Advertisement
Published: August 30th 2018
Edit Blog Post
Iceland has given us a lot to talk about. This will be our 9th post on the country and we have covered most topics already but there are some things that we have encountered or realised that may be useful to other travellers.
Just in case you haven't had time to read our earlier posts on the country we travelled in a 4WD with a camper box on the back. We stayed just one night (the last, after handing back the camper) in a guest house, so we will be talking about camping areas rather that other accommodation.
And the photos are mostly of some of the signs we saw there.
The Weather We will start with the obvious. We visited in July/August. We lived in the tropics for 25 years. Iceland in summer was, for us, well and truly cold enough. It was, however, not at all miserable. We had mostly fine days and can count the wet ones easily.
Prior to arrival we had tried to work out a route but hadn't come to a decision. There was a loose list of priorities. It seemed that most people seemed to travel anti-clockwise and a
lot seemed to skip the West Fjords. Possibly the best piece of advice we received was from the man who briefed us on the vehicle and camper. He told us that it was a good idea to go with the weather. It was raining in Reykjavik for the first day and when we looked up the excellent Iceland weather site (vedur.is) it told us that it would be raining for almost a week in the south and east but just a day in the west. We set out west and went clockwise, more or less, around the country.
Wind Weather though is really all about the wind. We were told that there are 100 words for wind in Icelandic. They measure it in metres/second. 10 m/s is a pretty good wind, 13 is getting uncomfortable, we were advised to look at pulling up at 15 m/s and being off the road at 20 m/s. We never felt 15m/s as far as we know but, based on how it felt as we were on the way to that speed, it seemed that it would be sensible to pull off when safe.
Camping First Night When you pick
up a vehicle in a strange country it is often late and driving a long distance isn't attractive. A lot of the hire places seem to be around Keflavik Airport. There is a good camping place at Sandgerdi that isn't as frenetic as Reykjavik. Another good alternative is Akranes which is about 80kms but is much quieter, cheaper and more relaxed than either Reykjavik or Sandgerdi.
Cost The other big item on the agenda was the cost. Iceland is expensive and we were there at its most expensive - smack in the middle of summer. There is an extent to which you simply have to suck it up. Iceland is a place where much of what is consumed or used is brought in from a long way away. The population is small at 330,000 and there is only 2.7%!u(MISSING)nemployment. Wages seem to reflect this and expensive consumer goods is one of the consequences. It is also probably relevant to point out that cost doesn't seem to have put too many tourists or travellers off.
Dealing with the cost is another matter. We decided to hire a vehicle and camp. In basic terms the cost of doing
so is not dramatically different from hiring a cheaper vehicle and staying at B&Bs, hotels and guest houses. Both of those options are significantly cheaper that tours buses with accommodation included.
There is a
Camping Card. We came out in front but not by all that much. The Card covers actual camping fees. One of us now qualifies as a senior - in Iceland that is over 67 - and the country gives proper respect to seniors and a nice little discount on camping in some places (as well as to many museums and other attractions). It is worth doing the numbers, though, before you buy a Card.
You can't do too much about the cost of fuel but we had discounts, via the Camping Card and via the camper hire, on two service station groups that covered most places, which was OK.
Advice from a lot of people is to stock up on food at the bigger supermarkets in Reykjavik. That is a reasonable idea but it probably depends more on what you want to eat and whether you are able to get your quantities about right. We bought supplies in Reykjavik but didn't try to
cater for the whole trip. Our strategy was to supplement as necessary along the way.
Our advice to others is to:
• Camping grounds at Sangerdi, Reykjavik and Akranes had boxes of things left behind by those who have finished their trips. Check these out. Items such as condiments, pasta, rice, oil, cans of soup and the like are often left behind, at times in surprisingly large amounts, and definitely gas canisters, either full or part used will be available;
• Dried fish will keep easily, is relatively cheap, light to carry and easily prepared;
• The locals seem to eat a reasonable amount of processed meats. It keeps well and can be cheaper than fresh;
• Cabbages, turnips and the like keep better and work well in soups, stews and such than some other popular vegetables.
• Black bread keeps for ages
Other than that, ensuring that you don't have to dispose of food and have nothing left over can help keep the costs down.
Clothing is also expensive. Up to 3X what you might pay in Europe elsewhere. Bringing it with you makes sense.
Alcohol can be bought much more cheaply at the duty free at
the airport than at the Vinbudins.
The Vehicle - What you Need for What We may have been able to do most of what we did in a 2WD camper and we would have had greater comfort in a 'proper camper' for about the same price as a 4WD utility (or pick-up) with a camping box on the back. We would, however, have been a lot more nervous on some of the more spectacular roads in anything other than a 4WD and we would simply not have been able to get to some of the places without a 4WD.
Quite simply, the places we were able to access with a 4WD camper justified, for us, the additional cost.
Roads, Traffic etc Roads in Iceland are pretty good and largely well maintained. There were times when I became a little tired of yet another 'Einbreid Bru' (single lane bridge) but I well appreciate that it makes much more sense to have twice as many bridges. Cost of infrastructure in Iceland must be a major burden on such a small population.
We thought the reason that every bridge in Iceland seems to be rough has something
to do with snow and ice but it was still mildly surprising how consistently rough they were.
Crowds A lot of people visit Iceland. The larger tours hit the Golden Circle covering Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. The Blue Lagoon is now highly organised and quite expensive so, if you have plans to visit then you need to plan ahead. Nothing spontaneous available here.
The South generally attracts more people. From the Reykjanes Peninsula along to Vik you will find a lot of people at the key natural attractions but not so many at the museums and galleries.
The places accessible from, or close to, the Ring Road have reasonable numbers without being overwhelming.
It seemed to us that the West Fjords and the Highlands are the most lightly visited areas. Both of these areas are difficult for a lot of people to access. The Highlands, in particular, may not be able to cope with too many visitors and definitely not visitors who aren't aware of the fragile nature of the environment and the need to take proper care.
Iceland is a special country. There is much to see and to experience. We hope that
many others will enjoy it as much as we did and leave it unspoiled for others.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.547s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 34; qc: 136; dbt: 0.2102s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.5mb
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Nice summary
Iceland has a lot to offer. Love the signs.