Each travel destination has a few tips and tricks that will make your experience easier.
Here are my tips for Iceland:
- Credit cards are accepted nearly EVERYWHERE. Visa and MasterCard are most widely accepted. There is no real need to bring/get cash, unless you are travelling by city bus (not the airport bus). City bus gives the option to purchase tickets via app before riding.
- If possible, bring a credit card with an embedded chip. Bank cards, with a pin, work best at gas stations. Remember, you will have to pay foreign transaction fees on a credit card unless your car specifies you do not.
- Iceland pays their employees a living wage. No tips are needed. There is not typically a tip line on credit card charges at restaurants. If you wish to tip anyway, bring/get cash. If you wish to read more about tipping in Iceland, please refer to this article (https://iheartreykjavik.net/2013/08/the-truth-about-tipping-in-iceland/) written by an Icelandic travel blogger. I love her blog! It’s a great resource.
- If you wish to spot the Northern Lights while in Iceland, there are a few good resources. This site: https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/is my favorite. It shows if your area is forecasted to have clear or cloudy skies and forecasts by number (on the right of the page) the level of northern lights expected. The level is unpredictable, and I have seen the best northern lights (of my life!!) when it was forecasted to be a 2. I have also seen a 6 predicted and the number then changes at the last minute and there are no northern lights. They truly are magical and unpredictable!
- Twitter is a good resource to check to see if people are seeing the Northern Lights and where people are seeing them. Search various hashtags (#reykjavik #northernlights #auroraborealis).
- Bring a power adapte
- r! Something that looks like this will work.
- Check road conditions any time of year before leaving the city. Conditions can be BADon the mountain passes even in summer. Roads could be closed without warning throughout the year. This website is super helpful:http://www.road.is
- If you have an emergency in Iceland, call 112.
- If you plan to do any adventurous hikes, winter hikes, backcountry camping, etc., always let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return. Hereyou can leave the information needed for Iceland Search and Rescue (ICE-SAR) to start search or rescue, in case something happens on your trip.
General Tips:
If you are a US traveler, register your trip with the US Department of State, so that if there is a natural disaster, etc. while you are in Iceland they will know you are there!
Let your credit cards, bank cards know you will be out of the country in Iceland! You don’t want a fraud alert to occur when you are out of service and need to use your card.
Iceland is very safe. Take general travel precautions the same as if you were travelling in your home city or town.