[Naplander]

Hi,

Well I have decided to make a last minute decision to go to Iceland. I've been wanting to go for years, and finally have the opportunity. I am beyond excited

Thing is, I know absolutely nobody there, and have no idea about where the best places to go are or the best things to do. I want to spend some time in the capital, and go to the blue lagoon, but over and beyond this, have no idea....

Are they any Icelanders here who could offer me some advice of where to go and what to see?

PM me if you prefer - much appreciated

[voodoo]

Well, yeah I know the place.

I don't know what you are looking for though - I mean what age group you belong to or what your interests are, but you can expect to encounter everything from lots of strange nature to lots of partying. Depends.

Most of the people speak some English so if you are patient and polite you'll be treated well by the natives.

I suppose an important part is when you are going there, for how long and with how many. Iceland is very seasonal and the seasons are short. Except winter.

If staying in Reykjavik then you have the chance to go to the Blue Lagoon which is kind of a must since you're going to Iceland. The options in Reykjavik are pretty varying but center around entertainment and recreation. You can go whale-watching or go partying. Or both, but perhaps not at the same time.

Reykjavik is a very small town and it really feels like you're in a country town judging by the buildings and mindset of people. Then there is the possibility of visiting the countryside, there is much to see there and many people to meet.

Places of interest in Reykjavik:

* The town center with its numerous cafés and bars and Icelandic pricing (ouch)
* The state wine monopoly (they have a pretty amazing selection)
* Perlan (a café/restaurant sitting on top of the only hill in Reykjavik)
* Whale-watching (numerous boats depart every day at the harbor)
* Horseback-riding (the Icelandic horses are just brilliant)

So yeah. If you go to the countryside the choices are a bit different, involving more camping and less walking around streets

If you have any specific questions, doubts or curiosities feel free to ask and I'll answer the best I can.

V

[Naplander]

Thanks for this - awesome advice!

I have just pm'd you a private message with a few questions. Hope this is OK

Cheers

[Jawbone54]

Sigur Ros!!!

[Naplander]

Did you get my message, Voodoo?

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by voodoo

I suppose an important part is when you are going there, for how long and with how many. Iceland is very seasonal and the seasons are short. Except winter.

i disagree. We have a very long spring and autumn. Short winters and summers though.

Other than that you've covered the basics.

Naplander, feel free to ask whatever you want.



(don't let my sig scare you)

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by Naplander

Did you get my message, Voodoo?

No, there is no new PM for me

V

[Naplander]

Wierd - oh well....

So I was looking for a place to stay, and have tentativley (sp) booked a place here:

http://www.randburg.com/is/alfholl/

This seemed a reasonable priced place, as I am travelling on my own. Is this anywhere near where all the bars and clubs are? I am male, in my late twenties and like electronic music (music is a big reason I am going - Bjork, Sigur Ros, Mum, Gus Gus, Sjon, Amina etc) and enjoy partying (but not manically). I will be in Iceland from the 1st - 6th June.

I would like to go to some good bars in Reykjavik on Thursday / Friday, and then hopefully go out a bit in the country side to swim / see waterfalls / geyers / lanscapes etc. Maybe do a tour. I have heard there is a good lagoon in the north, near Myvatn - is this really far from Reykjavik? Should I rather just stick with the blue lagoon?

Basically I would like to see Icelanders living the real life, not all the tourist traps that one inevitably falls into

I should have enough money to do what I want, but any money-saving tips would be very welcome, as I know it's damn expensive. I am meeting up with a (very loose) contact, so any tips on Icelandic customs, or more importantly, what not to say or do, would be cool.

As I mentioned, I will be going on my own, so will be trying to meet as many people as possible while there.

Any tips appreciated. I am so stoked to be going

[voodoo]

Right then, your choice of guesthouse seems solid. Very good placement, essentially downtown Reykjavik. This is very near where all the bars and clubs are. So yeah. Placement is good

You'll be able to visit all the bars and clubs you like from there. The Reykjavik art festival will be wrapping up the week-end around june 1st so you might even have the chance to see some rarities.

The bars and clubs all center around the streets Austurstræti and Laugarvegur.

