Iceland certainly isn’t all ice! But it certainly isn’t a warm destination either. Iceland was the highest northern latitude that I have traveled before (last year, Antarctica was the highest southern latitude that I have traveled). Just like all traveling adventures, you are aren’t quite sure what you are going to experience until you are there. And many resources exist online to help you pick the cheapest rental car or the best rated lodging or to identify the best itineraries. Many guide books are available to dissect each region of the entire country. But what if you are a non-planner and typically just show up at a country and then go? What if you just want to know the top basic things about a destination before finalizing your travel plans?
I typically am a huge planner, however lately I have just been booking a flight and my first night of lodging before traveling. And then I plan the rest of my itinerary after speaking with other travelers after I land. I find this method is the best way to see the top spots as well as learn the secret places off the beaten path.
I have just left the beautiful country of Iceland after visiting for the past eight days (seven nights with the final day for my departing flight in the morning). I did very little research about what to see and do prior to arriving. And I had an incredible visit driving around the entire island. Check out my top travel tips and recommendations about visiting Iceland below:
ICELAND IS OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE
Holy Expensive! I returned from Southeast Asia earlier this year and Iceland is 4x more expensive compared to Vietnam and 2x more expensive compared to the United States. When I arrived I was starving so I found a Subway sandwich place. It cost $14 USD for the footlong Italian BMT sandwich that I could buy in the United States for ~$7. For lodging, the cheapest hostels I could find averaged $40 USD. I spent a total of $900 for a total of seven nights (costs included renting a cheaper car, no additional car insurance, making all of my meals and not buying any food at a restaurant or café, staying in decent hostels, not taking any additional tours or excursions, paying entrance for two national parks). And I just realized my fuel cost was more expensive than the rental car cost by $10 per day
PAYING FOR YOUR BIO-BREAK
Just be careful with using the bathroom in Iceland. For guys, this is easier since we can find a place to go #1 if we have to. But finding a place to poo can be tricky while out touring. The bathrooms at most tourist attractions charge you to use the restroom. The bathroom entrances are equipped with paying turn styles and yes you can use your credit card. Usually it is $2USD per entry. There are port-o-lets along the ring road that are free but these are mainly on the north side and not along the south shore.
RENT A CAR IF YOU ARE TRAVELING BEYOND THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
If you plan to go to any of the places outside of the Golden Circle, be sure to rent a car. Public transportation outside of Reykjavik doesn’t really exist. Hitchhiking is certainly an option and is very safe, however I witnessed many hitchhikers standing in the rain completely drenched waiting for a ride. That did not look fun at all.
And if you plan to go far from the ring road (for example off-roading into the highlands), be sure to rent a 4×4 car. Trust me, the back roads are not in the best shape for general rental cars. And insurance does not cover certain damages under the car. I opted out of additional insurance and used a credit card (like my American Express) that covered costs of rental car damage. The car rental places will certainly pressure you to buy incremental insurance, and it could be worth it depending on where you plan to drive.
BOOK HOTELS WELL IN ADVANCE DURING THE SUMMER
Book hotels well in advance during the summer (one month or more), but no need to book in advance outside of summer (May – August). Since I visited in mid-September, I was able to book hostel accommodations the day before I arrived. This is a list of my favorite hostels that I stayed in:
WATERFALLS FOREVER
if you miss a waterfall, there will be another one. There are waterfalls everywhere you turn. Anytime you see a cliff or mountain, most likely there is a waterfall. The weather and terrain create the perfect setting for water pouring off cliffs. Many of the waterfalls are extremely popular but others are off the beaten path. These are my favorite:
- Hraunfossar – stunning falls from an underground river
- Goðafoss – Horseshoe shaped falls with beautiful water colors
- Dettifoss – most powerfull waterfall in Europe
- Seljalandsfoss – gorgeous tall falls that you can walk behind
- Skaftafell – falls hidden in the mountains but with stunning rock formations
Check out this spectacular waterfall footage that I captured during my visit:
NO NEED FOR CASH
I was able to maneuver the entire island without ever using cash. Credit cards were taken everywhere. Grocery stores. Gas stations. Even national parks. No need to go to an ATM machine to pull out Icelandic Króna.
RING ROAD OR NOT TO RING ROAD?
My recommendation is that if you plan to stay longer than seven days in Iceland, drive around the complete ring road, route 1, that goes around the entire island. But if you are staying seven days or less, you won’t have enough time to be able to relax enough and see many of the sights. You would be exhausted from all of the driving. The north and east sides of the island have the least amount of tourists and are certainly worth seeing. But they are much more difficult to get to. Here are some quick tips on driving in Iceland:
- Drive in a clock-wise driving direction. I went counter-clockwise and found that every time I looked in my rear view mirror, I saw a stunning vista that would be amazing to be driving towards (instead of away from).
- Safety is a primary concern. The roads are more narrow in Iceland than I was used to. Some of the mountain passes are steep and it rains often. Plus there are many other tourists driving the roads that aren’t paying attention so always make sure you are focused on driving. You will certainly be distracted by the beauty and sometimes you will get tired since there are long stretches of very little things to see. But always pay attention.
- Speed cameras. I never saw a police officer during my entire trip around the island. However that does not mean speed excessively. There are speed cameras along the route. There is a speed camera in every tunnel and I only saw speed cameras the closer I was to Reykjavik. There are none on the south, east or north sides.
- Headlights on all the time. Make sure your headlights are always on day and night.
FUEL UP BEFORE DRIVING EACH DAY
Know where gas stations are. You will be driving often and gas stations are only positioned in the main towns. You will go hours without seeing a gas station so make sure you know how far you plan to go and where the gas stations are. My advice is to always fuel up each morning no matter how much gas you have left. Use this map to help located the nearest fuel station (www.hotpoticeland.com). Atlantsolía, Orkan or ÓB have the cheaper gas prices. Just be advised that gas is very expensive. The cost of my fuel was more expensive than the eight day car rental itself. Also, I lucked out and got a diesel car which was cheaper fuel than unleaded.
BUY GROCERIES TO SAVE MONEY
If you plan on staying in hostels, or for certain if you plan to camp, I would suggest buying groceries before leaving Reykjavik. The lower cost stores include Bónus or Krónan. Food is extremely expensive in Iceland. One meal can average $20 USD easily without any drinks. Even fast food restaurants are expensive.
ICELAND IS NOT A RELAXING VACATION
Your trip to Iceland will be full of adventure and driving. It is certainly not a relaxing vacation. I felt exhausted at the end of my eight day visit. It was probably due to the amount of driving that I did. But Iceland is filled with so many beautiful sites that you will feel some pressure to see as much as you can. You could certainly just take your time and only see a few things. But you will realize once you are there that you will want to see more than you planned! Either lengthen the amount of time there or just limit the number of things you will see in a specific area.
I hope this list provided some helpful insights before you make any purchases and visit Iceland. It is certainly worth spending some money to see this beautiful and spectacular country. More and more tourists are going to Iceland each year so make sure you add it to your bucketlist!
If you have any specific questions, please shoot me an email at cory@thereiscory.com. And feel free to follow me on Facebook (@ThereIsCory) to get the latest updates to my blog and travels.
