Iceland

Quick Facts

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Capital

Reykjavik

Population

309,699

Government

Constitutional Republic

Religions

Christianity (Protestant)

Languages

Icelandic

Calling Code

+354

Nationality

Icelandic, Icelanders

Local name

Ísland

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Introduction

Jokulsarlon

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Iceland is a land teeming with natural beauty. A center of volcanic activity, Iceland's landscape is highlighted by volcanic peaks and lava deserts, as well as glaciers, geysers and hot springs. In the past, destructive volcanic eruptions have seen many Icelanders emigrate; now, the tide has turned, as Iceland's popularity among tourists steadily grows. What visitors are finding is a country with more than a pretty landscape to offer: they are discovering a people of above average height, whose ancestry can be traced back to settlers from Scandinavia and who boast a rich literary and artistic tradition (beyond Björk). They are also a people who statistically live longer than the rest of the world - perhaps the consequence of the revitalizing effect of hot springs. It is not surprising, then, that Iceland is beginning to attract visitors for more than just its extraordinary beauty.

Brief History

Geography

Iceland is located in the North Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle. Only the island of Grimsey is above this circle and the Arctic Ocean starts north from the country. Totally surrounded by water, Iceland is a geological wonder and is the place to be for those with an interest in volcanoes and volcanic activity. The North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate border each other right through the centre of the country and the best place to actually the fault in between is at the Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and apart from its natural importance also the most important cultural place for the Icelandic people. There are over 20 active volcanoes (Askja and Hekla being the most famous) and hundreds of geothermal areas and hot springs. The best known are the daddy of all geysers, simply called Geysir, and the Blue Lagoon hot spring near the international airport of Keflavik, not far from the capital Reykjavik.

Apart from this, most of the country is arctic desert covered with rocks, glacial sand planes (called sandars), glaciers (the Vatnajökull Glacier is the biggest in Europe and the third biggest in the world), lava fields and fumaroles. Some parts of the country have their own fjords, particularly in the less visited northwest of the country.

With over half of the population (total about 300,000 inhabitants) living in Reykjavik and the other half mostly in smaller towns, Iceland can be seen as one huge playground with the most beautiful nature you will find in the world. And although sometimes it comes at a price, most of the country can be visited with little trouble.

Regions

• Iceland consists of eight regions
• Austurland (East)
• Höfuðborgarsvæði (Capital Region)
• Norðurland eystra (Northeast)
• Norðurland vestra (Northwest)
• Suðurland (South)
• Suðurnes (Southern Peninsula)
• Vestfirðir (Westfjords)
• Vesturland

Cities

• Reykjavik - The capital
• Vik
• Akureyri
• Keflavik
• Hafnarfjördur
• Höfn
• Húsavík
• Ísafjördur
• Selfoss

Sights and Activities

• Reykjavik is a small but interesting capital with loads of opportunities to keep travellers busy for at least a few days. The numerous bars are a great place to meet people and enjoy an expensive beer. Hallgrims Church is one of the famous landmarks in the city to have a prayer after your hangover and also a great viewpoint of the city.

• Blue Lagoon is the milky blue thermal swimming pool near Grindavik, between the airport and Reykjavik. It is a good place to either end or start your trip to Iceland.

• Thingvellir is one of the four national parks in Iceland and is located about 50 km from the capital Reykjavik, reachable by good tarred roads. Because of its cultural and natural importance it is on the UNESCO world heritage list. Since 930 it has been of importance to almost all historical events in Iceland and also its geological history is a major draw for most visitors. Fault lines are easily visible in this interesting and beautiful national park.

• Geysir is where all the geysers in the world get their name from. Since 1294, when the big Geysir first erupted it has been one big geothermal active place.

Gulfoss

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• Gulfoss is one of the most impressive waterfalls in Iceland and together with Thingvellir and Geysir is part of the Golden Triangle which is often visited as a daytrip from Reykjavik, although a few days to explore all 3 places is needed to appreciate the beauty of this inland area.

• Skaftafell National Park is one of the best places to do some hiking and you can even try to climb Hvannadalshnúkur peak, the highest mountain in Iceland at over 2100 meters. Svartifoss is one of the most famous waterfalls to be found in this national park.

• Vatnajökull Glacier. Apart from the icecap in Greenland this is the largest glacier of Europe and it's possible to experience the icecap by glacier trekking or with snowmobile trips.

• Askja Caldera is a volcano found in the central parts of Iceland. It can only be reached by rough 4wd roads and only for several months of the year.

Jokulsarlon

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• Jökulsárlón is the biggest and best known glacier lake in Iceland, and is located just south of the Vatnajökull Glacier, between Skaftafell National Park and Höfn. It is easily reached by car and the lake can even be seen from the main circular road (number 1) which runs just between the lake and the Atlantic Ocean.

• Lake Myvatn is located in the north of the country and is a great place to experience the geothermical activity in Iceland.

• Dettifoss is the largest (highest) waterfall in Europe and one of the most powerful in the world. Other waterfalls besides Dettifoss are Gulfoss, Svartifoss (see above), Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss. These last two are found near the main road just west of the southern tip of Iceland near Vik.

