Iceland is a splendid land of volcanoes, glaciers, geothermal springs, waterfalls, and countless other natural beauties that are difficult to enumerate.
As an old sage once said, “if the world were God’s house, Iceland would be his garden”, or at least the most beautiful of his gardens.
Its unique landscape and formation make it an ideal destination for those seeking not only adventure, but also relaxation in the midst of the most lush and uncontaminated nature. However, due to its particular climate and terrain, travelers must take some precautions before visiting the island. From packing the right clothes to being aware of potential natural dangers: when we went in October 2022, we found some days with very strong gusts of wind, which led local authorities to declare a moderate alert and discourage unnecessary travel. It’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s part of the authenticity of the Iceland experience.
As always, we recommend taking out travel insurance before leaving: whether it’s a multi-trip (covering all trips in a year) or a policy specifically for the days of the trip, it’s a way to always be at ease and enjoy the trip. By clicking here, you can simulate the price of the one we use and are happy with.
Without scaring you further, we want to share with you some precautions, or rather a very short list of things that we wish we had known before embarking on our trip to our Iceland adventure. We hope they are useful to you:
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Best time to travel to Iceland: if you want to visit Iceland but haven’t fixed a specific period, we’ll try to give you some tips to make the right choice, depending on your needs and inclinations. For simplicity, we could divide the year into two different periods:
- From October to April: these are undoubtedly the coldest and rainiest months, and therefore this is the period that presents the most critical issues for organizing your trip. But there is a catch: if you want to see the most beautiful and intense Northern Lights, these are the right months. There are more hours of darkness, and the conditions for seeing unforgettable Northern Lights are ideal!
- From May to September: you are in the midst of the beautiful season, the temperatures are mild, and you won’t spend the day chattering your teeth, as we did.
Travel pace: if you are used to sustained travel rhythms and want to visit only the southern part of the island – without going to the northern glaciers – it may be right for your trip to last no more than 5 days: we covered a lot of kilometers in a few days, and in the last days of our stay, we had exhausted all the stops that interested us the most.
In supermarkets, you will find “few” bottles of water: the quality of water in Iceland is very high, and Icelanders essentially drink from the tap. We also adapted, and our stomachs did not suffer!
Don’t bring too much cash: almost everywhere, you can pay with a debit card!