In the south-western part of Iceland there aren't many choices for swimming in natural hot springs except the Blue Lagoon, but all over the country there exist many such things. Especially in the west and the north, but that would involve some amount of travelling. Lake Myvatn is more than 500 km from Reykjavik for instance, but around it are some of the more famous domestic hot springs. In the north there is Eyjafjordur and Skagafjordur, both pretty amazing places with much to see, hot springs and genuine Icelandic life but both are about 350 km from Rekjavik.

The west, Snæfellsnes, is a bit closer and is most interesting for the Fuji-like volcano Snæfellsjokull. It is in about 200 km distance from Reykjavik and there are many many snowspeeder trips up on the glacier every day.. in good weather the view is amazing. This is btw the mountain which Jules Verne made infamous in his book Journey to the Center of the Earth as the entance to the center of the earth.

The southern part is the biggest tourist trap, but there you can see Geysir and Gullfoss and Thingvellir. They are about 100 km from Reykjavik.

So if you are willing to offer one, two or three days, depending where you choose to go outside Reykjavik, you can see some amazing things. You should choose one part of the country to see though if you choose to venture outside the city, since you're staying for such a short time. There is no fun in rushing through just to say that "you've been there" IMO.

There are two types of Icelandic life. The city life and the country life. By staying in Reykjavik you should be able to get a glimpse of how city life is, but you have to go to the north to see proper country life. It is littered with horses, strange geological sights and huge vasts of mountains, plains and valleys. Very peaceful and friendly. The locals there are more curious towards foreigners than the city people in my experience, perhaps because most tourists don't venture much outside Reykjavik.

Getting to know Icelanders can be either easy or difficult, they are curious and friendly but on the surface they can seem a bit distant. That's usually just on the surface though. Most of them are very proud of their country but it is the country people who know it the best. The city people really don't travel much around Iceland, preferring to go to Spain or some such place

Be prepared for rain, wind and weather in the 10°C to 15°C, you could get lucky and get 20°C weather but usually it doesn't become that warm in Iceland until July.

So yeah, I hope this gives you some idea of what you might encounter in Iceland.

V

[Naplander]

Voodoo - you're a dude! Thanks.

I will take your advice, and focus some of my time in the Western part of Iceland. I remember hearing the Jules Verne audio tapes when I was a kid, so a real-life trip to "the centre of the earth" will be ace! Snæfellsnes it is

I think I will also try to see the Gullfoss and Thingvellir as they seem do-able perhaps on a day trip.

Awesome advice - thanks so much!!

Now, about those Icelandic girls......

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by Naplander

Wierd - oh well....

So I was looking for a place to stay, and have tentativley (sp) booked a place here:

http://www.randburg.com/is/alfholl/

Good location. Downtown Reykjavík, but I don't know much more about it.

This seemed a reasonable priced place, as I am travelling on my own. Is this anywhere near where all the bars and clubs are? I am male, in my late twenties and like electronic music (music is a big reason I am going - Bjork, Sigur Ros, Mum, Gus Gus, Sjon, Amina etc) and enjoy partying (but not manically). I will be in Iceland from the 1st - 6th June.

I would like to go to some good bars in Reykjavik on Thursday / Friday, and then hopefully go out a bit in the country side to swim / see waterfalls / geyers / lanscapes etc. Maybe do a tour. I have heard there is a good lagoon in the north, near Myvatn - is this really far from Reykjavik? Should I rather just stick with the blue lagoon?

I recommend that you do your clubbing at friday and saturday. Thursdays are pretty boring nowadays.

One important "rule" though to enjoy the clubbing. Don't expect the pubs to be full of people before 0:00-01:30. Icelanders tend to come downtown to the clubs around 01:30-02:00 and later. What clubs completely depends on what you want to see/hear. Some good clubs are Vegamót, Pravda, Nasa. I can recommend you better if you let me know if you want to see "real" Icelandic partying, or the girls or ..... perhaps just the girls?

Basically I would like to see Icelanders living the real life, not all the tourist traps that one inevitably falls into

I should have enough money to do what I want, but any money-saving tips would be very welcome, as I know it's damn expensive. I am meeting up with a (very loose) contact, so any tips on Icelandic customs, or more importantly, what not to say or do, would be cool.

As I mentioned, I will be going on my own, so will be trying to meet as many people as possible while there.

Any tips appreciated. I am so stoked to be going

To see the real life it would be best to go out of the town. Prefably up north but that might take too much time.

