Iceland Travel Tips
March 5, 2017
Heidi Marie Sassin
Iceland’s Weather
The weather may be the most important thing to know about preparing for your trip to Iceland. If you bring the right clothes, you will have a great time.
The weather was something I knew would be different, but it is not something you can imagine. One minute it would be raining, the next minute the sun would come out, and then five minutes later snow or ice would be falling. We came prepared with hiking rain gear and warmer winter clothes. The weather was not extremely cold, especially for the arctic near the end of winter. The temperature was anywhere between 25 and 45 degrees (F). The sun was up for a good part of the day in mid-March, rising around 8 am and setting around 4 pm, however it was still low in the sky, and often it was cloudy more than anything else. The strange weather just added to the beauty and mysteriousness of this island country.
Clothing to Bring
Since the weather can be cold and warm in the same day, sleet raining one minute and sunny the next, always wear layers, so you can change as the weather does.
The city it is a bit trendier then the tourist spots, but still casual, and I would suggest bringing a non-casual outfit to go out in if you plan to go to a nice dinner or a night club. I wore jeans around the city without feeling out of place. Just remember to bring a warm rain-proof jacket.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to dress in layers – warm pants, sweaters and sweatshirts, fleece-lined tights, long underwear or a base layer, gloves, hats, wool socks, warm winter jacket (I had my snowboarding jacket with me). Also everyone should bring a swimsuit and flip-flops, as there is swimming everywhere in outdoor hot springs and pools. I like to wear black dress boots most of the time so bring a pair of your favorite winter shoes, but make sure to bring a water resistant pair as well.
Merino Wool is a great investment if you plan on doing more adventures to colder climates, or even if you live in a place that has a cold winter. It is lightweight warm and dries quickly.
If you plan to hike or extensively walk around sites outside of the city, waterproof hiking boots or waterproof shoes are very important. Also rain-proof hiking pants and jacket will be a life saver.
Non-Clothes Items to Bring
Make sure to pack: Sunglasses, Sunscreen, Camera (with extra batteries), Small Tripod, Fast Drying Towel, Lip Balm and an Umbrella (although it may not be useful-it gets very windy here), a Rain jacket might be better.
Booking Our Trip
We got a package deal through Iceland Air, called Northern Lights Spa Getaway, that included the flight, hotel room, with an upgrade to an “Art” room, daily buffet breakfast, and a northern lights tour with hot springs–all for only $740 each including all taxes and fees. Without the upgrade the package would have been $650, but I felt it was worth the extra money to have a larger, more comfortable room and larger bed.
We added onto our reservation a round-trip Fly Bus to transport us to our hotel for $34. Buying this in advance saved us a lot of time at the airport. The lines for Fly Bus at 6:50 a.m. were quite long and looked a bit chaotic. The bus was a great addition, we needed a rental car for only one day, so this saved us a lot of time and money, and it was pleasant to have someone else drive that early in the morning after a red-eye flight. The bus dropped us off right at our hotel.
Planning Our Trip Itinerary
Once the hotel and flight were booked, we did a lot of reading about Iceland. We knew we did not want to stay in Reykjavik the entire time, and wanted to explore the natural wonders here. The more we read about it, the more we wanted to see. Being limited to four days on the island, and we had already booked our hotel, we had to be limited to what was drivable from Reykjavik and back within one day. We choose to drive the Golden Circle to visit our sites, and rented a car to do this. There are many tour bus companies that offer this same tour, so please check them out if you do not want to rent a car. However, we like the freedom to come and go as we wish, take photos, hike, or just relax and not be on anyone else’s schedule. To us the rental car for the day was worth it.
We made a list of all the places we wanted to visit while in Iceland. We followed this itinerary for the one day we drove around, adding in the Glass Mirror Lakes and another night out looking for auroras. Other than this one day, we did not follow a schedule, we just relaxed, wandered around the city, had happy hour, went to the spa in the hotel and just had fun on our own terms, nothing too crazy.
Iceland Air Natura Hotel
Our hotel was a little bit outside of Reykjavik center, a five-minute bus ride, or twenty-minute walk, but I really enjoyed the hotel, and would stay here again. From the outside, it looks like an old school building from the 1950s, but inside was a beautiful hotel, well designed with seating areas and fire places, the Satt Restaurant, the Sóley Natura Spa, artwork and sculptures everywhere, and it has a small airport behind it that flew mostly private planes. We asked for a room that looked out onto the airport, and were not disappointed. We enjoyed seeing the small planes take off and land. We were not in our room much, and the noise of the planes was very minimal, but they provided a unique entertainment.
