Iceland

[viewfrommyveranda]

We're doing 5 nights in Iceland, covering the golden circle, south Iceland and the usual spots like blue lagoon, etc. Definitely, the northern lights is the #1 priority! 1st night pa lang! How's it been for your friends? Have they seen it? :-) What sort of camera did they bring / what are you bringing?

After Iceland, we're doing 7 nights around Germany. We're planning to take a Reykjavik - Berlin flight, then work our way back to Frankfurt. Don't have a Germany Citi yet!!! :-(

[kobekitten]

Girls, is early June a good time to go to Iceland? Planning to go there for our honeymoon 

also, how much is a plane ticket from london to iceland?

[Chili1113]

Just spent 1 week in Iceland and now Im in Norway before heading back to Manila. My gosh I miss Iceland already. It was such an amazing experience. We got really lucky with the Northern Lights and saw it on our 1st try on a night with an absolutely brillant display! It was so strong it could be seen from Reykjavik but we saw it on a tour which was better as we were in a on small dark hill near an open field.

I highly recommend GeoIceland for the basic tours. As much as possible avoid big tour groups like Reykjavik Excursions and Grayline unless you do a less popular tour whereun they use the minibuses.

We did our glacier walk with Extreme Icelabd although I felt we didnt spend much time on the ice but there was a bit of had weather and their prices are very good

Warning:  Be prepared for EXTREME weather conditions and changes. Waterproof hiking boots, hiking pants, and jackets are a must. I never use backpacks but I needed one for the tours. In Iceland its all about funtionality over fashion or you will regret it and not enjoy bec you will be very wet and cold.Heheh I can always spot Pinoys on tour since theyre always so dressed up and use their designer bags even on tour. But I was so glad I took the advice of friends and family who told me to really come prepared.

BTW no 1 priority are hiking shoes. Unless you plan to only take photo ops from afar/parking lot. You need all terrain shoes for safety since you climb over slippery wet rocks and such.

[littlemissbiatch]

^ Thanks for the tips! We're pushing through with Iceland for our honeymoon and I was planning to bring my Stuart Weitzman boots which is not the smartest idea pala haha.  Will start looking for hiking boots.

Will check GeoIceland din. Did you book them na beforehand or when you were in Iceland na? And do you have any hotel recommendations? (Sorry andaming tanong  )

[viewfrommyveranda]

We're doing it! We'll be in Iceland for 5 nights / 6 days in February. We have decided on doing a DIY, self drive. So excited!!!!!

[littlemissbiatch]

We just got back! Iceland is <3 talaga.

Thanks @Chili1113 for the recommendations; they were all on point. GeoIceland, especially! Not only did they have smaller groups, they also provided crampons for everyone so we wouldn't slip sa ice. Super dami nadudulas dun sa mga nakakasabay namin na ibang tour groups (and not slight dulas, ha, as in complete wipeout) so we were super thankful talaga for them. 

@viewfrommyveranda enjoy your trip! 

[Chili1113]

^You're welcome sis! How many tours did you do with Geoiceland? Sobrang sulit nila for the quality of service, and expertise of the tour guides. Sad to say from 3 original tours booked with them we only went on 1, because we had to cancel the other tours and switch them around --since the glacier walk tour was cancelled due to bad weather.

Kakainggit! Iceland is by far my favorite destination ever. Hope we can go back there with friends or more family members. But next time, I want to do a self drive tour.

[princess20]

^sis littlemissbiatch, If you dont mind, can you share your Iceland Itinerary? We plan to go there this spring. Thanks!

[littlemissbiatch]

^^ We did the Golden Circle and Glacier Walk. Super satisfied with both. I want to go back din! Summer naman siguro para hindi namin kailangan mag-habol ng daylight haha.

^ We did not have a very solid itinerary, just some pre-booked tours. The weather kasi in Iceland is very unpredictable, and tours get cancelled all the time, so we wanted to keep it flexible. Most hotels naman are able to book tours on short notice, so if we find na we have free time we just look at the options and book on the spot.

