Iceland trip. Tips,hints and rants needed!

[Meathelmet]

So, trying to arrange a trip to iceland this summer.



Ferry from denmark would be about 2500€ for 2 persons and a van. Umm...expensiveish.
But,would get to sleep & cook in the van,would get the bikes,camping gear & skis with us etc.
So not that bad in the long run..
Someone had taken their car on a merchant ship from norway but I did not find any details how that happens.


Flights would be about 500€ for 2 persons wich is cheap BUT the goddam car rentals
go from 1500€ for a fucking fiat punto to 4000€ for a defender for 18 days!!!
Four,fucking thousand!!!

Is there any viable options for car rentals that you know? I mean, iceland is practically packed with monster SUVs that the locals use, and with the local economy going down the drain,you could imagine that there would be some smaller shops renting out stuff?


And second more important question is...is there any snow left in july?
I gather that not much except for the glaciers that are hardly skiable in iceland,being the
flat pancake types?


Buut, If anyone have some pointers,bring it on!

[L7]

My ex did a 3 week trip there 3 or so years ago. Rented a car (many$$$) and circumnavigated the whole island I believe. Also a week hiking somewhere in the middle. Loved the trip but researched it a lot and didn't find a way around the expensive rentals. She has some good work contacts there as well and had been 3 or so times previous to the big trip.

The Canadian ski team went over there for summer glacier training ONCE years ago. I don't think they went back so that likely speaks to the quality.

[RiderX]

I was just there last week. Spent 4 days there trying to get into Greenland. Everything in Iceland is expensive. The cheapest rental we found was at cheap jeep. Don't remember the website. It cost around 150 US$ for the day. Gas is also very expensive. 2.48 US$ per liter.
Also, don't take a taxi from the international airport to Reyklavik (150 US$). There is a bus.

There didn't look like there was a lot of snow left in southern Iceland except at the glacier. I don't know how conditions are up in the north.

Edit. www.cheapjeep.is

The local airline that does a lot of the flights within Iceland is air iceland.

[dookeyXXX]

I visited Iceland about 6 years ago for the Iceland Air Music Festival (http://www.icelandairwaves.is/).

Check Iceland Air for cheap flights.

I flew into Reykjavik via Glasgow, which was pretty cheap at the time and only an hour or so flight (flew from SF to Heathrow, then took the train to Glasgow).

I rented a car for a week and drove around half of the country...while expensive, it's the best (and in my humble opinion) the only way to do Iceland properly.

As for snow in the summer? I was there in October and everything was closed (all the hostels and pensions) and there was snow in the hills up around Akureyri. From what I was told, their skiing ain't too great.

Also, keep in mind that their seasons pretty much mirror ours, so I'd contact their tourism bureau in regards to what kind of snow conditions to expect in July.

Other'n that, the summer is supposed to be nuts (i.e. crowded with U.K. and Euro tourists) and the national parks super crowded (I believe it's Vatnajokull which they liken to our Yosemite in terms of sheer volume of visitors).

Still, worth going, even though it will cost you serious coin.

Oh yeah, their chocolate is some of the best I've ever had...

[freak]

i was there more than 10 years ago, so things might have changed quite a bit, but we did not have a car and still got around. there are buses and people are nice and give you rides or even take you to places. still, a car is really nice to have and would make things definitely easier...

freak~[&]

[Meathelmet]

Cheers guys,good pointers!

The flights would be via IcelandAir and are very cheap,250€ person. The problem is with the wheels..
Just checked out the cheepjeep,and yes,they appear to be the cheapest renters out there. Seems to be standup guys.
Still, getting quotes of 120€/day for old chassis cherokee is...well...steepish.

It is insane that we can get for the same price (flights+car) to frigging New Zeeland, acros the the globe!!!
Damn,I kind of morbidly hoped that the Icelandic economy would have been hit a bit harder by the recession to get the prices down
to even Norweigian levels..


