Iceland Resources
A couple useful observations I had about Iceland that didn't show up in
my travel guide:
- How to save a lot of money on breakfast: before going to Iceland, I went
to the grocery store, bought three boxes of NutriGrain bars, packed them in
zipper bags (they'll pack pretty small), and brought them with me. This
doesn't help you with getting your morning coffee, but considering that a
single breakfast in Iceland is likely to cost you as much as two or three
boxes of NutriGrain bars, this'll save you a lot of money.
- Service is included in the bill; tipping generally is not expected.
- Most travel guides say that major credit cards are accepted. This is
not quite true. Visa and Mastercard/Eurocard are accepted everywhere
except the city bus (seriously; you can put the Salvation Army on your
Visa card). American Express is accepted at a few upscale stores and
restaurants in Reykjavík, but otherwise you won't get much use out
of it. Discover is accepted nowhere. JBC and Diner's Club are frequently
accepted wherever American Express is.
- ATM cards may be hit or miss. I didn't have any trouble using my Visa
debit card as a credit card, though. Travelers checques may be cashed
easily at any bank, at the Reykjavík youth hostel (in small
amounts), and presumably at major hotels.
- Always carry a jacket.
- Trust Lonely Planet as far as you can throw it. If you're a person of
reasonable strength, you can throw a Lonely Planet pretty far, but the
guidebook is a bit out of date, particularly when it comes to prices.
This is a list of the web resources I used to help plan my trip to
Iceland, as well as some good ones I found when I returned.
Transportation
Accomodations
General Information
Travelogues
Just plain useful travel sites
© 2000, Brendan O'Sullivan-Hale