Ida, I didn’t see the thread about Ice Land, so I’ll just toss in my two cents if that’s ok. My Daughter and Son in Law went a couple of years ago. They’ve been to lots of places in Europe and Ice Land was by far their favorite. They arranged to stay in someone’s home (Air BNB I think) so they could cook their meals and experience the country in a less “touristy” way. The pictures they brought home were amazing and they say eventually they plan to go back.

It was all English speaking, they said the people were beyond friendly but it’s very expensive. I think they got a couple of books from Amazon so they could figuure out what areas to go to.

Be sure to rent this movie, Land Ho! It's delightful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Ho!

A friend is going to Switzerland in August, and she has a layover in Iceland, and decided to extend it to a couple of days. She'll be interested in what comes up in this thread.

A young couple we know went there for their honeymoon just last summer, and they loved it completely.

Thanks, Lukki! It's great to her that your daughter and SIL had such a wonderful time that they would return!

We watched a number of YouTube videos on Iceland/Reykjavik yesterday and it was all very encouraging. We noted that the friendliness of the locals and the overall safety of the country were stressed. Of course, safety also encompasses driving and the ruggedness and remoteness, but we understand those risks.

Reykjavik is frightfully expensive. I heard that at one time (not sure what year this was), it was deemed to be the most expensive European capitol. Yikes! We would, however, be preparing our own meals and would not shop for unnecessary items. I understand that rental cars can be steep, and petrol is priced about the same as in the UK, where one can easily spend $100 to fill a tank.

We are drawn to the relative ease of getting around, though. And to the fact that they drive on the right-hand side of the road ... I drove on the left a number of times in the UK, but will never do it again.

Sushipup, thanks! I've never heard of "Land Ho!" but we are definitely going to be renting that one. Sounds right up our alley!

Ida my son took a trip several years ago to Iceland and really loved it. It's a top contender for a belated honeymoon trip for them as well. A friend of mine in another group is from Iceland, she's also a member here but not always active. I'll contact her and send her this way.

We really enjoyed Iceland!

We started in Reykjavik, stayed in a wonderful Air BNB about 10 minutes outside of downtown on the water. We had 6 days there and I do not think we would have needed two weeks. This was our itinerary;

Day 1: Arrive

Blue Lagoon

Northern Lights Viewing Cruise

Stay in Reykjavik

Day 2:

Grand Golden Circle tour

Day 3:

Drove to Borganes (a tiny cute little village an hour from Reykjavik) and had lunch in a wonderful bakery and walked around,

Went to Snæfellsjökull peninsula (the whole drive took about 4 1/2 hours through beautiful countryside.

Rode Icelandic horses in late afternoon

Stayed in a lovely remote place called Kast Guest House at the base of a mountain. LOVED it.

Day 4:

Drove to Stykkishólmur (about an hour drive)

Viking Sushi Adventure cruise and lunch in Stykkishólmur

Drove on to Akureyri (maybe another hour drive)

Spent the night in Akureyri

Another Northern lights cruise (this time we saw the lights!)

Day 5:

Day trip to Lake
Mývatn And The Nature Baths.

Day 6:

Spent the morning in Akureyri

Drove back to Reykjavík and walked around the city.

If I were to do it again, I would have two extra days in Reykjavik to do the Silver Circle tour and go to the Hidden Lagoon. And I would have taken one extra day to go to Greenland (expensive but worth it, IMO). I would probably not have done the Viking Sushi Adventure cruise only b/c it was so cold and rainy that it just wasn't very pleasant.

I think about 8-9 days would be perfect. Unless you're going to go start exploring the Westfjords or doing long hikes. If you do, research carefully. We went to Snæfellsjökull peninsula and were driving up to see a glacier on the F Roads but I did not realize how dangerous this was.

We were driving up a single lane fog-covered cliff with no way to let other cars pass if they were coming down and you couldn't really see them coming at you. We ultimately turned around well before getting to the glacier because we just decided it was too unsafe to continue. The lady at the guest house gave us directions to get there to see it but AFTER we got back, she told us tourists had died in the past trying to get up to it (It would have been very nice to have that info BEFORE).

