FAQ's
Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and USA. Size is 103,000 km2
Glaciers cover about 11% of the landmass.
Population is about 390,000 people and about 70% of the population lives on the SW corner or Iceland.
Distance from Keflavik International airport to Reykjavik is about 40 minutes drive.
Most houses are heated with geothermal energy. Iceland has no army.
Moderate summers and mild winters.
Every season has it’s charm and Iceland is and can be totally different depending on the season.
During the months of November until February the days are short. During the summer there is 24 hours daylight.
Weather in general – mild summers and moderate winters.
Dress for the occation
Winters in Iceland can be cold. The average winter temperature in Southern is around 0°C but the highlands get down to −10°C or even lower. Added to this is the wind and rain factor which makes it even chillier. Icelanders use only one word to describe their weather – unpredictable.
Once you’re all layered up for the outdoors, you might step indoors and find yourself boiling. Just think of yourself as an onion, peeling off layer by layer until you become comfortable.
Too warm is better than too cold.
During the day:
1st Layer: Base layer
This should be woolen or thermal tops and long thermal underwear or fleece tights2nd Layer: A good thick sweater or shirt. A good thick sweater or thick fleece shirt paired with insulated pants
3rd Layer: Fleece/Soft Shell
A long sleeve stretchable and breathable soft top or a fleece jacket and Waterproof Pants4th Layer: Insulated Waterproof Jacket
Footwear:
Waterproof winter boots with grip or Hiking Shoes. A good pair of thick thermal socks are a must.
It’s not a good idea to bring brand new boots on a hike. If you have new boots then you should break them in and wear them for a couple of days before bringing them on a hike in Iceland.
Accessories:
Beanie or warm hat – the kind that covers your ears, not cowboy hats… they will just blow away to the north pole
Gloves or mittens
A scarf
Plenty of warm socks
A small or medium sized backpack with you on day tours, since “layering” also means that you will be peeling your clothes off
Sunglasses – when the sun comes out, its bright
Swimming Trunks – for taking a dip in the hot springs
Yes – you can rent hiking shoes, waterproof jackets and pants and also more equipment.
YES – The Northern lights are usually visible from around mid/late August until mid/late April.
The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and you can not or should not order in advance and plan to see them on a certain day. They could be visible on a given day but there is full cloud coverage and you can not see the stars or the northern lights. They can be strong one day and then weak the next day.
Generally we check the weather forecast (while in Iceland) and the Northern Lights forecast and if there is cloud cover where you are it’s possible to do a tour to an area where there is less cloud cover and hopefully you will see the Northern Lights.
A Schengen Visa is required to visit Iceland. Visas are granted in the Icelandic Embassies. The validity of the passport or gecognized ID card mus be at least 3 months beyond the proposed stay.
The Icelandic monetry unit is the Króna or ISK. Banks in Iceland are generally open 09:00 – 16:00 Monday through Friday. Exchange services outside regular banking hours are available at Landsbankinn, Keflavik International Airport. Credit and debit cards are very common forms of payments in Iceland, even for small purchases.
Tech-saby Icelanders rank among the top Internet users in the world so travellers with laptops or other web-enabled devices should not encounter many problems with finding internet connection.
There is a great variety of restaurants in Reykjavik and around Iceland. These include Veg and Non-Veg and the food quality is high.
Iceland is self sufficient for meat and the fish in the Iceland waters is of best quality.
There is no McDonalds in Iceland.
Purchase a pre-paid SIM card from Siminn, Nova or Vodafone. You can also purchase credit refill cards at most gast sationos or convenience stores in Iceland. Usually in denominations of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 ISK
Icelanders use Norther European electical standards (50Hz/220 volts), standard Europlug socket with two round prongs.
There is a medical clinic or a hospital in all major towns in Iceland. The emergency phone number in Iceland is 112
Iceland is on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and does not adjust to daylight savings time.
There are 18 geothermally heated swimming pools in Reykjavik and you will find a heated swimming pool in almost any small town in Iceland. All hot water for bathing is geothermal and has a slight smell of sulfur.
There are 65-70 golf courses in Iceland and it’s possible to play 24 hrs/day during summer.
There is no need to buy water for drinking at stores since all water in all sinks is perfect – just fill your bottle from the sink. You can even drink the clear water from streams (and there is plenty of those in Iceland)
