Wanna help me plan a trip to Iceland?

It's always cool in Iceland-we went in July and it was very unseasonably warm and it only got to around 70 degrees-people were acting like it was a heat spell, lol. I would think April would be quite cold.

it's always very windy-so even warm temps don't feel that warm.
here is a link to my tripadvisor trip review review 

I was just there in August and loved it. I might be a bit concerned about accessibility to some areas that early. One beautiful area we were outside of Akureyri I believe, the road is only passable to get to the waterfalls and things on the back side during the summer months. One year the museum/cafe didn’t close early enough in September and the folks there had to be rescued out. They were starting on a tunnel, but that seemed slow.

We are trying to plan a trip, too. Were any of you able to see the aurora borealis?

I am going in March with two girlfriends

MadamG2U

Bring along protein bars, snacks & dried packets of soup.  They gave me a teapot of hot water to take to my room, where I used my own insulated mug (always take this when on vacation), to have some cup-a-soup.  Very limited food, as almost everything is imported to this island.
Bring along crackers & pb, if you like this for a snack.  The food is good, different than at home and EXPENSIVE!

I went in August of 2014. My mom and I did a formal tour of the Golden Circle, which I would recommend because you get to see so much and you don't have to worry about hotels; transportation; or meals. We were incredibly lucky with the weather - days were warm and sunny. But you have to prepare because it could just have easily been cold and wet.

When we were in the Northern part of Iceland, we were supposed to see the Northern Lights and the nighttime porter at the hotel was going to ring our rooms when they came out. However, it fogged over that night and nothing was visible.

Food is generally very good. You will find a lot of "meat soup" or "meat stew". Just realize that "meat" in this case is mutton or lamb. When we were there we heard Iceland has a human population of 300,000 and a sheep population of 500,000. I don't care for lamb or mutton and was able to avoid it except for one dinner at a hotel. My mother loves it, and got "meat" whatever as often as she could! The fish, especially cod, is to die for! And the vegetables are usually very good - grown in greenhouses due to the bad weather outside. Wonderful tomatoes!

There is an Icelandic yogurt called Skyr, which is liquid. Often served at breakfasts. Since I came back from Iceland, I found Skyr at Publix, and treat myself to a bottle every now and then.

Outside of cities, you generally don't find grocery stores. They have these combination gas stations/convenience stores with groceries, and you can get chips and fruit for snacks.

I read on Trip Advisor before I went that you also can't find places to buy over-the-counter medicines such as cold and cough medicines, so I took a LOT of those with me - really over did it.

Lake Jokusarlon was probably my favorite place that we visited. Mostly because I guess I didn't read about it in the trip materials and it was so unexpected. It's a lake filled with ice floes broken off from nearby glaciers. They take you out on the lake in duck boat tours up close and personal to the ice floes. It was just breathtaking.

No doubt about it - it is VERY expensive. But well worth it, in my opinion. I'd love to go back some day.

I went during the last week of April last year. The temperatures were the same as it they were at home that week (I live in Maine) so nothing shocking for us there. We had a lot of fog and rain that obscured the views and that's pretty typical for that time of year. It also isn't greened up that time of year, so keep that in mind. Even with that it was an amazing trip and the sights were beautiful. It's easy to get around by car and everyone speaks English. And even though someone told us it was too early for puffins, they were wrong. We saw tons at Reynisfjara black sand beach.

Thanks!

My biggest problem with my trip is clothing. We are going to Paris first. In my head I am trying to pack light.. Just don't see how. Layers I know, waterproof boots - got them. Just don't want to have so much to carry.

MadamG2U

You can see the northern lights anytime it's dark and clear, if there is activity. They are active year round. That far north the only bad time to go would be for about a month around the summer solstice because there wouldn't be any actual darkness. You could check more into daylight times. From where I live I've seen northern lights every month of the year. Last year we had fireworks for Canada Day at midnight and it wasn't dark enough for them. I drove my DDs friend home and there was still some light in the sky and we could see the northern lights. People see them camping in the summer lots. Farmers see them harvesting in the fall, working late before the frost comes in. Warmer months are nice, then you can watch them without freezing.  

Another tip I’ve just thought of - there are lots of public naturally heated pools you can stumble across when driving around. Take swimming costumes and towels out with you each day in case you pass somewhere you fancy taking a dip in. They are so strange and so wonderful.

I had asked about Iceland last year, but that trip fell through. However, I have just started planning a trip for late May with DD. This will be her 30th birthday gift. Just told her today that was what I had planned and she is so excited! We are planning to fly Icelandair and do the stopover fare. Not sure which city in Europe we're going to add yet, as she has to look over the list and make a choice.

Has anyone been in May? Curious about just how heavy a coat we are going to need at that time. Also, has anyone used the Icelandair Stopover fare before? Any pointers on that? Wondering if it is better to transit straight through to Europe on the front end of the trip and end with Iceland, or is the opposite better?

I agree with what Tallgirl said. You will definitely not need to look as "nice" when you are in Iceland. It's rocky, possibly muddy - just a lot of backpackers and that kind of thing. So you don't need to be as "fresh". The other thing is how you handle time change. I'm old and hate them anymore. We flew to Amsterdam and I slept a good part of the day we landed. Then I was pretty much fine. I know this goes against all recommendations for how to adjust. It was a six hour time change for us from Florida to Amsterdam - but we got two hours back as we went to Iceland. So keep that in mind. If we had gone to Iceland first, it would have been a four hour time change, which would have been a bit easier than six hours. So it depends on when you need or have more time to adjust.