RS’ new Iceland show? Online anywhere?

I haven’t seen it online yet. If it follows the pattern of the Monday Night Travel episodes, we should see it Tuesday or Wednesday evening.

It does not air on my PBS channel until Friday night. So, check later in the week for your PBS channel.

It looks like you might be able to watch it here now:

https://www.pbs.org/video/iceland-biqz1c/

Ahhh, thanks! Found it listed for Tuesday at 8pm here in Atlanta. I thought it was premiering everywhere yesterday so thanks for clearing up my misunderstanding!

Yes, you can see it online on PBS. I watched it last night. I admit, I had a really hard time with it though. We have been many times, and watching this I felt it barely skimmed the surface of what Iceland has to offer. It seemed very superficial to me. I know that sounds negative, but I was so hopeful and was left very disappointed, FWIW.

Thanks for the review, mikliz97. That's disappointing.

Mary--The show stated that the ring road in 4 days was doable. Yes, if you want to drive and not stop and see anything. Most people take a minimum of 10 days for that, and 2 weeks is ideal. Seriously, I was stunned when I watched that. Plus they left off the Westfjords entirely. Then, they made a big mistake by doing the Golden Circle and then backtracked to Reykjavik before heading out on the ring road. That would have saved them a day that could have been added to the rest. I felt they just skimmed the surface. It is unfortunate, and I hope they come back and do it justice.

Watched the show on PBS and I agree with Mikliz97- it seemed VERY superficial, especially as far as the Ring Road was concerned but you know what? I think that is very good. Focusing half the episode on the Golden Circle and Reykjavik seemed fine as most won't go beyond these and those areas are already "tourist focused."

The Ring Road section of the video just had a few tidbits and think of how much fun travelers will have discovering highlights on their own. The new updated guidebook fills in many gaps. No- there is no need for a RS Tour of Iceland. We leave in a couple weeks and it is amazing how much I have dialed back my "what we need to see" list... A couple highlights a day as we drive around is it.

Watch the video and think of it as a "preview of what you will discover...."

ImaFarmer--Have a great trip! I look forward to hearing about it!I head back in 5 weeks and am just itching to go. I am taking a friend who has never been.

So I watched it on Tuesday on TV and I really liked it! I feel like it does a great job of giving you a “taste of Iceland” overall. If you think about it, most of his 30 minute videos only focus on a small region of any given country. He was attempting to cover the entire country in one hour, so that is an ambitious task. If you read Cameron Hewitt‘s write up in this month’s travel newsletter, it explains how they had a ton of difficulty getting permits to film and also finding lodging, so I think they did the best they could. Plus the volcano went off when they were there.

Kelly--I read that, but that is part of the problem. They left the planning to too late, which they admitted. If they had done their research, they would have known that they needed to plan further ahead.

Oh, I think Rick and Cameron definitely know how to “do their research.” ;)
I think Rick was very cautious about traveling again when Covid was waning, perhaps more so than the average citizen. I’m not criticizing him for that, I’m just saying his views about masking and social distancing and all that were very well known. So my hunch is their team underestimated the amount of people who would be traveling that year (by assuming that most people were as cautious as them, which was probably not the case).
We were in Iceland, literally one week before Rick, and while it never felt overly crowded because of the outdoors nature of such a trip, there was definitely a boatload of people there.

Kelly--They said they should have planned earlier. Most people who plan these trips do so about 9-12 months in advance, and that is well known for Iceland, so that is on them, IMO. But the show was so superficial that I found myself shaking my head at quite a few things. Just my opinion of course, but based on all of our trips there.

I finally had a chance to watch last night and I thought it was a great episode. What a gorgeous country!! It made me even more excited for my upcoming trip. Those whales jumping out of the water. Just incredible!! And I loved all those little harbor towns.

I haven’t been to Iceland yet, so I can’t speak to what might have been missing. Rick knows most travelers coming from the US have limited time so both his books and shows tend to just cover the highlights.

I loved that Cameron was in the show and my favorite part was when Cameron and Rick were at dinner (by themselves, or so I thought) and they’re talking and enjoying the food. And then it comes time for dessert and a mysterious third arm reaches across the table. Cracked me up! :-)

mikliz97, I can see why you keep going back. I was completely blown away. If that was just scratching the surface, I can’t image what the rest of the country is like. If there were trains in Iceland, I would go all the time. I would rotate between Switzerland and Iceland.

Tomorrow’s (Aug. 19) episode of Monday Night Travel will be Rick and Cameron discussing the episode. For those not joining live, the episode should be on the RS website and you tube Wednesday evening.

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/travel-classes/monday-night-travel

Thanks to all for the feedback. We've visited Iceland four times, most recently a month ago. Six nights driving, staying someplace different each night. New areas westfjords, dynjandi, Isafjordur and back. More new adventures for us. Such a beautiful place, around every corner. Originally we couldn't wait to watch, but feedback seems a bit tepid. Yes, how much can you present in a short program, there's so much to cover. For anyone planning an Iceland adventure, go for it. Renting a car can be expensive but worth not traveling with the pack of tourists at each stop, explore. Lastly, hearing difficulties with local car agencies, stick with the majors...you will be amazed!

I loved the Rick Steves Iceland episode.

We watched the episode earlier last week online, then again last night on PBS. We enjoyed it both times. We have been to Iceland, but have not driven the entire loop. As with any of Rick’s episodes and books, we are aware he can’t possibly cover everything, and that is the magic in finding places on your own. We use his episodes and books as a guide, and also do additional research and add places to our itinerary.

I noticed the hand reach for a profiterole and assumed it was Karel, who normally joins Rick for meals. I loved how he was trying to get rid of the taste of the fermented shark.