Iceland trip 2018

[NW_SKIER]

Sass_ski and I are looking to head to Iceland next spring around early May. We would like to do some touring while we are there along with some general sight seeing and tooling around.

Looking mainly to avoid the guided experience due to the costs. We're thinking of spending the first three or four nights, maybe five, up near Akureyri or whatever town gets us on some good skiing. Then thinking we'll spend the next threeish nights near or in Reykjavik. If we can ski a day near there too, bonus points. Would also like some suggestions for must hit attractions.

-is early May too late for easy access? Looking to avoid long approaches on foot.

-suggestions for places to stay that are quiet and affordable?

-drive or fly to Akureyri?

-skiing suggestions? Looking to hit Mt. Kaldbakur. What else should be on our radar?

Any advice about anything Iceland welcome. Thanks in advance.
-

[jackattack]

following to poach suggestions

[abraham]

Search Jong! Lots of threads on this

I was there with nearly no planning and didn't see anything out of the city. You either have to sign up for a tour or have a car, I had neither.

Spindrift had some good information about skiing in one of the threads

[TAFKALVS]

Need pics of your girlfriend's tits to offer advice.

[NW_SKIER]

Search Jong! Lots of threads on this

I was there with nearly no planning and didn't see anything out of the city. You either have to sign up for a tour or have a car, I had neither.

Spindrift had some good information about skiing in one of the threads

I'm lazy and you know it, dickhead. Links for the lazy, please.

[NW_SKIER]

Need pics of your girlfriend's tits to offer advice.

Saw that coming. I earned it.

[abraham]

I'm lazy and you know it, dickhead. Links for the lazy, please.

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...d.php?t=261969

[NW_SKIER]

Thanks, Abe.

[spindrift]

Dalvik.

I admit to being a sleazy heli access type... But look into Bergmenn for guiding. At least to get your feet wet. They know the place inside and out. Local knowledge (and facilities) is beneficial not just because of optimized access to snow & terrain, but other cool stuff in the area. Bonus - a couple folks there have deep WA state connections.

Most years, early May will offer lots of good snow. This year would not have. A couple years ago you could step out the door at Karlsa Lodge, walk across the street and be on snow - in early June. So early may is a good bet. But as always, you get what you get.

Iceland has gotten fairly pricey in recent years. Rekjavik doubly so. Places like Dalvik are a bastion of relative sanity. I'd guess (and it is only a guess) that you could stay a night in Dalvik (or maybe Akureyri), and join a good guided group, and knock back a few Kaldis and coffees for what just well located basic lodging in Reykjavik would cost for a night.

You won't go wrong with the food at Akureyri Backpacker (including one of the better breakfasts/brunch in the country). Good food can be had at either the Dalvik or Akureyri Culture Houses (I think Dalvik might be lunch only). The Dalvik coffee shop is great (think afternoon waffles). Ask about the tales of the 3 brothers pictured on the wall. Might remind you of polyass Last I knew, it was also a good place to rub shoulders with other touring groups. Rub 23 is a good higher end eatery in Akureyri ("sushi pizza" all the way). Not much in the way of dinner places in Dalvik.

Drive or fly is up to you. Should be pretty easy driving that time of year. Allow 6 hours or so from Keflavik. There is a hot dog stop at the big N1 about half way (IIRC). OTOH, you can snag a bus from Keflavik to the Reykjavik domestic airport. The flight is an easy 45 minute hop - so land at 6:30 or so in KEF and you can be in Akureyri by ten or so. The domestic airport is more like a bus stop than an airport - check in 15 minutes before your flight - and it is five to ten minutes from downtown in bad traffic. Cars can also be picked up in Akureyri. Car rentals are expensive. So another thing to think about (again)- for the cost of basic lodging and a semi-decent AWD (and you want AWD), and meals, you might just about get a package from Bergmenn. Not totally sure and not saying that is the only way to go - but it is worth looking at all the the permutations of all the costs. Though admittedly I just plain like like & respect those guys.... I usually get to Iceland once a year & my head just spins at the rental car counter these days. If you rent, check the car out carefully before heading out - the place is hard on rentals and you want to be sure that nothing is falling off....

The North is great. It is hard to imagine not having a super time there. The other thing to note is that flexibility is both good and hard. It is good because things are weather dependent. It'd suck to sit out a bad day or two and then be locked into heading to Reykjavik on your first potentially great day. OTOH, it is now hard to do last minute bookings or cancellations - especially in Reykjavik. I have no magic words of advice - other than staying as flexible as possible is good.

And yeah - I should probably just have said "search function"... Clearly too much time on my hands today.

Oh - some of the sights in the south are worthy. If you are going to spend a few days in Reykjavik - you could do worse than book a tourist tour to the waterfalls and Glacier Lagoon. Or make a long day's drive of it (days are getting long by then).

[doebedoe]

Friend went last year similar time. Rented one of these https://happycampers.is/ . Had a good time campin' and exploring from it.

[NW_SKIER]

Damn. Great info, Spindrift. Thank you for typing that out. I did do a search but haven't found anything that good. You rock.

[Vets]

Dalvik.

I admit to being a sleazy heli access type... But look into Bergmenn for guiding. At least to get your feet wet. They know the place inside and out. Local knowledge (and facilities) is beneficial not just because of optimized access to snow & terrain, but other cool stuff in the area. Bonus - a couple folks there have deep WA state connections.

Most years, early May will offer lots of good snow. This year would not have. A couple years ago you could step out the door at Karlsa Lodge, walk across the street and be on snow - in early June. So early may is a good bet. But as always, you get what you get.

Iceland has gotten fairly pricey in recent years. Rekjavik doubly so. Places like Dalvik are a bastion of relative sanity. I'd guess (and it is only a guess) that you could stay a night in Dalvik (or maybe Akureyri), and join a good guided group, and knock back a few Kaldis and coffees for what just well located basic lodging in Reykjavik would cost for a night.