Early check-in to the hotel was available at 10 a.m., if you are on an overnight flight from North America from October 1 – April 30 on Icelandair Fly & Hotel packages, otherwise normal check in is 2 p.m.
After reading about the very small rooms offered at the cheaper price, we booked an upgraded double “Art” room, which had very interesting risqué artwork and stories on the walls. We stayed on the 4th floor (the top floor of the hotel) and had the best views of the small airport. However, if we stay here again, I will choose a “Poet” room (on the 3rd floor), as they look a bit cozier with the furniture and rugs. One thing to mention is the beds are very small and sometimes separated here, and we requested a double (I also emailed them in advance with this request), so our beds did not have to be pushed together. Everyone has their own duvet blanket on the bed, As is the Icelandic custom. It was very clean and comfortable in our room and we had a small fridge. The showers are quite small here, so no steamy shower scenes unless you get creative.
The hotel has story nights on Thursday, which I read were a lot of fun, but we arrived Friday morning, so we unfortunately missed this. You can also rent bicycles in the summer from here, and there is a network of bike paths around the hotel.
Satt Restaurant
As part of our hotel package, we received a buffet breakfast at the Satt Restaurant every day of our stay (except for our arrival day). The breakfast would otherwise be ISK 3.000 ($27.55!). It was a wonderful buffet open from 6:30 until 10 a.m. daily. They had everything from Icelandic yogurt, to sliced meat to soft boiled eggs, with the biggest, most orange yokes I have ever seen in an egg. Everything at Satt is made from scratch with locally sourced food. The breakfast time was quite busy down here, and we had to wait for a table one day when we arrived a bit later than planned. More information from Satt.
We had dinner at the restaurant a couple of days, including returning from our Northern Lights tour. We arrived just as the kitchen was closing, and they still made us a few wood oven pizzas. It is expensive here, but was a convenient and beautiful setting. They also have a daily happy hour with 50% off all drinks from 4 pm to 6 pm and on Fridays starting at 2 pm. They carry a wide range of liquors and wines, and also carried an Icelandic IPA called Úl Fur that I liked, and I am not a beer drinker. After dinner we drank our red wine by the gas powered fireplaces.
The Sóley Natura Spa
The Sóley Natura Spa was beautiful and amazing. We spent hours in the warm pool, steam bath, Jacuzzi and sauna. There is a reading area next to the pool with a fireplace and ambient music. Our hotel gave us a one-day pass for the spa. If you want to use the spa another day hotel guests can pay ISK 300 ($2.75). They are only open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, so plan accordingly if you want to go. The spa and pool are restricted to 16 years and older, children are not allowed in the spa area. If you forgot your swimsuit, you can rent one here for ISK 500 ($4.50). They also offer a range of massage treatments, facials and manicures with an organic and holistic approach to wellness and luxury. More information from Soley.
The Local People
The people of Iceland were also something that I did not expect. I have read that they are the happiest people on the earth, and then I think, how could that be when they have such little access to warm weather and sunshine. But no matter where we went everyone was happy, everyone was kind, and everyone tried their best to be welcoming and friendly. We really enjoyed the peace and happiness we felt from everyone.
Renting a Car in Iceland
I read many horror stories about renting a car in Iceland on review sites, where the rental company would blame you for damage you did not do to the car, such as wind breaking the door jams, damage from volcanic ash, and paint or dent issues that were already there when you picked up the car. I read that this often happens at the major airport, and the smaller, cheaper car rental places, they know you have to make your flight, so they know you are more willing to agree to pay for damages you did not create.
We experienced none of these problems, and did not get volcano insurance, or go near an active volcano. We did take pictures and video of the car when picking it up and dropping it off (including video of the door jams being ok), we did not get the car from the airport, and went with Hertz, since they are an international company, but all rental car companies are all locally owned and operated, so always beware of scams, take lots of pictures, and follow the driving rules – No driving on F-roads unless you rented a car for this and be careful opening the car doors, make sure the wind cannot whip it away from you. Also do your research, read reviews on Trip Advisor and other review sites before renting a car. Also renting a gas-efficient vehicle is very important here, gas is very expensive!
We rented our car from Hertz for $110 for the day (although I think we got it less after they refunded us the GPS and Wi-Fi units). The car rental company was right across the street from the hotel we were staying at. It was not a quick pick-up, however the people were really nice and made the process less excruciating. Upon first getting into the car, we realized that the GPS was broken that they had given us. We went back inside, and they gave us a new one, after testing several that were broken and found one that worked, we thought we were on our way. Then we saw the car was almost out of gas, they filled it up. Finally, we realized the internet Wi-Fi they gave us was also not working. Again we went back inside, and they were so nice through the entire process, it made us feel a lot better and gave us a good memory of the kindness of Icelandic people. In the end they gave us all the devices free of charge for our trouble.
