I'm going to Europe for roughly a month in September, and am thinking of adding Iceland to my list of places to visit. I don't know much about the country, just that it's an island not far from the UK and looks amazing.
Is Iceland worth a visit? And is September a good time to visit? Also, is the volcano eruption a factor?
Can't comment on the country itself, but if you fly Icelandair, you can do a 3 or 4 day "stopover" in Iceland at no extra airfare cost (i.e. on the same ticket instead of buying separate tickets to and Iceland and on to Europe). If you're interested in checking out Iceland, this seems like a good opportunity to do so.
A friend of mine went to Iceland not too long ago. His teacher promised him an A if he went there over a break. He got the A and really liked Iceland. He said his hostel was great but I'm not sure what it was called. I would go ahead and take a stop in Iceland.
I’ve been there & it’s certainly worth a visit if you wish to experience some incredible natural beauty that you’ll have a tough time finding anywhere else…geysers, glaciers, mountains, ocean, and moon-like surfaces. Reykjavik itself is worth half a day…no big hitter sites but a cool city. You’ll need to visit the one tourist stop just outside of town, the Blue Lagoon. You can rent a car at Keflavik and don’t have to go very far outside of Reykjavik for a one-day, self-guided loop tour where you can straddle the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, check out an ocean-side lighthouse way up on a cliff…ocean crashing against rocks below, visit the site of the first and oldest parliamentary republic meeting, check out sheep grazing, visit lakes/glaciers, etc. Also, research the Golden Circle tour route. There’s little to no traffic on the roads once you leave the city, and anyone you might run across will be local. Check out Iceland’s main tourist site for some ideas: http://www.goiceland.org/ If you’re into clubs, Reykjavik is one of the top party spots in Europe. Go to the library or a bookstore and check out Lonely Planet and Rough Guide…they both publish a guidebook for Iceland. As previously mentioned, you can stay for up to 7 days on the front or back-end of your travel at no extra charge on Icelandair. Happy travels!
Summer is best, but early September could be perfect. I was there in June...sun doesn't set. Yes, it’s possible that the volcano could impact travel to Iceland or anywhere in Europe for the foreseeable future. I wouldn’t let it affect my planning, but I would work in a contingency plan and would certainly keep abreast of conditions as the travel dates near. BTW, Icelandair doesn’t fly from BWI anymore…you’ll need to go through JFK or Boston.
Anna-That's what I was considering. Hit Iceland on my way back to the States.
Jordan-They had the same program at my college. Seemed like a lot of fun.
Michael-Iceland sounds similar to New Zealand with the natural beauty and small population. Seems like a few days to a week is needed for a visit rather than just a couple of days. Lonelyplanet said that Reykjavík is a bumpin' nightlife city. Seems like it'd be a very rounded trip.
"not far from the UK" is only true if looking at a world map. But yes, it's totally interesting, rough, wild, like parts of Northern Canada but with Scandinavian lifestyle. Personally I didn't like the food that much as almost all of it is based on fish and seafood - and some of the fish was "fish-jerky"... but it still was quite an experience. Iceland used to be quite an expensive place to go but given the favorite exchange rates for both Europeans and Americans to the Icelandic currency it's now totally affordable to go there.
Iceland is very interesting, but kind of in a similar way that the moon would be very interesting. In other words, a short visit is enough. Reykjavik is worth a day at most, the major natural sights nearby worth two days if you plan to see a lot. The eastern half is not usually of touristic interest.
The city hostel in Reykjavik is very good and has a huge, thermal public pool just a short walk away. They also handle day-tours to the various nearby sights.
I would do it. I visited Iceland in September 2 years ago, and had a blast. We were only there for three days, and that was enough to do the major stuff. Blue Lagoon, whale watching, Thorsmork. Did not make it to some of the other sights, but still felt like I had a good visit. The natural beauty is stark but spectacular.
I would go back in a heartbeat. It was cold, and rainy (with intermittent sun), but still a lot of fun, just be prepared for it.
There is a video on my youtube page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/mikeandjaclyn
Definitely worth it. Reykjavic is a great city so be sure to spend some time there, but also pay the (high!) price to rent a car and get out into the country as well. We were there this past April and I'd go back in a heartbeat. The fact that the volcano delayed our return to the US only made things better.
If you like the outdoors, definitely go to Iceland. We took advantage of Icelandair's stopover for four days on our way to paris last summer. We rented a car and camped. We enjoyed it, but four days was not nearly enough time!
