11 Important Things To Know Before Visiting Iceland

1. Sit on the right side on the bus ride to Reykjavik

This sounds almost inconsequential, but one of the first mistakes you can make from the airport to the city would be to sit on the wrong side of the bus. The right side is, of course, on the right side. The left looks out on nothing but expansive plains of lava fields with occasional glimpses of the ocean, and by the end of your one-hour ride, you’ll be so depressed you’ll want to turn around and come home. That said, lava fields are a good introduction to Iceland’s bleak beauty of windswept hills and delicate greens and grays; so don’t kill yourself over it if you board the bus full and aren’t able to choose seats at will.

Yes. everyone speaks English here

I don’t know how or where the rumor began, but for some reason, everyone seems to think that Icelanders don’t speak English. Well, they do, so there is no need for an Icelandic crash course before your trip. Everyone in Iceland speaks English. Also, Icelanders are sharp, quirky, and full of wit, so do not be surprised if they hit you with lashes of wintry Brit-styled sarcasm faster than you can say, “Oh, so you do speak English!”

Do not mock their belief in elves, fairies, dwarves, and the whole motley crue of mythical people – they aren’t joking

54.4% of the Icelandic population believes in the existence of magic folk, which essentially means that 1 in every 2 Icelanders you meet will most likely believe in creatures of the netherworld. Just as how topics about politics and religion and sex and salary are sensitive to the rest of the world, this folklorish one in particular is especially sensitive to the Icelanders too. It definitely isn’t something they feel comfortable discussing with outsiders; and theories about why they seem prone to such superstitions centre on their earliest settlers’ struggles to endure their isolated existence in such a majestic yet unpredictable landscape. With half the nation in on this one, the perceived existence of these magical people is serious enough to spark nationwide environmental protests to this very day – and if that doesn’t tell you not to mess with their superstitions, I don’t know what will.

The water smells nasty, but drink it

Sulphur smells like rotten egg, and you’ll learn this fast enough when you turn on the faucet in Iceland (I give you three seconds, tops). Fact is, the water smells because it’s heated by geothermal energy, which stems from the Earth’s belly. Therefore, what you’re really smelling is the scent of sulphur at the core of Earth. You’d be surprised to learn that water which reeks this badly is actually one of the cleanest water to drink in this world. I’m not saying that knowing this fact makes it any easier to consume (or the stench any easier to inhale), but it definitely does save you a hell lot of money on bottled water (which, surprise surprise, isn’t cheap at all).

Alcohol cannot be found in supermarkets

Alcohol is sold in bars, restaurants, and cafes, but never in supermarkets because, believe it or not, this country once had total prohibition on alcohol right up till 1989 (which isn’t that long ago if you think about it). The ban has been lifted since, but you’d be lucky to find anything stronger than 2.25% except at the state-owned alcohol chain called Vínbúðin (meaning “the wine shop”). Shop selling alcohol are deliberately few and spaced out, with restrictive opening hours. There is also a peculiar Icelandic attitude to alcohol: while the legendary Icelandic weekend all-night partying is somewhat accepted, there is also the stereotype that anyone drinking anything at all for the rest of the week must be an alcoholic.

Don’t expect to see comfort brands

When you’re a frequent traveller, you tend to get used to seeing familiar brand names no matter where you go, like McDonalds, and 7-11s, and the occasional Starbucks even. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Iceland has none of the above. This resplendent nation is so inherently homegrown that you’d be hard pressed to find anything commercialised or remotely mainstream here. In its place, however, is an endless string of quirky businesses dominating the country’s retail scene. The best peanut butter milkshake I had ever tasted is the one from the American Style Diner located in the heart of Reykjavik. Also, Chuck Norris Grill serves some pretty kickass burgers and fries (with a name like that, it’d better). Stop by Dogma for the wackiest range of souvenirs and accessories (I found a Kwikee Mart tote bag! Simpsons fans, anyone?); and in their supermarkets, the only brands you’ll find yourself acquainted with are Lays & Ruffles.
Iceland seems to be doing just perfect serving a nation of just 300,000 people without any help from the giants of the consumer world.

You have to strip down before entering the Blue Lagoon

You may or may not have heard: if you want to soak in this geothermal pool of celestial sorts, you will have to shower naked before entering. My advice is to just get over it because there is no way around this. The stalls at the Blue Lagoon come designed without doors, so unless you intend to shell out SGD 70 just to sit in the locker room and sulk over the… transparency of your situation, strip down and move on. And if you think your ordeal is over, you won’t be pleased to know that you have to go through the same thing after. Hey, at least the bathrooms are gender-specific right?

