- Iceland
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The world’s most northerly capital combines colourful buildings, quirky people, a wild nightlife and a capricious soul to devastating effect. Most visitors fall helplessly in love, returning home already saving to come back.
The city’s charm lies in its many peculiar contrasts, which, like tectonic plates clashing against one another, create an earthquake of energy. Reykjavík offers a bewitching combination of village innocence and big-city zeal. It’s populated by darkly cynical citizens who are nevertheless filled with unstoppable creativity and enthusiasm. In summer the streets are washed by 22 hours of daylight; in winter they’re scoured by blizzards and doused in never-ending night. Reykjavík is a city that treasures its Viking past but wants the future – the very best of it – NOW!
Route 1 takes you on a breathtaking road trip right around the coast of Iceland. Driving along the coast you witness a wilderness so baron and beautiful it feels as though you are driving into a post card. A landscape crafted by volcanic eruptions and glacial slides, unspoilt by civilization.
Along the south coast the road reaches round remarkable waterfalls, geysers and sleeping volcanoes. Snow capped mountains share the horizon with frozen lakes and black sand beaches.
Driving at night is no less spectacular, with the northern lights baffling and amazing you as they flicker in the sky above between a blanket of stars, unspoilt by light pollution.
Places to stay along the way range from 4 star resorts to rustic farmhouses though for the most authentic roadtrip, camp and live out of the car!
Rent a car at the airport (Keflavík), skip Reykjavik and just start driving!
Iceland's Route 1, the main road in the country, is a circular route just designed for a road trip. We did it by bicycle, but a car is also effective - just watch out for sections on the eastern coasts which aren't yet fully tarmacked. If you follow the whole route you'll pass through Europe's largest desert as well as passing glaciers, icebergs, and spectacular coastline. Good, cheap pizzas can be found at many of the island's petrol stations along the way!
Around the outside of Iceland.
We hired a car in Akureyri in the north of Iceland and headed east, following the coast road back to Reykjavik. Along the way we saw pseudocraters, lava landscapes, boiling mud pots, solfataras, craters filled with turquoise water, canyons, glacier tongues and turf-roofed huts. The variety of waterfalls was breathtaking, from the awesomely powerful Dettifoss to Svartifoss with its distinctive basalt columns. We clambered over the active volcano Krafla, enjoyed the majesty and serenity of the glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón and walked around the beautiful þingvellier, site of Iceland’s ancient parliament.
Driving through the eastern fjords the sky was different around every corner: rainbows, sunbursts through the clouds, mist curling around mountains. The shifting light and colour of the sky and scenery turned ordinary holiday snaps into something special.
We stayed in cosy guesthouses, eating delicious fish meals and drinking endless coffee. We got used to the potholes in the road, the sound of gravel hitting the car and scrunching under the wheels, and the occasional concern that we had turned down a gravel track that was too much for our little Polo to cope with. By the time we reached the ‘golden circle’ of attractions near Reykjavik, we stood with the hordes of tourists waiting for the impressive Stokkur geysir to erupt, and felt that the most amazing sights were behind us.
We travelled with Discover the World, www.discover-the-world.co.uk
A beautiful and magical place full of volcanoes, trolls and great cuisine.
The best discount card - don't go to Iceland without one. Voyager Card saves you up to 20% off many restaurants, bars, shops and hotels in the centre of Reykjavik. It pays for itself in a few hours or even a few minutes if you use it to book one of the partner hotels.
Don't listen to any scare stories about hiring a car in Iceland. The roads are extremely well-maintained and even in the depths of winter the golden circle route is an easy drive. We went in January and hired a car for £60 from National - a coach trip of the same route would have cost £80 per person.
A great hotel based in the centre of Reykjavik. I was worried it was going to be more of a budget hotel but it's nothing of the sort! Ask for a room at the back and you'll get a large room with it's own fridge, television and wifi. Very comfortable and warm - just what you need when in from the cold!
Go to Iceland. Iceland is currently having a few economic problems so perhaps you can get cheaper hotels and food than in Tromso. Reykjavik is more lively than Tromso but the city skies are not quite as dark due to more street lighting. I only saw a poor display of aurora here but enjoyed the atmosphere of the city more.
Thermal lagoon with better views than the Blue Lagoon near Reyjavik (you look over the town and towards Lake Myvatn) and half the price. Also steam baths etc.
We visited Iceland earlier this year as an add-on to a visit to the USA - it really added an extra dimension to our trip.
We flew Iceland Air from Heathrow to Keflavik and then on to Boston.
Travelling via Iceland made the US security rules less stressful because there were fewer people for them to process.
On the way back we broke our journey for three nights to get a feel for Iceland. My top money saving and added convenience tip would be to go for hostels. By doing it this way you can also get a good deal on your car. We booked through hostels.is.
Tell them which hostels you want to stay at and what size car you want and they book everything for you. When you get to the airport, go to the car rental desk and the attendant will also give you an envelope from the YHA with your
accommodation vouchers in and off you go!
If you drive in Iceland be prepared for variable road surfaces outside the built-up areas.
