Iceland travel

[jsb]

A friend and I lucked into a really cheap direct flight from MSP to Iceland in July ($472!).

anyone been there? Where should should we base our stay? Ideally we’d be a view days in the capital but I’m not sure what other town.

 

[CyDude16]

A friend and I lucked into a really cheap direct flight from MSP to Iceland in July ($472!).

anyone been there? Where should should we base our stay? Ideally we’d be a view days in the capital but I’m not sure what other town.

How long are you there? The ring is an awesome experience I’ve heard but is a 4-5 day experience minimum. I’ve been twice.

 

[VeloClone]

If you drive while you are there, watch out for the invisible cars.

 

[IASTATE07]

So jealous of OP. My friend went there and it looked awesome.

 

[jsb]

How long are you there? The ring is an awesome experience I’ve heard but is a 4-5 experience. I’ve been twice.

we arrive on July 2nd and leave on July 11th, so 9 days. I think we technically could do the ring in 9 days but we’d be miserable. I’m leaning towards the southern coast but not sure if we can get in the western part too.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Enjoy!

 

[mikeeISU]

I went up there last year. It is indeed awesome! If you are adventurous I would recommend bringing a tent and driving around the country camping. It's relatively warm (mid 50s at night) if that's a little too much, there are tons of bed and breakfast places etc in the small towns around the island. You'll run in to a lot of European tourists especially from Sweden and Denmark. Reykjavik (the capital) is cool and there's whale watching ships you can take from there. One thing of caution is that if you rent a car the default is manual, and they will charge you a bunch to make a last minute change. I drive a manual so it wasn't an issue for me but the two from MN in front of me in line got a rude awaking. On the car side get all the insurance! They have some crazy laws on rental cars. Also gas is like 8 bucks a gallon so be prepared for that.

Otherwise the people are super cool, everyone speaks English. Have fun!

 

[CyDude16]

we arrive on July 2nd and leave on July 11th, so 9 days. I think we technically could do the ring in 9 days but we’d be miserable. I’m leaning towards the southern coast but not sure if we can get in the western part too.

We stayed at Kex Hostel both times, super nice and cheap in downtown Reykjavik. Close to some of the bars we really enjoyed.

Blue lagoon is touristy but still a good time. The Secret Lagoon was worth the trip.

We hit the following waterfalls skogafoss, gullfoss, Selfoss. As well as went to Pingvellir national park where you can snorkel, and see the tectonic plates both above ground and below water.

I really want to go back and see the northern lights as well as the black church.

 

[CyDude16]

I went up there last year. It is indeed awesome! If you are adventurous I would recommend bringing a tent and driving around the country camping. It's relatively warm (mid 50s at night) if that's a little too much, there are tons of bed and breakfast places etc in the small towns around the island. You'll run in to a lot of European tourists especially from Sweden and Denmark. Reykjavik (the capital) is cool and there's whale watching ships you can take from there. One thing of caution is that if you rent a car the default is manual, and they will charge you a bunch to make a last minute change. I drive a manual so it wasn't an issue for me but the two from MN in front of me in line got a rude awaking. On the car side get all the insurance! They have some crazy laws on rental cars. Also gas is like 8 bucks a gallon so be prepared for that.

Otherwise the people are super cool, everyone speaks English. Have fun!

Round abouts on the interstate threw me off.

 

[jsb]

I went up there last year. It is indeed awesome! If you are adventurous I would recommend bringing a tent and driving around the country camping. It's relatively warm (mid 50s at night) if that's a little too much, there are tons of bed and breakfast places etc in the small towns around the island. You'll run in to a lot of European tourists especially from Sweden and Denmark. Reykjavik (the capital) is cool and there's whale watching ships you can take from there. One thing of caution is that if you rent a car the default is manual, and they will charge you a bunch to make a last minute change. I drive a manual so it wasn't an issue for me but the two from MN in front of me in line got a rude awaking. On the car side get all the insurance! They have some crazy laws on rental cars. Also gas is like 8 bucks a gallon so be prepared for that.

Otherwise the people are super cool, everyone speaks English. Have fun!

Camping sounds fun. But our friendship has survived 5 Europe trips and as we’ve gotten older, we’ve figured out large full service hotels are the way to go.

 

[MuskieCy]

Our son flew direct from Denver Intl for $550 two March's ago. Loved every minute, rented a stick shift(35% of the cost of an automatic) and learned how to use a stick in the airport parking lot.

Loved hiking around Reykjavik, drove to some national parks a few hours away. Stayed at a home an older couple who he never had to deal with.

This, in March, was a ghost of a waterfall, spectacular.

 

[mikeeISU]

Camping sounds fun. But our friendship has survived 5 Europe trips and as we’ve gotten older, we’ve figured out large full service hotels are the way to go.

I totally get that. I'm still in the camping mode but it's not for everyone.

 

[CTTB78]

What's with Iceland getting all the reject manual shift cars?

 

[mikeeISU]

What's with Iceland getting all the reject manual shift cars?

I hate to tell you but most of Europe is like that, and it's how they figure out which tourists are from America.

 

[CTTB78]

I hate to tell you but most of Europe is like that, and it's how they figure out which tourists are from America.

You mean our accents don't give us away?

 

[Iastfan112]

You mean our accents don't give us away?

What are you talking about, my Italian is excellent!

 

[TOFB4ISU]

Our son flew direct from Denver Intl for $550 two March's ago. Loved every minute, rented a stick shift(35% of the cost of an automatic) and learned how to use a stick in the airport parking lot.

Loved hiking around Reykjavik, drove to some national parks a few hours away. Stayed at a home an older couple who he never had to deal with.

This, in March, was a ghost of a waterfall, spectacular.

Top pic is Gulfoss, nearby is Gysir (yes it is a geyser) both awesome and about a 2 hr drive from Reykjavik

 

[dmclone]

Maybe it's just where I've recently gone in Europe but it seems like recently there are less and less rental manual cars. I've always chosen the manual car and the last two times when I got there, they gave me an automatic even though I requested a manual.

 

[sadam]

Are there any tricks to finding killer deals on flights to a certain place or are people just browsing prices often and occasionally find really cheap deal?

 

[dmclone]

Are there any tricks to finding killer deals on flights to a certain place or are people just browsing prices often and occasionally find really cheap deal?

For me, Google flights and then choose "track prices".