I might be able to book you a place just north of Myvatn if you want though, so the sooner you decide the better. In that area you'll see basically the most beautiful part of Iceland and two days there should be enough to see the most important sites.

And if you want a "guide" for the clubbing I'm willing to help you one of the nights.

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by Naplander

Now, about those Icelandic girls......

For a preview (clubbing girls that is) see these three sites for starters:

http://www.djamm.is/is_main.asp?page...=Af%20djamminu
(skip the first three sets there, nothing special)

http://www.hrappur.is/djamm_myndir.htm
(click on "djamm myndir *year*)

http://vegamot.is/myndasafn.asp

[Naplander]

OMG!!!

Now I am psyched Thanks Von Wrangell !

I need to think more about what I can fit in, without rushing around too much. I think I'll try to spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Reykjavik and then Sunday and Monday elsewhere.

What I pretty much have to do is:

1.) Blue Lagoon
2.) Gullfoss & Geysir (touristy, I know, but then I am a tourist )
3.) Snæfellsjökull Glacier (and hopefully go up, if I can afford it)
4.) Swimming up in the North if I have the time
5.) Clubbing in Reykjavik (thanks Von Wrangell, I may well take you up on your offer. I would prefer to see the "real" Icelandic parties, than a packed nightclub playing cheesy europop)

I do want to swim loads too, in the more remote places, the better.

Do you think this is all do-able in 5 days??

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by Naplander

OMG!!!

Now I am psyched Thanks Von Wrangell !

I need to think more about what I can fit in, without rushing around too much. I think I'll try to spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Reykjavik and then Sunday and Monday elsewhere.

What I pretty much have to do is:

1.) Blue Lagoon
2.) Gullfoss & Geysir (touristy, I know, but then I am a tourist )
3.) Snæfellsjökull Glacier (and hopefully go up, if I can afford it)
4.) Would love to see the Northern Lights, but it's a long shot as far as I know
5.) Clubbing in Reykjavik (thanks Von Wrangell, I may well take you up on your offer!!)

I do want to swim loads too, in the more remote places, the better.

Do you think this is all do-able in 5 days??

The Blue Lagoon you can do on your way from or to the airport depending on when your flight is. You drive past it from the airport.

Gullfoss & Geysir is on the "Golden Circle Route" and I recommend you order a seat on one of the busses that takes the tourists around there. It only takes a day so you can do that while still based in Reykjavík.

South Iceland offers a variety of day tours from the capital too, and its "Golden Circle" is a real must for sightseers. Its centerpiece is Thingvellir, where early settlers established an assembly in 930 AD which has evolved into the world's oldest national parliament today. Besides its key historical role through the centuries, Thingvellir is also a masterpiece of nature, with a scenic lake and rifts which mark where the continental plates of America and Eurasia meet and are spreading apart.

Other Golden Circle highlights include Gullfoss, the "Golden Falls", a mighty two-tier waterfall in a chasm on the river Hvita, and the geothermal fields of Geysir, where the spouting spring Strokkur erupts boiling water and steam every five minutes or so - as it happens, the "old faithful" Geysir itself has suddenly begun spouting again after snoozing for decades.

http://www.icelandtouristboard.com/southwest.html

Snæfells jökull is another days trip that can be done while still based in Reykjavík. It all depends on what you want to do during the day in Reykjavík.

The northern lights is impossible to see during the summer. In June the sun only sets for a couple of hours at most. But even if the sun sets it doesn't get dark. Only twilight.

As for the swimming. You'll need to at once go to one of the several public swimming pools in Reykjavík. It's the typical Icelandic summer activity. (not to mention you'll be able to see the girls before the clubbing)

Then perhaps Voodoo knows of some places to go swimming in the warm lagoons around Iceland. It's not my "speciality".

And for the clubbing. Just PM me and we can try to set something up!

[Naplander]

Thanks so much.

I'll PM you later or tomorrow.

You guys are awesome, I am now getting a good plan together of how to spend my time in Iceland!

I'm like a kid before Christmas

[voodoo]

V

[von Wrangell]

Originally Posted by voodoo

V

Góð mynd er það ekki?!?!

[von Wrangell]

Just found this (rather old) video. A pretty good description of Iceland IMO.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...amp;%20pl=true