Yeah,our idea is that we would drive around the island & doing trekking. 2 weeks is a bit short time for that,granted, but better than nothing,I guess?
The initial plan of doing even some skiing has been ditched though. Would be a bit too timeconsuming and masochistic to do some 3 day slogs for some low pitched, moraine pelted glaciers.. Will have to experience the iceland skiing some other year!

But,thanks again guys for all the info,much appreciated!



Edit: RiderX, what were you doing there? Skiing or whatnot? How was the rest of the trip & vibe?

[patxi]

Your best bet would be to hitchhike:



There is still snow down to sea level in the north but it won't be around for much longer. They had a pretty poor season up there this winter. However, it was dumping in Reykjavik last night and this morning. Not much up north in the mountains though.

I was speaking to an Icelander the other day about this very topic. He said the best way would be to take your car on the ferry from Denmark. You definitely need a car in Iceland as the public transportation is lacking and there is a lot of empty space in between places. Maybe you could consider buying a beater there and abandoning it at the airport on your way home (or give it to a friendly local)??

[lynchdogger]

After skiing hunt down some of these . . .

[SCOmeh]

I just moved out to Iceland from the UK in December. Cheap Jeep are definitely the cheapest car rental. Buying cars is really expensive over here as well in comparison with Europe. Most other things are around the same price as in any major European capital (approx 600-1000 krona for a beer).

Skiing-wise I think you should still be able to do the main glaciers if you have touring kit with you, for example Snæfellsjökull is pretty regularly toured. The North tends to get way more snow and has more interesting mountains but I doubt there'll be anything but patches left by July, it was looking pretty dire in Akureyri when I was there a month ago.

It was dumping snow last weekend in Reykjavik with cover to sea level but it's all gone right now with temps around 16C.

[RiderX]

Edit: RiderX, what were you doing there? Skiing or whatnot? How was the rest of the trip & vibe?

I was just there in transit on my way to Greenland. Got delayed for several days due to weather. I skied a couple of days in Greenland, but spent a good amount of time hotel bound due to continued inclement weather. The small portion of Iceland that I was able to visit was amazing and the people were very friendly.

For whatever reason, I didn't see a single woman that looked like anyone in Lynchdogger's post. Would have made the down time much more enjoyable.

[neck beard]

Lynchdoger: he (meth-helmet) lives in Finland so he already has plenty of those thing you pictured, though perhaps a little more dour.

RiderX - sounds like you took the same route I did into GL a few years ago. Sorry you didn't get good weather. I really want to get back there.

Meth - that ferry and car price is appalling. Don't pay it on principle.

[SCOmeh]

If you're looking for cheap accommodation in 101 Reykjavik a new hostel called Hostel Kex just opened which is pretty cheap and very quirky. The entire thing is done out with 'antiques' in an old biscuit factory. I wandered around it yesterday cause they were giving away free booze and it looks awesome.

[hutash]

After enough free booze, even Rontele would look awesome...well maybe not, but you get my point.

Sounds like a fun trip, hope you get the logistics worked out. I was thinking thumbs and buses would be the way to get around, but I have never been.

[Buke]

My wife and I went for a couple weeks two summer ago (early August). We could either stay in hotels or rent a car. We didn't have funds for both. We rented the cheapest car available and camped. When the guy showed up to give us the rental car he informed me they were out of the cheap one so he upgraded us to a bmw 320d at no extra cost. It was pretty sweet. The only restriction was that we couldn't go through the middle of the island and I don't think they wanted us to go to the NW Fjords area.

There was no snow where we went. Maybe in the NW? Or on the glaciers as mentioned before.

Honestly though, that place is amazing. As cool as it would be to go ski, it's worth it to just go and be a tourist. Akrueyri is a cool little town, Reykjavik is a great little town. Everything else is just mind blowing scenery...

I don't usually go back to a place because there are just too many places to see in the world. I'll make an exception for Iceland and I'll definitely be going back.

[MadPatSki]

Actually, I was just searching for information on Iceland.

Looking into plane tickets from Canada to France. Going to France to visit my in-laws...each time we fly to Europe we focus on France. Iceland (and a few other countries ending with LAND) has been on my wish list for years. Now that the kids are older, Iceland would be more possible. Of course, I believe there might be an issue with food (wife and girls are vegan).

