Iceland

Hi I'm going to travel to Icelan. Does someone have any experiences and suggestions where we can stay there (ex. farms - how and when to book; tent; youthhostels). We wanna go hiking - good idea? what is with bycicle and and and...

thanks

Hi,

I went there for some years ago for one month staying in a tent and travelling by public buses or hitchhiking. Hiking is excellent. Don't miss the Landmannalaugar-Skogar trek.

I've also seen some cyclists though that is not my cup of tea.

If you have more specific questions I'd be glad to answer them.

Hi Jens

Thanks for the response. Yes, I do have any furter questions: how is it to travel around by bus? Do they lead more or less to the trail? I heard about a the busses that run around the Island, but not into the Island itself. Are there any other busses? How is hiking? Does some maps exist, or do you have to find the route yourself? You know, I was in Lappland last summer and there the trail wasn't signed very good, so I have no idea how it is in other countys. In switzerland you're a little bit spoiled. And when I was in Canada, it wasn't as bad as well. So, thanks for the answer and when the project gets closer, i'll probably bomb you with more questions. It's hard to find s.o. with experiences about Iceland.

Hi Kuno

you are right, there is usually just one or two buses per day on any route. There are also two or three routes crossing the interior though. You should check out <www.bsi.is> for all the routes and prices.

Actually there was a strike of the bus drivers when I was in Iceland. That's why I had to hitchhike quite a lot to get around. Except for one time at Rif (?), this was quite easy. I never had to wait more than one hour. Would not try this in the interior tough. People are nice and it is a lot of fun on those huge jeeps.

As far as hiking is concerned, I only did Landmannalaugar-Skogar (bus, map, markings all exist, the most famous trek, it's difficult to get lost there) and a bit in Hengill (close to Selfoss, bus ok, markings ok, map should also exist), Skaftafell (bus, markings, map) and Myvatn.

These are all close to the ring road. Unless you are very much interested in deserts, hiking in the interior should not be very attractive anyway, except for north of the Vatnajoekull to some crater (forgot the name) maybe.