In December, I took a three-day weekend trip to Iceland with two friends/co-workers. We flew from Chicago to Reykjavík on a Thursday night and returned on Sunday evening. Since it was a fairly last-minute plan, I didn’t do much research in advance of the trip. I definitely learned a lot in the three days we spent there, and I wanted to share some of that wisdom. Here’s what I got:
1. Most rental cars are manual
It was a week before my 25th birthday, which meant that Avis wouldn’t let me rent a car without tacking on a ton of extra fees. So one of my slightly-older friends put the rental in her name. When we arrived at the Keflavík Airport car rental counter, she informed me that she had rented a manual car – an automatic would have cost more than twice as much. Luckily, she knew how to drive a manual. (I don’t, so that would have been a problem.)
Keep this in mind when renting, especially during the winter months if you’re going to be driving a lot. While the countryside is beautiful (it kind of feels like being on Mars), driving an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar country – especially when the roads are snowy or icy – can be tricky.
2. It’s very, very, very expensive
I often joke now that it’s a good thing we only spent 3 days in Iceland, because I would have gone broke if I’d been there any longer. Though I lived in London when the GBP was stronger and I’ve traveled to other Nordic countries, I was somehow totally unprepared for just how expensive Iceland was going to be. People warned me they regularly spent $60 on meals there, but I figured they were going out to nice dinners all the time. Not so.
A regular-sized espresso drink at the Icelandic Starbucks-equivalent, Te & Kaffi, cost around 800 KR or 8 USD. At bars, the least-expensive cocktail would set you back about $20. Now let’s talk about fish and chips. In the U.S., at any American restaurant, this meal would probably cost about $12. In London, it would maybe cost $18. In Iceland, it cost $30 – and that was the cheapest thing on the menu.
Be prepared to spend a lot of money. A short, less-than-2-mile taxi ride from downtown Reykjavik to our hotel cost $25. That was such a shock to me, as someone who had taken taxis in Bangkok only 3 weeks prior.
3. You might not see the Northern Lights
Your best opportunities to see the Northern Lights in Iceland are between November and March, when the nights are longest. Being there in December – with only about 4 hours of daylight – we were all feeling pretty good about our chances. With our rental car, we were prepared to drive a bit outside the city if the conditions were favorable; I packed my tripod and brushed up on Northern Light photography tips.
Each day we feverishly refreshed the Aurora forecast for the evening. When it didn’t look extremely promising – an anticipated forecast of 2 or 3 on a 10-point scale – we’d try again later, holding out hope. But by 9 p.m. each day, the forecast had changed to 0 or 1, and we were forced to admit defeat. It stung a little bit. We were disappointed.
Go into your trip with no expectations. High Aurora activity happens purely by chance, so don’t build anticipation for something that may not happen and that you have no control over. Enjoy the rest of your trip and consider it a stroke of luck if the Northern Lights decide to be active while you’re there. And if not, it gives you a good reason to go back someday.
What other tips do you have for travelers to Iceland? Let me know in the comments!
-Cathy
Originally Published on February 18, 2018.
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