Wondering if we should do a stopover in Iceland with Icelandair. I remember reading about it a few years ago and confirm that you can still do it. So flying to Europe via Iceland is about the same price as flying Ottawa to Lyon (actually $25 less per ticket=$100).

How many days would we require to get a good overview (we can't spend to much time due that our main destination isn't Iceland).

Now for the headaches (pressures)...we have limited time. We haven't been in France in 8 years. 4-5G on plane tickets is already serious cash, one week in Iceland would break the bank now.

PS. Summer lift-served skiing. I heard about Myrdalsjókull might have some (saw it on the internet). Can someone confirm this? Any beta on the place.

PPS. Going to visit family and trying to keep the monthly ski streak alive at the same time. Iceland would be a cool place to make turns...earning your turns would be cooler, but it won't happen with family around.

[SCOmeh]

Myrdalsjókull as far as I know doesn't have any lift served skiing but it is a glacier so summer turns are possible with the risks that brings. I doubt any of the lift served areas will have snow.

To get a good overview of the place a long-weekend would be enough, giving you time to see Reykjavik and get a taste of what the rest of the country offers.

Food wise there are two or three vegetarian restaurants in downtown Reykjavik and veggie options in normal places but I have no idea how vegans would get on and going out of town the choices get limited pretty quickly!

[MadPatSki]

Thanks for the info SCOmeh.

Myrdalsjókull as far as I know doesn't have any lift served skiing but it is a glacier so summer turns are possible with the risks that brings. I doubt any of the lift served areas will have snow..

http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Iceland/Activities
Quote from the link above...

The main skiing season is normally from January until May or June. Summer skiing is possible on the glaciers. Myrdalsjókull has a ski lift which is open throughout summer.

I believe I read it in the Guide Book I bought maybe 5-6 years ago. Unfortunately I've never seen any concrete proof confirming the existance of Summer Lift served skiing.

To get a good overview of the place a long-weekend would be enough, giving you time to see Reykjavik and get a taste of what the rest of the country offers.

Thanks. I'd love to do (on the list), however not sure if know is the right time as we're being spreadout to the max with family and stuff in France. I also want to make some August and September turns. I'll have to figure out our finances and our time.

Food wise there are two or three vegetarian restaurants in downtown Reykjavik and veggie options in normal places but I have no idea how vegans would get on and going out of town the choices get limited pretty quickly!

My wife was checking that out on the web last night. Everything seemed around Reykjavik, which would make sense based on the distribution of the countries population.

[SCOmeh]

Thanks for the info SCOmeh.
http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Iceland/Activities
Quote from the link above...
I believe I read it in the Guide Book I bought maybe 5-6 years ago. Unfortunately I've never seen any concrete proof confirming the existance of Summer Lift served skiing.

Interesting, I'll ask some locals in work about it tomorrow.

Thanks. I'd love to do (on the list), however not sure if know is the right time as we're being spreadout to the max with family and stuff in France. I also want to make some August and September turns. I'll have to figure out our finances and our time.

My wife was checking that out on the web last night. Everything seemed around Reykjavik, which would make sense based on the distribution of the countries population.

Definitely, outside of Reykjavik the next biggest population center is Akureyri in the north. Outside of both it takes on a bit more of a frontier vibe. Even though the currency has crashed it's still pretty expensive so if your budget is pretty tight it might well be worth skipping till the next time.

[gramboh]

If you're looking for cheap accommodation in 101 Reykjavik a new hostel called Hostel Kex just opened which is pretty cheap and very quirky. The entire thing is done out with 'antiques' in an old biscuit factory. I wandered around it yesterday cause they were giving away free booze and it looks awesome.

Just wanted to give Kex some props. The wife and I stayed there for 6 nights on vacation in late June and had a great time. Funky place, new, good food and beer, reasonable prices and cool people to chat with in the hostel bar. Great location too for wandering around in Reykjavik.