Iceland travel resources & links

This page contains links to information about some of the travel resources we used during our trip, or while planning it.

General Resources

• IcelandAir UK had Heathrow-Reykjavik return flights for 186 pounds, which wasn't too bad. And there's a new budget airline Iceland Express, offering even cheaper fares from London (Stansted) and Copenhagen.
• We hired our car through Geysir. Austerleið runs buses around South Iceland
• Lonely Planet doesn't have much about Iceland online, but their printed guidebook was invaluable, though inaccurate in places (a 2004 edition is now available).
• We tried to pick up a little bit of Icelandic just for fun. Rob at Miami Uni has a good collection of learning Icelandic tips and links.
• south.is is an extensive directory of South Iceland travel resources
• The map I've used comes from the National Land Survey of Iceland.

Reading

For background on Iceland I recommend Terry Lacy's Ring of Seasons, a nice one-volume overview of Icelandic history and culture, and (more academic) Gunnar Karlsson's History of Iceland. And for fiction, the Icelandic Sagas, Halldor Laxness' classic Independent People, and Angels of the Universe.

We bought Jóhann Óli Hilmarsson's Icelandic Bird Guide and found it excellent. Some of my information about buildings comes from Works Along the Way (Icelandic Concrete Association, 2002).

See my Iceland and Icelandic literature reviews for other books I've read.

Local Details

• Hotel Thorshamar / Guesthouse Sunnuholl (on Heimaey)
• Eyrarbakki's Maritime Museum and Árnesinga folk museum (Húsið)
• Background on Flói Nature Reserve
• We joined YHI, but only stayed in the youth hostel in Vik.
• Icelandic Salt Fish Museum in Grindavik (no English version, unfortunately)

For Next Time

I keep in touch with what's happening in Iceland by occasionally reading the Iceland Review.

• Elding run whale-watching tours from Reykjavik

Travelogues

• 1995 and 2002 (Mývatn, Jökulsárlón, Skaftafell, Landmannalaugar - photos)
• Landmannalaugar to Skógar
• Eve Ander's photo-travelogue