Iceland – planning the trip

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I am very excited about this trip, I must admit it. Even if I know Iceland is a cold country – not because of the temperatures (-4 C during the winter is something normal), but because of the wind that blows very strong, so you feel as there are -20 C – I can hardly wait to enjoy the low light of the short days, explore the ice caves, see the northern lights during the Christmas time (if I am lucky) and take a bath outside in the thermal springs.

Costs so far:

• Flight: 275 euro with WOWair, with one big backpack
• Car 4×4 (rented for 16 days): 1150 euro – including all insurances, no mileage limit – I chose carrentaliceland.com -> the train lover in me must accept the fact that there are no trains in Iceland and the public transportation is not a reliable option during the hard winter time, when blocked roads because of a snowstorm are normal (yes, you read it correctly)
• Ice Cave tour: 150 euro (with iceguide.is)
• Hotel reservation: 660 euro (with breakfast)

The idea is to have a very good plan, because the daylight is only for about 4 hours (sunrise ~11:30, sunset ~15:30). So basically at 8-9 o’clock in the morning it is completely dark. Yes, the days are very short, but during the winter you can see the northern lights and visit the ice caves.

Another important aspect – be ready for any type of weather. Warm or very cold. That’s why layering is your good friend. Below you can see the list with what I decided to take in the backpack with me for 15 days in Iceland during the winter. The backpack that I decided to have is Osprey 40, perfect size for carry-on and still a lot of place for stuff.

I booked the hotels in September for December-January. A lot of them were completely reserved, I could barely find something with a good price.

Not to forget at home: very good zen mood. With this in my pocket, nothing can go too wrong or bad, because hey … this is an adventure and I will remember about it when I will be very old and too sick to walk in the park.

The list for the backpack (including the clothes that I will wear in the airplane):

Important websites:

• Weather – en.vendur.is
• Road administration – www.vegagerdin.is
• Carpooling – www.samferda.is
• News – grapevine.is
• Tips for safe travel in Iceland – safetravel.is

Below the travel plan – (detailed plan will follow):