Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PUBLIC HOLIDAY DATES
Jan 1
New Year's Day
March/April
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter
Monday
April 20/21
First day of summer
May 1
May Day
May/June
: Ascension Day, Whit Sunday,
Whit Monday
June 17
National Day
August
Bank Holiday (first Monday)
Dec 24-26
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,
Boxing Day
Dec 31
New Year's Eve
Photography
Iceland is staggeringly scenic, as well as being
packed with birds and enjoying weird atmospheric
effects such as the
Northern Lights
(in winter) and
the
Midnight Sun
(seen in late June only in the
extreme north of the country). Prime
landscapes
to catch on camera include icebergs at Jökulsárlón;
Strokkur erupting at Geysir; the rift valley at
Þingvellir; desert along the Sprengisandur route;
one of Vatnajökull's glaciers; the West Fjord's flat
mountain tops; and Dettifoss, Europe's largest
waterfall. As for
birds
, you simply must go home
with a snap of a pu
n (easiest on Heimaey or at
Ingólfshöfði), while Mývatn's ducks, teeming
sea-bird colonies anywhere around the coast
(though best perhaps at Látrabjarg in the West
Fjords) and white-tailed eagles (try on Snæfellsnes)
are all worthy targets.
Photo shops
are plentiful in Reykjavík and
Akureyri; elsewhere, if available at all, they are likely
to be located in shopping centres.
Phones
All
phone numbers
in Iceland are seven digits
long, with no regional codes.
Phone book
listings
are arranged in order of Christian name - Gunnar
Jakobsson, for instance, is listed under “G”, not “J”.
Normal landline
rates
are reduced on domestic
calls at weekends and Monday to Friday 7pm to
8am; on calls to Europe daily at 7pm to 8am; and to
everywhere else daily at 11pm to 8am.
Iceland uses both GSM and NMT
mobile phone
networks. GSM covers most of coastal Iceland,
including all communities with over 200 inhabit-
ants. Coming from the UK or EU, your own country's
pay-as-you-go sim cards might work in Iceland
with varying roaming rates. Alternatively, buy a new
sim from fuel stations or newsagents in Iceland.
You'll only need NMT coverage if you're spending a
lot of time in Iceland's Interior; contact Icelandic car
rental companies or hiking organisations (p.40) for
more information.
Shopping
Icelandic
woollen sweaters
are a practical
memento of your trip, and cost upwards of
15,000kr. Their characteristic patterns derived
around a century ago from Greenland's traditional
costumes. Though some are now made overseas
(causing much indignation in Iceland) many are still
produced in cottage industries, where consistent
patterns, colours, sizes, shapes and fittings are
nonexistent - shop around until you find the right
one. Other good clothing buys include woollen
hats and mittens, and stylish - but extremely
expensive - weatherproof outdoor gear made by
local brands
66ºN
and
Cintamani
.
Stores in Reykjavík also stock a range of silver
and lava
jewellery
, in some intriguing designs.
And Iceland's wild-caught
smoked salmon
is
probably the best you'll ever eat, firm-textured
and robustly scented without being too oily - it
costs much the same as you pay at home for
farmed versions.
PHOTOGRAPHING THE
NORTHERN LIGHTS
The
Northern Lights
are only visible in
the darkness of winter, and from places
with clear skies, away from light pollution.
Probably the most magical place to view
them is at Jökulsárlón in the southeast,
especially from the nearby black-sand
beach with its crystal-clear ice boulders
which pick up the Lights' red and green
glow. The colours are not always as
intense as you'd expect, however, and to
get good shots you'll need a camera
capable of making exposures of a minute
or more.
Time
Iceland is on
Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT )
throughout the year. GMT is 5 hours ahead of US
Eastern Standard Time and 10 hours behind
Australian Eastern Standard Time.