Buses in Reykjavik
Strætó is the public bus company for Reykjavik. Most of their yellow buses run in 15-minute intervals during the week, and 30-minute intervals on weekends and holidays. the bus does not stop unless you push a button to request the next stop. They run from around 6 a.m. during the week, 8 a..m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. Sundays and holidays, with all days ending around midnight. You can download the Strætó app or visit their trip planner here.
Our hotel had bus passes that we picked up at the front desk, with a small refundable deposit. The bus stop was across the street from our hotel and brought us right into downtown Reykjavik. We connected with other buses at the main bus terminal Lækjartorg. You can also connect to other cities in Iceland from here. I have read that the best way to travel city to city is by a domestic flight, as there are not many internal roads and the weather is unpredictable, but if you are on a budget and have a lot of time, you can get to the north coast of the island on buses.
You must have the correct fare for the bus, the drivers cannot give change, or you must have a ticket. They do not accept credit or debit cards. You can ask for a transfer ticket from the bus driver also, if you use it within 75 minutes. Here is a list of places that sell tickets https://www.straeto.is/en/verslun/solustair.
Bikes are permitted on board, as long as there is room on the bus. A special space for bicycles, baby carriages and wheelchairs is in the middle of the bus.
Gas Prices
Make sure to fill up your car before leaving the city. There are not many gas stations on the drive. If you are driving around the countryside, this is something you should plan for and map out before you leave. If you get below half a tank and still have a long way to drive, it is always wise to fill up. We only had to fill the car once for the rental return, one tank lasted us the entire Golden Circle tour and more. Gas is very expensive here, expect to pay anywhere between $6-$8 USD per gallon. You can check the current gas prices at Global Petrol Prices. Gas stations often times have no-one working at them, and only take credit and debit cards. We stopped at one gas station in Reykjavik that would not take any of our cards, and was only gas pumps, so had to find another one.
Everything here is in the metric system, they use liters and not gallons (1 gallon = 3.75 liters). So if the gas price is ISK 190 a liter it is $7.13 per gallon.
Driving in Iceland
The Roads were very easy for us to drive on during our Golden Circle trip. They are long, well paved on the main roads, and without many turns. The weather was not too bad for us, but if it rains a lot or snows, be careful. Driving with lights on all the time is the law, no matter what the weather is at the moment, as well as wearing seat belts. We had a navigation system added into the rental car, which definitely helped, however if you have a paper map, you can easily get from one place to another without any issue. Getting in and out of the city was the only time the navigation system might help over a paper map.
Again, everything here is in the metric system, they use kilometers and not miles (1 mile = 1.6 km).
The F-Roads are the mountain roads in Iceland and are all made of gravel – no paving. They are marked with an “F” plus a route number afterwards. They tend to be narrow and winding. You will most likely need a 4×4 vehicle to navigate these roads, due to muddy, wet conditions when they are open. Most F-Roads are closed most of the year, and only open in the warmer months. Travel on F-Roads in rental cars are prohibited unless you rent a car specifically for this. If you plan to travel to the mountains, glaciers or interior of Iceland, you can check road conditions and closings at The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration.
Spending Money in Iceland: Currency, Credit and Debit Cards
Iceland’s currency is the ISK (Icelandic Krónur), but most people use credit or debit cards everywhere. Almost everywhere they accept Visa and Master Cards-American Express is not widely accepted here. I used my Discover card a couple of times without any problems, but this was in the city. Hotels, Banks and Airports can usually exchange USD and Euros, however make sure you have some Icelandic Krónur on hand for unexpected things, like having to pay (in coins) for using a bathroom. There are several ATMs around the city to get cash from, and your debit card should work here. Just make sure to let your bank and credit card companies know you are traveling before you leave, so they don’t expect fraud and shut you off. For most credit cards you can do this online now.
Expect to pay money (in cash) to park, hike or use the bathroom at some of the stops, it costs ISK 500 ($4.50) to park at Þingvellir and ISK 400 ($3.50) for each person to hike around Kerið Crater Lake. It also costs ISK 200 ($1.85) in coin to use the bathroom at Þingvellir. I did read that Þingvellir was planning on making the bathrooms free here soon, but just come prepared with extra coins just in case. The only other place I saw a price to use the bathroom was outside the bus station in downtown Reykavik.
