Recently found this guy's blog with some great Iceland photography:

http://www.alastairhumphreys.com/adventures/transiceland/

Now I want to packraft across Iceland.

9/16/2015 4:48:04 PM

My wife and I went for our honeymoon. Not a day goes by that I don't think about going back. In Reykjavik I would recommend staying here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2656569 Oskar picked us up from the bus station and was super helpful. His apartment was one street over from the main area of restaurants and bars. The city is awesome. Lots to do and see, great food and plenty of places to party.
Got to play pong on the side of the concert hall one night after going out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQrMzLH1Fhk -excuse my drunkenness


We did the golden circle. Rented a land cruiser from a fairly inexpensive site: http://www.icelandcruiser.com/index.php

Took a wrong turn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4SfwIaaesA

F road fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9cgiRieuog

The best part of traveling around the island was the F roads and unnumbered roads. Here's an unedited video complete with dialog of trying to keep my wife from freakin out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLanD8mr-F8&feature=youtu.be&t=829 Skip along every 5 minutes to see the dramatic landscape changes.



Some of our google maps contributions:
https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/100086701508218866355/photos/@63.991293,-19.0579747,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m7!1e2!3m5!1s-mT5RGMG--xY%2FVBfqqcneVKI%2FAAAAAAAAcxo%2FbvbN4IA1Pk4!2e4!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-mT5RGMG--xY%2FVBfqqcneVKI%2FAAAAAAAAcxo%2FbvbN4IA1Pk4%2Fw203-h100-k-no%2F!7i4288!8i2848!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/100086701508218866355/photos/@64.4765174,-20.2550713,3a,75y,350.28h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-_tQ32UTr0_Y%2FU_4Z16PPoII%2FAAAAAAAAb9g%2F150Vgv3L5Pc!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-_tQ32UTr0_Y%2FU_4Z16PPoII%2FAAAAAAAAb9g%2F150Vgv3L5Pc%2Fw203-h100-k-no%2F!7i7168!8i3584!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/@64.4781258,-20.2536239,3a,75y,355h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-lHwSV9QwbYo%2FVApu4GueN7I%2FAAAAAAAAYwM%2F3AjP_lSpFv8!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-lHwSV9QwbYo%2FVApu4GueN7I%2FAAAAAAAAYwM%2F3AjP_lSpFv8%2Fw203-h100-k-no%2F!7i7168!8i3584!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/@64.3495708,-20.1303869,3a,75y,41h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-zq1EG8O_D7o%2FVApu4Maz1WI%2FAAAAAAAAYfQ%2FqsGm_DdNEHQ!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-zq1EG8O_D7o%2FVApu4Maz1WI%2FAAAAAAAAYfQ%2FqsGm_DdNEHQ%2Fw203-h100-k-no%2F!7i7168!8i3584!6m1!1e1

9/18/2015 3:23:50 AM

Wow - everything you just posted is incredible. That just amped up my excitement about tenfold!!

A few questions:

1. What time of year did you go?
2. What are those green jumpsuits you're wearing in the wind video?
3. When you go to the Icelandcruiser website, are you able to select dates from the calendar? I've tried on several browsers and it won't let me. Am I doing something wrong?
4. How hard was it to traverse F roads? What about just navigating and driving in general?
5. What were your top 3 places or experiences?

Thanks for all the info and your awesome videos/photos!

9/18/2015 9:18:57 PM

1. We went at the end of August and stayed 10 days.
2. I was just wearing hiking pants, a zip up fleece with a gortex raincoat. Definitely get a good raincoat.
3. I saw that after I posted it. Just give them a call. Looks like their site may be screwy. The guy I dealt with was Viktor Berczeli+354 662 2932
4. F-Roads aren't really bad at all. They have a good high info system. Check the website here: http://www.road.is/ We used the GPS navigation that came with the vehicle. It had everything mapped really well. Even that off road video I posted was a GPS mapped trail. Google maps is not as accurate. Cell phone signal is phenomenal. Just about everywhere was super fast 4G. Every establishment had free wifi that was also super fast.
5. Let me get back to you on top 3 experiences.... That is very hard to say. I watched a ton of youtube videos, researched locations on google maps, read through tripadvisor, ect. I'll get back to you tomorrow on that. It will probably be a huge list. BTW... this is how much I liked Iceland... https://goo.gl/photos/CL4ECQm1FxmHsHD57 I bought a road map like one Oskar our host the first 3 days let us borrow for the trip and my wife got it framed for my birthday.

