Trip Reports - Awesome Icelandic Adventure (with lots of maps & photos!)

Thanks to notsosmart I realized my dream of visiting Iceland during the summer days of eternal sunshine. Here is my little contribution to all those who are still planning their trip to wonderful Iceland. There are numerous photos as well as detailed route plans and maps to follow. We drove 2250km in 7 days and visited all the major sites around the island. Feel free to drop a line if you need any questions answered.

http://www.geppettoworkshop.com/iceland

Nice job! ^

What great photos and an excellent report. Thanks for sharing, maple! ^ ^ ^ ^

That trip report rocked! I wish I could have snagged one of those great fares while they were available. Thanks for sharing ^

Wow great report maple ^^^

Great Trip Report. Detail and pictures were awesome ^ ^

Amazing trip report.
Thanks for sharing the experience.

Thanks for taking the time to put all of this together and sharing it with all of us on FT ^ ^ ^

Excellent report! Scenery looks stunning. It's on the "to do" list now.

I must add my praise to the others. Your trip report is amazing, and I am now even more compelled to visit Iceland some time soon. If your report is something to go by I just have to get a larger memory card for my camera first. 300 pictures of birds?!? :D

Maple,
Thanks for such a complete trip report. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

See, I really wanted to take advantage of the fare earlier this year, but it wasn't meant to be (personal obligations were simply not flexible). Anyway, I lived vicariously through your trip.

Rita

What a great report Maple! I am currently exploring the option of doing exactly what you did, and have a few questions.

1. How much was your total fuel expense for the entire 2250km?
2. How much was your car rental? Who did you rent it from?
3. How long (in hours) was each driving day?
4. Were there self-catering facilities at the hostels you stayed in?

Thanks and looking forward to your replies.

What a great report Maple! I am currently exploring the option of doing exactly what you did, and have a few questions.

1. How much was your total fuel expense for the entire 2250km?
2. How much was your car rental? Who did you rent it from?
3. How long (in hours) was each driving day?
4. Were there self-catering facilities at the hostels you stayed in?

Thanks and looking forward to your replies.

Hi Pumpikin,

Total fuel expenses came up to C$405 (US$320 thereof). Car rental for 7 days was C$1200 (US$950) which included all taxes, insurance and unlimited mileage. It cost me almost double what you would pay at Avis/Hertz (on one of their specials) because the driver, my mate, wanted an automatic vehicle and neither Avis nor Hertz offered that. I got mine from SS Car Rental (carrentalss@simnet.is) through www.randburg.com - a good decision because those guys also provided free airport pick up and drop off. Basically two agents were there holding up a sign with my name when we arrived at Keflavik. Within 20 minutes the inspection was done, the agreement was signed and we were off.

We drove a lot each day simply because there was so much to cover. I would say at least 10 hours driving per day. On days 1 and 2 we did a really comprehensive tour of southwestern and southern Iceland which later necessitated the longer drives in the latter days. I would have loved to spend a day in northern Iceland, driving further north of Husavik (most beautiful Icelandic town!) towards the northern-most tip of the island that just falls short of being within the arctic circle. If you check my second route map on day 4, you will see that I had highlighted the northerly region that interested me.

All hostels were fantastic in Iceland and when you leave one, you can always get them to call up the next one and make a reservation on your behalf. Catering facilities were fantastic in Reykjavik (2 kitchens and pantries, and lots of dining space both inside and out), and very good in Hofn and Stykkisholmur. I stayed with a family at Husavik and they offered a fully prepared breakfast that included super-fresh salmon, all sorts of meats and Icelandic yoghurt, etc.

Ideally one would need at least 2 days more. One day to fully explore the Myvatn and Krafla area, and the other to explore the inner-western Langjokull-Kaldidalur Valley region (lots of lava tunnels - home to "mysterious little people"). Realise that on day 4 we almost went nuts getting from Hofn to Husavik, including checking out the Myvatn and Krafla area. One should overnight at Reykjahlid in the Myvatn area and explore Dettifoss (and the other three falls nearby) which we skipped. You *must* overnight in Fjallabak Nature Reserve - the landscape is spectacular!

Hope this helps!

I must add my praise to the others. Your trip report is amazing, and I am now even more compelled to visit Iceland some time soon. If your report is something to go by I just have to get a larger memory card for my camera first. 300 pictures of birds?!? :D

Hi Deimos,

I carry 1 X 1gb microdrive and 3 x 128 CF cards as backup, accompanied by 6 batteries fully-charged nightly. Every evening I download the pictures of the day into the handy 60gb X's Drive II. I use a Canon D10 and always carry a PowerShot G2 as a backup.

Be sure to bring some extra lens covers/glass filters. My UV glass filter had completely shattered on arrival at KEF - wonder how since the cameras were hand carried throughout. Eager to find myself a new filter (which I use more as a lens protector), I paid about 45 Euros for it. Iceland is indeed very expensive.

Kudos for a great report, Maple! Wonderful pics! ( I especially like the food photos... I often take pics of meals on trips, sometimes to the chagrin of my girlfriend...lol :D ). Iceland seems to have such a stark beauty; you captured it so well! I wish that I could have taken advantage of those fares, but your report is the next best thing to going myself! ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ !