Hollidays in Iceland

Trick,

I went 5 years ago and loved it. About this time of year it is usually a pleasantly warm 21 degrees C so if you want to go in October you better pack your thermals

Iceland is definitely the place to go if you are looking for truly spectacular landscapes and breathtaking views.

There were two highlights for me:

1) an 8 hour coach trip around the south western tip of the country taking in various sites including the famous geysers, the site of the original Althing, Iceland's parliament which dates back over 1000 years and the site where the two tectonic plates upon which Iceland sits, the American and European plates, meet and are slowly pulling the country apart!

2) getting on a small twin-engined light aircraft at Reykjavic airport and being flown to the Vestmann islands where you get to see the volcano that wasn't there before 1973! The flight itself was also brilliant because of the fabulous views of the mountains and glaciers I experienced from seven hundred feet up.

There were loads of sites I never got to see but Reykjavic itself is a very pleasant cosmopolitan city where almost everyone speaks English and there are plenty of places to eat, drink and be merry. Beware though - like Scandinavia Iceland is a very expensive country and you if you are not careful you will soon find your krone disappearing faster than you can say 'Keflavic' (that's the international airport by the way).

Hope that helps.

Regards,

JonR

[This message was edited by JonR on Sat 17 July 2004 at 16:31.]

I spent a couple of weeks there but we travelled around quite a lot. Brilliant place to visit, decent restaurants in Reykjavik, the outdoor swimming pools are a must, waterfalls and the Blue Lagoon by the power station great fun. The people I found warm and welcoming and there is a wealth of museums and galleries. For the adventurous type there are snow safaris on the glacier and excellent but expensive salmon fishing. Check the web for information, Icelandair have a number of offers and are a great organization to deal with. My wife and I fly with them from Boston to London all the time.

Not many hotels when I was there it was mostly B&B but I am pretty sure that has changed although staying with families was great for us, the hot water smells a bit but it is free.....

If you have time, as Jon says the Vesterman Islands are a must, the houses embedded in the side of the volcanic cliff alone are worth the trip but the Puffin Pate did not agree with me...

Regards

Andy

Yep, I've been too and can't recommend it highly enough. It's like nowhere else on earth.

I think there was an earlier thread with lots of suggestions on, but I can't seem to get the search to work at the moment.

I don't think you should miss;
The Blue Lagoon
Outdoor swimming pools
The Hot springs at Geysir
The Gulfoss (sp?) falls.

We, too did the Cessna over the islands/Volcano/Glacier and that is pretty damn impressive.
Skidoo safaris are also a blast.


The only drawback is the hideous expense of most things.

Didn't try Puffin pate but did have smoked Puffin (quite liked that!), and Pickled Herring (not so good!)

I would like to go back there I enjoyed it so much.

Regards,
Steve.

Spent a week there a few years ago and drove round the Island. Quite definitely the best holiday we have ever had! I would agree with the comments above and try to see the following; Lake Myvatyn, Gulfoss, Thingvellir, Blue Lagoon, any of the big glaciers, Geyser, whale watching trips etc. etc.
The food isn't spectacular (fish is pretty good) and alcohol is very expensive (take a couple of bottles of wine with you for meals). I quite like the pickled herring, but the dried fish "crisps" were pretty awful. The one dish I wasn't prepared to try was the buried-for-six-months shark meat. Apparently it smells like week-old roadkill mixed with ammonia. My guidebook suggested that the taste was indescribable but that almost anything else would taste nice afterwards!

Thanks for the replys. Were off for 4 nights in mid october so that should give us plenty of time to save some beer money!


Paul.