9/19/2015 9:09:18 PM

I went in June this year for a day. It was nice, never got dark and the food had the strongest flavors of anything I'd ever eaten.

They still serve whale in restaurants if you want to know what it's like to eat a sentient animal.

9/22/2015 2:18:38 AM

^ Pigs, cows, chickens, fish, crustaceans, and other animals that are consumed around the world are also sentient.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentience#Animal_welfare.2C_rights.2C_and_sentience

9/25/2015 9:44:43 PM

Wow, Charlie's post is super awesome. I LOL'd pretty good on the "getting lost" video. You two look like you had a total blast.

My wife and I are tentatively planning to visit next June. We'll probably go with the Iceland Cruisers recommendation -- hadn't seen them before your mention.

KiLLm3rEd -- any tips/recommendations on places to stay around the ring road? I'm totally overwhelmed trying to plan out how far I want to go each day and what tiny town I want to book a reservation in. I've read about these rental camper vans, which is definitely an option, but would prefer a hot shower every now and again.

9/26/2015 11:09:56 AM

The one place I plan on staying in again when I go back to Iceland is here:

http://www.farmholidays.is/accommodation/detail/711/petursborg

Every other place we stayed was just a run of the mill guest house...but for the price this place was great. You get your own little private house with bathroom right next to a horse pasture with the inlet on the other side of it. Very clean and renovated (well it was a few years ago when I was there)

9/27/2015 11:13:58 AM

The first thing I would suggest is mapping out everything you want to see. Estimate the amount of time you think you'll spend at each stop, then add in your drive time. We underestimated on some of our days and ended up either having to skip things or arrived very late to where we were staying. I mapped everything out on maps that I was interested in. I would highly recommend contacting Oksar Einarsson who's airbnb I listed above. He has several other properties not listed on airbnb around the country that are super nice and not commercial at all. Once you contact him on airbnb you can setup a phone call. Just tell him you know me, Charlie Allen, and he'll be glad to help. Here is a look at the map I setup before I went, I also scheduled my itenerary with google calendar which helped a lot. Search youtube and watch alot of peoples videos for ideas. There are a few corny commercial ones that were actually helpful. Also, check out lonely planet's iceland guide. We made a few unschecduled stops as my wife read that book while we were traveling.

9/27/2015 3:02:11 PM

Holy Shit.



more to come.

10/23/2015 11:23:58 AM

^ ?

10/23/2015 5:12:23 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vylAqx4QjkUnique Iceland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVLNcNTxCsUIceland Vacation Travel Video Guide

10/24/2015 12:00:06 AM

Looking forward to hearing about your trip.

10/24/2015 12:00:59 AM

BTTT since I'll be there in late December. Anyone do a Northern Lights tour?

2/17/2016 1:57:23 PM

Why would you want to goto Iceland in December? /popcicle

2/18/2016 8:22:11 AM

I'm thinking of going for a few days in October. Hopefully the lights will be around then.

2/18/2016 11:49:34 AM

^^ a few reasons, actually. For one, my flight there from BWI was around $200 on WOW-- pretty damn cheap. I'll be visiting my parents in the DC area for Xmas. Second, it'll be a new moon when I arrive, so my chances of seeing the Northen Lights are way better. I've also heard that Reykyavik has a pretty awesome NYE. I'm planning 5 days/4 nights and hopping over to Ireland for about a week and then Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Stockholm before I fly home to Oakland. In total, my flights to and from Europe were a combined $475. I'll use miles to fly home to DC for Xmas, so this is an insanely cheap way to get to Europe for over two weeks.

