Traveling to Iceland

[Dooley]

I'm heading to Reykjavik next week. Going to stay downtown and check out a music festival, but I don't have any solid plans otherwise.

Anybody ever been? Microbar and Mikkeller look like the obvious places the stop, but I was wondering if there's any other, more obscure joints you'd recommend? Or, you know, if you think I should do something other than drink, I'd be open to your suggestions.

Also, on the off chance that any of you live there or will be there next week, get ahold of me. I can bring beer.

 

[cneville1]

I'm heading to Reykjavik next week. Going to stay downtown and check out a music festival, but I don't have any solid plans otherwise.

Anybody ever been? Microbar and Mikkeller look like the obvious places the stop, but I was wondering if there's any other, more obscure joints you'd recommend? Or, you know, if you think I should do something other than drink, I'd be open to your suggestions.

Also, on the off chance that any of you live there or will be there next week, get ahold of me. I can bring beer.

going to iceland but only staying in reykjavik?????????? you crazy for that one. buy brennevin at the duty free on the way in. don't eat hakarl. thank me later.

 

[Dooley]

We're staying in Reykjavik but we will rent a car and travel elsewhere.

 

[gunnarolis]

Guessing you were at Secret Solstice and left Iceland by now?

 

[Dooley]

Still in town, actually. Heading to Mikkeller around 2300

 

[Dunt1]

Iceland is our big trip next year, think I might try scheduling it around a day or two of Airwaves then hit the Golden Circle for a week or so.

 

[Dooley]

Golden Circle only takes a day to get through. A week will take you around the whole country.

 

[cneville1]

assuming you meant ring road. make sure to book lodging eaaaaaaaaarly on some stops--it's really limited in the winter as far as what places are open to stay. unless you're crazy enough to camp in november.

 

[gunnarolis]

Yeeeaaaahhhh, your'e not gonna camp in November here.

 

[matedog]

Heading out for a week at the end of September. Per recs, only spending a day or two in Reykjavik before venturing out on the ring. While in Reykjavik, any must visit beer spots? Mikkeller or Microbar I see mentioned above.

 

[Dunt1]

We are scheduled for a week in August. Has anyone ever done Campervans?

http://www.campervaniceland.com/

Thinking about just saying **** it to finding lodging and booking one of these bad boys.

 

[gunnarolis]

Dunt there is also http://www.kukucampers.is/ and some other companies renting out camper vans.

 

[Dunt1]

Dunt there is also http://www.kukucampers.is/ and some other companies renting out camper vans.

Any sightseeing advice for someone that is planning on driving route 1?

 

[gunnarolis]

Shoot me a pm. Ill give you some advice.

 

[user 304985]

Wow, didn't expect to find this here. Going this week for a few days. 2 basically free days in Reykjavik while the lady is traveling/working, and 2 days with a rental car for venturing as much we can. Any pointers beer or otherwise?

 

[gregkoko]

Wow, didn't expect to find this here. Going this week for a few days. 2 basically free days in Reykjavik while the lady is traveling/working, and 2 days with a rental car for venturing as much we can. Any pointers beer or otherwise?

Come back with a lengthy report please. I'm going next month!

 

[Dunt1]

Wow, didn't expect to find this here. Going this week for a few days. 2 basically free days in Reykjavik while the lady is traveling/working, and 2 days with a rental car for venturing as much we can. Any pointers beer or otherwise?

We enjoyed Micro Bar. Didn't end up hitting Mikkeller and Friends because we were going to hit some of their bars in Copenhagen. Borg Brugghus probably makes the best local beer that we tried. Plan on spending a lot of money, it's a crazy expensive country.

As for other pointers, get out of Reykjavik and start driving. Reykjavik is fine, but it pales in comparison to other major Nordic cities. The countryside is where it's at. If you go east on 1, you will hit a lot of tourists. That is where many of the major sites that are convenient from Reykjavik are. If you go that way, make sure to get to Vatnajokull and Jokulsarlon. If you want more isolation, I would go west through the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Westfjords.

Oh, and if you want the most fire hot dogs you'll ever have in your life, go to Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur in Reykjavik.

 

[Digita7693]

For Reykjavik I will add Reykjavik Roasters for great coffee, and the free walking tour as a must do, and Golden Circle; Blue Lagoon, while touristy, is still pretty amazing, granted there are other places. Wife and I plan to go back in August.

 

[gregkoko]

Roasters and Walking Tour are on the list. Debating renting a car for Golden Circle. Have heard Blue Lagoon is fun, but debating doing Secret Lagoon instead. Though we're only there for three nights so not sure how much we'll be able to get out of Reykjavik. Main focus of this trip is seeing the Northern Lights one night.

