This is another Instagram vs reality. Stokksnes and Vestrahorn are a little corner of the south coast of Iceland. Stokksnes is the headland – -nes is a headland in Icelandic – and Vestrahorn is the lump of mountain attaching it to the mainland. It’s another place to scamper around looking beautiful, more commonly in pristine … More What they’re not telling you about Stokksnes
Instagram first. This is me at Stuðlagil. Blue-green water, basalt columns, vintage film camera slung across me, pretty Insta-perfect. The reality: an unplanned 5.4km round hike, a scramble my mum must never find out about, perpetually checking everything is zipped safely away and keeping half an eye on the rushing water in case some malevolent … More Stuðlagil: Instagram vs Reality
Reynisfjara, on Iceland’s south coast, claimed its latest victim last week. There have been six deaths, all at roughly the same place, in the last twenty years and at least twelve near-misses which have involved emergency rescues. I could talk for an entire blog post about the inadequacy of the signage (when I last visited, … More Using correct names saves lives: Reynisfjara vs “the black sand beach”
In the early hours of yesterday morning, the twelfth eruption in the Reykjanes Fires, the period of eruptive activity ongoing since 2021, started up. It’s the ninth in the vicinity of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon and we’ll see what chaos it causes. I’m actually starting to write this on Wednesday morning ready for the … More Iceland is erupting for the 12th time
Have I mentioned recently that I’ve joined a Facebook group dedicated to answering the same questions about a first-time trip to Iceland? What brand of rain pants should I get? Are these waterproof socks ok? Can we tip in dollars? Is this itinerary ok? The itinerary is never ok. It features a month’s worth of … More An Iceland Itinerary for people who get Facebook to do all their research
This is a question that’s come up on the Iceland travel Facebook group so many times that I’m going to write an entire blog on the subject: “my flight gets in at 6am and I can’t check in to my AirBNB/hotel until 3pm. What can I do in Reykjavik?”. Really, the answer to this is … More What to do in Reykjavik when you have an early flight
I recently joined a Facebook group dedicated to people travelling to Iceland, with some idea that I could be useful on there. Instead, I found upwards of 60 responses to every question before I even got there, most posted anonymously and with some disclaimed along the lines of “everyone is really snarky so if you … More Stupid questions you were afraid to ask the first time you went to Iceland (summer edition)
I’m astonished I’ve never written about the natural hot spring at Landmannalaugar – or not in the summer, anyway. I wrote about the visit I made in 2013 in thick snow where we used the river as a road and scampered about in a snowstorm getting dressed but I’ve not done a proper snow-free trip … More How to spend a day at Landmannalaugar
I watch a reasonable number of Ring Road vlogs and apart from the fact that there are a load of things that infuriate me (mispronunciation of any and all names, neglect of Þingvellir, non-existent flicking through of guidebook – for crying out loud, the last one I watched knew about “Diamond Beach” but had no … More How to travel Iceland on a budget
Back in August, I did a post about the benefits of tour guides and I’m starting to wonder how much this post is just going to be a rewrite of that one, but let’s give it a go. Iceland attracts a lot of tourists and a substantial chunk of them hire a car or a … More Things you shouldn’t do in Iceland without a professional guide
I Am A Polar Bear 