[Edited on February 18, 2016 at 12:20 PM. Reason : .]

2/18/2016 12:08:31 PM

its actually nice to vacation to winter when you live in cali. with that said, iceland winters are surprisingly mild. This week's highs are in the 30s lows in the 20s warmer than much of the US actually.

2/18/2016 7:15:23 PM

I'm honestly not at all worried about the weather, nor the lack of sunlight. It won't even be that cold, given that it's an island and winter temps are moderated by the ocean. It'll probably be about the same temperature as Ireland. I have great weather for about 300 days a year where I live, so I can deal with the cold for a few days at time. I'm excited to get the chance to check out the Northern Lights, see the Blue Lagoon, party in Reykjavik, and maybe do a Golden Circle tour. Any specific recs that haven't been mentioned? Thanks.

2/18/2016 8:21:51 PM

Going in October/November. Pretty damn pumped.

8/18/2016 4:44:26 PM

I went in March and it was incredible. Did 3 nights in Reykjavik and then lived in a camper van for 3 nights while heading up to the northern part of the country. If I go back I might do 1 night at the beginning and 1 at the end in Reykjavik just for a buffer in between exploring in a van.

8/19/2016 10:08:33 AM

I am going on September 15th!

8/20/2016 8:08:25 AM

Nice! Going Sept 3 and getting dry suit certified in 1 week.

8/20/2016 12:07:02 PM

I am going for the purposes of photography and have the trip essentially mapped out. The plan is to get out to Hofn all the way on the southeastern corner of the island before returning and headed up north of Reykjavik to what is supposed to be an amazing peninsula. We will also check out the golden circle of course.

8/22/2016 8:44:10 AM

We are going out to Hofn too!

8/22/2016 9:12:09 AM

Are you guys using Wow airlines? They are what I chose as you can't beat $450 round trip out of Boston!

8/22/2016 9:45:22 AM

we're actually going through IcelandAir as part of a travel package for the Airwaves Music Festival. Flying out of DC the round trip flight, 4 day festival pass, and RT bus from airport to Reyjkavik was about $730 each.

8/22/2016 10:07:09 AM

Ahh very cool that should be awesome.

8/22/2016 10:09:41 AM

Iceland air there on points and wow to Amsterdam afterwards.

8/22/2016 1:22:17 PM

Seriously looking into doing this for my 30th coming up in early October.

Has anyone done or looked into doing a day trip to Greenland from Reykjavik?

8/22/2016 3:28:51 PM

^^ basically doing the exact same thing in January, except with Ireland and Germany thrown in as well.

8/22/2016 3:49:37 PM

Yeah, super easy to get around once you're over there.
Taking the train to Ghent, Brussels, and Paris for a little over a $100 after that and then direct flight to RDU.

8/22/2016 7:07:07 PM

Iceland and Ireland are both on my list of things to do at some point

8/23/2016 8:19:54 AM

Just got back from a week long trip there. Be prepared to spend.

Also tourism is getting big, so there's tons of people everywhere, all the time. Even at the natural stuff. If you're expecting solitude, I'd stay west on Snæfellsness, or go further north or really far east. The Black sand beaches at Vík are overrun with people, and the waterfalls at Skogafoss and S-----foss are teeming with people, too. Þingvellir is really cool, especially with regard to the history of Iceland, but it also has a lot of folks running thought it.

8/27/2016 9:28:16 PM

Yeah part of my trip will be to Snæfellsness thankfully. I am not expecting solitude but it sounds like you didn't enjoy it too much.

8/29/2016 6:26:35 PM

^^

Yeah hotels especially were crazy expensive. Airbnb booked for first two nights and then next two using points.