Cell Phone Service and Wi-Fi
We have Verizon, which allows us to add on international rates for $10 a day. Usually only one of us will add this to our plan, and not every day we travel. There was access to Wi-Fi at our hotel, in some restaurants, and we had Wi-Fi with our rental car, which all made it easy to connect, without using our cell plan. As for service, Iceland has a couple of major carriers that your own cell company may (or may not) be able to connect to. However, the major carriers have most of the tourist spots covered, so if your plan includes optional international use, you should be ok to use your phone, unless you plan to travel far outside civilization. You can also get a SIM card in Iceland for around $40 and use their local cell service as well.
Flying from New York to Reykjavik and Back
We left on a 9 p.m. overnight flight on Icelandair and arrived at 6:45 a.m. local time in Iceland. We were in terminal 7 of JFK, and it was very quick to go through security.
It is about a five-hour flight from JFK Airport to Keflavik Airport, there is also a 5-6 hour time difference between New York and Reykjavik-Iceland does not change their clocks for daylight savings time.
Icelandair loads the passengers into the plane from the back to the front, so even though I made a mistake in selecting our seat, we got to load the plane first. When booking the ticket, I missed the “add-on” section that I could select our seats for free. I booked the flight five months in advance, and only realized two weeks before that we did not have a seat assignment, I was able to select two seats together, but I would have chosen other ones. They gave us pillows and blankets for our flight, and kept the lights down for us to sleep. The flight was full, some people going to Iceland, others connecting to other parts of Europe.
The day before we headed home, we scheduled a Fly Bus back to the airport with the front desk of the hotel. They came and picked us up out front. We met more passengers at the main bus depot and then headed off to the airport. It took about an hour with the extra stop at the bus depot. We picked up a few other passengers on the way at local bus stations, but it was quick. At the airport, we had to print and put our own luggage tags on, which was a bit confusing to me as I am use to Delta doing this for us, but other than that, we went through security quickly and hung out at a bar. The bartender had a love of hunting sharks and we smelled a small can of Kæstur hákarl, which is fermented shark, and it didn’t smell too good.
Boarding the plane at Keflavik was a complete mess. We had to merge into a huge crowd of people and it seemed like no-one knew what to do, and then we all had to go upstairs together and everyone was crowded around with no order to how the plane was loaded. This was a big difference from our flight to Iceland, that was very orderly. I am sure this is not normal, it was very chaotic and strange. On the flight home we had to fly over Greenland because of turbulence, and it took a lot longer to fly home then to fly there. We arrived about an hour late, but made it just fine back to New York City.
Going Through Customs
On our way into Iceland, we had no customs to go through, although they did have customs stations, but at that time it looked closed. I got a stamp in my passport and we were on our way. We walked for quite a bit before reaching the ground transportation area. This part I remember being a bit busy, with lines and people everywhere, and it took us a few minutes to find the right bus, but once on board, it worked out well. We already had tickets, so did not need to wait in line. Going home was the usual customs declarations and passport stamping.
Bringing Alcohol to Iceland
Alcohol in Iceland is very expensive (unless you live in NYC, then it is relative to going out here). We brought 3 bottles of wine with us, hit up happy hour most days, and had some drinks at night in the hotel.
You are allowed to bring the following items duty-free into the country:
1 liter of spirits, 1 liter of wine (or)
1 liter of spirits, 6 liters of beer (or)
1.5 liter of wine, 6 liters of beer (or)
3 liters wine
Camping in Iceland
The next time we go to Iceland we will rent a car for several days and drive the Ring Road all around the island, possibly sleeping outside for some of the nights. Iceland has Public Rights rules on camping, that allow you to camp with less than three tents for a single night on uncultivated land, unless the landowner posts not to. You cannot camp on farms without asking permission from the landowner first. This really gives adventure seekers more options if you have the right equipment and a desire to see places a bit off the grid. Iceland is cold or cool all year round, and I would suggest having tent, sleeping pad and sleeping bag rated for cold weather use if you plan to do this.
For more on Iceland’s camping rules visit The Environment Agency of Iceland
Last Thoughts About Iceland
In Iceland most of their energy is renewable and comes from geothermal heat from the earth. All those geysers and boiling lakes actually give heat and hot water to the people, at a very low cost.
The Tap Water is amazing here. I am very hard to please with water, even the slightest bit of funny taste and I will not drink it. In Iceland their water is clean and pure right from the taps, no filters needed.
Iceland does not change their clocks for daylight savings time.
Iceland was the most unique place, with the happiest people I have ever met. Out of all our trips that we have taken, this one has left an impression on me that none other can compare to. It is the most beautiful and magical place I have ever seen.
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