anyone been/live there? we are thinking of taking a week off in the spring and going somewhere not in north america. rather than doing the "typical" london, paris, etc... we are thinking scandanavia (sweeden, norway) or iceland.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Iceland?
- Thread starter shecky
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've been there quite a few times and have some good friends there. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions, if you wish.
Went there in 2006, again in 2007 and I'm planning to go back again in October.
Obviously I kinda like the place
Absolutely fantastic country. So clean, the air so clear, the landscape is magnificent. It's a landscape photographers dream! It's also where I learnt to use and SLR properly, on the very first night I went there. We went Northern Lights chasing, and I had to get to grips with the thing sharpish otherwise I would have missed everything. Fortunately I didn't and pictures remain some of my absolute favourites.
It has the reputation of being pricey, but you can find places to eat for a reasonable amount. If that isn't an issue, they really have some fantastic restaurants out there, and the standard of food is very very high.
Tours are a good option for the first time you go there. Depending on the time of year, the Northern Lights tour is a must. You then have the Golden Circle and South Shore Adventures which make up the other two must do's.
I've been on a glacial adventure too, which is a whistlestop Golden Circle tour in the morning, and then off to a glacier and skidoos in the afternoon - expensive but brilliant, especially when a snow storm whips in
I've yet to go to the Glacial Lagoon, but I will! There are two main tour companies based out of Rekyavik:
Icelandic Excursions
Rekjavik Excursions
Both sub-lease for the more adventurous tours to smaller specialist outfits.
The Blue Lagoon is an ideal way to round out the holiday. If you have an early evening flight, you can get picked up at your hotel, driven to the Blue Lagoon for a relaxing soak etc for the morning and then are picked up and taken to the airport well in time for your flight. Nice.
I may put up some of my pics later...
Obviously I kinda like the place
Absolutely fantastic country. So clean, the air so clear, the landscape is magnificent. It's a landscape photographers dream! It's also where I learnt to use and SLR properly, on the very first night I went there. We went Northern Lights chasing, and I had to get to grips with the thing sharpish otherwise I would have missed everything. Fortunately I didn't and pictures remain some of my absolute favourites.
It has the reputation of being pricey, but you can find places to eat for a reasonable amount. If that isn't an issue, they really have some fantastic restaurants out there, and the standard of food is very very high.
Tours are a good option for the first time you go there. Depending on the time of year, the Northern Lights tour is a must. You then have the Golden Circle and South Shore Adventures which make up the other two must do's.
I've been on a glacial adventure too, which is a whistlestop Golden Circle tour in the morning, and then off to a glacier and skidoos in the afternoon - expensive but brilliant, especially when a snow storm whips in
I've yet to go to the Glacial Lagoon, but I will! There are two main tour companies based out of Rekyavik:
Icelandic Excursions
Rekjavik Excursions
Both sub-lease for the more adventurous tours to smaller specialist outfits.
The Blue Lagoon is an ideal way to round out the holiday. If you have an early evening flight, you can get picked up at your hotel, driven to the Blue Lagoon for a relaxing soak etc for the morning and then are picked up and taken to the airport well in time for your flight. Nice.
I may put up some of my pics later...
Went there in 2006, again in 2007 and I'm planning to go back again in October.
Obviously I kinda like the place
Absolutely fantastic country. So clean, the air so clear, the landscape is magnificent. It's a landscape photographers dream! It's also where I learnt to use and SLR properly, on the very first night I went there. We went Northern Lights chasing, and I had to get to grips with the thing sharpish otherwise I would have missed everything. Fortunately I didn't and pictures remain some of my absolute favourites.
It has the reputation of being pricey, but you can find places to eat for a reasonable amount. If that isn't an issue, they really have some fantastic restaurants out there, and the standard of food is very very high.
Tours are a good option for the first time you go there. Depending on the time of year, the Northern Lights tour is a must. You then have the Golden Circle and South Shore Adventures which make up the other two must do's.
I've been on a glacial adventure too, which is a whistlestop Golden Circle tour in the morning, and then off to a glacier and skidoos in the afternoon - expensive but brilliant, especially when a snow storm whips in
I've yet to go to the Glacial Lagoon, but I will! There are two main tour companies based out of Rekyavik:
Icelandic Excursions
Rekjavik Excursions
Both sub-lease for the more adventurous tours to smaller specialist outfits.
