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Iceland

Currency:

  • The official currency is called the Króna

  • 1 USD = 9.7 Króna (as of Fall 2019)

  • You can exchange some cash at the airport. 

  • Most places take credit cards, but have some cash in case they don’t take cards!

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Who to travel with: 

  • I traveled with 2 friends on my 1 week road trip in Iceland. 

  • It is a safe country, and you could travel solo here! 

 

What not to miss:

  • Blue Lagoon

  • Get out of Reykjavik & see the countryside!

  • Try a famous lamb hot dog – they have them everywhere here!

  • The waterfalls- even if you only have a short time here, there are 10,000 waterfalls! 

  • Seljalandsfoss waterfall you can even walk behind!

  • Drive around the Golden Circle and explore along the way!

    • This is open year round (it’s part of the Ring Road) 

  • Black Sand Beach

  • Fjallsarlon Glacier Lake and Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon

  • Hverfjall Cone (volcano): hike up and around the whole thing!

  • Latrabjarg: this is the Western-most point in all of Europe

  • Kirkjufell: famous mountain with waterfall​

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Tips:

  • 1 week is (usually) enough to drive the ring road around the whole country- drive it in the counterclockwise direction

  • Note: we slept in our car every other day, so if you want a more laid-back feel to your trip, consider expanding your timeline.

  • In summer, it is light outside almost 24 hours of the day (you can do/see more every day). 

  • But also note, if you have trouble sleeping with the sun up, bring a sleep mask or learn to sleep with a shirt over your head.

  • In winter, you can see the Northern Lights!

  • There is no more WOWair airlines, which is where I bought my cheap flight to Iceland in 2015

  • I only paid $220 for my roundtrip ticket back then! Unfortunately, flights are much more expensive now. 

  • I did not do the Blue Lagoon when I was there- but I recommend doing it!  

  • Rent a Diesel car- it’s so much cheaper than gas there (at least it was in 2015- double check this before you go). We rented it from the airport (booked ahead of time). I always get the full coverage car insurance at the time of pickup- I’d rather pay a little more ahead of time than to have to pay thousands if the car was completely damaged.

  • Renting a car is the way to go if you want to drive the Ring Road & see most of the country! 

  • Download an Offline Map of Iceland on Google Maps & save the places you would like to go to. 

  • That way, if you don’t have cell phone service or data (like I didn’t), you can still navigate around. 

  • Pick up a paper map at the airport or a gas station in case technology decides not to work. Because becoming terribly lost definitely can throw off your travel plans, haha! 

  • It is not recommended to go to the Westfjords even in the summer 

  • I did it anyways! Not sure if I recommend it though… 

  • The roads were absolutely horrible- not paved gravel “road”, no guardrails to stop your car from going off the “double-laned” (really 1 lane) cliff that you are driving on.

  • I did not have data or service for my phone. 

  • I love being able to disconnect from everything back home! 

  • Some people may not want to do this though. One of my friends had a phone with cell service in case of emergencies- that is not a bad idea! 

  • Everything is very expensive in this country (food, housing, renting a car). 

  • I saved money by sleeping in the car/camping 3 nights and stayed in hostels the other 3 nights. 

  • I bought groceries instead of going out for meals every day 

  • This also saves time so you can explore more!

  •  Cliff bars, granola, dried fruits, nuts, pretzels, nutella, pb&j sandwiches, (food that will not spoil in warm weather), gallons of water. 

 

Visa: not needed for this country 

 

Vaccines: no extra ones needed for this country (if you are up to date on your vaccines). Ask your doctor.

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Don't forget to check out my 1 week itinerary of Iceland! 

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