Iceland … Hot and Chilly, But Worth a Visit

I know it is awfully early to be talking about international travel. BUT, I was having a little pout recently about the fact that I didn’t get to go on our planned Pacific Rim trip last winter because of my illness, and that I won’t get to go anywhere this fall or winter because of the pandemic. Also, I really enjoy writing about travel, so I was having a second pout about not having a recent or an upcoming trip to write about.

And then it dawned on me that there was nothing stopping me from writing about any of my previous trips. Hmmmm … perhaps my cognitive function was adversely affected by my near-death experience after all. Duh! As soon as I had that figured out, I knew exactly what place I wanted to write about. The one I keep saying to people “you really should go to … Iceland”.

Iceland was one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world prior to the pandemic. The place was so awash in tourists that the locals had begun to wonder if the tourism thing was a good idea…even though it allegedly saved their economy.

According to Wikipedia –

“The financial crisis of 2007-2010 produced a decline in GDP and employment that has since been reversed entirely by a recovery aided by a tourism boom starting in 2010. Tourism accounted for more than 10% of Iceland’s GDP in 2017.”

Before I further launch into why you should consider going there perhaps a little background information about the country is in order.

General Information

The entire island country lies just south of the Arctic Circle, but just barely. According to Wikipedia it has a total population of 364,134, of which 2/3 live in Reykjavík, the capital city, and surrounding area. Although it lies extremely close to the Arctic, it has a temperate climate created by the presence of the Gulf Stream.

Iceland is considered part of Europe, but it’s not that much further away from mainland North America than it is from that continent. Technically, it is significantly closer to North America when the island of Greenland is included. Iceland is made up of both the European and North American tectonic plates. So, a little bit of both really. It is easy to think of it as being a bit of a midway point between Europe and North America.

Clicking on any image will cause a larger version to pop up.

Why Go

So, since things are beginning to loosen up again, why should you go to Iceland? Well, for a number of what I consider to be very good reasons.

The reasons –

Because You Can – Canadians are now free to travel to Iceland and other parts of Europe. To quote the Icelandair website:

“From Canada: Travel restrictions were lifted from July 15 for holders of Canadian passports.”

I have not fully investigated how regular the flights are at this point, but it APPEARS as though Icelandair is offering daily flights from Toronto. Things are so fluid right now that it’s pointless for me to say this is what’s available because there’s a good chance that things will change regularly and rapidly as we move forward. I did do a flight search for early September to reference in this article – this was the full extent of my research.

What is known is that you could fly to Iceland right now and have a nice little vacation if you wanted to. The country currently has very low levels of COVID-19 infection. Or you could simply begin planning for a time when things are safe, and you can enjoy a more full and complete getaway.

Proximity – as I keep saying to anyone who will listen “it’s very close”. When we went, it was a 5 hour and 15 minute flight from Toronto. That’s just barely getting warmed up compared to some of the flights we have taken over the years. During “normal times” Icelandair offers flights from several cities in Canada, and many in the United States. I am not sure if all of the routes are currently operating, but it would be worth investigating if you were thinking about doing this and are unable to fly out of Toronto.

I have often said to friends that they should consider going there for an extended weekend visit because of how close it is. You fly into Reykjavík and there is much to see and do in the city and in the surrounding area. You don’t have to go too far afield to have an enjoyable stay, even if you are only there for a few short days.

It appears that Icelandair is currently only offering flights leaving Toronto at 9 PM. This gets you into Reykjavík early in the morning, so you’ll have a full day in front of you when you arrive. This can be a good thing or a bad thing all depending upon your constitution.

When the Love-goddess and I went, we flew on a 2 PM flight. The benefit of this was that we arrived in Reykjavík at 7:15 PM our time, or 11:15 local time. By the time we got to our hotel and had a couple of refreshing adult beverages it was time for bed. We were pooped, had a good night’s sleep, and woke up restored at a regular morning time and began our visit.

