Sunday 30.11.2014 HURRICANE

Welcome to erratic weather of Iceland. It is Friday 28.11.2014 and forecast of a very strong wind ahead of us for Sunday and Monday.

The official source of safe travel in Iceland announces: Hurricane like STORM is expected on Sunday and Monday morning more or less all over Iceland.

NO TRAVELLING CONDITIONS....

Please, bear that in mind as you´re making your travel plans.

Feel free to check safetravel.is for updates.

Have safe journeys.

Winter 2014-2015 Getting from RVK to AKU

And with wintertime, we mean roughly from the middle of September to the end of May. 1 important thing to bear in mind when you want to travel from the south all the way to the north in winter time is the fact that weather IS indeed ERRATIC in Iceland. There´re roads being closed temporarily due to harsh weather conditions as well as avalanche dangers and there´s quite some likely-hood that you might end up being stuck somewhere even for 24-hours all of a sudden. So, the more flexible you´re the better, because it might be rather stressy, getting stuck in the north and realizing that you will be missing out on your flight out of Iceland  due to sudden weather change that you simply did not take into consideration.

There´re no trains in Iceland, and public transport not as developed as e.g. in Europe (we´re talking about roughly 300.000 Icelanders and around 2/3 of them squeezed in and close to capital area, so no wonder). All in all, you can take either bus or a car or fly when getting from Reykjavík to Akureyri.
Check out the overview below, but please, also double check the info that you find here by checking the relevant companies, as these things can change rather fast in Iceland, and sometimes the updated info on the web comes in quite late :(

Well, so for those, who are clear on travelling up north at some point during their winter stay, i.e. from the middle of September til the end of May, the transport options are as follows:

1, BUS CONNECTION RVK-AKU
For the winter season 2014-2015, there´s only one bus company (STRAETO) operating the route and it´s basically the same company that operates the public transport in Reykjavík. The easiest way to get an overview on how often they depart is by clicking here. The page that opens, however, is not available in English, and what you see is a schedule of the route 57 (RVK-AKU and AKU-RVK) for:

•  working days (Mánudaga-Föstudaga), 
• Saturdays (Laugardaga) and 
• Sundays and public holidays (Sunnudaga og helgidaga)

One can say that most often the buses depart according to the list below:
From Reykjavík to Akureyri:
9.00 (arriving 15.20) and at 17.30 (arriving 23.45)
From Akureyri to Reykjavík:
10.15 (arriving 16.44) and at 16.20 (arriving 22.49)

Departure from Reykjavík is from the bus terminal at Mjódd in Reykjavík (and also from Ártún and Háholt in Mosfellsbær). 

Departure from Akureyri is outside the Cultural house Hof by Strandgata 12 (the busstop is marked). 

The journey takes about 6 hrs and it costs around 7.000 isk.  I say around, and recommend you to contact the company directly either by phone (+354) 540 2700 or by their online question form. 

Tickets can be bought on board of the bus (you can also pay by card) or at the tourist info center in Hof in Akureyri. The company has also their own web www.straeto.is , but unless you´re really patient and understand some Icelandic, I do not recommend spending much time there. It can be rather challenging to find the relevant information there, especially when you want to use their engine for connections (out of Reykjavík :(. I can imagine that it works really for RVK itself, though.

2, FLIGHT CONNECTION RVK-AKU
Air Iceland offers scheduled flights between Reykjavík and Akureyri (and vice versa). The flight takes about 45 minutes. For information and bookings visit their webpage directly Air Iceland and bear in mind that prices can be as low as 6.800 isk (limited Net offer) - thus even cheaper than the bus, but it can get as high as around 21.000 isk for one leg. The webpage is very friendly and bookings really straightforward, and you pay as you book.

3, CAR CONNECTION RVK-AKU

Here you have 3 main options:

• hitch-hiking,
  rather safe and popular in Iceland, but I can imagine that you don´t want to risk it in winter time. The weather conditions can get quite harsh :(
• car sharing or carpooling (very popular also amongst Icelanders),
  you can read more about this option in my older article here and the cost between RVK-AKU is around 3.000 isk per person, but it all depends on your agreement with the driver
• car rental,there are several car rentals available in Akureyri. Below you find a list of the companies with contact information and there are a few more available in Iceland so do give it a good search and ask for credentials.

