Take your seat comfortably, fasten your seatbelts, and follow the travel tips by DNA. Today we are flying to Iceland- one out of three the most expensive destinations in the world with Mariam Muradyan.
Iceland is not a classic destination. We recommend visiting the organized group tours. Though such countries are not common in Armenia, once they try, they return full of great memories and impressions.
Cultural uniqueness
Iceland, Norway, and Denmark have a common culture, as they were found by the Vikings.
People, and especially the young ones, are very welcoming: they can approach a stranger, treat them, get acquainted, and communicate with them. If you need help or acquaintance, they are always ready to assist you.
Iceland is a country of nature, where people keep it pristine. You can never notice garbage in the streets or abandoned areas.
Iceland for classic or extreme travelers
Classic travelers prefer summer for their trips by car and explore all the main sights along the road.
Extreme travelers take their tents, head to comparably cheap and special zones, tour around the northern parts, and come across beautiful sights.
Recommended months to travel
Summertime is overloaded and expensive. But it is also the time for the white nights and walks all-day around.
In March or October, it is cooler, the prices are reasonable, and you can watch the Northern Lights. Though mind, that it is getting dark after 18:00, and the weather is windy (100 km/h).
Trip duration
If you are planning your trip, make sure you have scheduled it properly:
-A- three-day tour is for close-by sights
-5-7-day-tour is for the North and back to the capital city
-10-15-day-tour is for touring the whole of Iceland.
Budget
Airplane ticket- about 500 $/per person
Overnight- better to sleep in guest houses
Meals-buy the food, because, for example, one bottle of beer in the restaurant costs 15$
Estimate total budget is $ 3000-3500 US/ per person (including tours)
Necessary stuff
Take your warm clothes to protect from the wind, waterproof and hiking shoes, gloves, hat, and a swimming suit for Blue Lagoon.
You don’t need cash as you mostly pay by a credit card.
Transportation system
Iceland has an ideal transportation system, but it has no metro. Three different busses with various price lists get the city center from the airport within an hour. By the way, you can get a SIM card right there and don’t use Roaming as it is expensive.
Use the buses with fixed schedules to move around the city. To reduce transportation costs, book your accommodation closer to the city center.
You’d better rent a car to travel within the cities, and never take an organized tour as they are three times expensive. By the way, your Armenian driving license is valid there.
Top 5 sights to visit
- Gljufrabui waterfall
It is one of the most famous sights next to Seljalandsfoss. To get to the waterfall, you should go through it. - Haifoss waterfall- a very hard to get a place with a 128-meter drop.
- Ice caves and hikes along icebergs
Iceland is about 11% of glaciers, and the biggest one is Vatnajokull with an area of 83000 sq/m (3 times the size of Luxembourg).
- Volcanic caves
They were formed throughout thousands of years, as a result of small eruptions.
- Diamond beach
You can see some volcanic origin sand beaches and melting icebergs in Iceland that look like diamonds.
Fun facts about Iceland
- The population is about 362.000, and they have 432.000 sheep.
- There are no mosquitos here
- People still believe in trolls and have some preserved places to prove their existence.
- Iceland is considered one of the safest countries in the world (like Tokyo). For example, people don’t lock their houses when they leave, and police don’t wear weapons.
- People have the highest standard of living: there is no robbery, or it happens very rarely.
- Many Europeans come to work here, as Iceland is a socialist country with high salaries, and proper jobs.
- Iceland has the biggest glacier in the world.
Written by Ani Khachatryan
Translated by Anna Avagyan