A little background on me: I am an American who moved for professional reasons to Iceland and lived there for two years. It was a difficult, but overall, an experience which I appreciate. At the time I was there I learned a lot about Iceland and experienced, firsthand, everything I write about in this article.
There is only one international airport in Iceland, yes, you will be flying in Keflavik, a small town about 30 minutes south of Reykjavik, the capital. If you are onlybe in Iceland for a few hours with a stopover, you should consider going to the Blue Lagoon. It's approximately 15-20 minutes from the airport. The Blue Lagoon is a spa town and its main attribute is a pond, geothermal, you can bathe in. The water is emerald green and very relaxing. Icelanders believe that the mineral-rich water is healing. It is certainly reassuring, and the experience is unique.
If you are staying at in Iceland and for a few days, most likely youwill stay in Reykjavik. In this case, I would recommend, as the center, which can be done on foot or by a tour bus. Reykjavik is a charming and beautiful city with brightly colored roofs, narrow streets and bustling pedestrian activity. Next, I would recommend would be one of the many swimming pools in the city. They are very affordable and one of the best things about living in Iceland. In fact, consider Reykjavik, the spa capital of Europe. The pools are clean andoffers many many hot pots, lap pools, steam rooms, saunas and much more. The cost is about $ 6, a bargain for such an expensive country.
The next thing I highly recommend is a tour out of town to Iceland to see unspoiled nature. You can take a bus or a contract with one of the many jeep-tour companies. The bus tours generally stick to main roads and will take you to all the tourist hotspots: Gullfoss, Geysir, Thingvellir National Park and take a couple of other well-knownDestinations. My feeling is that the bus tour option is not very interesting. It is glorified as a postcard. Instead, I would be for the Jeep tours, you will be off the beaten path to choose, so you not only see but experience. This Jeep tours range in length from 3 hours to overnight trips. You can choose a tour to fit your interests, for example, you can click on a jeep tour that lets you take many of the spectacular waterfalls. Alternatively, you can choose to ride on a glacierand snowmobiling. Or you can take a tour that you explore the lava fields and allow for advancement in lava tubes. I truly believe that this is the best way
Experience Iceland - first hand, not seen through a bus window.
If you are in Iceland for at least a week, I would recommend to rent a car and driving the Ring Road. It is the only main road in Iceland, and it just goes around the whole country. This journey takes you 2-3 days, depending on thePace. This type of travel is an experience worth seeing. Please note that cars are expensive to rent and the gas is. When I was there, gas cost about $ 6.50/gallon. Food and lodging are also very expensive, so consider stay in boarding houses and look after eating as food service and catering for every meal.
In many ways, Iceland is like many northern European countries. The capital looks like the other Scandinavian capitals, it has all the modern amenities that people speakEnglish and, last but not least, it is expensive. But, that where the similarity ends. Iceland is unique in many ways. First off, Geologically, Iceland is very unique. It is a relatively young island, which is still volcanically active. For this reason, Iceland is a hot bed (no pun intended) of geothermal activity. Icelanders use this hot water to produce electricity and heat their homes. Iceland is sparsely populated with a small total population, about 300,000 people. Reykjavikthe capital with about 120,000 people - not large by any standards. In Iceland, there are many glaciers, in fact, it has the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull. Most of the interior is uninhabited and uninhabitable. So the cities, as they have emerged along the coast. Outside of Reykjavik is the closest, larger city
Akueyri, which enjoys the distinction of the northernmost city in the world.
Iceland is clean and beautiful with amazingLandscapes that are from another world, lava fields to lush meadows of moss, grasses and low-lying fruit bushes to waterfalls, rivers and streams, mountains, glaciers and much more. Trees are few and far between outside of the populated areas. Iceland has very clean air and water. You can safely drink water from many rivers across the country - not something I recommend in most of the world. Iceland is also a fun destination, Icelanders love to party and club scene in Reykjavika must. Just do not show up before 11:30 Clock.