Europcar car rental
Tryggvabraut 12
IS - 600 Akureyri
Tel: (+354) 461 6000
Email: holdur@holdur.is
Web: www.holdur.is/en

Hertz car rental

Opposite the Akureyri airport, Eyjafjarðarbraut
IS - 600 Akureyri
Tel: (+354) 522 44 40 / Fax: (+354) 522 44 41
Email: hertz@hertz.is
Web: www.hertz.is

Avis car rental

Akureyri airport
IS - 600 Akureyri
Tel: (+354) 461 2428
Email: lilja@avis.is
Web: www.avis.is

Dollar Thrifty Car Rental

Tryggvabraut 5
IS - 600 Akureyri
Tel: (+354) 515 7110
Email: booking@dti.is
Web: www.dollar.is and www.thrifty.is

Icelandcar.is Car Rental

Fjölnisgata 2b (Also loccated at the harbour close to the Cruise ships during the summer)
600 Akureyri
Tel: (354) 611 5666
Email: info@icelandcar.is and booking@icelandcar.is
Web: www.icelandcar.is

Hope you will enjoy your travel to the north, whichever option you choose and should you have some more queries, do not hesitate and contact me directly: lenka.uhrova@gmail.com - I might be able to assist :)

Volcanoes and their power

It´s been more than 40 days since the volcanic activity in Holahraun area (remote central highlands of Iceland, close to Europe´s largest glacier) started.
This fissure at Holahraun has already spewed up more lava than any eruption in more than 100 years. Just a few kilometers away, there´s one of the earth´s biggest volcanoes, the huge 11 km wide sub-glacial Bardarbunga caldera, shaking relentlessly keeping Iceland and the rest of the world on the edge.
The initial excitement and a bit of anxiety are over by now, though, and it´s a really weird feeling to realize that it´s become natural part of the radio news to report on the number of earthquakes in the area and their strengths and also the levels of volcanic pollution, as the volcanic activity has been ongoing and we simply got used to it.

Yeah, we live in Iceland - located on top of one of the world´s most active hot-spots. There´re about 30 active volcanic systems in Iceland and because of the country´s geological position and climatological circumstances, the styles of volcanic activity are unusually diverse. Eruptions related to the central volcano can occur anywhere in the caldera found in the volcanic crown. When an eruption occurs , a huge amount of ice will melt, which will pose an immediate threat  of massive glacial outburst flooding.

Well, as things are now - you can watch it here - the ongoing activity is being closely monitored and is not having any big affect n Icelanders, apart from gas emissions.

So for those of you considering to come and being somewhat unsure, you can read more on the following web-pages:

Civil Protection (click for the English version):
http://www.almannavarnir.is/

Webcam from the area (click on Bardarbunga)
http://www.livefromiceland.is/

European volcanological supersite in Iceland: a monitoring system and network for the future:

http://futurevolc.hi.is/

Meteorological site

http://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes

Good luck and let us know in case you have more questions.

See you in Iceland, hopefully :)

Shaky grounds around Bardarbunga

It´s been more than interesting to follow-up on developments of lithosphere boards moving under Iceland in recent days.


We´re posting the latest news overview as provided from the National Crisis Coordination Centre:

• A fissure eruption which started at midnight August 29th at Holuhraun lava north of Vatnajökull glacier, ended at around 04:00 UTC.
• Continued seismic activity in the area.
• Civil Protection phase has been lowered down to alert phase. Road closures north of Vatnajökull and west of Dettifoss are still in effect.
• The fissure has been estimated to be 600 metres long and is situated 5 km north of Dyngjujökull glacier in north-Vatnajökull glacier.
• Aviation color-code set by the Icelandic Met Office has been lowered to orange. All restrictions on airspace have been lifted

We´re wishing you nice and safe travels, and should you have any doubts about the current status, do not hesitate and contact us.