The driving elsewhere was pretty easy b/c there is almost on traffic on roads in much of the country. But I think I would stay off the F roads unless you're very adventurous.

It is very very expensive to eat there. We like fine dining and went out to very fancy dinners and those were expensive but I didn't mind the price because I am fine paying for good food. What annoyed me was that you couldn't even find like a simple bowl of soup for lunch for less than $28.

Beagles, what time of year did you visit?

Don't want to start another thread for this, but should say that I'd also like to consider other options, as attractive as Iceland is becoming! My previous supervisor is from Newfoundland, and he showed me some amazing photos of his trips back home. Looks like a gorgeous part of the world to explore, particularly for those who like to hike as we do. So ... trying to remain open-minded and flexible, although I get the distinct impression that DH is all lathered up about Vikings and is very keen on Iceland. ;-)

Nova Scotia?

We just came back from a wonderful hiking vacation in Sicily. The hikes were great, as were the food, wine and people.

Scotland. It is so gorgeous with friendly people who speak English, or at least a version of English! Wonderful hiking.

We went September 25. We wanted to see the Northern Lights and were told we'd have a chance at that time — and we did see them!

We went to Iceland a couple of years ago at this time of year and loved it! Highly recommend. I have a friend who just returned last week and another who went last year, both also loved it. We went as a family of 5 and we found quite a few restaurants that were casual and not expensive. There are also these gas stations all over, can’t remember the name, but they also have food and we ended up having a lot of decent lunches at those gas stations!

DH is still talking about the fish stew he had in several different restaurants in Iceland.

Yes, I second Scotland for hiking.

Thank you for the suggestions! I mentioned Newfoundland to DH, and he said that being from Minnesota he's not all that excited at the thought of going to Canada. (Pffft!) Anyway, I'm looking into airlines and know nothing about Icelandair, but just discovered that we can go from DFW to Reykjavik for about $600 per person, including one checked and one carry-on bag each. That sounds like a darn good deal to me. (It was probably going to cost us at least twice that per person to fly to Peru.)

We are going this Friday so I'll let you know. We will only be there a few days on our way to take a Viking cruise.

Well there you go Ida!!! You’ve got an in now!

My DD and SIL went around the same time of year as Beagles and really enjoyed doing their own cooking and shopping. They were there a little over a week and were no where near ready to come home.

Good friends are avid hikers and just returned from third annual trip to St Johns. Tell DH there's Canada and then there's Canada! Even if you don't go for this trip, don't rule it out.

One thing I just thought of. Here it is very popular to rent summer homes. Take a look at www.bungalo.is. There is an excellent article by Richard Chapman there. He sums it all up.

Coincidentally, there is a travel article in the NYT today, about vacationing in Iceland, frugally, I think. Might be worth checking out.

Thank you so much to everyone, and Ice - I may have some more questions for you, so appreciate your input very much! How fabulous to have a resident among us!

We went ahead and purchased our airline tickets to Reykjavik this morning, so this is definitely going to happen. Found what we believed to be a super deal on Icelandicair ($600 pp round-trip, non-stop from DFW, including checked bags), and are pretty well decided on our accommodations and what we want to do during our two week stay. Very excited about this -- DH is much more excited to be going to Iceland than he was when we were planning the trip to Peru -- and his excitement has been contagious, making me even more so! I think being able to "escape" to someplace nice and cool at the start of our Texas summer is going to be such a relief. It's been brutal here so far ... I don't know how many days we are into triple digits now, but it's just too darn HOT, and will likely be just like this next summer.

Here’s a link to the NYT article that appeared today. Now I want to go, too. Iceland

Hey, dedtired - Can you repost? Didn't get the link. I looked in the print edition of the NYT on my desk today but didn't see the article. (Maybe I'm blind. That's entirely possible!)