8/29/2016 11:00:05 PM

Hotels are expensive but there isn't a lot of competition. Unless you're including guest houses in that statement which I found to be much more convenient, much more reasonable, and pretty nice for the most part

8/30/2016 8:59:57 AM

Quote :

"I am not expecting solitude but it sounds like you didn't enjoy it too much."

It was just a little frustrating seeing so many people at all the cool stuff just trashing it, and for a lot of nature-based things that means people tromping all over everything, trash on the ground, etc. There's no such thing as a "hidden gem" from what I could tell... if you're driving and you stop, people swarm to you. Kinda like: "oh, this guy stopped, must be some cool shit over here, let's go check it out..." and next thing you know, you're on the black sand beach at Vík and there's fucking 400 people around you climbing up the cliffs to get in the faces of the puffins nesting there.

8/31/2016 8:56:50 PM

Not sure why you were surprised. They've been doing $99 fares from the states for a while now.

8/31/2016 9:50:04 PM

^^ Ive heard this. British people are the worst.

9/1/2016 8:01:47 AM

^

[Edited on September 1, 2016 at 8:55 AM. Reason : ]

9/1/2016 8:54:10 AM

I mean you went in August, right? Going pretty much anywhere in Europe in August you're going to experience the same thing.

9/1/2016 11:47:19 AM

Solid day 1. Horseback riding, blue lagoon hot pools, sauna, steam room, and this...

Our famous Icelandic menu includes Brennivín and 7 delicious tapas

Starts with a shot of the infamous Icelandic spirit Brennivín

Smoked puffin with blueberry “brennivín” sauce
Icelandic sea-trout with peppers-salsa
Lobster tails baked in garlic
Pan-fried blue ling with lobster sauce
Grilled Icelandic lamb Samfaina
Minke Whale with cranberry-sauce
And for dessert:

White chocolate "Skyr" mousse with passion coulis

9/4/2016 9:08:23 PM

How was the rest of your trip?

9/16/2016 9:30:06 PM

i dont understand why this place is so fucking trendy

9/17/2016 10:30:16 AM

^^ Awesome. Did scuba diving the next day (the spot where you can touch two continents at once) and the last day did a day tour where we saw geysers and waterfalls. We also did some other touristy stuff around the city.

From there it was just a $100 flight to Amsterdam so we tacked that on in addition to a train ride through Brussels where we spent 3 nights and then Paris where we caught the direct flight back to RDU.

9/17/2016 11:34:04 AM

Quote :

"i dont understand why this place is so fucking trendy"

it's relatively cheap and easy to get to, people speak English, and it has amazing natural scenery. I wanted to go a few years back before it blew up, but I didn't want to wait any longer.

9/17/2016 3:31:42 PM

I just got back and yes the main issue is the surge in tourists, but overall I absolutely loved it and it was a landscape photographer's dream. Photography was the main purpose of my trip and I had a blast as far as that goes (I will post shots soon enough). As for the surge in people due to low fares etc. yes you will absolutely have to contend with that. If you are hitting the main tourist attractions off the Golden Circle and Ring Road you can expect tour buses at every stop unless you go before 9am or after dinner time before sunset. In some cases there were hundreds of people (Gullfoss comes to mind here). The key as we found was to get on some of the F Roads with a capable 4x4 (we rented one) and once you do you can find scenes better than those stops. You will also quickly leave the crowds behind within a few kilometers of the main routes. Perhaps the worst thing aside from crowds we encountered along the main roads were deposits left behind by those driving camper vans. Yes I mean human waste. It wasn't uncommon to find people had taken a fresh dump within 20 yards of parking lots and/or picnic tables in designated picnic areas. That is an issue they are really going to have to address in addition to the shear numbers if they keep climbing.

9/25/2016 5:25:25 PM

Leaving Saturday.

Reykjavik -> Hofn -> Akureyri -> Reykjavik

10/25/2016 10:15:37 AM

How was it? I leave in a few weeks.

11/13/2016 3:19:59 PM