• Húsavík is one the best places in the world to see a wide variety of whales and other sea creatures. In summer, loads of humpback whales visit the Icelandic coastal areas, and many other whale species complete this magnificent sight. Other places to start a boat trip are Reykjavik, Keflavik and Hafnarfjödur, all on the southwest coast.

• Snæfellsjökull is the western peninsular tip of Iceland and is best known because of the book "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", where the glacier is featured as the gateway for a subterranean route to the earth's centre.

• Latrabjarg is the westernmost point in Europe and is famous for being a major breeding place for many birds.

• The Vestmannaeyjar Islands are one of the world's newest volcanic areas and one of the islands, Surtsey, has only existed since 1963! The islands can be reached by a short flight or rough boat trip from mainland Iceland.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Icelandic weather is not the nicest weather in the world, but it's not as cold as you'd expect from an island in the Arctic Sea.

Temperatures in Reykjavik rarely drop below -12º C in winter and rarely rise above 15º C in summer. 20º C is almost a heatwave and if it gets this warm, it is mostly just a matter of days (or hours!). You can have literally 4 seasons in one day.

Generally, the southwestern part of the country gets more rain, is less cold in winter and is slightly cooler in summer than the northwestern region. For example, Vik, at the southern tip, is one of the wettest places, particularly during late summer when the water has been warming up a bit, while Akureyri, which despite being northerly is a bit warmer with temperatures occasionally hitting 25º C, even in late spring.

Most places get a fair share of snow during the winter half of the year and only the ringroad around Iceland is open during these times. Most F-roads (going inland) are closed until late June and are only open for a few months, sometimes closing again as early as late August. Some geotheral areas can have their own micro climates, being a bit warmer sometimes.

Getting there

There are only two options of getting to and from Iceland: plane or boat.

Plane

You are likely to start and end your trip to magnificent Iceland on Keflavik Airport, about 50 km from the capital Reykjavik.

The national carrier is Icelandair which has flights to most major destinations in the western half of Europe and the eastern half of North America. Note that off season (wintertime) some destinations might not be served or have a reduced schedule at least.

In addition, IcelandExpress has budget flights to and from several European destinations. It also has direct flights from Copenhagen to Akureyri in the north and Egilsstadir in the west of Iceland.

Boat

By boat your options are limited, time consuming and it's not a good deal at all unless you really want to bring your own car to Iceland or want to visit the Faroe Islands as well.

Smyril Line ferries leave from Denmark, Norway and Scotland on their route to Iceland and the Faroe Islands and arrive in Seydisfjördur.

By Car

Although of course it is not possible to just drive to Iceland, you can take the above mentioned Smyril Line and drive your own car in the country.

Getting Around

By Plane

Air Iceland operates regular scheduled flights from Reykjavík to major domestic airports in all parts of the country, like Akureyri.

By Train

By Car

Driving in Iceland is straightforward but for all F-roads you will need a 4wd vehicle. In winter most of these roads are closed and don't open until the end of June, closing down by September again. Check this website for details about which roads are open or closed.

By Bus

There is an extensive bus service to most parts of the country and seasonal to the highlands. The flybus travels between the international airport in Keflavik and the capital Reykjavik.

By Boat

A number of ferry lines operate services to various islands and fjords, like the Hrisey and Grimsey ferry, the ferry between Baldur and Stykkisholmur and the ferry to the Vestman Islands.

Red Tape

Money

The Icelandic currency is the króna (Ikr.). Coins come in denominations of five, ten, fifty and one hundred krónur and there are notes of 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 krónur. Currently (April 2008) you will get over 120 krónur for your euro and less than 80 for one dollar. This is almost 50 percent more than a year before (regarding the euro) but still Iceland is not a country where things come cheap. A double room costs 100 US dollar or more at least and renting even the smallest car will set you back at least 50 US dollar a day, usually more.

You don't have to bring lots of cash, because Iceland is a country where plastic money seems to be invented and even small things can usually be bought by credit card. If you don't have one, most banking cards of your own country (Cirrus, Maestro logo) will be fine for taking money from ATM's and these can be found in almost every small town.

Tipping is not necessary in Iceland as taxes (VAT) and service is included in the price.

Work

Study

Language

Icelandic is a pretty complex language with lots of conjugations. It's most similar to Danish.
The grammar can be very hard to learn and even natives aren't even sure sometimes. Icelandic has a few of it's own letters, but nothing very hard.
We have:

• á pronounced "ow"

• í pronounced "ee"

• é pronounced "ye"

• æ pronounced "i" like in hi

• ú pronounced "oo"

• þ pronounced "th" like in three

• ð pronounced "th" like in the

I think that's it. But for a short trip you might just want a few easy phrases.
Takk = thank you
Bless = bye
Halló = hello
hvar er = where is
hvað kostar = how much is

But don't worry, almost everyone in Iceland speaks English.

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

Safety

Iceland is very safe most of the time.
If travelling around Iceland it is very important that you prepare yourself well and correctly. Remember that the weather can change very quickly and a very large part of Iceland is uninhabited.

The Icelandic emergency number is 112 for all services.

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

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