Tips

The number of visitors to small, ravishingly beautiful Iceland is soaring – and Iceland’s news has been busy with stories of tourists getting into difficulties. When travellers get things wrong, it can be a matter of etiquette, or the destruction of the pristine environment. But it can also be life-threatening for both the visitor and the search and rescue operations mounted to save them.

Do: Take the weather seriously

You may encounter bus tours and droves of visitors in popular places, but Icelandic weather is highly volatile, no matter where you are. A sunny day can quickly turn to snow flurries, and the stakes get even higher as you head into the true wilds. Never underestimate the weather – get a forecast at the Icelandic Met Office (en.vedur.is).

Do: Dress appropriately & pack serious gear

How to have a brilliant holiday in Iceland? Be smart and safe. Bring good maps (available at Reykjavík bookstores like Mál og Menning), appropriate gear, plus, you’ve heard it before: common sense. Consult a proper hiking or cold-weather packing list. If you had no access to a car or building, would you be warm and dry enough with what you were wearing? No hiking in jeans, no climbing on glaciers without proper guidance, no fording rivers in subcompact cars, no camping without hardcore waterproof tents. Then just relax and enjoy all that beauty, no fear required.

Do: If driving, stick to appropriate roads

Know which roads are accessible in the type of vehicle you’re driving. Beyond Iceland’s main Ring Road (Route 1), fingers of sealed road or gravel stretch out to most communities, until you reach the F Roads, bumpy tracks only passable by 4WD. F roads are truly unsafe for small cars. If you travel on them in a hired 2WD you invalidate your insurance. Steer clear, hire a 4WD, or take a 4WD bus or super-Jeep tour. Similarly, trying to ford a river in a 2WD vehicle or low-slung 4WD is asking for trouble.

Do: Expect to remove your shoes indoors

Icelanders often remove their shoes indoors. Pack flip-flops or slippers for indoors.

Do: Drink the tap water

It’s pure and wonderful; Icelanders will look at you askance if you ask for bottled water.

More:

Don’t exchange much cash, if any. You can use a credit card for nearly everything. The only things we paid cash for were tolls (a tunnel on the Ring Road north of Reykjavik) and tips for tour guides.

Tipping not required. Tipping is not required, but appreciated. The service and VAT is included in the price, but I know when I’ve tipped, especially our tour guides, it was always welcomed with a smile.

Buy a prepaid gas card. If you don’t have a chip and PIN card, stop for gas near Reykjavik, Selfoss or another large town and buy a gas prepaid card because many gas stations around the country are unmanned and if you don’t have a prepaid card or chip and PIN credit card you are out of luck. N1 seems to be the most common brand so I would suggest an N1 prepaid card.

Bring a bottle. Don’t buy bottled water, just bring a refillable bottle and top it off at any tap.