Time Difference – Depending upon the season, Reykjavík is only four hours ahead of Toronto time. This makes it much easier for your internal clock to adjust and minimize jetlag.

Layover While Routing Through to Europe – Icelandair’s agenda is to have their hub in Reykjavík function as a gateway to all of Europe for North American travelers, and vice versa. If you are planning a trip to Europe, you could fly through Reykjavík and incorporate a stopover in Iceland on your way to your final destination at no additional airfare charge.

This was how the Love-goddess and I ended up getting to enjoy Iceland in the first place. We were off to Europe for one of our typical two-month long visits and decided that we would stop in Iceland on the way. It wasn’t going to increase the cost of our flights and we always wanted to check it out. We’ve been raving about the place ever since.

Amazing Geography – Iceland is a country with absolutely amazing geography –from volcanos to rift valleys, and incredible waterfalls, glaciers, lava fields and ocean front vistas. Many of these are in very close proximity to Reykjavík, so you don’t have to travel far to see them. Readily available in Reykjavík are tour group trips around the Golden Circle  or a day trip to the Blue Lagoon. The Golden Circle tour includes stops at Gullfoss Waterfall, active geysers and hot springs, and Thingvellir National Park centred on the rift valley. The Blue Lagoon is a large geothermal hot spring with all sorts of high-end amenities. There are other junkets available as well. 

The Love-goddess and I did the Golden Circle tour and I have no problem recommending doing so to anyone. We took a pass on the Blue Lagoon. We weren’t that keen on bathing/swimming in a geothermal pool and it all seemed very expensive. That’s not to say others wouldn’t enjoy it. We have friends who stayed overnight in the hotel and dined in the restaurant. They thought it was all absolutely delightful…but incredibly expensive.

No Language Issues – You don’t have to worry about a lack of understanding of the Icelandic native language. Almost everyone in the country speaks fluent English. During our first visit, an article appeared in the local English newspaper claiming that Icelanders, primarily young adults, were regularly being chastised for speaking English amongst themselves rather than using their native language.

Great Food – We were surprised by how good the food was in most of the restaurants in which we ate. Icelanders clearly take great pride in what they put on the table. It is expensive, but tasty.

One of my favourite and fun memories from eating in Iceland was a stop at the “reasonably priced” Icelandic Bar. They were offering three-course meals which we decided to try. I selected what I wanted as my main course but wanted to try a different appetizer than what was being offered with that particular meal. The appetizer I wanted to try was Minke whale. Now before you get outraged about the eating of whale you have to understand that Minkes are really the rabbit of whale species. They are relatively prolific reproducers and are widely found in both the northern and southern hemispheres. They are most certainly not endangered. I thought…when in Rome…

Anyway… I asked our server if I could substitute the Minke whale appetizer for the one that was offered with the main course I wanted. She went back to the kitchen to check. When she returned she provided me with my very own Seinfeld “No soup for you” moment. The chef had refused to allow me to have the whale because it would not properly pair with my main course. Whale lovers rejoice, no whale was eaten by me. That notwithstanding, both of our meals were excellent.

When to Go – Well, I suppose the first decision you have to make is — do you visit Iceland soon or wait until there’s vaccine protection against COVID-19? In theory, now would be a great time to go. The island is usually awash in tourists, especially in the summer. So much so that Icelanders are getting very tired of the level of tourism that now takes place in their country. Getting there before the crowds return is probably a good idea if you feel comfortable doing that. After you’ve made that decision you need to decide on the time of year.

I would suggest either spring or fall. Generally, Iceland is Cool-ish. It is close to the Arctic Circle after all, and the Gulf Stream doesn’t moderate temperatures that much. All that means is the weather in the spring or fall isn’t going to be that much different from July and August. So, there is really no point in going during the busiest tourist season (mid June – end of August).

See It Before It Gets Hot Again – Presumably Iceland will once again become a hot tourism item after the pandemic is fully ended. Soon after a vaccine is developed and widely available would probably be a great time to go if you are the least bit hesitant towards international travel right now.