The Blue Lagoon is an ideal way to round out the holiday. If you have an early evening flight, you can get picked up at your hotel, driven to the Blue Lagoon for a relaxing soak etc for the morning and then are picked up and taken to the airport well in time for your flight. Nice.
I may put up some of my pics later...
Wow, you got me all interested now....
To make it even more tempting, the Icelandair website always seems to have 3 for 2 deals on: flights and 3 nights in a 3 star hotel from £269. Bargain! As all of the tours come and pick you up from your hotel, location doesn't matter - although most are within Reykjavik, which isn't that big a city anyway...
Some Pics:
It's an amazing place. Really amazing.
I forget which travel company we signed up with, but we basically drove around the whole island along the ringroad, which let us see as much as possible. This was a lot of fun, as we never really knew where we were going, and it made each discovery more exciting (although too much for 1 week? We had 2).
Piarco mentioned the lagoon and glacier, and I add my +1 to that. Try and spot some whales and puffins as well. If you do the blue lagoon, try also to find a more authentic 'local version for local people'.
Advice:
If/When you rent a car, make it a 4x4 and check the tires. You won't regret this, as some of the roads are... bumpy to say the least.
Be prepared to spend a lot of money in restaurants etc. The exchange rates can dent the wallet.
Take loads of batteries for the camera
Honestly, it's an astonishing place.
I forget which travel company we signed up with, but we basically drove around the whole island along the ringroad, which let us see as much as possible. This was a lot of fun, as we never really knew where we were going, and it made each discovery more exciting (although too much for 1 week? We had 2).
Piarco mentioned the lagoon and glacier, and I add my +1 to that. Try and spot some whales and puffins as well. If you do the blue lagoon, try also to find a more authentic 'local version for local people'.
Advice:
If/When you rent a car, make it a 4x4 and check the tires. You won't regret this, as some of the roads are... bumpy to say the least.
Be prepared to spend a lot of money in restaurants etc. The exchange rates can dent the wallet.
Take loads of batteries for the camera
Honestly, it's an astonishing place.
Attachments
If I spoke the language, I'd move there in a heartbeat.
Beautiful, if sometimes otherworldly scenery, insanely great culture.
It's, apparently, the most developed country in the world as well.
Beautiful, if sometimes otherworldly scenery, insanely great culture.
It's, apparently, the most developed country in the world as well.
Iceland is my idea of heaven. Home of so much beauty in nature, art (Olafur Ellison), and music (Sigur Ros) ... If only I could call it home
I lived in Iceland for a while and, as others have said, it's an amazing place. The countryside I visited was mostly moss-covered lava. Thingvellir was the seat of the Icelandic parliament where the chieftains used to meet every year and the track with cliff faces either side of it that leads there is actually part of the North Atlantic Oceanic Ridge. Much of Iceland is basaltic (sea bed) rock rather than continental rock.
Remember if you're going that in June it never gets dark and in December it gets light around 11 am and dark around 3 pm. The northern lights are beautiful but I'd make my first trip when I could get around and see everything.
Happy to tell you more, either on here or through PM.
Remember if you're going that in June it never gets dark and in December it gets light around 11 am and dark around 3 pm. The northern lights are beautiful but I'd make my first trip when I could get around and see everything.
Happy to tell you more, either on here or through PM.
Are those your pics? If so, do you have those (specifically the 2 green aurora ones) in humongous wallpaper size?
Re:Iceland?
from 8 km per year in 2000 to 11 km per year in 2005. In addition to flowing more rapidly the glacier thinned by 40 metres between 2001 and 2003. The calving front of the glacier (the area where the ice breaks away and falls into the ocean) has retreated by approximately 5 km.
from 8 km per year in 2000 to 11 km per year in 2005. In addition to flowing more rapidly the glacier thinned by 40 metres between 2001 and 2003. The calving front of the glacier (the area where the ice breaks away and falls into the ocean) has retreated by approximately 5 km.
Been there before and echo the sentiments above. Would go back in a second. One of my favorite places in the world.