Getting from Reykjavík to Akureyri in summertime

And with summertime, we mean from the beginning of June to the middle of September. Just like for wintertime tips, it was rather challenging to figure all possible up-to-date bus connections and their costs via internet. The thing is that there´s no simple overview yet to be found under 1 umbrella, so here is our first try. 

But please, double check the info that you find here by checking the relevant companies, as these things can change rather fast in Iceland, and sometimes the updated info on the web comes in quite late :(

Well, so for those, who are clear on travelling up north at some point during the summer of 2014, the transport options are as follows:

1, BUS CONNECTIONs RVK-AKU
During the summer season, there´re a few bus companies operating the route and one of them - STRAETO - is basically the same company that operates the public transport in Reykjavík. The easiest way to get an overview on how often they depart is by clicking here. The page that opens, however, is not available in English, and what you see is a schedule of the route 57 (RVK-AKU and AKU-RVK) for:

working days (Mánudaga-Föstudaga),
Saturdays (Laugardaga) and
Sundays and public holidays (Sunnudaga og helgidaga)

One can say that most often the buses depart according to the list below:
From Reykjavík to Akureyri:
9.00 (arriving 15.29) and at 17.30 (arriving 23.59)
From Akureyri to Reykjavík:
10.15 (arriving 16.44) and at 16.20 (arriving 22.49)

Somewhat better overview can be found here in the table called 'Route 57: Akureyri - Reykjavík - Akureyri'.

Departure from Reykjavík is from the bus terminal at Mjódd in Reykjavík (and also from Ártún and Háholt in Mosfellsbær).
Departure from Akureyri is outside the Cultural house Hof by Strandgata 12 (the busstop is marked).
The journey takes about 6 hrs and it should cost 7.700 isk. I say should, and recommend you to contact the company directly either by phone (+354) 540 2700 or by their online question form.
Tickets can be bought on board of the bus (you can also pay by card) or at the following places: click here. The company has also their own web www.straeto.is , but unless you´re really patient and understand some Icelandic, I do not recommend spending much time there. It can be rather challenging to find the relevant information there, especially when you want to use their engine for connections (out of Reykjavík :(. I can imagine that it works well for RVK itself, though.

I recommend you to check directly with the company whether it´s better to buy a ticket in advance, especially for the trip between RVK-AKU, since summers in Iceland get more and more filled up with tourists.

Last but not least, bear in mind that STRAETO would take you to Akureyri via ringroad number 1, meaning that you would not see/ nor have a stop in highlands. However, there´re 2 other companies that operate their bus connections via highlands (literally crossing the island), which has very different dimension than the route described above and here are the details:

The company STERNA operates the route Reykjavík-Kjölur (highlands) - Akureyri in the period of 20.06.2014-05.09.2014 and it costs 13.900 isk and takes 13 hours (including the stops for your to explore tourist spots).

You can find their detailed schedule here from which it´s easy to see that you´re going to pass a few of the most promoted and also most visited tourist places in Iceland such as the oldest parliament spot þingvellir, Geysir and also hot springs in the highlands (each stop having some time for you to enjoy and explore). If you want to try out the hot pots in the hot spring area, I do recommend to keep your towel and a swimsuit at hand.

The very same company offers the route RVK-AKU via ringroad number 1 at a competitive price in comparison to STRAETO: 6.900 isk. 

More details are to be found here.

The company SBA operates the route Reykjavík-Kjölur (highlands) - Akureyri in the period of 18.06.2014-07.09.2014 and it costs 15.000 isk and takes 10 hours and a half (including the stops for your to explore tourist spots).

Their good and detailed description is to be found here. Basically very similar to what STERNA offers with small variations. The same applies when it comes to swimsuit at hand as described above for STERNA, as SBA stops for a while at Hveravellir hot springs area too.

Well, now that you have some basic overview of the bus connections options,  there´s also a flight to be considered and the details are as follows:

2, FLIGHT CONNECTION RVK-AKU
Air Iceland offers scheduled flights between Reykjavík and Akureyri (and vice versa). The flight takes about 45 minutes. For information and bookings visit their webpage directly Air Iceland and bear in mind that prices can be as low as 6.800 isk (limited Net offer) - thus even cheaper than the bus, but it can get as high as around 21.600 isk for one leg. The webpage is very friendly and bookings really straightforward, and you pay as you book.