1. Grayline: Northern Lights Tour
Like what Chili1113 said, book it sa first night so you can keep trying every night if wala makita. It took us three tries, and even yung third time hindi pa din sya "valid" kasi super bilis lang (so I guess babalik pa talaga kami - we can use our tickets daw within 2 years  ). Medyo buwis-buhay yung Grayline kasi even when all other companies cancelled go pa din sila and we ended up driving into a snow storm!

2. GeoIceland: Golden Circle (Day 3) and Glacier Walk (Day 5)
Muntik na din ma-cancel yung Glacier Walk namin dahil may snowstorm the day before. But biglang gumanda yung weather (like I said, unpredictable talaga). This was my favorite activity kahit nakakapagod and medyo nakakatakot pag pababa na ng glacier. Free cancellation sila kahit day before ka mag-cancel so risk-free na booking ito (sa actual tour mo pa kailangan magbayad).

3. Elding Tours: Whale Watching (Day 2)
Malas din kami dito although mababa lang expectations ko since wala sila sightings for a while na (they have an online diary na you can check). Like yung Northern Lights, we can reuse our tickets until may sighting pero di na kami nag-attempt ulit kasi super rough seas (like Puerto Galera x100). I think better to sa summer.

4. Blue Lagoon (Day 7)
This one you should prebook talaga kasi tickets get sold out. I did not expect to like this as much as I did kasi very tourist trap-py. Super relaxing!

[Chili1113]

^You're so lucky sis your glacier walk with Geoiceland wasn't cancelled. Ours was cancelled and replaced with a regular South Coast tour. And since Geoiceland doesn't offer the tours daily, I had to cancel all my remaining tours with them and shuffle my schedule. I had to book the walk through another tour company on the day when weather was good.

To those looking for cheaper tours. Reykjavik Excursions and Grayline have the cheapest tours, but I suggest you avoid using them for Golden Circle and South Coast Tours which are the most popular tours. They're OK for less popular routes like Reykjanes, and Snaefellsness Peninsula Tour because they do the tour in a small 20 seater bus.

Sharing our itinerary for those interested:

DAY 1: AIRPORT TRANSFER +NORTHERN LIGHTS TOUR -P3600/per pax -Grayline Tours

DAY 2: DIY tour around Reykjavik

DAY 3:  SNAEFELLSNES PENINSULA TOUR - PHP 7500/per pax - Reykjavik Excursions

DAY 4: GOLDEN CIRCLE TOUR - P4300/per pax - GeoIceland Tours
             NORTHERN LIGHTS TOUR (rescheduled from first night)

DAY 5: Rest Day (We got home at 2 am from northern lights tour on Day 4)

DAY 6: REYKJANES + BLUE LAGOON TOUR - P4300/per pax Entrance to Blue Lagoon not included- Reykjavik Excursions

DAY 7: SOUTH COAST + GLACIER HIKE- P8700/per pax - Extreme Iceland Tours

DAY 8: Airport Transfer via Flybus/Reykjavik Excursions -P1100/per pax

TOTAL COST FOR TOURS + TRANSFERS: P29,500 per person (Not including Blue Lagoon Entrance)   

TIP: Sometimes it is cheaper to book tours from agents and not directly from the big companies. We got discounts from Reykjavik Excursions by booking via online travel agent like viator that sometimes sells it cheaper.

[princess20]

Thanks for sharing your iti mga sis! Excited na kami. Sad lang hindi na kami makakapag northern lights dahil May punta namin. We will also book GeoIceland at mukhang puro positive ang feedbacks. May nakapagtry ba sa inyo ng Wow Air? How's the experience. Thanks!

[Chili1113]

^sis we took WowAir din. OK naman =) Typical budget airline.

[viewfrommyveranda]

We're doing it DIY -- NO FEAR!!! :-) I must have read atleast 20 self drive tour proposals from various travel agencies and got my inspiration there. We're staying 4 nights between South to Southeast Iceland, staying in farmhouses and cottages. More chances of catching the NOrthern Lights! Our cost is about EUR0150 lower than those organised  by travel operators. Wish us luck!!

