Iceland - Reflections

I absolutely loved our trip to Iceland and was overwhelmed by the beauty, majesty, and wildness of the country. I really had not known what to expect and was blown away with all that we saw. Some of my favorite things included the glacier lagoon, the waterfalls, the proximity of the glaciers to the roadway, and the vibrant green of the hills and fields.

Renting a car and touring on our own was absolutely the best way to see the country. And I am glad that we had planned a route and reserved all our hotels before we left home. That gave us a certain level of comfort and was one less thing to deal with and occupy precious time. Although I had planned the trip after consulting many guides, blogs, and reviews online, we mostly relied on Rick Steves’ guidebook while we were in Iceland.

As we suspected, this trip was a much better fit for us than a post-cruise extension might have been. We got to spend more than twice as much time, we saw much more of the country, and we had many more experiences than we would have with the extension. Plus, we never had to set foot in a motorcoach. And, surprisingly, the cost of this trip was only several hundred dollars more than the extension would have been, once you exclude meals (which weren’t included with the extension) and other incidentals (which we would have had to purchase on our own). For us, our trip was a much better value.

Iceland is a very easy country to visit for Americans. Everyone speaks English, most signs are in English, and one drives on the “right” side of the road. It’s also the closest European country to the United States, so flights are shorter.

Iceland was also a perfect country to visit after the COVID lockdown. Iceland required that all American travelers be vaccinated and present a negative COVID test. We were impressed that almost everyone complied with the mask mandate, both on the plane and indoors, and we felt very safe. Having our own car also provided another great level of protection.

The hotels we selected exceeded our expectations. The ambience and design quality and details were exceptional. The staff members were very friendly and efficient, and we enjoyed our stays at all the hotels. Now, if we could just figure out how to turn on the water in some of the showers, we’d really be impressed! Some modern design is beyond my grasp.

We were also impressed with the food in Iceland. We mostly ate dinners at the hotels where we were staying, and the quality and presentation were first class. Highlights for me were the fish and lamb. We opted, however, to pass on the horse meat. I did try one of Iceland’s famous hot dogs but wasn’t crazy about the sweet mustard that is the standard condiment.

People often complain that Iceland is very expensive, and that is partly true. However, with a bit of pre-planning and early reservations, we kept our costs to a reasonable amount. Our hotels averaged $200 per night, including a full breakfast. Meals averaged $100 per day for the two of us, and that included fine dining with wine most nights. Car rental and gas were expensive, totaling almost $900, but that was not too unusual anywhere this year (plus, we opted for an automatic, not manual, transmission). All in all, we were pleasantly surprised by what we spent.

I would return to Iceland in a heartbeat. We saw only a portion of the country and would love to tour the rest. Maybe some day . . .

Our Entire Route