iceland 3 weeks

help me out here! there seems like so much to see and do in iceland that i have no idea where to start!!

how expensive exactly IS it there? i checked out some accomodation in hostels and they seem to be around the €25-30 mark which is fairly standard esp for summer...

im doing my research as we speak but id really love to hear about anyone whos been, what i have to do and see, where to go etc... ill have 3 weeks and will be semi on a budget... im willing to splash out for a few things here n there!!

hows their english? im REALLY not liking my chances of picking up much icelandic (if thats what they call it :P) since looking at it just gives me a headache! but of course im more than willing to try!!

I have lived here, in Iceland, almost all of my life so I might be able to help.

Iceland is really expensive, but semi-budgeted travel is doable.

In 3 weeks you should be able to go the circle road around the country. You can get a bus pass to get around the country. I think that it might be one of the more inexpensive ways of travelling in Iceland.

Everyone under the age of about 80, with very few exeptions, speak English. Don't worry about that. Picking up a few basics isn't as hard as it looks.

halló = hello
takk = thank you
bless = bye

I hope this helps a little. If you have any other questions just PM me and I will try my very best to answer

I was only there for 3 days last summer on my way home from Holland. I found it to be VERY expensive. But that could just be me. It is supposedly the most expensive country in the world.... Since we had limited time, we spent a day at the Blue Lagoon. It was a very cool and unique experience. We actually stopped there on the bus ride from the airport. Hung out for about 6 hours and landed at the city hostel around 22:00. Our bunk beds were $45. Which is by far the most expensive bunk in a hostel yet. The next day we did a viking horseback tour through the lava fields. It was quite nice, but not too safe. Zero instruction, and the english saddles were loose as could be. Stay safe if you do that one.
From others I've talked to, and my experiences, Iceland is all about the excursions. If you like the outdoors, there is a TON of things to do, but once again, they are expensive. As for Reykjavik itself, we toured the city in less than a day. Lots of beautiful things to see, but not all to much to do. I would suggest everyone should go to Iceland just to experience it. When you fly in, make sure you can see out the window. It really feels like landing on some foriegn planet.
Cheers

I suggest you don't spend 3 full weeks in Iceland, but spend about 2 and rent a car if you are with more than 1 person.
I only spend about 5 or 6 days last year and stayed in Guesthouses which where about 80-90 euro for a double including a good breakfast! This is probably the cheapest to find for doubles and when just eating loads of food in the morning will keep you good until late afternoon as well
If you like a snack sometimes, go to the petrol station and fill up on a hotdog. Also Pizza and burgers are relatively cheap. Forget about restaurants, redicously expensive...I really wonder why? Teeming with fish over there man!

Daytrips are so expensive that even renting a car on you own might work out cheaper if you would do daytrips everyday or go organised on a longer trip. Toyota Yaris is the cheapest and good enough for the ringroad and the geyser/gulfoss area. About 15 kilometers to the litre and petrol is cheaper than in the Netherlands!..
No need to go inland, it is beautiful along the ringroad as well and it should be pretty boring crossing to the north inland. Maybe a side trip to the interior could be an organised daytrip from Akureyri in the north to the Askja crater.

It is VERY expensive. I was not going over the top but was seeing or doing something touristy almost every day and I was going through over $100US a day and I wasn't even having to pay for accommodation thank goodness! That was when the $US was about 15-20% stronger than it currently is. I was looking about 2 months prior to me going (in the middle of summer) and the cheapest I could find for accommodation was about 80Euros a night but that was because the hostels were completely booked out a couple of months in advance when I went a couple of years back. Thankfully I found some nice people on the hospitality club site who let me sleep on their floor for the time I was in Iceland so I didn't have to resort to using my homeless blanket that I had packed just incase a situation like that came up. I spent almost as much in Iceland in the 7 days I was there as I did in the 2 months prior in South East Asia and India living it up and having a cheap hotel room to myself!

Like Angela said most people speak English and probably everyone you are likely to speak to.

If you drink alcohol be warned that you'll pay an absolute fortune for any alcoholic beverage. It's much cheaper to buy at the duty free shop in the airport on the way in than if you buy at the bottle shop in Reykjavik or a pub.

I can't recall the name of it, but in the centre of Reykjavik their was this one supermarket which was about 50% cheaper than everywhere else in Reykjavik for food and drink (non alcoholic drinks). I think it might have been called "Bonus" supermarket but not 100% sure on that one. I only found out about it the day before I left.

[ Edit: Edited on Feb 5, 2008, at 3:37 AM by aharrold45 ]

thanks heaps for the info!! i knew it was expensive, and ive been travelling thru denmark and sweden and that was ridiculous, and so if iceland is worse then id better be prepared!!! i decided before i even read this not to go 3 weeks rather one... more time to go other places!!

i think id better start saving harder if i wanna go there tho haha! why is it so expensive? are the wages good too?

The wages are very good. I tried to find the minimum wage here but couldn't find it. I think it's about 130,000 iskr for the month. That's about 1500 euros, but average is about 200,000 iskr = 2270 euros.

Just out of curiosity, when were you thinking of going?

[ Edit: Edited on Feb 5, 2008, at 3:50 PM by angela_ ]

Things are more expensive, as most things have to be imported.

im thinking of going at the end of july/early august...
and the wages sound great! but since everythings expensive it evens out i guess! is everything expensive for a person earning an icelandic wge??

and id love to go with someone but i dont think that anyone is free at the time i wanna go sucks, cos i would love to drive the ring road!! how much is petrol over there??

Things are pretty expensive, even with the good wages...
The petrol price is about 1,4 euros

If your thinking of going then, just know that we have a national holiday on the Monday after the first weekend in August. Camping sites might be very busy that weekend and some shops will be closed.