Hostels: www.hostel.is/
Hostels and car: hostel.is/displayer.asp?cat_id=184
Just back from a visit at the end of October, after the kronor had crashed and this made things cheaper, though still about the same as the UK.
We loved a second hand bookshop off the main drag and just down from Cafe Rosenberg and near the old Cirkus club. It was piled high with books, with a fair few in English. It has a vibe of total happy chaos.
Our favourite cafe was the one on the corner of Laugeamur and the street where Cafe Rosenberg is - it's a yellow house. Very good coffee, cakes and atmosphere.
We ate at two very good places down at the harbour. One is called "The Baron" and is a fish market. The owner takes his leftover fish and makes the most delicious crayfish soup you can imagine. You sit on old barrels and
drink beer while sipping your soup from a cup which is very atmospheric. If you get fed up with fish just by it is a very good hamburger joint with terrific burgers and fries. Even cheaper is the hot dog stand round the corner from it selling Icelandic sausages in a roll. Very reasonable.
Best bargain for shopping were the Red Cross
charity shops on Laugeamur. I got a beautiful
Icelandic wool jumper there for about five pounds.
And do try the public thermal pools of the city. They are more "real" than the Blue Lagoon, which though fabulous, is rather touristy in feel.
Café Rosenberg, Lækjargata 2, 101 Reykjavík
The Baron, Geirsgata 101
Ruins of a settlement-age hall that has been preserved in its original location. An exhibition has now been created around the ruins focusing on life in Reykjavik around the year 871 +/-2. Multimedia technology is used to explain construction methods/what life was like on a settlement age farm.
At 600isk (approx GBP4) the entrance fee is a bargain.
Location:
Aðalstræti 16
101 Reykjavík
Tel: +354 411 6370
www.reykjavik871.is
In City Centre adjacent Austurvollur Square
Sitting atop six huge hot water tanks on a hill in Reykjavik, Perlan (the Pearl) restaurant is one of the top eateries in Iceland, with prices that go with its reputation. One floor down, however, is the inexpensive cafe, where extended local families gather on the weekend to sip a beer and eat Italian ice cream. Surrounded by windows on all sides and with access to the viewing platform outside, this is a great place to take in all of Reykjavik and the mountains beyond. As the sun moves towards the horizon, the surrounding landscape becomes bathed in a wonderful golden light (weather permitting of course!)
Perlan - Öskjuhlid - 105 Reykjavik
www.perlan.is/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=102
Tel: (+354) 562 0200
I've just come back from Reykjavik; high point was the Golden Circle trip. Head out early to catch the mid-Atlantic ridge, the waterfalls, collapsed volcanos and, especially, the geysers in one day.
I went with Black Tomato, photos at the link below...
<www.clerkandtellerexplorers.com/index.php/trips/trip-2-iceland-hit-the-frozen-north/golden-circle-275.php>
Many activities in Iceland can only be done via coach trip from Reykjavik; if you go to the places where they occur you won't always be able to do them; the only exceptions are the popular places and/or popular things like horse riding.
Go to Tourist Information; there are several official/unofficial ones in "downtown" Reykjavik.
2 beers cost $22.00 USD.
Duty free @ Keflavik Int'l Airport
The small town of Seydisfjordur in east Iceland has got to be one of the most beautiful in the country, it's reached by a spectacular drive over a mountain - the road is the highest in Iceland at 650m above sea level.
The real find here is a tiny cinema and cafe called Mini-Cine, which is run by an English guy from Brighton and his Icelandic wife. If you want a decent cup of tea and some fruit cake, then this is the place to come to!
The films are great as well. When I visited I caught a screening of an old Russian film, Man with a Movie Camera, which makes a refreshing change from the offerings at my local multiplex.
Mini-Ciné
Austurvegur 15
Seydisfjordur
Tel. +354 8454883
www.thefreedomcouncil.com
The stretch at the bottom of the hill that runs towards the man-made lake is where it all happens in Reykjavik. A couple of doors down from Café Rosenberg you can check your email at an old fashioned cyber café, and five doors further down is a great fish bar, where you can eat as much as you want for 2,400 knr (about £20) – the best deal in town. We found it cheaper to have a large meal rather than snacking.
Apart from the pay phone opposite Cafe Rosenberg there are no street pay phones. Daytime public phones can be found in the banks and post office when you turn left out of the cafe.
The café is just down from the tourist information office, near the S1 bus service. While at the tourist information office get your self a tourist pass, which gives you loads of benefits like free bus rides and free access to musuems etc.
Café Rosenberg: Laekjargata 2, 101;
tel: +534 551 8008;
www.visitreykjavik.is/yellowpages.asp?element_id=863
A small record shop where you are encouraged to listen before you buy whilst sipping a free coffee. The shop is like an Icelandic version of Rough Trade.
It holds in-store performances which get so packed that people are squeezed up against the windows. Fill in a form to claim back tax.
www.12tonar.is/
Skólavördustíg 15
101 Reykjavík
+354 5115656
12tonar@12tonar.is
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