# Iceland trip



## Edd (Jun 13, 2016)

I'm headed to Iceland with a group of friends this October.  None of us has been and we're not sure exactly what to do there.  We could rent a house in Reykjavik and do daily trips out of there or we could do a ring road tour.  We'll be there 5 full days not counting travel days.  

If anyone has been and has advice on how to manage the trip I'd love to hear it.


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## JimG. (Jun 13, 2016)

Never been but sounds exciting.


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## deadheadskier (Jun 13, 2016)

I've got a former co-worker who has been twice.  I'll reach out to him and see what he has to say.


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## thetrailboss (Jun 13, 2016)

I am interested in hearing what folks have to say as well.  Always wanted to go.


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## Edd (Jun 13, 2016)

What's a bit surprising are the flights. For our dates, we'll probably spend less than $600/person. About 6 hours non-stop from Boston. Not bad for going to such a foreign-y kind of place.


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## xwhaler (Jun 13, 2016)

I have a couple friends who have been. They say it is fun, the hot springs are cool. There are lots of bars in Reykjavik to stop at.
The flights are so cheap because Iceland positions themselves as a stop over on the way to Europe---so if going just to Iceland you can get some nice deals on flights.
They have found a niche as a low cost carrier into Europe from the East Coast of the US (WOW Air)

One friend has been a couple times through Iceland on his way to Europe--flight lands at 6am he travels all over the country for the day and then flies out to Europe later that night. Can hop on one of those tour buses and see quite a bit in 12-16 hrs I'm told.


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## from_the_NEK (Jun 13, 2016)

When are you going in October? The day lengths quickly shorten in October. Just over 11 hrs on October 1st to 8 hrs October 31st. If yo are later in the month, that may be why your tickets are cheap since the days are getting pretty short and the weather in October can often be cloudy and drizzly.


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## Edd (Jun 13, 2016)

Oct 3rd so hopefully we'll have ok luck with weather. My wife wanted to be sure to catch the northern lights but, yeah, that's not peak season.


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## chuckstah (Jun 13, 2016)

I spent a weekend in Iceland 20 or so years ago, on the way to ski in Europe.  We (a group of guys) rented an apartment in Reykjavik walking distance to many bars and restaurants.  The weekend consisted of landing, drinking, day trip tour to glacier, more drinking,  hot springs, more drinking, and off to Europe.  Real fun place and the locals are great.  Tons of great bars around with late closings.  No good beer at the time though.  You have to do shots of Black Death, real nasty, but the locals won't let you off without doing them.  
Besides the nightlife, food was great with seafood and lamb the specialties.  Northern lights were great. We were there in mid March, and it was cold.  Very cold!  Stayed light out quite late, but it was always a very low angle sun.  With more time I'm sure a coastal tour would be great, but if I did it again I'd stay in town again and day trip.  Definitely tour a glacier,  and get in some back country skiing if it's available at that time of year.  Regret that I didn't ski there to this day!  I really want to get back there soon.


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## chuckstah (Jun 13, 2016)

https://www.vice.com/read/drinking-the-black-death


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## Edd (Jun 14, 2016)

chuckstah said:


> https://www.vice.com/read/drinking-the-black-death



Man, I'll have to drink it. That's gonna suck.


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## Funky_Catskills (Jun 14, 2016)

I'll be in Thailand at that time... 

I do want to hit Iceland someday..


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## soposkier (Jun 14, 2016)

Went there in September a few years.  Stayed in Reykjavik and did day trips out.  Snorkeling in the Silfra was really cool.  Look that up.  Did the glacier hike, some white water rafting, and a hike to hot springs. Also did the blue lagoon, but much preferred the natural hot springs better.  Much less crowded.  Breniven (black death) isn't all that bad, just make sure it is cold, I have have a bottle at home. Also be sure to check out the water falls, proposed to my wife at Skojafoss.  A word of advice someone gave to me before going, stock up on wine/beer/liquor at the airport on arrival.  It is very expensive and hard to find (in stores not bars) other than that.  A lot of grocery stores sell fake low alcohol beer.


