"Land Of The Dried Larvas & The Vikings !" Iceland by coceng

Iceland Travel Guide: 6,140 reviews and 14,402 photos

EURO TRIP 2001
EURO TRIP 2002
EURO TRIP 2003
MIDDLE EAST TRIP 2005

EURO TRIP 2004 :
ENGLAND
ICELAND
FRANCE
June 2004 :
Iceland ! You gotta love nature to come to Iceland. You gotta experience this country's landscapes & unpredictable weathers to know what it's like to be there.
Otherwise, go to London (the place where I was prior to reaching Iceland) or Paris (the place that I went to after coming back from Iceland).
Coming back from Iceland is more than just showing your photos with that stupid cheesy grins; It's that satisfaction feeling knowing why people want to go there or NOT wanting to know anything about the country !
I was there ! I took lots of photos ! I want to show you all what it was like for me because this is after all, MY experience ! Not other people's.
Iceland is expensive ! The 'organized tours'; The foods, the bus fares, the accomodations are some aspects that you have to watch out when you are there.
Stock up the foods that you would bring; Sleep in a tent in campgrounds; Buy a buspass (not cheap); Hire a car/jeep (much better because you decide where to go & sleep).
Most important of all, KNOW where you go ! I was there for 10 days but a few people got lost (off the beaten tracks) & 1 man died of cold weather !
Reykjavik is nice, laidback, surrounded by mountains.
South of Iceland is scenic, East is colder; North is much colder but Akureyri would give you some warmth (maybe); West is fjord-ish & warmer.
The central Iceland is uncharted & vast, huge unpopulated land !
Around Iceland, lots of hiking tracks that you would remember for the rest of your life or taking in your life !
Come to Iceland if you are dare to explore ! Get a cheap flight to come to Iceland; Get out from the capital at least for a day; Take photos !
Be prepared of what you could see, what you could experience.
Again I have to say, you have to love the nature & the landscapes...otherwise Iceland can't offer you anything more than that !
I was there ! Still, I would think that Iceland would forever remain 'off the beaten track' of the mass travellers' list. Blessing in disguise...? Indeed.

The Blue Lagoon, near Keflavik Airport...

My Itineraries Around Iceland :

16th June 2004 (Wednesday) - Reaching Iceland from London ! Delayed half an hour from London Stansted Airport.
See some photo of this flight journey HERE !
My friend Siggi was waiting for me at the airport & he took me to Reykjavik right away, passing through some of the most amazing landscapes I have ever seen in my life ! Chill out around Reykjavik, taking photos etc.

17th June (Thursday) - Iceland National Day ! Siggi took me to The Cold Valley. Barren landscapes & hardly nobody ! Almost perfect weather; Sandstorms...Watching melting glaciers flowing down huge mountains. Touching the melting snow...

18th June (Friday) - I took The Golden Circle Tour on my own; Feeling silly taking this 'organized tour' because I thought I should discover the places on my own. Whatever mutter from the mouth of the tour guide, I had read them all before...Anyway, The Golden Circle Tour brought me to Gullfoss; Geysir & also Thingvellir National Park. On the same day evening, Siggi, his son, me & another friend drove through the dark barren land on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

19th June (Saturday) - The start of my OMNI BUS PASS; This pass would allow me to cover the 'Ring Road', circling Iceland by bus ! Excellent it may sounds but it's just for 1 week period only. The bus stopped for a while near Skogafoss; My first stop (to spend the night...) was Vik...

20th June (Sunday) - Continued from Vik, the bus passed through more scenic places like Skaftafell National Park, the totally amazing glacier lagoon called Jokulsarlon & I made my stop in Hofn...

Akureyri, in the north of Iceland...

21st June (Monday) - Took the morning bus from Hofn (pronounced 'hub'...), backtracked to Jokulsarlon because I love the place so much ! Spent 5 hours there before taking the back back to Hofn in the evening...

