Practical tips for a short trip to Iceland - Reykjavik

I can’t be alone in thinking that a trip to such a climate, without the opportunity to warm up with exercise on your skis, is an odd choice. Going to Iceland in summer, or otherwise arriving there with even more layers than a ski holiday, really is a thing to do: there’s remarkable scenery, easy-going people and ... best I leave you to find your own things to enjoy. 

I’m also not alone in commenting on the high cost of negotiating Iceland. The consolation to offer is that the landscape reminds of the big island of Hawaii but Iceland is way easier to get to from Europe. Below are some tips on coping.

                                      

FLIGHTS

Nothing new but I’ll remind that going out on an early morning flight and returning on an evening flight will save a night in a hotel. Also not new is that without checked baggage you cannot take liquids in or out of the country, not even a sealed bottle of the local spa goo sold in town. Bring sealable polythene bags for your toothpaste and save paying £2 for them at some airports. On easyjet you can carry-on cases that are under 56 x 45 x 25 cm including the wheels and handle (2014). The icelandair carry-on limit is 55 x 40 x 20 cm and up to 10kg - however on this carrier if your bag is too big you can check in a single bag for no extra (latest here).

AIRPORT TRANSFERS

The Reyjavit International airport is 45 minutes drive from the city centre. As most hotels are within a walk of the centre, you may take the airport bus to a bus depot (£9 pp) and not need a direct to hotel service which adds 450K (£2.50 pp). The walk to your hotel from the depot starts your holiday sooner. There are two bus companies at Reykjavik airport with ticket offices as you exit. Reykjavik Excursions have a bus depot near the south end of the city lakes. The Gray line bus depot is slap bang in the town centre. 
A taxi is £75. Car hire is £100 day. An alternative is to ask cars at the airport i.e. offer 1000k (£5) and see if people are as friendly as they say. BTW the international airport ought not be confused with the domestic airport which is in town. Just as I did when booking my hotel thinking it close to the airport on Google maps.

MONEY

As always, book your money online with a debit card before you go and pick it up from your supermarket or Marks and S. Otherwise, paying by debit or credit card has a slight sting to it, perhaps 5%, on most transactions but then currency changing has a similar sting. How much to bring? I paid for my tours with a credit card and used £75 cash a day for two people. That paid for airport transfers, one eat out meal a day, some coffees and supermarket bought snacks on tours say.

WIFI

The two big private bus companies above have free wifi in their buses and at their depots. Some restaurants can be asked for an access code for their wifi. It'll help to have free wifi in your hotel. You'll find it handy to access an online map where you 'drop pins' on places to see. You can calculate distances in this way.
The Tripadvisor app lets you download its ‘Reykjavik’ section, access it offline and use a phone’s GPS to find places on its map. The Tripadvisor app allows you to bookmark (or save) sites and restaurants. If you sign into the app with facebook, and save some sites before you go, you’ll have all these to hand. Otherwise use Google maps to save your favourite places before you go and see what's near what. 

SWIMMING – BLUE LAGOON

The Blue Lagoon is nearer the main airport than to Reykjavik so you might access this on your first or last day and end up in town or the airport ready to fly home. Price including admission £50 pp. Grayline offer more flexible travel options.  

Alternatives to the Blue Lagoon are the 2-3 town swimming pools and hot tub at £6 pp and you can walk to two of them. One pool is a few minutes behind the main church. 
I read that you can take two buses (£4 pp) to Hveragerði geothermal pool and general area.

TOURS

For the DIY tourist, the public bus system has a page with destinations http://www.straeto.is/. You may be lucky to find a destination that can be done in one bus route and fare (see below). Or not.

The popular tour by coach is the Golden Circle £50 pp. I felt the guide added value and got us through a horrendous snow storm where vehicles had come off the road. I did this one with grayline.is but www.re.is do something comparable. 

The Reykjavik Excursions South Coast tour at £75 pp was also good (www.re.is). There was a lot of driving to get to Vik. This was only place where you meet the coast face to face. I noticed some other tours featured a hike but as I didn't expect much more than a taster of hiking and was happy without it. Also later at a waterfall, it was too icy to walk behind it but I can also live with that. 

Any hotel will book these tours and help with problems. I quickly concluded that Gray line had the better, more polished offer. The ‘Reykjavik Excursions’ people seemed depressed or seasonally affected.

MUSEUMS – WELCOME CARD

One or two of the museums may be worth seeing. Students get in for less. The Welcome card, at £31 pp offering bus and museum entrance, seemed less good value as the city is so small.

TRAVELLING in Reykjavik

If you normally walk on holidays, the edges of Reykjavik will seem accessible on foot. The weather beat me back while aiming for the peninsula. Here at the north east of Reykjavik, there’s the bonus of a swimming pool and lighthouse. Bus 11 will take you back 350k pp.

TRAVELLING beyond Reykjavik

Public buses take you to some destinations and if touring were the aim, I'd locate myself where those buses depart. Day bus passes are limited to town and nearby so expect to pay 350k pp per journey or £4 pp return. I'd enquire to see if one could take a 3 bus to Mjódd shopping centre then a very long 51 bus trip to the black beach at Vik. The public bus website has timetables and a journey planner but I needed local knowledge to take this through. Perhaps the bus people reply to emails. http://www.straeto.is/.

FREE

• Wander in the Harpa Symphony Hall on the harbour and see nearby Sun sculpture
• Sign up to the daily two-hour city walk from the Parliament Square (near Tourist Office) at citywalk.is. A guy called Martyn runs this.
• A free  80 min walking tour happens on Saturday 1pm from Lækjartorg square (near GrayLine depot). Look for the little green clock tower. No booking. Do check details at http://www.freewalkingtour.is

• Einar Jonsson Museum Gardens are said to be nice.
• Weekends at 11am Flea Market, white building near harbour. General tat, knits and car boot sale stuff to haggle over. There appeared to be only one knitting pattern for Icelandic wear.
• One hour film on Volcanoes on the hour, near harbour at Icelandic Fish and Chips 
• Water

FOOD

Dining at your departure airport will seem cheap! It'll start the day well to have a free breakfast in your hotel. There very few cafes open at this time anyway. There are Bonus supermarkets all over town selling sandwiches but they open mid-morning and close around 6pm. Prices are so so. 
Subway may be a snack option. The Ginger supermarket (sort of Waitrose just down from the centre tourist office) has snack stuff too. Local lamb often replaces imported beef.

A dish in a restaurant rated ££ might be 2250 Kr plus 600 Kr for a soda drink (£15 pp). A restaurant beer would be £5. There is no custom to tip as in England.

Let Tripadvisor guide you but Kryddlegin hjortu and Glo in the town centre offer veggie meals. Two others include Icelandic Fish and Chips near the harbour for freshly cooked food. Also Cafe Loki near the tall church for traditional Icelandic food. All are informal with prices around £15pp and not especially filling.

ALCOHOL and DRINKS

Tap water is excellent so most people advise there’s no need for bottled water.

Local alcoholic drinks are less pricey. Beer with 2.5% alcohol is the norm. If wine is preferred look for some at the airport when you arrive. Icelandic spirits at the airport were reasonable. You can't bring liquids from England or take them home unless bought at the duty free.

BUDGETTING

£15 one meal

£50 one tour

£5 one swim

£4 one return bus trip

£10 museum
£10 one airport transfer each way

TIMING
One day - long walk to lighthouse, swimming pool, explore harbour, watch Volcano film
One day - town centre walk, museum, swim or guided walking tour
One day - trip