If you´re lucky and the visibility is good, you get to see highlands with most of its magnificient glaciers.

So good luck, go ahead, make up your mind and book. Should you need more explanations, do contact us.

Whales, whales and whales again

Local whale watching company in Dalvik has been very pleased these days and proud to announce every day departures starting at 9am in the morning. 

There have been lots of whales to be seen in the fjord lately,especially many humpback whales. Recently, they spotted up to 6 humpback whales in one of the tours, dolphins & porpoises! 

And, this is just a reminder that if you book via our GO LOCAL ICELAND initiative, you get 15% discount. This offer is valid all-year round.

For those who don´t fancy whale-watching tours - and I know -  that you´re many, here is a secret revealed that I promised in one of the previous articles:

Well hidden treasure in Hjalteyri  is a hot pot located by the sea shore. This small village is located in a very special bay with very deep waters - apparently a favourite spot for whales.

On top of this, there´s a diving center that can help you explore the sea bed with its unique and only geothermal cone found in the world you can scuba dive to.

And last but not least - fresh news about more cheap flights to Iceland via www.norwegian.com. They will fly to this island not only in the summer time but the schedule is planned even for January 2015. Just bear in mind that they don´t fly every day. Those wanting to come from Prague - you might want to check the connections that www.norwegian.com operates between Prague and Oslo.

Good luck and see you around.

Cheaply between Iceland and ex-Czechoslovakia

Since we´re especially connected to both, Slovakia and Czech Republic, here comes an inspiring post to help you get oriented within some options of getting to Iceland cheaply in the summer of 2014.

It is really important that you answer a few questions for yourself when deciding what services to invest in. The thing is, that nowadays you can get really cheaply to various places in the world (including Iceland), by combining air-tickets from various low costs companies. However, there´s a big difference in terms of risk that you´re taking, when you have your e.g. 1 stop combination bought in 1 air-ticket or whether you end up buying 2 separate tickets. If there´s a delay, only the combination bought on 1 ticket guarantees less hassle and no extra costs (depending on the conditions of the tariff that you ended up buying).

So, if you want it really really cheaply and decide to risk, you always have to bear in mind consequences when things don´t go as planned.

Another question to answer is: What is cheaply for me, or in other words, what is the maximum I´m ready to pay and what comfort do I want for what I´m willing to pay?

I´d say that it is still very reasonable to pay around 400 EUR for a return between ex-Czechoslovakia and Iceland, in the high season. Although prices can range from 300 EUR all the way up to 600 EUR for one person and a return.

1, direct flights? almost
Well, there´re no direct flights between the above mentioned countries and Iceland, announced for the summer of 2014, but you have great options from BERLIN, VIENNA or MUNICH, presuming that you don´t mind getting cheaply (train or bus) to any of these 3 cities.

AIRBERLIN or WOW AIR are there to fly you from Berlin or Munich directly to Keflavik and let´s have a look at a few examples:

WOW AIR
04.08.2014      Berlin Schoenefeld - Keflavik: 198.13 EUR
12.08.2014      Keflavik - Berlin Schoenefeld:  145.44 EUR
TOTAL: 357.44 EUR

AIRBERLIN
04.08.2014      Berlin Tegel- Keflavik: 246.44 EUR
12.08.2014      Keflavik - Berlin Tegel:  169.70 EUR
TOTAL: 425.64 EUR

Now, remember that the prices include different services and also offer different comfort, not to mention the options for changing the ticket. So we definitely encourage you to check the details of the tariff you decide to buy really well.

2, Combinations with 1 STOP.

Usual air-tickets scanner sites come handy here, such as:

skyscanner.com

opodo.com

dohop.com

Nevertheless, I´ll give you some tips here to ease your headaches when searching for reasonable combinations:

London (Luton) could be a place to change, as EASY JET offers directs to Keflavik this summer. For more info on this click here.

11.08.2014      London Luton - Keflavik: 83.49 GBP
18.08.2014      Keflavik - London Luton:  111.36 GBP
TOTAL: 194.85 GBP

Brussels could be another place as Thomas Cook started off some nice offers this year. For more info click here.

