Iceland

[elora]

okay, i've been dithering on this one.

Am holding seats for flights in May - four nights.

Anyone been there? Any suggestions for accommodation?

Picky? I think you said you decided to go - do you have a place to stay booked? (you can PM me if you'd rather not say out loud )

PS - anyone know how to reach Icelander from WT/TT? damn it, i i really wish they'd activate PMs on TT!

[cakemonkey]

I'm going in March and can report back after that, if you'd like.

[elora]

yes, please!
especially if you do any day trips - we are there for such a short time, I think I'd like to have at least one booked ahead of time.

[cakemonkey]

Will do.

[elora]

for anyone else interested in Iceland - i think this is useful (since the language scares me more than anything! Well, not so much being understood but trying to say the names of towns and sites. I've always found non-English names difficult.)

wikitravel.org/en/Icelandic_phrasebook

[Bastet]

I was there almost 10 years ago in May for a few days and I loved it.

We did that tour that takes in the old parliament, the waterfall and geysers - it was great.

The "Blue lagoon" was fantastic and soooo relaxing but bring your own conditioner - the water is hell on the hair.

My only wish was that I'd been there later in summer so the Icelagoon would be unfrozen.

[owlet]

Somehow missed this! Yes, I'm going at the end of March, my friend and I have rented a cabin outside of Reykjavik (lots of nature trips planned), I don't have the details but can get them (obviously can't really speak for the place until early April).

Hope you've managed to find something!

[elora]

we did (find a place).
(confession - i posted in the travel section of Political Stew and got some good advice as a few of their posters had been there). Please report back and let us know how you enjoyed it.

[cakemonkey]

Elora, did they give any tips for day trips?

[elora]

nothing specific - here is the thread: politicalstew.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=115116

but it does remind me to follow-up on some the ideas i had ... will let you know what i come with.

[cakemonkey]

I finally got around to buying a guide book yesterday. I need to get planning. We're off in three weeks.

[cakemonkey]

Thanks for the link. One of the places recommended is where we're stating (Hotel Borg).

[cakemonkey]

I just got back yesterday. It was amazing. Are you on Facebook, Elora? I can send you a link to my photos if you're interested.

We saw the northern lights, which was unbelievably fantastic. I feel so lucky to have seen them.

As we were only there for three days (more or less) we did guided tours to make the most of our time there. We did the golden circle tour that was fantastic - you cover a lot over the day. We did it with IG Tours, who are a small family-run company and I'd recommend them. They were also a little cheaper than others offering the same tours. I think tours are the way forward if you're on limited times.

I came across this blog - www.iheartreykjavik.net/ - while planning and found it useful. She also has a page on Facebook, which I liked.

To bear in mind: the last buses leave the airport really early. We landed at 4.50pm and missed the last bus to the blue lagoon so missed out on that entirely and took the very last bus out of the airport at about 5.45pm. The whole airport closed behind us, literally.

Card payments are accepted everywhere (or so it seems) so don't worry about getting money out at the airport, as you can pay with debit and credit cards pretty much anywhere. We faffed on waiting to get cash when we could have left quicker and got the last bus to the blue lagoon.

However, seemingly locals don't bother with the blue lagoon and go to one of the thermal pools in the city (there are a few). Pick up a map at the airport information and you'll have all the landmarks listed.

If you have questions please ask.

[owlet]

I've seen your fantastic photos cake, I can't wait, I go next week

I can update after I come back, ours is quite different as we're staying outside of reykjavik and have rented a car.
Good to hear about cards, I still haven't managed to get into town to exchange money and I'm now working until Saturday (and we leave for Scotland on Monday)...

[cakemonkey]

We don't drive, Picky, but I heard a few people say it was really easy to get around by driving, as there's so few roads.

I took over 200 photos this weekend so the ones I posted are a select few. Thanks for the compliment though. I'm sure yours will be better (your photography is great).

I wouldn't bother changing money - honestly cards are accepted everywhere. I even paid for hot chocolate with a debit card at a lodge in the middle of nowhere at midnight the night we saw the lights. I had a little schnapps to warm my cockles too.

[owlet]

Too kind cake, your aurora pics are absolutely fantastic, I can almost feel them.

I think I'll probably try to get a bit of cash just to save on the charges, I seem to remember last time I was so broke I had my own food so only bought a pot of yoghurt or something from a shop (it was a free 3-day stopover flying over to the US).

[sprite]

do they take amex now? a friend went there on a gov't junket when she was an intern, and all the employees had gov't amex cards--which no one in iceland accepted. it was chaos.

[cakemonkey]

I don't know, tbh, I don't have one so never tried. There are lots of places in the UK who won't take it either, as the charges are high.

[elora]

Mar 19, 2013 15:48:09 GMT -5 cakemonkey said:

I just got back yesterday. It was amazing. Are you on Facebook, Elora? I can send you a link to my photos if you're interested.

yes please! thank you!

Had a quick look at the tour company you mentioned! Looks very promising. It has been a busy week but i am going to try and go through this stuff over the weekend and get stuff organized (ha - said that before!) thanks for the info - it will help.

[sprite]

piggybacking--we booked tickets for mid-september.
AirBnB is claiming that only 13% of their rooms are available--but is annoyingly showing me rooms that aren't available on the dates i've put in.

anyhoo--any other advice, i'd love to hear it.

preferred guidebook?

[tinaja]

That was on my list this year but I was put off by the lodging costs.

[sprite]

yeah! with two of us, and slightly off-season, it's looking a bit high but doable. it'll be somewhere with a kitchen to save on food.

[ozziegiraffe]

One of the teachers I was talking to today is heading there to trek at the beginning of July.

[sprite]

ooh! don't think we have time for a trek--we have to look at that this weekend and start booking stuff.

[sprite]

we have a week (7 nights).
i'm thinking 3-4 nights in the western fjords, and 3-4 in reykyavik. think we'll get bored? we'll do drives, hikes, cycles, kayaks, etc in the fjords.