Review of Iceland, land of fire and ice

In this article, I will give you my opinion on Iceland as I did for Malta, Burma, Poland or Dubai, etc.

Iceland my opinion

I do not claim to know everything about Iceland since I have only been there for a few days several times, but I am very well informed about things to do and I have visited the essentials a lot. I also received feedback from friends about their activities in Iceland.

To locate Iceland for you, here is a map, it is the northernmost country in Europe.

It takes 3 hours to get there; it is several thousand kilometers from France (3 hours flight). Flight prices start from 100 euros for a round trip.

Although Iceland is in Europe, it is not in the European Union (as of January 2017) but is part of the Scandinavian countries, its culture is very similar to other Scandinavian countries.

The currency used is the Icelandic krona, in Sweden they use the Swedish krona, in Denmark they use the Danish krone for your information.

Places visited : The Golden Circle area, Blue Lagoon, Jokulsarlon lake and surroundings, Reykjavik the capital, Thingvellir National Park, the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and other places.

Number of days in Iceland : 3 days in winter and 3 days in summer. It’s like night and day if I may say so 😀 (winter 3/4 of the day is night and summer 3/4 of the day is daylight).

What you need to know about Reykjavik :

To visit Iceland, you can have the capital Reykjavik as your accommodation base to go on day trips, and that’s what I did. Other options are possible such as renting a car for a week or more and touring the island, for more information see here.

You can also find people who have rented a car in youth hostels, but it is better to rent your own car and look for people to split the rental cost.

Personally, having very limited time, I only did day trips departing from Reykjavik, the capital.

What you need to know is that the highway in Iceland is a circle

You can easily do the tour, you can also hitchhike since there are only two possible routes (clockwise or counterclockwise) and there is a good chance that other travelers will help you since they are going to the same place or direction as you.

It is preferable to hitchhike only in summer because in winter, there is little sunlight and less chance to meet a traveler or an Icelander during the day.

There is also the possibility to do it by bike, which is frequently done in summer.

Criterion	Rating /10	Comment
Landscapes	10	Unmatched, unique in the world
Safety	10	Safest country in the world
Food	6	Decent but not exceptional
Value for money	5	Expensive: gasoline €2.2/L, restaurant €25-40
Infrastructure	8	Asphalted Route 1, gravel F-roads
Hospitality	9	Reserved but friendly Icelanders

When to go to Iceland – opinions?

All year round

My guide to favorite attractions:

• Blue Lagoon: It is a blue hot spring in the shape of a lagoon near the airport, so you can go there either when you arrive or before taking your flight. It’s worth the detour. It is a very popular place and there are too many visitors (see photo). Popular place all year round.

• The Golden Circle: Composed of 3 main attractions, the visit to Gulfoss (waterfall), Geysir (geyser), and Thingvellir (mountain range). You can either rent a car or take a day tour.

• Visit the Jukulsarlon area: You can either take the boat cruise around the lake or do a hike to visit the Vatnajokull glacier or even visit the ice cave.

• The Snaefellsnes Peninsula, there are many possible activities such as whale watching (depending on the season) or marine life observation, visiting waterfalls, caves, seeing a glacier volcano, black beaches, or lava flows. This is actually the place that inspired Jules Verne for the book “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.

In summer, June, July, August, September

• Thingvellir National Park, the Silfra fissure: The park visit is part of the Golden Circle but you will not go to the Silfra fissure which is the place where you can swim at the meeting point of the American and European tectonic plates. You can do it with a mask and snorkel or scuba diving (better with diving). There is a visibility of 100 meters.

You should go in June, July, August, and September Here is a video I found on Youtube.

In winter, in December, January and February

• See the Northern Lights (winter only), I won’t draw you a picture. The Northern Lights are solar eruptions that meet our atmospheric system and it is the result of this encounter. It is not guaranteed to see them.

Of course, there are other places to visit in Iceland but these are the places I know and there are many more activities to do but I am only giving you my perspective and opinions. The photos speak for themselves, the landscapes and nature are magnificent.

If you want to take excursions like I did, follow the link to the agency I went with, it is a good agency and I had excellent service.

Excursions start from 100 euros per day, they offer good prices compared to the competition.

Prices in Iceland are high but reasonable. It is better to book in advance if you are coming for only 3-4 days even though you can find something on site (better off-season, avoid if you travel in summer especially in August).

• Life in Iceland:

There are only 300,000 inhabitants in Iceland, two-thirds of whom live in Reykjavík and its surroundings. To compare the size of Iceland, it is 5 times smaller than France. There is a strong influence of Scandinavian culture in Iceland, in fact, it was Danish territory until 1944.

