The thing about Iceland which I cannot stress enough is that it's so close! It's a destination that you could certainly jet set to for a week or two, but you can also plan it as an easy long weekend trip. We left on a Tuesday night and got back that Sunday night and felt that we had a really good feel for the city by that time.
Icelandair out of JFK will take you there direct where you will land in Keflavik airport in Iceland. The time there is +5 hours this time of year. Note: Iceland is part of Scandinavia- so U.S. citizens do need a passport to get there, but do not need a visa.
We arrived Wednesday morning at around 6am, hopped into a taxi and headed to Reykjavik which is the capital and the main city in Iceland. The taxi takes about 45-50 minutes from the airport to downtown Reykjavik and costs about $100USD. The conversion rate now is about $1USD=125ISK. We checked into our hotel,
Center Hotel Thingholt, which is a beautiful, clean, sleek and modern hotel right in the heart of the city.
In terms of location, this hotel is definitely in the best spot. If I go back, it is most certainly the place where I would stay again. The staff there was just wonderful- so helpful and they were some of the nicest people I have ever meet.
Also, considering how early we arrived we didn't think we'd be able to check-in to our room, but we were wrong! We got our room right away and so we were able to nap, shower and unpack which was nice.
Iceland is a fairly expensive city, but the country recently went bankrupt. In 2006, $1USD=$60ISK, in 2007 $1USD=$80ISK, in 2008 $1USD=$105ISK, and again in 2009 $1USD=$125ISK- so if you are considering a trip to Iceland, now is a good time to go. There are plenty of deals out there for both airfare and hotel. Their peak tourist season is from June-August, when they get about 20-24 hours of daylight. This time of year, the sun rises at about 9:30am and sets around 5:30pm and is obviously colder than in the summer months so it's much less expensive. Although, I have to tell you that because of the Gulf Stream, Iceland's temperature is about what it is in New York- so it's cold, but not unbearable. Tomorrow, I will share with you more about what we did on our first full day in Reykjavik. Until then, "bless"- that is Icelandic for "good-bye."
We arrived Wednesday morning at around 6am, hopped into a taxi and headed to Reykjavik which is the capital and the main city in Iceland. The taxi takes about 45-50 minutes from the airport to downtown Reykjavik and costs about $100USD. The conversion rate now is about $1USD=125ISK. We checked into our hotel, Center Hotel Thingholt, which is a beautiful, clean, sleek and modern hotel right in the heart of the city.
Also, considering how early we arrived we didn't think we'd be able to check-in to our room, but we were wrong! We got our room right away and so we were able to nap, shower and unpack which was nice.
Iceland is a fairly expensive city, but the country recently went bankrupt. In 2006, $1USD=$60ISK, in 2007 $1USD=$80ISK, in 2008 $1USD=$105ISK, and again in 2009 $1USD=$125ISK- so if you are considering a trip to Iceland, now is a good time to go. There are plenty of deals out there for both airfare and hotel. Their peak tourist season is from June-August, when they get about 20-24 hours of daylight. This time of year, the sun rises at about 9:30am and sets around 5:30pm and is obviously colder than in the summer months so it's much less expensive. Although, I have to tell you that because of the Gulf Stream, Iceland's temperature is about what it is in New York- so it's cold, but not unbearable. Tomorrow, I will share with you more about what we did on our first full day in Reykjavik. Until then, "bless"- that is Icelandic for "good-bye."
looking forward to seeing the pictures!Hope you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteHeather
Nice.
ReplyDelete- Andrew