[Chili1113]

^Oh my. That's my dream itinerary. I swore to go back to Iceland and DIY... have the freedom to stop anywhere I want and spend hours just walking around and breathing it all in!! =)

[littlemissbiatch]

^^ Oooh have fun!  I wish you good weather 
I have friends na nag-DIY and they were successful naman, they just looked at the forecast so they know the places na walang cloud cover (clouds = no sighting).

And it would be good if you have a camera with a manual setting (doesn't have to be dSLR, mine is point and shoot lang). You can google na lang for the ideal ISO, aperture, etc.

Pag nag-start mag-appear yung northern lights, it's a faint gray light lang to the naked eye, but when you use your camera, it's going to appear green. That's how you distinguish it daw from a normal cloud lang. 

[viewfrommyveranda]

^
Thanks!!! I've been monitoring the Aurora sighting site even if we're weeks away from it!!! Weather report naman says partly cloudy :-( Sana it clears up. Don't care if its bitter cold, as long as we see the northern lights!

We have a GoPro with us. Been checking on settings. Sana lang it doesn't get blown away, hahaha!

Question pala -- did you shop anything from the groceries? Our cottages have full serviced kitchens , and their restos are on limited operation. Which means we might need to cook all our meals! Did you see if they have produce - fresh or frozen?

Thanks :-)

[Chili1113]

^Whhhhaaaa! Yes sis. I made sure the place we were staying was beside a big supermarket. The cheapest one the have is called Bonus. Expect their groceries to be around 2x the cost of any supermarket in Europe- except for food which they naturally grow or catch like Salmon and Lamb. Don't worry because for sure you will drive by a Bonus Supermarket along the way. They even sell rice! Lots of microwave pizza, sandwiches, pasta etc. Or you can cook a meal from scratch if you aren't too tired. Don't forget to try their famous yoghurt called Skyr! Super yummy and thick.

Don't worry about the weather. Hehe It changes literally every few hours. Our tour got cancelled 3x before we saw it, and we got lucky because it was very strong that night. The most reliable site according to our tour guides is this one:

http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/

[viewfrommyveranda]

OMG, I don't eat lamb..... :-( But salmon, yay! Looking forward to it! We're packing some emergency rations in case we're too tired. I'm looking forward to trying the skyr nga eh. Read about it.

Next question - hope that's okay -- the national parks like Thingvellir and the Geysir centers, do they have restros, or do we need to bring our own food? Obvious ba, food ang concern? hahaha. But on a serious note, I'm diabetic kasi and need to have regular meals :-)

Thanks!

[littlemissbiatch]

^ Awww sayang, lamb pa naman in Iceland is really good. Right across nung Geysir may parang compound with a couple of restaurants so for sure you'll find something to eat. Not sure lang sa other parks, pero sa ibang tours namin we would just stop by a petrol station and not bad naman yung choices.

I agree na you don't have to worry about the weather pa now. 
Super bilis mag-change. Like in our case the forecast a week before was the complete opposite nung actual weather. 

[Chili1113]

^^Yes sis there are always a couple of restos in the major tourist spots. However, let me warn you that aside from the fact that it is a bit expensive, (but ok lang not astronomical), it is kind of a hassle sometimes to order food. The lines are usually very long especially when golden circle and south coast route.

I remember the lunch stop we had at the geysir park. There were about 3 restos there. My gosh, the lines were so long! Like it will take you 30 mins to pay for your food (cafeteria style). This is why we always had snacks and sandwiches with us. Even some tour operators will encourage you to bring your own food.

TIP: We brought a small stainless thermos with us. It is a bit of a hassle to bring bec it is heavy. But hubby and I really appreciated using it in Iceland. It enabled us to bring hot coffee everywhere we went. This was really a treat to have especially while watching the northern lights at 0 degrees! There were no restos around too, so it was nice to have coffee with us.

You can also bring plastic water bottles to fill up. You can drink water straight from the tap in Iceland =) This is useful when you are out the whole day.