 

[matedog]

Second what most said above. Micro Bar was good, but unspectacular. Miekkeller was a really cool building, but my draft beer was like $20-$25. And the bottles were pretty damn pricey too:

My best beer experience was at R5 Micro Bar in Akureyri, but that's a bit far. And Borg Brugghus is pretty tasty, though they had some duds.

Blue Lagoon was cool. We got there right when it opened which seemed like the optimal time. In the other direction, Snaefellsnes peninsula is pretty amazing and not too far from Reykjavik.

 

[Digita7693]

Roasters and Walking Tour are on the list. Debating renting a car for Golden Circle. Have heard Blue Lagoon is fun, but debating doing Secret Lagoon instead. Though we're only there for three nights so not sure how much we'll be able to get out of Reykjavik. Main focus of this trip is seeing the Northern Lights one night.

Do both! Car for the Circle.
And take it you know about this:
http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forecast/
I was obsessively watching whilst in Finland recently.

 

[user 304985]

Thanks for the info! Walking tour has defintely been added to the list, sounds exactly like something we'll enjoy. Probably going the Golden Circle/Secret Lagoon route, maybe the 1 on the southern side some too.
The resourcefullness of all you jerks is amazing!

 

[cneville1]

Roasters and Walking Tour are on the list. Debating renting a car for Golden Circle. Have heard Blue Lagoon is fun, but debating doing Secret Lagoon instead. Though we're only there for three nights so not sure how much we'll be able to get out of Reykjavik. Main focus of this trip is seeing the Northern Lights one night.

if you can head east to vik it would be a pretty awesome place to see the lights, and it's probalby only a 2 hour drive. i was there in Nov 2009 and while we didn't see the lights, we got really stoned on a hill right behind the HI hostel there and it was pretty awesome. i've heard it's really, really different in iceland these days compared to 09 given the amount of tourism. you could also drive to dyrholaey, and the black sand beaches at vik are awesome too.

 

[matedog]

if you can head east to vik it would be a pretty awesome place to see the lights, and it's probalby only a 2 hour drive. i was there in Nov 2009 and while we didn't see the lights, we got really stoned on a hill right behind the HI hostel there and it was pretty awesome. i've heard it's really, really different in iceland these days compared to 09 given the amount of tourism. you could also drive to dyrholaey, and the black sand beaches at vik are awesome too.

We had a great dinner at Suður-Vík Restaurant in Vik if jodan makes it out there.

 

[cneville1]

We had a great dinner at Suður-Vík Restaurant in Vik if jodan makes it out there.

just to elaborate on how different it is now--november 09, there was not a single restaurant in Vik open that time of year, and i am pretty sure the HI hostel was the only available lodging. crazy times given the global recession and icelandic financial meltdown.

 

[matedog]

just to elaborate on how different it is now--november 09, there was not a single restaurant in Vik open that time of year, and i am pretty sure the HI hostel was the only available lodging. crazy times given the global recession and icelandic financial meltdown.

I would imagine there are a lot of annoyances these days for Icelanders with the rampant tourism. It was hard not to jump on a $400 roundtrip ticket from San Francisco though.

 

[Dunt1]

just to elaborate on how different it is now--november 09, there was not a single restaurant in Vik open that time of year, and i am pretty sure the HI hostel was the only available lodging. crazy times given the global recession and icelandic financial meltdown.

I've never been there before this year, but I was shocked at the amount of tourists there were. You can definitely get to parts of the country where there is ****ing nobody, but you are driving a little.


Pro tip jodan: If you are going to be renting a car, make sure the CC you have with no foreign transaction fees has a chip. Their gas stations require chip cards and there aren't many stations once you get out into the country.

 

[user 304985]

if you can head east to vik it would be a pretty awesome place to see the lights, and it's probalby only a 2 hour drive. i was there in Nov 2009 and while we didn't see the lights, we got really stoned on a hill right behind the HI hostel there and it was pretty awesome. i've heard it's really, really different in iceland these days compared to 09 given the amount of tourism. you could also drive to dyrholaey, and the black sand beaches at vik are awesome too.

Awesome, that was exactly what we were thinking about doing. Looks like there are some options in Vik now.

 

[user 304985]

I would imagine there are a lot of annoyances these days for Icelanders with the rampant tourism. It was hard not to jump on a $400 roundtrip ticket from San Francisco though.

If I didn't wait an extra day, my airfare would've been under 300 before Wow bag fees. Still cheap though, and since the GF was going for work anyhow, no-brainer.

