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Iceland Travel Blogs

Settled by Norwegian and Celtic immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries A.D., Iceland boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930. Independent for over 300 years, Iceland was subsequently ruled by Norway, then Denmark, achieving full independence in 1944.

Iceland experiences a rather mild climate for a country on such a northern latitude, yet weather patterns are known to be volatile, conditions changing frequently. During the summer months, Iceland never reaches full darkness, and in northern areas a Midnight Sun can be seen. Iceland's stunning landscape provides areas of geothermal activity, mountains, waterfalls and glaciers. It's cities although small, provide both a taste of traditional culture and the chance to experience the Icelandic way of life.

Highlights

• Gullfoss (The Golden Falls)
• The Jökulsár Lagoon
• Dettifoss
• Vestmannaeyjar
• The Culture House museum - holding a large collection of medieval manuscripts.
• The Blue Lagoon
• Reykjavík

Tips and Hints

Best to travel in the summer months - winter offers near permanent darkness and freezing weather conditions.

Iceland

Map of Iceland

Iceland's Flag

Hostels in Iceland
Latest Iceland Blog Entries
Iceland Photos

By travellingwithkids
October 12th 2009

A fond bae and takk fyrir to Iceland - saying farewell, and Icelandic reflections Europe » Iceland

Very hot spring

We wake on another frigid morning and fall all over each other in our tiny cabin (I'm sure if you owned it, you'd call it 'quaint' or 'charming'). I somehow succeed in showering even though the shower virtually stoops over the bed. We take off, and stop at a nearby gas station for breakfast. In buying another supply of Skyrr, we probably smash all tourist records for Skyrr purchases on a short vacation, but at least our son is eating something healthy. We stop at Deildartunguhver, Europe's biggest hot spring. It's impressive and we stand close to the water and get [View Full Entry]

By travellingwithkids
October 7th 2009

Iceland, nearing the end (of our trip, that is) Europe » Iceland

Snaefellsness

Today we have to start making the long trip south to Reykjavik; actually the trip is a little longer as we have to get to Keflavik airport - anyone on a time crunch should be aware that the airport is 50 km’s from the city so if you’re driving the Ring Road you’ll want to budget this extra driving time.) We’ve decided we’ll head south via the Snaefellsness peninsula but it’s a long drive and for some reason longer than it looks on the map. Somewhere deserted I decide to make up time and go a bit quicker. I know I’m [View Full Entry]

Stykkisholmur on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon

By travellingwithkids
October 6th 2009

Sunny days in Iceland, nearly Europe » Iceland

Horse Valley
Horse Valley

We're in the driest part of the country, so it comes as no surprise to me that i go running early in the rain. It's a sort of whimpering, nagging drizzle, nothing like the extreme conditions of the South east, but still a little disappointing. We go to the excellent Blaa Kannan for coffee (looking through the daily Icelandic newspaper, Morgunbladid, I see Chelsea have beaten Manchester United on penalties in the Charity shield - that's not my great command of the Icelandic language shining through, but rather seeing John Terry and Frank Lampard with the shield makes it kind of [View Full Entry]

By stephenturner
October 4th 2009

Day 5 - Exploring Heimaey Europe » Iceland » South » Vestmannaeyjar

Nice Signs

10:15 AM Heimaey was almost abandoned in 1973 after an unexpected eruption formed a brand new volcano, destroyed half the town and almost sealed up the harbour. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to come here in the first place - not only to see the result of a recent eruption but to see how the town had avoided near disaster. I also wanted to climb a volcano at some point, and it helped that the two on this island were nowhere near as big or challenging as Hekla and some of the others on the mainland. After [View Full Entry]

There's a Swimming Pool under these Rocks

By stephenturner
October 3rd 2009

The Golden Circle (Part 3) - Gullfoss, Rain and Þingvellir Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík

Looking Wet and Cold

Gullfoss is where the Golden Circle gets its name from, literally meaning ‘Golden Falls’. It is also the furthest inland we can get along this road; Route 35 becomes Route F35 from here, and while I have no idea what the ‘F’ stands for, it basically means if you’re in a minibus with a bunch of other tourists the only way is back, come back another day in a souped up 4x4. As we pulled up onto the car park, the weather looked worse than ever. “I normally give people a good half an hour to look round here, but because [View Full Entry]

By stephenturner
October 3rd 2009

Day 4: The Showers, The Pub Again and Moving South Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík

Thorlakshofn

7:20 PM The Golden Circle tour left me cold and damp by the time Herman dropped us off, but I had already formed a solution to this, a solution that lay in City Hostel’s basement in the form of a nice, hot shower. There were showers upstairs on the same floor as our room, but a tip-off from Joe had led me down to the dungeons, to a bathroom nobody else seemed to know about, where I could get a shower in the morning without queuing or having to be as quick as I can to avoid other people having to [View Full Entry]

By stephenturner
October 2nd 2009

Day 3: A Day in Reykjavik Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík

The Three of Us
Obscuring the view of a perfectly nice Viking boat

5:25 PM I found out while shaving yesterday morning that the Canadian bloke is called Joe. He was also a man without anything particular to do, so he joined us for the day while we perused the sights of Reykjavik. We decided to take a walk along the bay towards the city centre, the same route that we had started but given up on the night before, except that this time I had a fleece, John had a woolly hat and Lyndsey had a thermal vest. With those, there was no stopping us today. Joe didn’t seem so bothered about the [View Full Entry]

By stephenturner
October 2nd 2009

Day 3: An Evening in The English Pub Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík

Polar Beer

The City Hostel in Reykjavik is a really nice place. It is a pretty hefty walk into the city (although there is a bus stop right outside for those less inclined to walk than we are), but the place is clean, the staff are friendly and it just has a generally nice atmosphere. Once back at the hostel, we popped on the internet for a while to try and find a cheaper price for whale watching, but, being out of season, there was a restricted choice. Eventually we asked Ricardo, on reception at the hostel, if he could find us anything [View Full Entry]

By Delaine
October 1st 2009

10/01/2009 - Reykjavik, Iceland Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjavík

Arriving at the port - see the glacier in the distance

All 10 of us went on a private tour of the Golden Circle. This tour was awesome and one of the best we have experienced. Our guide was in the Air Force in Iceland - went back to the states for a few years before Iceland allowed foreigners into the country. He got a call to be a radio/TV announcer in Iceland and has lived here ever since. He absolutely loves the country and loves being a tour guide. We got to see several things that others did not. We left the port around 10:30-11:00 and didn’t return until 7:30 p.m. [View Full Entry]

By stephenturner
October 1st 2009

Day 2: Heading to Reykjavik and Seeing Our First Sheep's Head on a Plate Europe » Iceland » Southwest » Reykjanesbær

Yo!
Sheep's on a plate wearing a baseball cap. Proudly held by head chef.

Keflavik airport is often known as Reykjavik airport to avoid confusing stupid travellers, but it is actually a good 23 miles away from Reykjavik (not close, although this is less than Gatwick is from London), and the capital has its own airport right on the edge of the city, so I’m not sure how well it succeeds in not confusing stupid travellers. However, being the only international airport in the country (Reykjavik’s being used for domestic flights only), you can’t really go far wrong, unless you decide to get a taxi into the city instead of the bus, in which case [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Iceland