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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
My next trip is to Iceland for 10-14 days
The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise, making forays to visit glaciers, volcanoes, and other places resulting from research Does anyone know, are there off-the-beaten path places I should be on my itinerary? or otherwise, super scenic drives? I've driven in the highlands of Scotland, and Norway, and am hopeful to see a lot of that glaciated beauty. -- Dan Stephenson http://stepheda.com Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too) |
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
"Dan Stephenson" wrote in message ... My next trip is to Iceland for 10-14 days The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise, making forays um, clock-wise? to visit glaciers, volcanoes, and other places resulting from research Does anyone know, are there off-the-beaten path places I should be on my itinerary? or otherwise, super scenic drives? I've driven in the highlands of Scotland, and Norway, and am hopeful to see a lot of that glaciated beauty. The whole of Iceland is off the beaten track :-) what type of car (bike) will you have? what type of accommodation do you intend staying in? are you going to pre book or turn up on the day? This will make a difference as to how far "off the beaten track" you can go tim |
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
On 2015-12-13 18:48:30 +0000, tim..... said:
"Dan Stephenson" wrote in message ... My next trip is to Iceland for 10-14 days The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise, making forays um, clock-wise? Starting northwards from the capital, eastward on the northern side of the island, etc.. I bring this up because there are other circumstances when I've travelled where one direction is better than another, e.g. anti-clockwise around the Ring of Kerry and Loch Ness. Having to do with lesser traffic, more impressive view of scenery, and such. On the scale of Iceland it would seem less important, but I though it worth mentioning. to visit glaciers, volcanoes, and other places resulting from research Does anyone know, are there off-the-beaten path places I should be on my itinerary? or otherwise, super scenic drives? I've driven in the highlands of Scotland, and Norway, and am hopeful to see a lot of that glaciated beauty. The whole of Iceland is off the beaten track :-) Awesome! Would you say it was generally like Wester Ross in the north of Scotland, or some of the fjordlands of Norway? I've driven through both and loved it. what type of car (bike) will you have? The plan was to hire a convention car, not a 4x4 for off-road, since I frankly have little experience dealing with potential off-road issues. I realize that will limit where I can go. I am hoping some unpaved roads are intended for normal use and aren't rutted etc. necessitating a 4x4. what type of accommodation do you intend staying in? are you going to pre book or turn up on the day? I have always found success in the remoteness of Norway and Scotland, of finding a place to stay with no reservation, and just driving along until I found something decent. Maximum freedom, that way. I usually only reserve the arrival and departure nights. My hope was that although Iceland was also sparsely populated, I could find a place in the various towns along that main ring-highway that circuits the island. What do you think about that? This will make a difference as to how far "off the beaten track" you can go tim Going off the beaten track was envisioned as something to do as in-and-out excursions form the main highway. -- Dan Stephenson http://stepheda.com Travel pages for Europe and the U.S.A. (and New Zealand too) |
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
Dan Stephenson:
The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise... "Tim": um, clock-wise? Dan Stephenson: Starting northwards from the capital, eastward on the northern side of the island, etc.. I bring this up because there are other circumstances when I've travelled where one direction is better than another... I believe Tim's question was not why you mentioned a direction, but whether "clockwise" was the direction you meant to mention. (Apparently it was.) -- Mark Brader "Relax -- I know the procedures backwards." Toronto "Yeah, well, that's a quick way to get killed." -- Chris Boucher, STAR COPS |
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
On 2015-12-16 05:55:23 +0000, Mark Brader said:
Dan Stephenson: The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise... "Tim": um, clock-wise? Dan Stephenson: Starting northwards from the capital, eastward on the northern side of the island, etc.. I bring this up because there are other circumstances when I've travelled where one direction is better than another... I believe Tim's question was not why you mentioned a direction, but whether "clockwise" was the direction you meant to mention. (Apparently it was.) oh, ha, yeah typo -- Dan Stephenson http://stepheda.com Travel pages for Europe, USA, New Zealand and Japan |
