Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
produce single-sheet road maps of the entire
country, along with four or five separate regional
sheets at around 1:250,000. Ferðakort's speciality
are detailed maps, suitable for hiking, of specific
areas such as Westman Islands, Hornstrandir,
Skaftafell and so on at 1:25,000-1:200,000; Mál og
menning has a similar 1:100,000 series with
1:50,000 inserts. The only available
road atlas
is
Mál og menning's 1:300,000
Kortabók
, which breaks
the country down into sixty pages as well as
including plans of larger towns.
accepted), and many businesses' tills - and all ATMs
- are wired into the Cirrus/Maestro/Electron
network, which allows you to pay, or draw cash
from ATMs, direct from your home bank account
using a
debit
or
bank card
. Cash withdrawals will
be charged a fee per transaction; check with your
bank for more information.
Alternatively, you can use
travellers' cheques
to
carry your funds around. Take only Euro, UK sterling
or US dollar cheques; Australian and New Zealand
cheques are not cashable in Iceland. Some banks
issue
Travel Money Cards
, basically an ATM card
which has been precharged to a certain value, and
which you can draw on until the funds are
exhausted. Again, check with your bank for details,
especially regarding compatibility with Icelandic
machines.
Money
Iceland's
currency
is the
króna
(krónur in the
plural), abbreviated to either Isk, Ikr or kr. Notes are
issued in 5000kr, 2000kr, 1000kr and 500kr denomi-
nations, and there are 100kr, 50kr, 10kr, 5kr and 1kr
coins, decorated with fish. At the time of writing the
exchange rate was approximately 192kr to £1; 151kr
to €1; 124kr to US$1; 122kr to CAN$1; 127kr to
AU$1; and 98kr to NZ$1. Check
current exchange
rates
at
W
xe.com.
Banks
are found around the country, including in
many single-street villages, and most sport an
AT M
,
often located in a weather-proof lobby that can be
accessed outside opening hours. Normal
banking
hours
are Monday to Friday 9.15am to 4pm,
though a few branches in Reykjavík open for longer.
All banks change
foreign
currency
(not Australian
and New Zealand dollars, however); some stores
and accommodation in Reykjavík also accept US
dollar, Euro or British notes.
You can get around Iceland without ever
touching cash: almost everywhere takes
credit
cards
(Visa and MasterCard are the most widely
Opening hours and public
holidays
Shops are generally
open
Monday to Friday
10am-6pm and Saturday 10am to mid-afternoon,
though you might find that many close for the
weekend through the summer. In cities and larger
towns, supermarkets are open daily from 10am
until late afternoon; in smaller communities,
however, some places don't open at all at
weekends.
Out in the country,
fuel stations
provide some
services for travellers, and larger ones tend to open
daily from around 9am to 10pm.
O
ce hours
everywhere are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm;
tourist o
ces
often extend these through the
weekends, at least in popular spots. Most businesses
close on the public holidays listed on p.46.
OPERATOR SERVICES AND INTERNATIONAL CALLS
OPERATOR SERVICES IN ICELAND
Emergencies
Fire, ambulance or police
T
112
International directory enquiries
T
114
International operator
T
115
National directory enquiries
T
118
CALLING HOME FROM ICELAND
Note that the initial zero is omitted from the area code when dialling the UK, Ireland, Australia
and New Zealand from abroad.
USA and Canada
00 + 1 + area code
Australia
00 + 61 + area code
New Zealand
00 + 64 + area code
UK
00 + 44 + area code
Republic of Ireland
00 + 353 + area code
South Africa
00 + 27 + area code
