Iceland
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Hi Chase
I went to Iceland two years ago with work its a great place you ll love it!
Lots to see and do, reccommended are all the waterfalls, geysers and hot springs. You ve not seen a waterfall until youve seen an Icelandic one! Dettifoss has the largest volume of water in Europe cascading over it some 500cu meters per sec apparently!
Lots of hill walking to do also up to 1700m though the climate is a little cooler than the UK and some of the mountains are glaciated so take care.
The central area is quite uninhabited and I believe there are lots of treks here which would be ideal if you are camping. If you can afford it hire a car/4 x4 as there are several good off-road routes and its a very good way to see alot of the island and visit all the places (though expensive too), a cheaper option maybe to cycle?
As ever the Lonely Planet guidebook will give you much better information than I and will help make the best of your visit.
Other intresting stuff is the food: whale, guillimot and rotten sharkmeat
If you do nothing else relax in the geothermal pools these alone are worth visiting Iceland for!
Most people speaks some English are v helpful. Please fire back more questions if you have any
I went to Iceland two years ago with work its a great place you ll love it!
Lots to see and do, reccommended are all the waterfalls, geysers and hot springs. You ve not seen a waterfall until youve seen an Icelandic one! Dettifoss has the largest volume of water in Europe cascading over it some 500cu meters per sec apparently!
Lots of hill walking to do also up to 1700m though the climate is a little cooler than the UK and some of the mountains are glaciated so take care.
The central area is quite uninhabited and I believe there are lots of treks here which would be ideal if you are camping. If you can afford it hire a car/4 x4 as there are several good off-road routes and its a very good way to see alot of the island and visit all the places (though expensive too), a cheaper option maybe to cycle?
As ever the Lonely Planet guidebook will give you much better information than I and will help make the best of your visit.
Other intresting stuff is the food: whale, guillimot and rotten sharkmeat
If you do nothing else relax in the geothermal pools these alone are worth visiting Iceland for!
Most people speaks some English are v helpful. Please fire back more questions if you have any
Thanks for the reply Limaed , We will be hiring a vehical as we are only going to be there for four nights and want to see as much as possible. Did you go on any whale watching excursions? Did you do any sea fishing while you were there?
Can't wait to go! We camped in the highlands and Orkney Isles last February and if the scenery is half as nice it will be worth the visit.
Can't wait to go! We camped in the highlands and Orkney Isles last February and if the scenery is half as nice it will be worth the visit.
I have just come back from Iceland. Great place. You will definately need a car. Distances are deceptive. Iceland is a big place. I did 1500 miles in 5 days. Great place for walking and nature watching. There is a lot to see. It is very expensive place for shopping but as your going to be outdoors in the countryside then its actually quite a cheap holiday. also you will get all 4 seasons of weather in a single day. Lots of high winds and no trees.
Chase,
I visited Iceland about 15 years ago. If you havent read them yet the Icelandic Sagas give good cultural background and theyre entertaining to boot.
Everything is expensive. If youre into film photography take all the film you can in summer the light is superb. If you are flying the duty free shop is on the way in. Buy alcohol; even if you dont drink it you can barter it, also beer makes an excellent thank you present for any Icelander. Some water may be tainted. I didnt find it a great problem but if you like a cup of tea you may find you need to use bottled water to make it.
Reykjavik is the best party city I have ever experienced.
There is a very good Folk Museum at Skogar.
Worth visiting are the Geysir geothermal park and Gullfoss waterfall. Theyre quite close to each other. My favourite waterfall was at Fjallfass. Waterfalls are fed by glaciers, they are at their most spectacular after a few sunny days, and they are very spectacular. The Thingvellir National Park, home to the Viking Parliament of the sagas, straddles the Mid Atlantic Ridge - also worth a visit
The terrain is hard. Think black dessert. Water may not be easily available. Dont rely on the snow line; it may be further away than you think. Volcanic sides are steep and often covered by sharp scree, which will hurt if you go down in it. My guide crossed this scree by stomping down with each step and he was very sure footed but then he had been doing it all his life. I found it a bit difficult to imitate his technique at first.
Icelandic people are, in the main, superstitious; for instance roads will be routed to avoid natural features that they believe to be home to supernatural beings. In Iceland the press coverage of this has been perceived as negative and most Icelanders either play it down or dont want to talk about it, which is a pity.
There is a trick played on children. They are asked if they want a piece of seal, if they say yes they get a clout round the ear; it is said to develop stoicism, which they will need later in life. Icelanders have stoicism in spades but then they make a success of living in northern latitudes all year round. Respect due.
I enjoyed my time in Iceland, Im sure youll enjoy your visit too.
I visited Iceland about 15 years ago. If you havent read them yet the Icelandic Sagas give good cultural background and theyre entertaining to boot.
Everything is expensive. If youre into film photography take all the film you can in summer the light is superb. If you are flying the duty free shop is on the way in. Buy alcohol; even if you dont drink it you can barter it, also beer makes an excellent thank you present for any Icelander. Some water may be tainted. I didnt find it a great problem but if you like a cup of tea you may find you need to use bottled water to make it.
Reykjavik is the best party city I have ever experienced.
There is a very good Folk Museum at Skogar.
Worth visiting are the Geysir geothermal park and Gullfoss waterfall. Theyre quite close to each other. My favourite waterfall was at Fjallfass. Waterfalls are fed by glaciers, they are at their most spectacular after a few sunny days, and they are very spectacular. The Thingvellir National Park, home to the Viking Parliament of the sagas, straddles the Mid Atlantic Ridge - also worth a visit
The terrain is hard. Think black dessert. Water may not be easily available. Dont rely on the snow line; it may be further away than you think. Volcanic sides are steep and often covered by sharp scree, which will hurt if you go down in it. My guide crossed this scree by stomping down with each step and he was very sure footed but then he had been doing it all his life. I found it a bit difficult to imitate his technique at first.
Icelandic people are, in the main, superstitious; for instance roads will be routed to avoid natural features that they believe to be home to supernatural beings. In Iceland the press coverage of this has been perceived as negative and most Icelanders either play it down or dont want to talk about it, which is a pity.
There is a trick played on children. They are asked if they want a piece of seal, if they say yes they get a clout round the ear; it is said to develop stoicism, which they will need later in life. Icelanders have stoicism in spades but then they make a success of living in northern latitudes all year round. Respect due.
I enjoyed my time in Iceland, Im sure youll enjoy your visit too.
Hi Chase
The other guys are spot on with their advice. I never got chance to do any whale watching or fishing though im sure these would be great fun.I understand these trips are avalible from Husavik in the North and are combined with entering the Arctic Circle.
When I there I was involved in recovering wreckage from a crashed British WW2 aircraft that had been lost for fifty years, lots of the intresting bits of the wreckage are in the Akereyri meseum now if you fancy a look. It was intresting what malcolmc said about the Icelandic being superstitious as the chap that found the wreckage had been searching for it for about 10 years then he had a 'premanition' which told him where the wreckage was!
Ed
The other guys are spot on with their advice. I never got chance to do any whale watching or fishing though im sure these would be great fun.I understand these trips are avalible from Husavik in the North and are combined with entering the Arctic Circle.
When I there I was involved in recovering wreckage from a crashed British WW2 aircraft that had been lost for fifty years, lots of the intresting bits of the wreckage are in the Akereyri meseum now if you fancy a look. It was intresting what malcolmc said about the Icelandic being superstitious as the chap that found the wreckage had been searching for it for about 10 years then he had a 'premanition' which told him where the wreckage was!
Ed
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