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
"Dan Stephenson" wrote in message ... On 2015-12-13 18:48:30 +0000, tim..... said: "Dan Stephenson" wrote in message ... My next trip is to Iceland for 10-14 days The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise, making forays um, clock-wise? Starting northwards from the capital, eastward on the northern side of the island, etc.. I bring this up because there are other circumstances when I've travelled where one direction is better than another, e.g. anti-clockwise around the Ring of Kerry and Loch Ness. Having to do with lesser traffic, more impressive view of scenery, and such. On the scale of Iceland it would seem less important, but I though it worth mentioning. I think you missed my point I was querying your spelling But you are right most people do go clockwise and no, it doesn't matter, outside of a few road in Reykjavík there's no such thing as a traffic queue in Iceland (unless it's caused by them repairing a road, in which case the direction's irrelevant) to visit glaciers, volcanoes, and other places resulting from research Does anyone know, are there off-the-beaten path places I should be on my itinerary? or otherwise, super scenic drives? I've driven in the highlands of Scotland, and Norway, and am hopeful to see a lot of that glaciated beauty. The whole of Iceland is off the beaten track :-) Awesome! Would you say it was generally like Wester Ross in the north of Scotland, or some of the fjordlands of Norway? I've driven through both and loved it. Scotland is definitely the nearest comparison in the rest of Europe. It's not at all like the fjordlands of Norway, the costal area is almost flat. And, of course, that's ignoring all of the thermal activity that nowhere else in Europe has. (Not been to the Faroes so can't make that comparison) what type of car (bike) will you have? The plan was to hire a convention car, not a 4x4 for off-road, since I frankly have little experience dealing with potential off-road issues. Good move. The places in Iceland where you benefit from a 4x4 are not the place for a 4x4 novice. I realize that will limit where I can go. I am hoping some unpaved roads are intended for normal use and aren't rutted etc. necessitating a 4x4. There are lots of unpaved roads that can be driven by a normal car. Though you have to drive at half speed. (If you've never done this before you will think that you can faster, which you can as they are often reasonably straight - until you need to stop in a hurry and then, and only then, do you find out why you have to drive slowly). But none of the ones across the centre. And AIUI, not because of the quality of the road surface, but because none of the rivers have bridges over them. Having to drive through waist high water is common. what type of accommodation do you intend staying in? are you going to pre book or turn up on the day? I have always found success in the remoteness of Norway and Scotland, of finding a place to stay with no reservation, and just driving along until I found something decent. Maximum freedom, that way. I usually only reserve the arrival and departure nights. My hope was that although Iceland was also sparsely populated, I could find a place in the various towns along that main ring-highway that circuits the island. What do you think about that? Well I didn't do it, I was pre-booked so I can't tell you whether you will be always be able find a place to stay in X on arrival. But what I can tell you is, if X is full your next option is not going to be a few miles down the road, but 3 hours away. There isn't a great supply of roadside hotels waiting for you to turn up. assuming that you are going in the summer, the good thing about Iceland is it's almost 24 hours of daylight, so you can happily drive until midnight to your destination if you get behind on a day's pre-planned activities. Back to the first point. My trip coincided with the Hofn fish festival. Hofn is the largest place in the SE of the Island and would normally be a stop on the itinerary that I used. I only booked 4 weeks ahead and Hofn was full. I was allocated a hotel 150 miles further along the Island that day This will make a difference as to how far "off the beaten track" you can go tim Going off the beaten track was envisioned as something to do as in-and-out excursions form the main highway. You can do that, but mostly you don't need to. The best attractions are all next to the highway The really off the beaten track is the trek across the centre but as above: you absolutely need a 4x4 AND you need to be confident about driving it in extreme conditions tim |