You won't go wrong with the food at Akureyri Backpacker (including one of the better breakfasts/brunch in the country). Good food can be had at either the Dalvik or Akureyri Culture Houses (I think Dalvik might be lunch only). The Dalvik coffee shop is great (think afternoon waffles). Ask about the tales of the 3 brothers pictured on the wall. Might remind you of polyass Last I knew, it was also a good place to rub shoulders with other touring groups. Rub 23 is a good higher end eatery in Akureyri ("sushi pizza" all the way). Not much in the way of dinner places in Dalvik.

Drive or fly is up to you. Should be pretty easy driving that time of year. Allow 6 hours or so from Keflavik. There is a hot dog stop at the big N1 about half way (IIRC). OTOH, you can snag a bus from Keflavik to the Reykjavik domestic airport. The flight is an easy 45 minute hop - so land at 6:30 or so in KEF and you can be in Akureyri by ten or so. The domestic airport is more like a bus stop than an airport - check in 15 minutes before your flight - and it is five to ten minutes from downtown in bad traffic. Cars can also be picked up in Akureyri. Car rentals are expensive. So another thing to think about (again)- for the cost of basic lodging and a semi-decent AWD (and you want AWD), and meals, you might just about get a package from Bergmenn. Not totally sure and not saying that is the only way to go - but it is worth looking at all the the permutations of all the costs. Though admittedly I just plain like like & respect those guys.... I usually get to Iceland once a year & my head just spins at the rental car counter these days. If you rent, check the car out carefully before heading out - the place is hard on rentals and you want to be sure that nothing is falling off....

The North is great. It is hard to imagine not having a super time there. The other thing to note is that flexibility is both good and hard. It is good because things are weather dependent. It'd suck to sit out a bad day or two and then be locked into heading to Reykjavik on your first potentially great day. OTOH, it is now hard to do last minute bookings or cancellations - especially in Reykjavik. I have no magic words of advice - other than staying as flexible as possible is good.

And yeah - I should probably just have said "search function"... Clearly too much time on my hands today.

Oh - some of the sights in the south are worthy. If you are going to spend a few days in Reykjavik - you could do worse than book a tourist tour to the waterfalls and Glacier Lagoon. Or make a long day's drive of it (days are getting long by then).

Solid advice.
I'll second the recommendation to ski with Jökull Bergmann.
I was very fortunate to win a heli ski trip in Iceland last year. I want to return.
Here is a link to the TR I posted:
TR - ARCTIC HELI SKIING IN ICELAND, MARCH/APRIL 2016
You might find some useful info or perhaps some entertainment in this.

[alfajores]

SAD Cars in Keflivik has Subarus in manual trannys for cheap rental in the winter. If you feel like driving from the Intl airport to your destination, they are a good place to start. Definitely take very good botes of your car before you drive off with it. I didnt have issues, but read of people getting gouged for damage that was there before they rented the car.

There are some interesting spots to tour in the westfjords. You may also consider entering the backpacking area in the south in early May for some turns.

[BFD]

https://vimeo.com/211913810

[dschane]

I am in Akrureyri now and will be here through 12/15. I am happy to sleuth out some options, though I was last here 10 years ago and the locals I relied on are mostly gone. But I think 1 or 2 are still here.

Jokull also offers non-heli options (tour all day, soak all evening) and those are high on my bucket list. He's a super nice and solid guy. Kids, money, and a long list of ski lines in the Juneau area get in the way.

I would drive here from Reykjavik b/c you'd pass a lot of possible park-and-tour options.

[Buke]

I've got nothing to offer about skiing in Iceland.

My wife and I spent 10 days or so driving around the west half of Iceland one summer about 10 years ago. We liked Akureyri a lot. It's a nice town with a really good public pool. I would think, given the terrain around there, that it would be pretty simple to just drive up hill until you see something you want to ski and just go do it. The drive from Reykjavik to Akureyri isn't bad at all. I would definitely drive. There are tons of little things along the way that don't really warrant more than a brief mention but might be worth pulling over for. The little museum in Borgarnes was nice, if you like that sort of thing. The Grábrók crater was a nice little roadside distraction about halfway between Reykjavik and Akureyri. When we were there we just rented a car and started driving without much of a plan. We camped every night but I'm guessing that in early May you'll want more shelter.

[406]

My $.02 from the trip I took last month:

en.vedur.is was good for weather

I'm guessing the USD will continue to decline, so suggest reserving stuff asap to lock in lower price, most rental cars have free cancel option. Fuel is around $8 per gallon, it was ~$100 to fill up a VW golf sized car. Driving is easy, but they have speed trap cameras and the speed limit is painfully low...although so is WA.

Plan on ~$20 per dinner for "inexpensive" option. I suggest bringing as much food as you can, if you want to save money.

Buy all your beer/booze at the duty free just before collecting your bags at the KEF airport. About half the price as in town, but still $10 per six pack.

If you are flying WOW, bring your own water and food.

I have a couple left over SIM card with data/minutes if your phone is unlocked. Or buy one when you land at duty free.

With how fast the weather changes, might want to stay flexible with lodging. In the summer everything books up in advance, not sure about winter. Might want to plan to sleep in car or tent. That would save most money.

I only needed 1.5 days for stuff I wanted to see in Reykjavik, although I'm sure you will want an additional full day for the penis museum. So maybe spend the extra time in the south or golden circle, not in town. Or checking out some of the small local ski hills, looks like Vets went to 1.

[Not Neil_Armstrong]

Sounds pretty Rad! Wanted to do Iceland/Japan/Chugach as bucket lists for a while now. Stoked for you