It experienced a severe crisis in 2009 if you want more information and figures about Iceland, here it is.

To see the climate in Iceland, I recommend this site for weather in Iceland.

• Accommodation in Iceland:

Most tourists who visit Iceland stay in Reykjavík, I also made this choice. There are all kinds of accommodation options such as youth hostels (from 25 euros) or hotels (from 50 euros per person per night), guest houses.

If you want to see the different options for Iceland, here is the accommodation in Reykjavik, but there are other accommodation options in other places such as Akureyri, Höfn, Egilsstadir, and many more, etc.

It is possible to camp in the summer, but the sun is quite present. There are many campsites where you can pitch your tent; I recommend this site to see the camping spots in Iceland. You can do wild camping under certain conditions.

It is forbidden to camp outside the authorized areas in national parks.

• Prices in Iceland:

Iceland is a country that depends heavily on imports and is very isolated. Prices are therefore higher than in France.

You should expect to pay at least one and a half times the price of France for food, dining, etc.

Alcohol is very expensive, so if you want to party or quench your thirst, consider buying a bottle at duty free before you leave.

The price can sometimes discourage some; as soon as we arrived, we were surprised by the prices and the hospitality of the Icelanders.

A day excursion costs at least 100 euros, slightly less for a half-day.

The service is good and of top high quality. In summer, there are guides who speak French, but off-season, it is better to speak and understand English.

Prices are similar to what you would pay in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or the USA.

• Car Rental Review in Iceland:

If you only have one week, I recommend doing the south of Reykjavik (the Golden Circle, Thingvellir) for several days, taking a trip to the Jokulsarlon area (one or two days) and visiting the Snaefellsnes peninsula (a few days).

That’s already a beautiful and substantial itinerary.

If you are staying only 3-4 days, I recommend more of a day trip from Reykjavik to Snaefellsnes and another to Jokulsarlon then the Golden Circle.

If you want to do the island tour circuit, it is possible to do the island tour in 8 days but I do not recommend it. You need 2 weeks (minimum 10 days) to really enjoy it. I advise you this link to help you do it, it is a valuable aid from the best sites on the main road.

Driving in Iceland is not complicated and takes place on the main road, Route 1.

The roads are safe, however, you need to be well informed about insurance issues when going on unpaved roads.

I have friends who have done it by driving themselves, I did excursions because I do not drive.

If you want to rent a car, here are the different options available on the largest rental platform in Iceland, the site already helps you sort through the different car rental companies.

You can also rent from Campeasy or Northbound.

Travel in Iceland Review

If you want to see magnificent and natural landscapes, a trip to Iceland is made for you. However, you will either need to rent a car or take the bus ticket. Iceland can be very expensive if you have not prepared anything. Unless you are going for a weekend, you can enjoy the Blue Lagoon and visit the Golden Circle. However, if you have several weeks, do the tour to see the fjords, glaciers, black ice beaches, ice caves, and volcanoes.

Norway or Iceland Review

Iceland is more in “road trip adventure and nature mode with your van or your hikes” whereas for Norway, it is mostly landscapes and “day trips”.

Iceland is one of the destinations to visit and know in 2020 – 2021 and in the coming years.

There are more and more tourists coming to Iceland with the opening of low-cost flights (wow air company: great deals for Iceland) and the increase of flights in Europe. You can also travel with Iceland Air or Air France.

There is a great diversity of landscapes, mountains (snowy or volcanic) and sea (fjord, lake, lagoon, iceberg, etc.), which is why it is called the land of ice and fire.

To plan your trip, what to do in Iceland provides the detailed itinerary. Iceland in 3 days offers a short format. And the northern lights in Iceland specifically covers the aurora hunting.

It looks a lot like New Zealand in terms of landscapes, mountains, hikes, and things to visit, so save the plane ticket cost and go to Iceland instead of New Zealand.

Although New Zealand is small, Iceland is even smaller which makes traveling easier; what you would do in 1 week in Iceland, you would do in 3 weeks in New Zealand (I spent 6 weeks in NZ in 2015 so I know what I’m talking about).

If you want more information about Iceland, you can check one of my sites about Iceland which is much more comprehensive but the essential information is in this article.

Iceland is part of my selection of the most beautiful countries in the world.

This article contains affiliate links; if you book through the article, I will receive a commission, the price is in no way increased.

UPDATED AUGUST 2020