DCPhotoGal
Photographer and Mom to 2 Princesses
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2011
- Messages
- 482
A little over two years after we had originally planned to do our ABD Iceland trip we finally got to go. It was a wonderful trip, despite some rough weather conditions and coming home with Covid. I thought I might try to share some helpful info for other planning to take the same tour while it's still fresh in my mind (and I'm stuck at home sick!)
1) The hotels in Iceland aren't fancy. They are clean and the beds are reasonably sized and comfortable. The bathrooms were utilitarian, the floor space hit or miss depending on which room you got. There was no air conditioning, which you wouldn't think would be an issue with temps 50-55 degrees in August, but it did get warm in the rooms, and sometimes the outside streets were quite noisy when you open the windows for air. There are no porters or ABD Tinkerbell services, so you move your own bags from the room to the bus.
2) Waterproof (not water resistant) rain jackets and rain pants are a must. A bunch of the parents on the tour (like myself) had brought them for the adults on the tour but figured the kids would be ok with leggings. We all had to buy the kids expensive rainpants in Iceland. But sure to get them for the whole family (and real heavy-duty raincoats that will fit over several other layers of clothing).
3) They aren't kidding when they say wool socks. Bring wool socks. And pack wool sweaters. If you're allergic put another layer in between. Wool is truly the best way to keep the right temperature on this trip. Do yourself a favor and buy one of the pretty handmade Icelandic sweaters.
4) Traveling on the internal flight was the easiest flight I've taken in years. It will make you wish we could also do away with TSA.
5) The restaurants in Akureyri will require reservations. Try to make them at least a night in advance. And food on your own is really expensive, even with the favorable exchange rate right now.
6) We didn't have any changes of schedule based on weather, so ended up hiking a glacier in pouring rain. It was still amazing.
7) If you do a pre-day I highly recommend Mink Viking Portraits. Happy to share one of mine if anyone is curious.
8) The rafting organization that ABD uses in Iceland was probably the best we've had so far in our many trips. Great guides and well-run excursion.
9) You won't see Northern Lights in the summer. Even if it's August and there's technically a tiny chance... it's not worth trying to stay up all night to see them. It'll probably be too cloudy or there is light pollution from the city anyway. Plan a winter trip to see the Northern Lights. This trip is for the adventure stuff.
10) The airport upon leaving is a zoo during peak season. Leave tons of time. There was a huge line to check-in, followed by another line for security (actually the shortest line of the day), and then another 45 minute wait to get past the passport control which was at the entry to the D (international) gates. We had precheck and business class and still took us forever. There was really no time to spare at the airport, even with there huge window Disney allowed with their drop-off.
We loved the trip and our guides and our fellow guests. Hope you get to enjoy this trip sometime too! Happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
1) The hotels in Iceland aren't fancy. They are clean and the beds are reasonably sized and comfortable. The bathrooms were utilitarian, the floor space hit or miss depending on which room you got. There was no air conditioning, which you wouldn't think would be an issue with temps 50-55 degrees in August, but it did get warm in the rooms, and sometimes the outside streets were quite noisy when you open the windows for air. There are no porters or ABD Tinkerbell services, so you move your own bags from the room to the bus.
2) Waterproof (not water resistant) rain jackets and rain pants are a must. A bunch of the parents on the tour (like myself) had brought them for the adults on the tour but figured the kids would be ok with leggings. We all had to buy the kids expensive rainpants in Iceland. But sure to get them for the whole family (and real heavy-duty raincoats that will fit over several other layers of clothing).
3) They aren't kidding when they say wool socks. Bring wool socks. And pack wool sweaters. If you're allergic put another layer in between. Wool is truly the best way to keep the right temperature on this trip. Do yourself a favor and buy one of the pretty handmade Icelandic sweaters.
4) Traveling on the internal flight was the easiest flight I've taken in years. It will make you wish we could also do away with TSA.
5) The restaurants in Akureyri will require reservations. Try to make them at least a night in advance. And food on your own is really expensive, even with the favorable exchange rate right now.
6) We didn't have any changes of schedule based on weather, so ended up hiking a glacier in pouring rain. It was still amazing.
7) If you do a pre-day I highly recommend Mink Viking Portraits. Happy to share one of mine if anyone is curious.
8) The rafting organization that ABD uses in Iceland was probably the best we've had so far in our many trips. Great guides and well-run excursion.
9) You won't see Northern Lights in the summer. Even if it's August and there's technically a tiny chance... it's not worth trying to stay up all night to see them. It'll probably be too cloudy or there is light pollution from the city anyway. Plan a winter trip to see the Northern Lights. This trip is for the adventure stuff.
10) The airport upon leaving is a zoo during peak season. Leave tons of time. There was a huge line to check-in, followed by another line for security (actually the shortest line of the day), and then another 45 minute wait to get past the passport control which was at the entry to the D (international) gates. We had precheck and business class and still took us forever. There was really no time to spare at the airport, even with there huge window Disney allowed with their drop-off.
We loved the trip and our guides and our fellow guests. Hope you get to enjoy this trip sometime too! Happy to answer any questions anyone might have.