Iceland

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Feien

Ploppers
456
377
Anyone been there that has some insight? I'm planning on taking a 10 day trip sometime soon. Mostly want to do some photography/video work of nice places. Probably thinking of renting a car and camp around.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

woot!

Trakanon Raider
217
1,025
Been there last november, had a great time. Renting a car is almost mandatory, since there is so much distance inbetween every other point of interest (Offroad/4wd if you can, but careful, you don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere with no signal). Bring good trekking shoes.
If you like waterfalls, there is plenty of them
tongue.png
Went to see Sk?gafoss and Gullfoss (also did the rest of the "golden circle", that's a good thing to start with for pictures), which was quite impressive.
The eyjafjallajokull volcano might be interesting, didn't had a chance to go there :/
Not really sure about camping though, the place is very windy since there are almost no trees (tundra style), so it highly intensifies the cold feeling. We rented a realy nice house about 2h drive from Reykjav?k, and do not regret it one bit. We had a blast watching aurora borealis from the jaccuzzi outside
tongue.png

Spend a day or two in Reykjav?k btw, it's pretty nice, and has some really good restaurants. I was quite amazed at the quantity and quality of street art there (considering the size of the city).
One thing you should definately do, is to go to the Blue Lagoon (I suspect it's much more enjoyable/fun to go there in winter, but just go there anyways !).

*edit : two restaurants in Reykjavik that I thought were really good : Sj?vargrilli? (Sk?lav?r?ust?gur 14, 101 Reykjav?k, Iceland) and Grillmarka?urinn (L?kjargata 2A, 101 Reykjav?k)
 

Eomer

Trakanon Raider
5,472
272
Half a dozen friends just went there a month ago, as Iceland Air just started direct flights out of Edmonton. They loved it, but I don't really have any specifics.
 

bho

Bronze Knight of the Realm
207
7
absolutely amazing. did a tour of southern coast. see the major waterfalls (all are right off the freeway), go to jokusarlon, hike a glacier (i did vatnajokull from Skaftafell). the "golden circle" was pretty lame i thought except for the waterfall. dont go to geysir, its a waste of time. definitely go to blue lagoon. definitely hang in reyk for a few days. if you are young a drink spend a weekend night in reyk. icelandic people are filthy alcoholics - bars are as crowded at 4:30 as they are at 11:30
 

Mrs. Gravy

Quite Saucy
<QUITE SAUCY>
1,696
2,173
Has anyone else been to Iceland since this thread was begun? I have been invited by inner Web friends G and I made many years sgo. They had invited us, but G was too ill to travrl. Now, they think it would be good for me to have a complete change of scenery and culture. I don't disagree. I can afford it and I have the vacation time. I have not, however made such a journey. My travel has been limited to contiguous N. America. What months would you NOT go...what the hell does one pack to wear? Remember I am in Mo. Estados Unidos, so accustomed to humid and warm but really only kind of cold...just usually a few days of below zero temps...
 

Vinen

God is dead
2,782
486
Has anyone else been to Iceland since this thread was begun? I have been invited by inner Web friends G and I made many years sgo. They had invited us, but G was too ill to travrl. Now, they think it would be good for me to have a complete change of scenery and culture. I don't disagree. I can afford it and I have the vacation time. I have not, however made such a journey. My travel has been limited to contiguous N. America. What months would you NOT go...what the hell does one pack to wear? Remember I am in Mo. Estados Unidos, so accustomed to humid and warm but really only kind of cold...just usually a few days of below zero temps...
I went there in the spring. It's a nice place. Would go again. Make sure to visit Blue Lagoon or so I'm told. It's a hot spring park or something. We didn't go and were told we missed out.

Expensive as shit thought (15 euro for a Burger, 12 euro for a beer???)

We stayed atHótelgisting ?* hjarta borgarinnar | Hótel Centrum
We got to watch the Panama Papers protests from our hotel window. Was an interesting experience.
 

Rangoth

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,528
1,641
lol, blue lagoon is interesting. I suppose worth a visit but huge tourist trap. In short it's a "natural" hot spring with this luxury building, restaurant, etc built around it. They serve drinks from a walk up bar but have a 3 drink max! Sucks for drunks like me. There are way better natural hot springs if you go looking.

