Welcome to Iceland Guest - Your Online Travel Guide.

Iceland Guest is an information website for your travel to Iceland. On this site you can get all the tourist information you need for your vacation in Iceland. We hope that you will find this online travel guide useful in planning your holidays in Iceland.

About Iceland
Iceland is a refreshingly unconventional travel destination. The Icelandic nature is unspoilt, exotic and mystical with its spouting geysers, active volcanoes, tumbling waterfalls, towering mountains, vast lava plains and magical lakes. Iceland’s fjords, glaciers and highland plains present visitors with some of the most beautiful and enchanting places they will ever see, as well as a rare feeling of utter tranquillity.

For travelers on a quest for action, Iceland’s pristine nature offers great potential for outdoor activities such as snowmobiling, horse riding, cave exploring, hiking, swimming, skiing, river rafting, kayaking and mountain safaris on modified four-wheel drives, to name but a few. Iceland supports a surprisingly diverse Nordic flora and fauna and is an ideal place for ornithology enthusiasts, while also offering some of the world’s best whale watching destinations.

About Reykjavik
Reykjavík sometimes feels like a cosmopolitan capital and a tiny seaside village - all wrapped up in one. But Reykjavík has the best of both worlds; the qualities of a modern, forward-looking society complemented by a close connection to Iceland‚s beautiful and unspoilt nature.

Reykjavík’s legendary nightlife is bolstered by plentiful cultural and social happenings in addition to an abundance of first-class restaurants. The size of Reykjavik city centre is also limited enough to allow for easy navigation by foot. Reykjavík has been described as a young and daring city that is characterized by strong contrasts. Conveniently small, clean and safe, it is more or less free from the major problems that haunt many other capitals. Big city events are frequent, the winter lights festival finished recently with thousands of participants and more tourist at this time of the year than we are used to.

Activities

Tours in Iceland

The wilderness of Iceland has a lot to offer the adventurous travelers. Icelandic tour organizers can offer all kinds of service, including adventure excursions and activity tours for individuals and groups. Do you want to go cruising in the magical world of Icelandic glaciers, either by snow scooter, snowmobile or 4-wheel drive jeep. Would you maybe prefer river rafting down glacial rivers or kayaking on the Atlantic Ocean?

Those looking for a more safe adventure can take exciting horse trekking trips across the highlands, go whale-watching, bird watching, and sea-angling. Travel by guided bus or ferry to remote, untouched places in the interior or around the magnificent coastline or just take a quiet winter tour to see the Northern Lights.

How to Drive in Iceland

Travelling around Iceland and its amazing landscape can be an unforgettable experience, but a good trip can end awfully if you are not careful when driving in new and unknown conditions. It is really important to be aware of all the dangers on the Icelandic country roads, because the circumstances can be very different from other countries. Rashness can cost your life and the life of others in the traffic. Gravel roads, narrow bridges, blind rises, big rivers, farm animals and volatile weather are some of the things that you have to be aware of before you depart. When travelling in the countryside there are a lot of gravel roads, which can be very dangerous if you are not cautious. Many accidents happen where the road changes from a paved road to a gravel road because the driver drives to fast and isn't prepared for different conditions. You have to be careful and slow down when this occurs and also when you meet other cars, pass blind corners or blind rises because the gravel roads are often narrower than surfaced roads.

Everyone in the car is restricted to have their seat belts on and the driver should follow the speed limits, which are marked on the traffic signs. You should though notice that the weather in Iceland can change very rapidly and you should always adjust your speed to the conditions each time. You can check the weather forecast at www.vedur.is or telephone 902-0600. Remember these things before you start your journey and finish your trip with good memories. This article is based on information from the Icelandic Road Traffic Directorate at Borgartún 30. On their webpage www.umferdarstofa.is you can get further details and download a brochure which is particularly designed for foreigners travelling in Iceland.

More information on How to Drive in Iceland.

Recreation and sports in Iceland

There are unlimited trekking opportunities in Iceland. Trekking can include walks can ranging from an afternoon hike to a couple of weeks wilderness trek, spanning all over Iceland’s beautiful nature. Some Iceland’s best hiking can be found in the remote areas of Landmannalaugar, Latrabjarg, Hornstrandir, and in Reykjanes that is right in the Reykjavik backyard.

Swimming is popular in Iceland both by Icelanders and visitors. For more than 60 years swimming has been included in school curriculums so every Icelander is required by law to learn to swim. There are a great number of high quality swimming pools in Iceland, mostly due to the wealth of geothermal heat. Most of the pools not located in geothermal areas are indoors. The number of open air pools is far greater and those can be found all over the country. They are open year-round, regardless of weather. Using open air swimming pools in Iceland is a unique experience, particularly when the outside temperatures are a few degrees below zero.

Most parts of the country have good Skiing facilities; Blafjoll is the skiing facility for Reykjavik and Hlidarfjall for Akureyri.