The Good to Knows (i.e. Drawbacks)

You’re probably thinking this all sounds very good – I will give some serious consideration to going. If you are inclined to go, in all fairness, I really need to let you know about some of the potential drawbacks.

Expensive – Iceland is very expensive. This means pretty much everything. Accommodation, food, internal travel, clothing, groceries, etc. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go. It just means that you need to look for opportunities to reduce your costs whenever possible. That might mean having a hotdog for lunch or picking up prepared food in a grocery store rather than sitting down to eat in a nice restaurant for every meal.

Hotel Booking – booking hotels in Reykjavík can be daunting at times. There are lots of hotels, but often the demand is so high that it is very difficult to find a room at a reasonable cost…especially on short notice. We have found that using a hotel booking site like booking.com is the best way to go, rather than attempt to book directly. I would recommend that you look and book well in advance of your travel dates.

The first time we were stopping over in Iceland I did book well in advance because I knew it would be tough sledding finding a place if I did what I typically do, i.e. wait until relatively close to our travel date. I was very happy to find a nice room at the centrally located Center Hotels Plaza for around $200-$250 a night Canadian. It turned out to be in a great location and mostly acceptable.

On our way home from Europe 2 ½ months later we decided to stop over in Reykjavík again. I looked to book the same hotel but it was now priced at over $500 a night Canadian. Yikes! However, the hotel booking website had Hotel Reykjavík Centrum available in the $200-$250 Canadian a night range. It proved to be a nicer hotel in almost the exact same location. It will be our go-to hotel in Reykjavík in future – if it is not too expensive when we book.

Weather – The weather is on the cool side and mostly maritime in nature. That means it can go from sunny to rainy in minutes and then back again. All this means is that you need to pack accordingly. On our first visit, we saw many folks wandering around town with rain suits on even though it wasn’t raining at the time. They had obviously been there before. You also need to pack layers.

Bus from Airport – Downtown Reykjavík is about a 45-minute drive from the airport, so you need to arrange transport. The simplest thing to do is take the “flybus” shuttle bus service, (https://www.re.is/tour/flybus/). It will take you from the airport to your hotel, but you may have to switch to a second bus at the bus terminal in town to get there. It is far and away the least expensive means to get in and out the city. You can easily book your fare online well before you leave home. This eliminates having to worry about buying a ticket upon arrival.

Reykjavík – Reykjavík is a great little city and there are enough things to see and do to keep you engaged and busy for a few days – but only for a few days. You really do need to incorporate some of the out of town excursions during your stay. If you would rather see live whales in their natural environment than eating them, there are lots of whale watching trips that sail out of the town docks.

Current Basic Costs

Let’s say a vaccine protecting us all from the coronavirus is developed and available in August… hypothetically. This means you can wander off anywhere you want in September. I did a little research into how much it would cost to get to Iceland and spend a few days for the first week in September. Here are the results.

Icelandair Airfare – $659.06 pp – leaving Toronto on Friday, September 4 @ 21:00, returning to Toronto on Wednesday, September 9 @ 5:05

Hotel (on “booking.com “) – $787.00 for 2 people for 5 nights ($157.40 per night) at the Center Hotels Plaza (paid on booking, non-refundable ($870 with free cancellation)

Airport Bus Transfer (return) – $48.68USD pp, approx. $65.00 Canadian

For two people the basic cost to get there and back and stay there is approximately $2235.00. I’ll leave it up to you decide if that is good value or just way too expensive.

Online Magazine and TV Series

If you are interested in checking out what is happening in the country on an ongoing basis, I would suggest that you consult the English language online magazine Reykjavik Grapevine (https://grapevine.is). And, if you would like to check out some Icelandic murder mystery series viewing, then be sure to have a look at the Netflix series “Trapped”.

There you have it. Your next long weekend trip planned out for you. 🙂 If you have already been to Iceland I would love to hear your take on the place. Let’s finish up with some pictures.