You can take the bus from near the airport to the starting point for some great hikes. I did the landmannalaugar trail. It's about 5 days and if you like hiking will give you amazing spots for pictures. You see everything from mountain valleys, volcanish ash plains, forests, glaciers, mountain passes, and raging rivers. Would highly recommend it as a go to for anyone who likes hiking. The hut system there is really nice, way nicer than I thought. I brought all my tent camping gear because I didn't know what to expect.

reykjavik is a nice city but I can't imagine spending more than a day or two there with everything else iceland has to offer. Some beautiful waterfalls along the southern part of the island, most of which you can drive right up to. I stayed at "OK Hotel" here, which has themed sorta rooms, right downtown, a neat bar downstairs with awesome owner and bartender I ended up hanging out with for a few days.

Puffins are badass. Eat them, photo them, whatever. Westman Island is the best spot to view.

Almost no one goes to the north/east parts of the island. You can rent a car or do a bus tour that goes around the entire island, it's pretty up there and very isolated.
 

Vinen

God is dead
2,782
486
lol, blue lagoon is interesting. I suppose worth a visit but huge tourist trap. In short it's a "natural" hot spring with this luxury building, restaurant, etc built around it. They serve drinks from a walk up bar but have a 3 drink max! Sucks for drunks like me. There are way better natural hot springs if you go looking.

You can take the bus from near the airport to the starting point for some great hikes. I did the landmannalaugar trail. It's about 5 days and if you like hiking will give you amazing spots for pictures. You see everything from mountain valleys, volcanish ash plains, forests, glaciers, mountain passes, and raging rivers. Would highly recommend it as a go to for anyone who likes hiking. The hut system there is really nice, way nicer than I thought. I brought all my tent camping gear because I didn't know what to expect.

reykjavik is a nice city but I can't imagine spending more than a day or two there with everything else iceland has to offer. Some beautiful waterfalls along the southern part of the island, most of which you can drive right up to. I stayed at "OK Hotel" here, which has themed sorta rooms, right downtown, a neat bar downstairs with awesome owner and bartender I ended up hanging out with for a few days.

Puffins are badass. Eat them, photo them, whatever. Westman Island is the best spot to view.

Almost no one goes to the north/east parts of the island. You can rent a car or do a bus tour that goes around the entire island, it's pretty up there and very isolated.
3 drink maximum? WHAT THE FUCK. YEAH fuck that.

My wife and I only stayed in Iceland for 3 nights. Furthest we got was Vik. Got to see a pretty awesome storm coming in from there.
 

Eomer

Trakanon Raider
5,472
272
Mrs. G, Iceland's climate is actually pretty mild. It doesn't get very warm in the summer, but it doesn't get super cold in the winter either:Iceland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Even if you went in the middle of winter, temperatures don't appear to often be much below freezing at night, and it's generally above freezing during the day. Dress for a cool, damp, coastal climate if going in the summer. In the winter, it looks like the climate isn't far off from the NE of the US.
 

Mrs. Gravy

Quite Saucy
<QUITE SAUCY>
1,696
2,173
Thanks to all for your replies.
I still am using (even) the idea of traveling there as an excuse to shop for new clothes.
 

Rangoth

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,528
1,641
Thanks to all for your replies.
I still am using (even) the idea of traveling there as an excuse to shop for new clothes.
Nothing beats their wool sweaters! They've also got all the major shops I love right on main street. Fjallraven, 66 north, Icewear, etc
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,465
7,381
Is there a preferred time of year to visit? I'm thinking about making a stop this summer. Some of the landscape photos in summer look beautiful but I don't know what else I would be missing out on. I don't think this is a place that I'll be going to multiple times so I'd like to go at the best time. How long would you suggest staying there? Like a week in Iceland to knock it all out? Or would you need less time than that? Seeing the Aurora Borealis is really high on my to-do list and I know that needs to be done in the winter, but I think I'd rather go all out for that and go to northern Norway or something someday.

I'm also thinking about hitting up the Faroe Islands. They look amazing.
 

