Making our way to the intriguing country of Iceland ascended the excitement in my veins. The presence of beautiful landscapes can be experienced with the snow-sealed mountains, contrasting the harsh rain, making the weather hard to predict. Every mountain simply describes the heavenly colour of white; there is one lurking about in every corner of Iceland. The scenic destinations change the definition of beauty and it’s truly a country which has the natural power to show its elegance.
Plan your visit
Iceland is a country where there is too much to explore. Every landscape you see while driving will be alluring enough to make you stop and take a quick picture, so you’d want to plan everything according to your preferences. We scheduled our trip in order to explore the planned tourist destinations. For this journey, we left the activity side of Iceland as it would take weeks to complete. My recommendation is to visit for a week or more(depending on activities) during the season of winter, as our late attendance(April) made the Northern Lights an unexplored adventure.
Rent a car and get it insured!
Your best investment would probably be to rent a car. Choosing the right car is important. A 4 wheel drive will do you great(suitable for f-roads – bumpy ride). Your rented car should indicate whether it’s suitable to drive in the f-roads, and make sure to get the car fully insured. Iceland only has a very minuscule population of 334,252(figures represent data from 2016) so, you wouldn’t have any traffic at all. A significant amount of your journey would be covered in Route 1. With a length of 1,332 kilometres (828 mi), it is the longest route in Iceland. There aren’t many comfortable stops as the roads are rough and the sides are very bumpy. Oh, and watch out for the single lane bridges. They are really narrow and a sweet spot to get your car damaged, hence insuring would be a good idea.
What? How expensive is Iceland?!!
Once you’ve made it to Iceland the money just slips away. You never know the next time you spend your money. It’s certainly a journey that grabs your interest alongside money. You’d want to check your bank account once you go back home. There are very few vegetarian meals for people who don’t eat meat moreover, they are very expensive as we concluded on average that the food costed around £60. Visiting Iceland for a week adds to a grand total of £2500-5000 or more, depending on your purchases. It’s just crazy. Not only Iceland, any Nordic will end up being an extravagant trip.
The missed adventure
We left Iceland with a sigh of disappointment on our faces as we were unable to acquire a sight of the northern lights. The clouds let us down. The best time to visit the aurora borealis (another name for the northern lights) is from late September to early April during the hours of 5pm – 2am. The lighting of the aurora is very vivid during the winter as there would be complete darkness as well as clear skies. Unfortunately, we just slipped away from it and couldn’t find the perfect landscape for it to emerge. It slightly depended on luck for us and that’s exactly what we missed.
Keep your headlights on
In Iceland, it is mandatory to switch your headlights on 24/7, 365 whilst driving, predominantly in the winter. There is barely any sunlight during the season of winter which contradicts the view in summer as a significant amount of time would be day, yet it’s still necessary. Iceland is very strict about this law as the weather fluctuates quite rapidly. You could be under a cluster of clouds and the next thing you know is that the sun is brightly beaming down at you; it’s unpredictable. And logically, it makes sense to have headlights on in such unpredictable climate.
Oh, look a gas station
One of the most vital things to know is to keep an eye on the fuel in your car. Getting a glance at a petrol station can be very rare. Fortunately, we didn’t have much of a problem with the fuel due to frequent petrol visits. It would be a safe decision to pump some in every time you see one. An additional concern is the price of the fuel which goes up to 194 Icelandic Króna which is equivalent to £1.39 or $1.85 per litre.
The reforming weather
Predicting the arrival of the rain, snow or sun is almost impossible in Iceland. You never know what will happen in the extreme weather conditions. Luckily for us, the rain nor snow came into action often as we visited during April. Checking the weather would be helpful as it shifts without notice. I do recommend to also keep a close eye on the road conditions as anything can happen! It’s a wise choice to take it seriously as there is a risk of severe injuries or even death, especially in the winter.
The unpleasant smell of water
The moment you begin your journey around the picturesque country, a distinctive odour of rotten eggs tickles your senses. The smell would definitely be pungent and disturbing in some cases (at least for me) yet, it doesn’t bother your arresting sights. This smell comes from natural causes; volcanoes. The entire country of Iceland is powered by geothermal energy, which is generated by the explosive volcanoes. A significant amount of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are exposed as a result of the eruption, therefore, the nasty odour attacks the atmosphere.
Get proper clothing
If it’s your first visit then you better gather all the proper clothing. We visited during spring with the extreme wind making it really cold. I had about 5 layers on me yet I still felt the unwanted gusts. Considering that we went during the season of the elapsing nature(spring), makes you think how it would be during winter. Make sure you bring proper waterproof clothing, with the changing weather you never know when you’ll get wet. We had a detour in the little village of Vik, consisting of only 318 inhabitants as of 2016 whilst being 180km away from Reykjavík. The amount of wind in the village was too strong to not let me fall back even if I tried. It’s pretty breezy out there!
Time to get your camera out
Heavenly mountains, landscapes of thrusting vigorous waterfalls surrounded by elegant snow, can all be captured with a little click. Get a glimpse of nature at its peak beauty with your camera. Using a camera lens of 55-210 is advisable as it catches photos from a further distance. You could maybe consider bringing a tripod along with your camera to obtain steady pictures. We used a Nikon D3300 with two lenses; one ranging from 18-55mm and the other one being 55-210mm. For the professional photographers, Iceland is a pure gift for crisp photos of nature.
Bring the right adapter
Iceland uses the Europlug/Schuko-Plug (CEE types). So make sure to bring the right adapter to charge your phones, otherwise, you’re stranded without charge and you will be disappointed that you have little to no photos.
Don’t leave me Iceland!
There had to be an end to our journey. As I left the country I was still feeling that there is so much to explore; that we can stay a bit longer. When you’re leaving the country whilst perceiving it for the last time as it fades away in your rapid flight, you’d want to just dive back into the warm, relaxing Blue Lagoon or observe the landscapes of the spirited waterfalls and maybe see the blue vibrant ice-burgs of Jökulsárlón. It surely brings up the feeling of wanting to remain in Iceland.
Iceland’s uniqueness is a special form of portraying the beauty in nature yet the money just slides away from your pockets. You never know the next condition you’ll witness in the dramatic weather. The vast landscapes change your opinion on the country as it is one that makes you think, “how does mother nature have the power to illustrate an image of such grace?”
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