 

[Dunt1]

Edit: Your card needs a PIN, not a chip. My card had a chip, but not a PIN number.

 

[user 304985]

Edit: Your card needs a PIN, not a chip. My card had a chip, but not a PIN number.

That's on my to do list, she thinks of everything ahead of time. I have no idea if my card has a PIN.

Come back with a lengthy report please. I'm going next month!

Absolutely!

 

[gunnarolis]

Hey guys!

If you want some local advice you can shoot me a message. Yes, the tourism has been increasing pretty heavily in the last few years. Will probably slow down a bit with the currency getting stronger.

The weather has been very nice for a December, best I remember for the 15 years I have lived in Reykjavík. Think it is supposed to stay that way...

If you wanna swap some bottles while here, also shoot me a pm!

Cheers,
Gunnar.

 

[matedog]

One tidbit that surprised me is that we had some amazing meals throughout Iceland. I expected everything to buy dried fish and pickled veggies. Great restaurants are expensive, but not hard to find.

 

[planbee1]

I'm going to be in Iceland in late February, coinciding with the Icelandic Beer Festival. It wasn't planned...it just happened that way. I'm pretty excited for that and a lot of other things, but I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with the event. It seems like a great deal at $85, even if i don't make it to all three days.

 

[gunnarolis]

The festival is really nice. Free pours for bracelet holders and a lot of nice breweries on the list this year.

 

[gregkoko]

Leaving tomorrow. Still torn on renting a car. Neither my wife nor I can drive stick, and an automatic transmission is dramatically more expensive. Weather looks like crap for driving. Would run us close to $400 to rent something thats essentially not a toy car. Between that and having to fill up a tank at least once, I feel like we're better off just doing a bus tour for golden circle or blue/secret lagoon.

 

[cneville1]

Leaving tomorrow. Still torn on renting a car. Neither my wife nor I can drive stick, and an automatic transmission is dramatically more expensive. Weather looks like crap for driving. Would run us close to $400 to rent something thats essentially not a toy car. Between that and having to fill up a tank at least once, I feel like we're better off just doing a bus tour for golden circle or blue/secret lagoon.

nothing better to learn stick on than a car you're not responsible for the transmission in!

 

[user 304985]

Leaving tomorrow. Still torn on renting a car. Neither my wife nor I can drive stick, and an automatic transmission is dramatically more expensive. Weather looks like crap for driving. Would run us close to $400 to rent something thats essentially not a toy car. Between that and having to fill up a tank at least once, I feel like we're better off just doing a bus tour for golden circle or blue/secret lagoon.

****, forgot to report back...
We rented a car and wouldn't want to do it any differently. Granted, I'm a functional male and can drive a manual...
I did mean to get a stick, but Hertz didn't have those in the Camry size I chose, ended up with a Passat. The lady at the desk said they don't have manuals in that size. Cost the same as the manual version. It's worth a shot, the bus loads of people looked awful. Being able to stay at some of the places at your leisure and without the extra crowd might be worth it if you're doing the Golden Circle etc. All those roads are legit and easy to drive, gives you the chance to sightsee, then go to the Secret Lagoon (the one in Fluđir?) after the sun sets.

 

[gregkoko]

****, forgot to report back...
We rented a car and wouldn't want to do it any differently. Granted, I'm a functional male and can drive a manual...
I did mean to get a stick, but Hertz didn't have those in the Camry size I chose, ended up with a Passat. The lady at the desk said they don't have manuals in that size. Cost the same as the manual version. It's worth a shot, the bus loads of people looked awful. Being able to stay at some of the places at your leisure and without the extra crowd might be worth it if you're doing the Golden Circle etc. All those roads are legit and easy to drive, gives you the chance to sightsee, then go to the Secret Lagoon (the one in Fluđir?) after the sun sets.

Maybe we will just go with the rental then. How was the weather when you were there? Just looks like rain our whole trip.

 

[user 304985]

Maybe we will just go with the rental then. How was the weather when you were there? Just looks like rain our whole trip.

Rained most of the trip, especially the 2 days we were out on the road. It wasn't heavy rain most of the time, but the kind of anoyying stuff that doesn't go away, mixed with downpours. Only got a little snow, the roads were fine, and all the cars have studded tires, so that helps too. Not sure how long you'd have the car for, but it was dramatically cheaper to have ours for 4 days instead of 5. We had one nice, clear night, and were in the middle of nowhere but still didn't see the Northern Lights at all.

I want to go back already.
Edit: if you're buying souvenirs, get all that crap in one shot. They'll give you an easy tax refund form if you're over 60 bucks or so. Would've saved me a bit