Iceland in...January!

WxM_IeuaN

WxM_IeuaN

WxM_IeuaN

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Wrexham
Hi Guys,

As the title says I'm off to Iceland in January for 4 nights. We are renting a car so can hopefully do a fair bit of exploring.

Has anyone here been? Anything you can recommend that's a must do? We are staying in a cabin in the Golden Circle.

Also some recommendations as what sort of clothing will be required, I have nothing at the moment and will need to buy everything :rolleyes:

Cheers in advance!
 
I am just back from Iceland (today sucks at work)

It was cold especially in the wind and at times a little wet, defiantly was Hat & Gloves weather.

Personally after having done the golden circle in a day, I would not want to stay there. I would take the extra hit on driving hrs and go up to Lake Matavan but it will be a 7 hr drive at least from the airport. Better still get a internal flight to Akureyi and hire a car from there.

I would also recommend getting a 4x4 as well, some of the roads will be closed anyway but a 4x4 will help in places for sure.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...d=0ahUKEwij9piVt9nWAhVDUlAKHVadARUQ_BIIjgEwCg

Was a great hotel and amazing location to get around the Matavan region.

As for January enjoy your 2hrs of daylight, unless you are going for a long dirty weekend :)
 
SPG said:
Personally after having done the golden circle in a day, I would not want to stay there. I would take the extra hit on driving hrs and go up to Lake Matavan but it will be a 7 hr drive at least from the airport. Better still get a internal flight to Akureyi and hire a car from there.
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It'd probably be too much to try and travel so far afield with 4 days. If it snows heavily the main ring road even can be a bit of a bugger as well so long way to be travelling

I'd certainly recommend Jokulsarlon though and Skogafoss/Seljalandsfoss. Getting out there even will be a bit of a trek but still worthwhile imo if you can squeeze it in.

Blue lagoon has become incredibly touristy the past 10 years or so, but if you've never been I'd say it is still worth a visit. Definitely need to book these days though.

Oh and chances are it'll be cold ;) :D
 
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a1ex2001 said:
Just enjoy the scenery and the food, don't go on an organised northern lights trip!
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I went on a small one in a monster truck Mercedes van, it was a fun evening and did see the lights.

Just maybe avoid the coach trips.
 
GhostWKD said:
It'd probably be too much to try and travel so far afield with 4 days.

I'd certainly recommend Jokulsarlon though and Skoggafoss/Seljalandsfoss. Getting out there even will be a bit of a trek but still worthwhile imo :)

Oh and chances are it'll be cold ;) :D
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This man knows what he's talking about - Jokulsarlon is awesome but maybe a bit far to drive in the winter since its gonna be dark most of the driving and its a long drive.

I went in August, beautiful place, even saw the northern lights once on the way to airport :)
 
I went at the start of the year. Thing I'd recommend are; Blue Lagoon, a Whale tour (go out on a speed boat to get close to them), checking out all the massive waterfalls, and checking out the geysers.

Food in Reykjavik was quite expensive when eating out.

Also, it is good that you are renting a car. I'm glad I did, as all the guided tours seemed a bit rushed when I was watching them.
 
I was booked onto a coach trip tour of the Northern lights which got cancelled due to the weather. A year later i went to Tromso and did a trip in a minivan for double the price of a coach tour but it was an amazing experience.
 
With a 4x4 you can do it yourself, you just do not get access to paces a guided tour can take you. however it is the sky and Icelandic sky is BIG :) A whale tour on a zodiac is a must, might post some pics from my recent trip. Just put the camera down and a humback jumped out no more than 10m away. Only just managed to capture it at the last minute :) The second pic is where a troll lived and killed his brothers wife.





As someone has already dropped the can.... be prepared to pay for food then prepare yourself even more, infact just be prepared to be broke when you come back :)
 
Oh and the big thing is, you can always judge a country on its quality of Bacon.

Icelandic bacon is fantastic :)
 
SPG said:
As someone has already dropped the can.... be prepared to pay for food then prepare yourself even more, infact just be prepared to be broke when you come back :)
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Pretty much this. Icelandic Krona is insanely strong atm (so much so that some people are really struggling there) and with the weak £ it's just gotten silly really.

Although in my biased opinion, you must check out Baejarins Beztur the hot dog (Pylsur) stand in downtown reykjavik. They are the best hot dogs you'll ever have :D all sorts of celebs have been there including bill clinton :p although the hot dogs are availiable in most petrol stations etc too. In the bakery Kleinur are a must try... kind of like less sweet donuts.
 
SPG said:
As someone has already dropped the can.... be prepared to pay for food then prepare yourself even more, infact just be prepared to be broke when you come back :)
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The prices are exaggerated I think, it's no more expensive than eating well in London or New York, just be prepared for a lack of cheap options!

I'd avoid the northern lights tours as chasing the northern lights can be a terribly futile experience and who wants to spend an evening driving round in a mini van/coach. Check the forecasts (the web tools are amazingly accurate) stay outside Reykjavik and hope you get lucky. We were fortunate enough to watch them from the patio of our guest house and the beach in Vik.
 
a1ex2001 said:
The prices are exaggerated I think, it's no more expensive than eating well in London or New York, just be prepared for a lack of cheap options!
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Depends on the benchmark to be fair, from memory last time I was there a bottle of coke from a petrol station for example was about £3.80 for a 500ml bottle. Chocolate bars are about £2 or so each etc.

There is a lack of cheap options, but even still... last time I went we had a family meal and a fish and chips was approx £30 odd, not really anywhere touristy but just the prices really.

Oh and the last of my (perhaps childish) recommendations of snacky food, definitely go to an ice cream parlour. It's not like anything you get in the UK :)
 
GhostWKD said:
Pretty much this. Icelandic Krona is insanely strong atm (so much so that some people are really struggling there) and with the weak £ it's just gotten silly really.

Although in my biased opinion, you must check out Baejarins Beztur the hot dog (Pylsur) stand in downtown reykjavik. They are the best hot dogs you'll ever have :D all sorts of celebs have been there including bill clinton :p although the hot dogs are availiable in most petrol stations etc too. In the bakery Kleinur are a must try... kind of like less sweet donuts.
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This is the only thing we did in Reykjavik best hog dog ever (one is not enough so buy 2 for sure and maybe 4) Oh and short 10min walk from the hot dog stand look at the EVE online monument not that great tbh.

It is way more expensive than London at least for food, hell even 2 coffees and croissant was £18
 
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