A SLR/DSLR/Any Sort of SLR is important

My single biggest piece of advice: do not attempt serious photography in Iceland without an SLR. At the end of the day, you’ll be left with nothing but an SD Card full of subpar pictures, scratching your head and wondering why all you see is darkness when clearly, you had your camera aimed at the mystical Northern lights the night before. I’m not saying that everyone has to be a professional photographer to get photo-taking in Iceland right, but the fact of the matter is, so many shots of this paradise’s ethereal sights will turn out lacking at best if you settle for equipment that’s any less. The Strokkur, the Atlantic Ocean, Gullfoss, Skogafoss, and of course, the aforementioned Northern Lights, to say the least.
More (but less pressing) advice includes bringing a towel with you, because some of these waterfalls are big enough to mist up your lenses from even 500 metres away, and also a tripod – unless, of course, you have the ability to hold your chunky camera perfectly still for 20 seconds running. (20 seconds is the recommended exposure time for capturing the Northern Lights, but I find that anything beyond 10 is good enough, provided you get your ISO right.) Invest in a spare battery because chances are, you will be snapping away the entire day and this takes up a lot of battery energy. Some websites may even advise bringing a couple of spare batteries because they do tend to run out faster when temperatures start dropping – but trust me, Iceland isn’t that cold (refer to Point #12). If anything, Iceland is actually one of the ‘warmer’ places to catch the Northern Lights. Save those mountain of spares for Alaska; Iceland only requires one extra battery at most.

Do not plan excessively in advance

The weather in Iceland is as unpredictable as Britney Spears circa 2007. One minute it’s sunny, the next it’s raining, and just when you’re about to cancel all plans for the day, the atmosphere fills with fog so dense you wonder if you’ve been transported to that same wondrous mythical world half of Iceland believes in (Is it any wonder that they believe in it all?). Be prepared for weather changes astronomical enough to rival its drastically varied landscapes. As it is, Reykjavik was insufferably cold at 1°C when I first arrived, but a comfortable 12°C when I left two weeks later. Packing for various degrees of cold is important, but what will be even more important would be to cut your itinerary some slack. Leave a couple of days completely empty. If nothing else, you can use this time to linger around the outskirts of this very wonderful city.
As it is, my trip to Iceland began with a 12-hour flight delay; which resulted in my arrival in Reykjavik being 24 hours later than originally scheduled. This disrupted the whale watching and Northern Lights trips I had booked for the first day, which I then had to scurry to reschedule on a later date. Subsequently, my glacier hike was also postponed because the drafts were too strong that morning; and of course, let’s not forget the ever unpredictable Northern Lights. Most travel companies will offer a free second trip valid for the next two years if you’re unlucky the first time round (which I was), so don’t leave this activity to the very last night of your stay – unless, of course, you have every intention to extend your stay.

Temperatures aren’t extreme, and winter travel is a real possibility

It is primary nature to imagine frozen tundras and frigid temperatures whenever Iceland is mentioned. How disappointed you’d be then, to learn that Iceland isn’t covered in ice (that, I believe you’re probably looking for Greenland); and that it isn’t even really a country of extremes when it comes to temperatures – in all relativity, Iceland doesn’t get half as cold as, say, Britain, or even Kazakhstan, can get.
Don’t get me wrong: Iceland is cold, but it just not as cold as what you have in mind. If anything, the country’s winters present a buffet of lights and colors that don’t always manifest itself during other seasons, and it is always during these three to four months that everything magically appears softer and more… arresting. Rents and tours and accommodation are also generally cheaper during this period too, making winter travel in Iceland not just a possibility, but a relatively more budget-friendly possibility at that too.

Be prepared to never want to leave – literally

Be warned, you will fall in love with Iceland. You will repeat over and over to yourself in as many ways as you can, that “this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen” – until you finally run out of ways to say it. The grace of the Northern Lights will make you cry, the magnitude of the Gulfoss will leave you breathless, and the highly unpredictable Strokkur will make you hold your breath for seconds at length, before finally sending your heart soaring as high as its erupted body of water. Heck, even the Icelandic horses are a cut above the rest, spirited and statuesque in ways that will make you fall in love like you never have before.
There is no question: the rugged, wild, untamed landscape of this magical far-flung island will blow you away, leaving you wanting more than just, more. And the fact that there is no possible way to see the whole of Iceland in two weeks or even just a month will leave you toying with all sorts of wild ideas about never coming back. Of course, sense will get the better of you and you will get on that flight back; but know that once a thought like this gets whispered into your mind, it rarely ever leaves your heart alone after.