SeanDoe1z1

Avatar of War Slayer
7,198
18,543
lol, blue lagoon is interesting. I suppose worth a visit but huge tourist trap. In short it's a "natural" hot spring with this luxury building, restaurant, etc built around it. They serve drinks from a walk up bar but have a 3 drink max! Sucks for drunks like me. There are way better natural hot springs if you go looking.

You can take the bus from near the airport to the starting point for some great hikes. I did the landmannalaugar trail. It's about 5 days and if you like hiking will give you amazing spots for pictures. You see everything from mountain valleys, volcanish ash plains, forests, glaciers, mountain passes, and raging rivers. Would highly recommend it as a go to for anyone who likes hiking. The hut system there is really nice, way nicer than I thought. I brought all my tent camping gear because I didn't know what to expect.

reykjavik is a nice city but I can't imagine spending more than a day or two there with everything else iceland has to offer. Some beautiful waterfalls along the southern part of the island, most of which you can drive right up to. I stayed at "OK Hotel" here, which has themed sorta rooms, right downtown, a neat bar downstairs with awesome owner and bartender I ended up hanging out with for a few days.

Puffins are badass. Eat them, photo them, whatever. Westman Island is the best spot to view.

Almost no one goes to the north/east parts of the island. You can rent a car or do a bus tour that goes around the entire island, it's pretty up there and very isolated.

Blue Lagoon, wow would not expect that. It was Prague vs Iceland for me. Lagoon seemed a lot more couple-esque getaway type of vacation anyway, but I really wanted to not blow an opportunity to see northern lights + Iceland.

Disaster avoided.
 

SeanDoe1z1

Avatar of War Slayer
7,198
18,543
Is there a preferred time of year to visit? I'm thinking about making a stop this summer. Some of the landscape photos in summer look beautiful but I don't know what else I would be missing out on. I don't think this is a place that I'll be going to multiple times so I'd like to go at the best time. How long would you suggest staying there? Like a week in Iceland to knock it all out? Or would you need less time than that? Seeing the Aurora Borealis is really high on my to-do list and I know that needs to be done in the winter, but I think I'd rather go all out for that and go to northern Norway or something someday.

I'm also thinking about hitting up the Faroe Islands. They look amazing.

Norway was a really pleasant surprise. I stayed in Haugesund for a week and rented a cheap car and drove around to the glaciers / different towns. Little expensive, language is hard to navigate. Really, really good outdoor hiking and tons of iconic spots. Waterfalls are just insane, and everywhere.

Preggo wife and I got stuck on an island for for 2-3 hours because we didn't care to try to translate and the returning ship peaced the fuck out 20mins after we went inland for a picnic type lunch. Another couple went to Stavanger and had nothing but good things to say, but driving around the fjords is a+
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,465
7,381
So this trip is now booked. Going November 2-11. Still working on the itinerary but I think it would be cool to rent a car and drive around the entire island. Looks like it only adds up to about 20 hours of driving. Seeing the Northern Lights is kind of the primary objective and I have a feeling the remote eastern/northern parts of the island will be ideal for that.

We also really like to party and will probably spend 2-3 days in Reykjavík.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Denaut

Trump's Staff
2,739
1,279
Seeing the Northern Lights is kind of the primary objective and I have a feeling the remote eastern/northern parts of the island will be ideal for that.

Enjoy your trip, the Nordic countries are beautiful in the summer, but...

If you want to see the Northern lights you have to go in the winter, and to increase your chances of seeing them usually more north than Iceland.
 

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,465
7,381
Everyone I've talked to that's been to Iceland in the winter has said they've seen them - even if only for 20 minutes or so.
 

Denaut

Trump's Staff
2,739
1,279
Everyone I've talked to that's been to Iceland in the winter has said they've seen them - even if only for 20 minutes or so.

You might still see them, but November is early in the season and Iceland is a little low. The deeper into winter and the more northerly you are the better your chances of seeing stronger auroras. We get them down here too (more south than Iceland) but they are rarer and weaker, the only time I've seen them like they look in pictures/videos is when I am much further North (e.g. Narvik).

Good luck!