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## bigbog (Jun 15, 2016)

Like soposkier's ideas = www-rafting, glacier hike..geothermal activity/springs.  Wonder what's up with their weather.
Check out the hybrid and/or hydrogen?-vehicle/fueling scene(if active at all).   Iceland's where, I believe, some auto manufacturers and fuel corporations are/were doing a few betas with a few things...


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## Edd (Oct 10, 2016)

We returned from Iceland yesterday and it was a hell of a trip. It rained a lot but we did get some occasional sun. We did not see any northern lights, unfortunately. However, there are countless amazing sights to enjoy. 



Our group of 6 rented a van for the week, a 9 passenger VW Caravelle; a diesel with a manual transmission. It worked very well for our needs. Filling it up cost about $115. By law, gas is the same price wherever you go. Driving in Iceland is a piece of cake. The drivers are mellow and not in a rush. 

We arrived in Reykjavik beat up from the flight. It was a red eye that only took 4.5 hours to get there but, for some reason, the cabin was hot as fuck and we couldn't get any sleep. Reykjavik is a beautiful city. 





Iceland is expensive in terms of food and booze. We bought plenty of $18 cocktails. The food, generally, is nothing special. I did try some excellent lamb. The coffee, surprisingly, is very good there. Absolutely every business we went to took credit cards; only two places didn't take Amex. The chip readers work way faster than the ones here, just as fast as a swipe. 

We spent two days taking a drive to Jokularson, where there are glaciers. Iceland has killer waterfalls.


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## Edd (Oct 10, 2016)

And black sand beaches. 





Me next to random ice chunks that wash up on a beach near a river that dumps glaciers into the ocean. 



We took a 40 minute boat tour in a glacial lagoon and it was awesome. 



Our tour guide cut off a piece of ice that was 1000 years old. He broke off chunks for everyone to taste, which is weird, but I did it. 



I can only put 5 pics per post because of app limitations. More pics coming.


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## jimk (Oct 10, 2016)

Well done.  Thanks for sharing.  Got more pics? Oops, I see them now!  :razz:


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## Edd (Oct 10, 2016)

Tourism in Iceland is rising sharply. I was frequently surrounded by people from all over the world. I didn't get to chat up the locals as much as I would like but I found them extremely relaxed. Tipping seems rare. When you get your credit card receipt, there's no spot to sign for the tip. Service was often slow but we got used to it. 

We stopped at Pingvalla, a park in the area where the European and North American continents are drifting apart, causing rifts like this. 



I liked the sun in this photo there. 



Gullfoss is a bad ass waterfall. It sort of multilevel and bigger than it looks in the photos.


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## Edd (Oct 10, 2016)

For Deadheadskier, the Lebowski Bar:



This place made no sense but I got a kick out of it. A mix of The Big Lebowski and 50's diner decor.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 10, 2016)

Very dude!

Though I think they should reword the Bunny Lebowski burger to Chicken "toe" burger made with what we call chicken fingers, but name augmented for cinematic effect affect.

Dude you drink any Black Death?


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## Edd (Oct 10, 2016)

I did take a sip. Tastes like licorice, which is not something I care for. They make some ok beer but nothing to write home about. 






I like the last line on this sign.


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## bigbog (Oct 10, 2016)

Great TR Edd!   Yeah, when you're out in the country...hospitals are a little drive/flight away:lol:


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## Savemeasammy (Oct 10, 2016)

Good stuff, but I couldn't help but notice the omission of pics of good-looking Icelandic women.  Should we assume those are coming?!


Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app


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## xwhaler (Oct 10, 2016)

Incredible pics.  Looks very cool


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## Edd (Oct 10, 2016)

Savemeasammy said:


> Good stuff, but I couldn't help but notice the omission of pics of good-looking Icelandic women.  Should we assume those are coming?!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using AlpineZone mobile app



I blew it on that front. Those sightings were immediate. The flight attendants on the Icelandair flight out of Logan looked like models, both tall and blonde, right out of central casting.


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## dlague (Oct 10, 2016)

We  have been wanting to do for sometime now ever since my wife flew to Netherlands and stopped in Iceland along the way.


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