Got back last night. Absolutely incredible country if you like the outdoors combined with one of the coolest cities you'll ever visit.
I'll brain dump a few things:
Food and Drink:
- It's as expensive as you've heard as is visiting certain sites, so don't go there and be upset about prices. You've been forewarned. Cocktails are $25+, beers are $10+, restaurant meals are expensive. While selection is lacking we did find that wine by the glass prices were really no different than Dallas, so if you like wine I would maybe put your alcohol dollars towards that to get your best bang for buck. You will typically find 1-3 choices (red or white) by the glass at most restaurants which is normal there.
- The food scene there is simply incredible. Maybe this is just my after vacation glow working, but I would wager that Reykjavik becomes known as a world class food city in the next couple of years. There are tons of restaurants and everyone of them seem to be fantastic. We did not have one single bad meal in the entire country the 7 days we were there. Even the gas station food was good.
- They absolutely love pizza and they do it well. We had one of the best pizzas we've ever had in some random restaurant on the side of highway 1 in southeastern Iceland.
- While we did not participate, the night life is legendary in Reykjavik. Things don't get going until midnight or later but we were up and about town and witnessed it.
- Go to Rok and order the Reindeer - one of the best cuts of meat we've ever eaten anywhere. Entire staff are hot, blond Icelandic women.
- Go to Snaps Bistro and Bar - French restaurant in the neighborhood off the main drag. We ate lunch there yesterday and it was all locals except for us. Had one of the best fish dishes I've ever tasted. It was the catch of the day so not on the menu and it's also probably the best deal in the city.
- Port9 - this is a wine bar and is off the beaten path and kind of hidden. Best wine bar in Reykjavik and maybe best bar period. Very small bar but has best wine selection in the city from what we found.
- Sumac - this is a Mediterranean restaurant where we had some of the best hummus we've ever eaten for a quick snack and glass of wine.
- Other than these notables, I seriously do not think you will have a bad meal in Reykjavik if you pick a restaurant with at least 4.0 rating from either Google Maps or TripAdvisor.
The People:
- Very friendly and everyone speaks English almost as good as you do. They are quite Americanized and you will see that around Reykjavik. We laughed (and lamented a little) at the number of KFC's and Subways we noticed around the country and in the suburbs of Reykjavik, but there are more than enough local places that it's merely an amusing sidebar more than anything.
- The increase in tourism since 2010 has transformed the country and it's interesting to talk to them about the surge in wealth because of it. No one went there before 2010 and it was very quiet. It is now becoming a top destination for tourism and the locals seem to be handling it well so far. Most of the folks we talked to about it were appreciative of it because it has elevated the weath and well-being of much of the population as most of the country is transitioning to a tourist economy. I suspect they will grow tiresome of it in a couple of years though as everyone starts going there.
- You will see evidence of this in the number of brand new boutique hotels that have popped up in the countryside in southern and southeastern Iceland.
Activities:
- Instead of a tour bus, I would rent a car for the flexibility and combine it with something like a 1 day excursion tour. We did one of the SuperJeep tours with "Gravel Travel" and it was fantastic. It was just our party and 2 other folks so our driver (naturally his name was Thor) was able to go places the tours can't and adjust as needed based on weather, crowds, etc. These super Jeep tours typically take you into the interior of the country and the landscapes you see are incredible.
- We also did a glacier hike which was really cool and had another outstanding guide for this. It was slightly marred by the group of 4 Chinese women with us who repeatedly did not follow his instructions and were not physically fit for the hike, but it was still enjoyable.
- The southern and southeastern area are must sees. If you only stay around Reykjavik you will miss some of the most stunning scenery you will ever see.
- If you can, get to a site early in the morning or late in the day to avoid the tour buses.
- Golden Circle is cool but we enjoyed driving in the south and southeast more. However, on the Golden Circle, we really enjoyed a side stop to a church called Skaholt that most folks overlook or skip. If you enjoy religious history this is a must do. It was the center of the Christian world for Iceland and they have a pretty fascinating bible exhibit outside of the church in a separate tiny building. It's expensive though to stop here. I think we ended up paying about $50 a head just to visit the crypt below the church and the separate bible exhibit. The rest of the main stops on the Golden Circle will get crowded since it is all an easy drive from Reykjavik.
Random tidbits:
- You do not need Kronar at all. Everything and everyone takes CC. They have these kickass wireless, portable CC machines that take about 2 seconds to complete a transaction. It's kind of maddening we don't have that here in the USA, but I suspect we've added an overkill of security layers to the transaction that Iceland doesn't worry about.
- The only transaction you might need cash for is to pay the requested donation to use a toilet at a trail head or in a gas station if you are just stopping to go and are not buying anything. Even then we just used USD and I think we only had to do that once.
- The automated pumps at gas stations flat out would not accept any of our CCs so you end up having to buy a prepaid card inside the gas station in order to get gas. Kind of felt like we were getting scammed here because none of our cards would work at any gas station yet worked flawlessly everywhere else in the country.
- If you bring 3 items of clothing it has to be these: wind proof / water proof jacket, rain pants, water proof hiking boots. It will rain on you at least every other day.
- Their off road vehicles make off road vehicles in the US look like toys. I'm going to cross post pics of some of these on the Auto board.