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015, Dan Stephenson wrote:
Starting northwards from the capital, eastward on the northern side of the island, etc.. We did the opposite, not by our choice. I am trying to reconstruct by memory ... Landed at Keflavik (Reykjavik international airport) and slept at an hotel near the smaller in-town Reykjavik airport. Spent half a day in town, and half a day in the surroundings (I think the main Geyser and Gullfoss waterfall ... anyhow "-foss" is a waterfall, but could have been Thingvellir), Next day Thingvellir (if it was not the previous day), which is the place where around 900 aD the first icelandic "parliament" met. It is a plain on a rather impressive fault which separates the american and european tectonic plates. Then continued east, reached the coast, stopped to see a waterfall, and the puffin nests, and slept near Vik. Next day along the ring road, stop in Kirkjubaejarklaistur (nice name meaning church-farm-cloister) to see the volcanic Kirkjugolfid (?), something like Giant's Causeway but smaller. Crossed a volcanic sand area, stopped in national park to see Svartifoss (the black waterfall, also with basaltic pillars), then the ice lagoon of Jokulsarlon, and reached Hofn Next day morning along the see to watch birds (our tour guide was an ornitology fan), then continued to Egilstadir, partially in the interior, Stops for lunch, to see an amateur rock collection, and a whaling museum. Next day along the ring road, which here runs inland. Stopped for a coffee in Modrudalur, the most isolated farm of Iceland (the road is now at some distance, but it is a must to stop there). I believe it was that day (or was it the day after) we left the ring road towards the northern coast, to see a waterfall and a natural "sport in the landscape" (a horseshoe shaped closed valley where small trees can grow). Reached lake Myvatn area. We had a hot shower with the water smelling of sulphur. Some other guests were having a bath outside in the hot pools with an air temperature around 10-15 C. Next day toured aroung lake Myvatn (it means "midges lake", we were lucky with the weather and there were no midges, only a few at Thingvellir, but we had mosquito nets to wear (and they are on sale there too). Dimmuborgir, thermal fields with faults filled of water (there is a road all around the lake but part may be closed during the nesting season). Eaten smoked trout of the lake with bread cooked on hot rocks. For the evening moved to Akureyri, with some detour towards the coast, I am not sure if it was this day or the next we visited Glaumbaer, which is a museum of an old settlement (turf covered huts). Last day was just back from Akureyri to Rejkyavik, for me the less scenic part. Unfortunately we did not go to the Snaefellnes peninsula (the location of Jules Verne's trip to the centre of the Earth), had a nice fish supper where they served for the brave also the famous rotten shark (did not try it). Very last day, we stopped at the "Blue lagoon" spa on the way to the airport (rather touristy, but the landscape is interesting) About the quality of the roads, good, narrow with passing places, usually paved except some hills where they prefer to leave it unpaved. The coach driver was washing the coach at almost each stop. We did not try any of the interior paths (those marked with an F-number). |
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
On 2015-12-16 10:20:51 +0000, Giovanni Drogo said:
On Tue, 15 Dec 2015, Dan Stephenson wrote: Starting northwards from the capital, eastward on the northern side of the island, etc.. We did the opposite, not by our choice. I am trying to reconstruct by memory ... Thank you Giovanni, I am really looking forward to this! -- Dan Stephenson http://stepheda.com Travel pages for Europe, USA, New Zealand and Japan |
#9
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
On Sun, 13 Dec 2015, Dan Stephenson wrote:
My next trip is to Iceland for 10-14 days The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise, making forays to visit glaciers, volcanoes, and other places resulting from research Which guide books have you purchased so far? Don. www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom). |
#10
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Iceland: scenic driving advice?
On 12/13/15 12:01 PM, Don Wiss wrote:
On Sun, 13 Dec 2015, Dan Stephenson wrote: My next trip is to Iceland for 10-14 days The generally plan is to circuit the island, close-wise, making forays to visit glaciers, volcanoes, and other places resulting from research Which guide books have you purchased so far? Don. www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom). Do people still buy guide books? Or jsut print out some web sites? |
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