13.08.2014      Brussels - Keflavik: 99.99 EUR
20.08.2014      Keflavik - Brussels:  139.99 EUR
TOTAL: 239.98 EUR

Oslo. Yes, believe it or not, national carrier of Iceland: icelandair.is charges very low for flights between Oslo and Iceland. If you´re able to get to Oslo really cheaply and are able to find good time combinations, then definitely have a go!

03.08.2014      Oslo - Keflavik: 103 EUR
10.08.2014      Keflavik - Oslo:  110.00 EUR
TOTAL: 213.00 EUR

and that´s it for a start.
Go ahead, start playing with it and let us know in case you find some new and fresh combinations so that we can share it with others for the summer of 2014.

and last but not least, one offer from a Czech photographer searching for 1-3 co-travellers for the period of:
15.6. - 26.6.2014. More info here and details about his work here. 

Unique and handmade for you to take home

I came across very special candles the other day, when in Reykjavik and could not do otherwise but buy them. They were hand-made in Iceland, and the ingredients used were: soya wax, rowan berries, 2000 years old lava stones and Icelandic moss. The scent is charming and calming and I loved them so much that I decided to contact the producer directly and order quite some pieces so that I have enough as presents for my close ones.

Since there´s no retail currently with these products in Akureyri, I find it important to share the details so that you can either order it, or simply stop by in Húsavík and get them there, if this is something of your taste.

It is Railis, who is to be contacted and you can find him at Túngata 4 in Húsavík. For more details, check out the following webpages:

www.etsy.com/shop/railis
www.facebook.com/railisdesign

And last but not least, they´ve been busy creating all kinds of great stuff, not only candles, so those interested, check out their offer in the catalogue here.


Hm, one more hidden hand-made treasure to share. A friend of mine took me to Hjalteyri the other day. Tiny village with a huge old abandoned fish factory which has turned into rough cultural spot. In the building in front of the factory, there is a great artist Lene who has been creating breathtaking products made of mostly animals´ skin and hair (spreads, necklaces, bracelets, pouches, bags, ...you name it). BUT, it´s really not easy to find, as there´s no sign on the door. So, just knock on the blue door and ask for Lene and enjoy her unique kingdom with unique souvenirs.

While in Hjalteyri, I was introduced to a secret place, so stay tuned and check out the BLOG soon, as I´ll reveal more details about this in the next article.

Until then, happy travels.

Brussels - Iceland return for 140 EUR only

The competition between airlines that fly cheaply to Iceland, especially in summer time is increasing. We´re bringing great news about very cheap connections available between Brussels and Keflavik via Thomas Cook Airlines.

The cheapest tickets available, as of now, are for the period: 31.05.2014 - 09.07.2014 and here is an example for you:

25.06.2014
Brussels 16.15 - Keflavík 17.25
69.99 EUR 

02.07.2014
Keflavík 18.25 - Brussels 23.40
69.99 EUR 

Total price, including the taxes 139.98 EUR.

Writing this from a small village of Ólafsfjordur, where we live in the north of Iceland, I feel like adding an up-to-date weather and earthquake report:

We had some snowfall yesterday and some more today and the temperature is around zero right now. The grounds are shaking north-east of us and there was an earthquake of 0.7 in the sea grounds.

Wishing you safe journeys all the way to Iceland and should you need some tips, do not hesitate and write to us.

From Berlin to Iceland for 136 EUR

Hard to believe? Just check out the limited offer from AIR BERLIN for JUNE!

You´d need to act fast, but as of today, there´re still cheap seats available and here is an example for you:

Berlin (TXL) - Reykjavik (KEF): 05.06.2014                               135.78 EUR
Reykjavik (KEF) - Berlin (TXL): 16.06.2014                               129.53 EUR

They also fly from Munich. Just remember that the flights are not operated every day. E.g. flights from Berlin in June are not available on Mondays and Fridays. You can check further details related to their schedule here.

Last but not least, we´re bringing great news from the whale-watching fleet in Dalvík:
'In the past week we have been seeing lots of dolphins and a humpback whale on every tour - and they have been very friendly as you can see from our facebook videos!'
So, those interested in making a booking, just drop us a line: lenka.uhrova@gmail.com or phone 840 13 29 and you´re entitled to 15% discount.