Ida, I don’t have anything to add, but how come I am seeing you identified on the main conversation page as ’1nonlyj’? This isn’t the first time i’ve noticed this. Sorry to hijack but wondered if others are seeing this. On this page your ‘regular’ name and meme show up.

Outside - that's my login name. No idea why it's showing up that way on the other side. Yet another bizarre Houzz anomaly, I guess.

IdaClaire, I follow NYC interior designer Sheila Bridges on Instagram, and she , has a vacation house in Iceland and spends lots of time there during the year. Might be worth checking out,

https://www.instagram.com/harlemtoilegirl

She just got back to Iceland in the last week : ) .

We are doing Norway in a Nutshell in 6 weeks. It looks amazing from the YouTube videos I have watched.

Norway would be amazing too.

We are now fully booked for Iceland next summer with airline tickets, accommodation, and even the rental car. All confirmed and paid, so it's definitely happening. I'm amazed at the wealth of helpful planning information to be found online, and am having a lot of fun creating our itinerary. I've picked up a few Icelandic words - with proper pronunciation, I might add - and I'm excited to learn more.

Happy Travels to all who are doing so anytime soon!

Be sure to watch that lovely movie, too. It will get you in the mood!

Oh! We actually watched it this past Friday and loved it. I was waiting for something tragic or life-altering to happen, but nope. It was just a little adventure filled with joy, and I found that very uplifting.

Here is the link to the NYT article:Iceland

Glad you liked it. A very sweet fun movie. No car chases.

I'm too late for you, IdaClaire, but sabbath7, here are some pix from my friends who were in Norway in June. They said the weather wasn't good, but Norway was beautiful.

Hiking Nigardsbreen Glacier

Dinner in Oslo

Stalheimfossen Waterfall in Voss

I have a couple of friends who went four times. They loved it that much. Don't expect miraculous cuisine, but the scenery and the people are warm and wonderful. They invited me the last time they went, but I didn't have a passport and there were a couple other logistical issues (and it was just as well, as just before they went, I broke my ankle).

Icelanders love hot dogs, so nope - definitely not expecting fabulous cuisine. What would be considered an average meal there in a restaurant is also extremely expensive. We'll be shopping at the local grocer (and carefully, as some of the grocery prices are absurd), and preparing our own meals. We'll probably also have a hot dog or two as well, just to live like the locals. ;-) I too have heard that Icelanders are wonderful. Friendly and helpful, and perhaps a bit reserved. I look forward to meeting them!

I’m sorry but I’m a little offended. Our cuisine is known for being exelent. Expensive I’ll admit but please don’t decide how it is beforehand.

And in the movie? Ah, lovely meals!

Sorry, Ice - no intention to offend. I was trying to convey that WE won't be experiencing fabulous restaurant cuisine, because we aren't willing to pay the high prices for it. :-)

Honestly, we had some of the best meals ever in Iceland; and while regular quick meals were quite expensive, the dinners were not more expensive than in comparable restaurants in the DC area.

E.g. this one:

https://www.tripadvisor.de/Restaurant_Review-g315849-d4402086-Reviews-Restaurant_Varma-Hveragerdi_South_Region.html

A dear friend of mine recently had a honeymoon....in Italy (first) then Iceland. An odd combination, isn't it, lol? The pictures from Iceland were breathtaking, and they loved the people, places, and the food. They are already planning a return trip and we might go with them.

LOL, just arrived at friends house to kitty sit, they left for Iceland last night. Following are pics she sent this am, saying "the streets are crawling with lovely, friendly kitties."

@ beagles & ice, forwarded your posts to my friends who just arrived in Iceland, they thank you for the good info.

I've read that Iceland is extremely cat-friendly (as well as being very pro-feminist and progressive). I kinda want to move there already.

Hi Ida, I haven't read all the comments, but notice that I saw on Nell Hill's marycarol@hills.com blog was titled "Iceland melted my heart" with lots of pictures and comments..