22nd June (Tuesday) : Morning bus to Egilsstadir; Stopped for 2 hours, me changing money & had my lunch with a German friend Nik. Continued the bus journey, passing through Lake Myvatn & stopped in Akureyri. Spent the night there at The Youth Hostel with Brian...

23rd June (Wednesday) : Decided to be back to Reykjavik ! A last minute plan simply because I thought I wanted to see more the south of Iceland ! I had 2 more days from my Omni Bus Pass before it expired. One day journey back to Reykjavik from Akureyri; Also passing through Borganes...Slept at Siggi's.

24th June (Thursday) : Early morning bus from Reykjavik; The same route that I took before on the 19th June as above. Instead of getting off in Vik (as I did on the first day of The Omni Buspass), I stopped at Skaftafell National Park. I should explore more I thought & what better way than walking around this amazingly beautiful National Park ! Hiked up to see Svartifoss Waterfall ! This was my dream actually after seeing this waterfall surrounded by basalt columns in many magazines...Slept in the camping ground in Skaftafell National Park. Had to set up my own tent ! Couldn't sleep...so cold !

25th June (Friday) : Early morning bus from Skaftafell National Park; Passing through the foot of Mt. Hekla ! Again, amazing views but thunderstorm prevented me from going out from the bus to take photos...The super strong wind was blowing horizontally. The road was covered by heavy snow but the bus was treading on; Feeling kinda scared for this journey but the bus stopped in Landmannalaugar & I had to deep myself into the hotsprings ! What a cooling experence - My upper body was blowing by super strong wind & the lower part of my body was deep in the hot/warm spring water ! Safely reaching Reykjavik on the same day...

26th June (Saturday) : Me & Siggi went to The Blue Lagoon in the morning...Amazing experience ! Hot-warm water covered with white sulphour...Soothing ! Siggi sent me to the airport in Keflavik; My flight was supposed to be at 3 pm but instead was delayed for 7 hours ! Feeling bored at the airport...Reaching London Stansted at 3 am ! Continued my journey to Paris at 8 am !

Pros and Cons

Pros:A Dream Country To Visit !
Cons:So Expensive ! So Expansive, Can't Cover It All In 1 Visit...
In a nutshell:Please Make At Least 1 Day Trip From Reykjavik !

Last visit to Iceland: Jun 2004
Intro Updated Aug 5, 2005
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (7)

Expect The Unexpected... Warnings Or Dangers (7)

When you are doing some excursions around Iceland like whale-watching; Puffins-watching etc....Just be prepared NOT to... more travel advice

Stock-up ! Foods & Money... Warnings Or Dangers (7)

When venturing into Iceland wilderness, make sure you have enough foods in your backpack otherwise you would be starved... more travel advice

Wrong Informations ! Warnings Or Dangers (7)

I have to mention this ! What you read about a place or a service in Iceland might be different from the actual... more travel advice

Accomodations... Warnings Or Dangers (7)

Accomodation-wise, you would find nice hotels & campgrounds, plus farm houses & The Youth Hostels around Iceland. It's... more travel advice

Travelogues (3)

1 - 3 of 3

Comments (5)

mindcrime Nov 24, 2010 at 8:43 AM Report Abuse

this must be a really beautiful country!
matcrazy1 Aug 14, 2004 at 9:17 AM Report Abuse

7 warnings and... I still want to go there. Thanks for info on Iceland Express. Cool pictures in the travelogue!
knerten Aug 13, 2004 at 3:12 PM Report Abuse

Great descriptions of Iceland and the reasons why you went there. I cannot imagine any place that's more opposite in everything to your home country than Iceland, but you really liked it?
bct341 Aug 11, 2004 at 11:29 AM Report Abuse

nice Iceland page... only been there once... it is definitely a great place
Narviking Jul 13, 2004 at 9:16 AM Report Abuse

Am glad to see you liked it down there in Iceland ! Look forward to see more pictures.