EUR). I bought a hoodie from Ice Wear, popular Icelandic clothing brand, and I got my tax back in about a month and half (the tax I got back was only about 12 AUD off 75 AUD hoodie though). iceland travel tips
In the sea of blogs and articles about Iceland, I hope you’ll find this summary at least a bit useful! Please let me know what you think in comments below.
