re: Iceland trip tomorrrow

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For anyone going in the next couple weeks, the Northern Lights are supposed to be incredible most nights between now through March 5th.

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Arriving on the 1st

Yep I want a full report!!!

Fortunate enough to see the lights from Reyjkavik itself on the 1st night.

Sounds like you are having a great trip. I hope the Ice caves will still be open in a couple of weeks.

Your picture didn't show up the way you posted

Here it is:

Very cool...jealous I didn't get to see them this spectacularly, but saw 3 different times in a smaller scale.

I need some reviews on places to eat and which tours are good, I leave a week from Saturday.

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Disappointing that this board just had two people travel there with no reviews posted, why ask for advice on here if you don't share anything back.

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Relax man, I'm still catching it up with life and work since getting back.

This won't be the most cultured review, but I went with 3 other guys and it mostly a partying/sightseeing trip.

Be prepared for the prices. Nothing cheap in Iceland. Average beer price $12. Average price for burger & fries - $18


If you plan to drink, strongly recommend buying booze in duty free. Bought a couple of $28 liters of Jameson at duty free on the way in and flasked around town, opposed to the $18 1oz pour the bars would give me.


I did the 2 day South iceland tour. It's pricey but includes the ice cave.
2 day tour


Blue Lagoon is touristy but I guess it's a must do.

Check out some of the other geothermal pools in the different towns. They're like $8-9 for a day pass. One I went to had different hot tubs at different temps.

Check out the City Walk free tour- LINK

This doesn't include the Hallgrimskirka, but you can easily walk there afterwards. It cost $9 to take elevator to top.

We rented a car for the last 2 days which allowed us to drive ourselves to the blue lagoon, do a self-drive of the golden circle, and return back to the airport. Rented a 4x4 Rav4 that was equipped with studded snow tires and had no problems driving around town. Google Maps did a great job for navigation. Used Blue Car Rentals. Make sure you thoroughly inspect the car upon pickup. Mine was full of dents that I logged on the worksheet.


I mostly drank/ate my way around the town and did tons of walking. Averaged 20,000 steps per day on the fitbit. The streets were all snowy/icy so I pretty much wore the waterproof hiking boots the entire trip, which wasn't the most fashionable way to go out.


My custom google map with POIs

The main street downtown with all the shops/bars/restaurants is Laugavegur.

First AirBNB we stayed at was on corner of Baronsstigur and Grettisgata.

Then we went south on that tour and stayed at Hotel Hofn. Didn't enjoy the dinner at Hotel Hofn for the price. Got Lobster Trio. The Langoustine tails were good but the Lobster soup was like salty broth.

We returned to Reykjavik and booked another place, this one a few blocks further east on Brautarholt/Storholt intersection.

Food around Reykjavik:

As far as the Icelandic Specialties (see photo below), I tried the Brennevin and some smoked lamb, but avoided the rest. We looked for horse on different menus but didn't see anywhere except a really expensive restaurant.

10-11 is Iceland's 7-11 or Circle K style store. 24 hours and everywhere, but pricey. If you find a real supermarket like Bonus or Netto, prices will be cheaper.

Reykjavik Fish - don't recommend -- too greasy and not worth the price. $20

Hamborgarabúlla Tómasar - great burger. Went to location in the back of the B5 bar. $18

Fredriksen Ale House - had good fish and chips here. Get the licorice battered -$27

Mandi - Great kabob place, good for late night. ~$13 for kabob

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur - famous hot dog stand visited by Bill Clinton and Kim K. This is legit. Ate it 3 times late night. $4.50 for hot dog (value)

Brauð & Co. - awesome bakery. Those croissants and cinnamon rolls -$5

Bergsson Mathús - had great brunch here ~$23

Devito's - best slice pizza shop $6 slice


Rauða Húsið Restaurant - nice little place in Eyrarbakki by the south shore.


Nightlife:

Kaffibarinn - nice bar...hung out here a few different nights.

Paloma - had a great drum and bass show here on a Sat night. Good dance club

Dillon - like a rock bar, saw a punk night concert with 4 Nordic punk bands, no cover.



Duty Free also had Nova sim cards for sale. They had a card with 1GB data for $20 and with 10GB of data for $35. Each card also included $10 worth of phone/text but I'm not sure how much that equated to. I only made one local call and used the data to communicate via groupme/google hangouts. I ended up using around 3GB during the week so glad I purchased the 10GB card.

I though Reykjavik Fish was delicious. But thats just me maybe.

And Dillon's is awesome. Very easy place to meet locals.