Those who need a pick-up service from Akureyri, it is available for 2.000 ISK per person (12 EUR).

Cheaply to Iceland via EASY JET

We have great news for those who don´t mind flying low cost and can imagine booking via Easy Jet to get to Iceland.

There´re quite some specials for May advertised these days and these are the destinations they fly from to Keflavík:

• Edinburgh
• Manchester
• London Luton
• Bristol
• Basel (Switzerland)

I tried hard searching for flight schedules, so that you could have an overview of the flying seasons from these destinations as well as the flying days, but with no success :(. So you will have to give it a try and search based on your prefered dates.

For those wanting to fly via Czech Republic, the following options are available, as examples of one-ways:

Brno – Reykjavik, 13.5.-19.5.2014, 5.353 Kč, roughly 198 EUR


Brno – Reykjavik, 13.5.-21.5.2014, 5.603 Kč, roughly 207 EUR


Brno – Reykjavik, 6.5.-14.5.2014, 5.858 Kč, roughly 217 EUR


The combination used here is Wizzair and Easy Jet and please bear in mind that neither skyscanner, nor dohop were able to show these. This means that you truly have to play around a bit and make up your mind whether you´d go for 2 separate tickets (with all the risks it has) or book the whole journey on 1 ticket.


Wishing you good luck and give a shout in case you have some questions, we might be able to help.

Going local in the Golden Circle area...

Yes, it is possible even close to famous area where 'so called' Golden Circle tours take place.

We ended up testing Geothermal Spa at LAUGARVATN called Fontana the other day, which is less known than Blue Lagoon, and much smaller in size and with a cheaper admission fee (2.800 isk/adult).
What I enjoyed most, however, is the vicinity of the spa area to the nearby lake and the possibility to have a dip in a cold lake as a good mix to various hot pots one can choose from.

Otherwise, I must say that I prefer usual Icelandic pools, where one has both, hot pots and also a pool to swim in.

But back to Laugarvatn. It is actually a small settlement with around 150 people living there and a place that struck me most in there is an old school called Héraðskólinn. We had a visit booked there combined with a coffee break and storytelling related to the history of the place.

The building itself surprises with a unique architecture and great news is that it was restored recently so even-though the school dates back to 1928, the current spirit it has, combines both, an old breath with a wooden smell with a touch of subtle modernity.

We were welcome by one of the two current owners who held us breathless for good half an hour as he was revealing a powerful story related to him and his life journey that brought him all the way from Copenhagen to this school with a clear vision and mission and changed his life completely. One of the main intentions has been to bring life back to the school and have it alive all year round. And one of the ways to do it is to run a hostel in the building. On top of this, there´s a cosy café with yammy goodies and very friendly staff. And last but not least, the owners are ready to rent out spaces within the school for various activities, so it´s been quite vibrant since they opened even with yoga and meditations weekends.

We cannot do otherwise, but recommend the place, presuming that their prices fit your budget ideas.

As a cherry on top of the cake of this article, we´d love to share another off the beaten track farm that offers both, great local food and very comfortable accommodation. It is EFSTI DALUR, about half an hour drive from Laugarvatn and amongst other things they´re really famous for their great home-made ice-cream. The restaurant setting is awesome and we definitely think this place is worthwhile a visit, be it only for an afternoon ice-cream desert or for a proper exploration of the area (there´s a nice waterfall in the vicinity) combined with some fine dining that the place has to offer. And the owners love sharing their local stories, so if you like that, just ask and you´be surprised about sagas you´ll get to hear :)

Looking forward to getting your impressions about these places.

Whales are here all year round :)

Oh, yes. A myth that whales are to be watched only within certain periods of the year is not be believed, at least not in the Eyjafjordur area.

They´re here in the fjord all year round and a local whale-watching company in Dalvik Arctic Sea Tours is the only one in the North of Iceland that offers tours in wintertime, presuming that the weather and sea conditions allow.

The schedule for winter months is as follows:
January 1st - February 28th, departure 13.00
March 1st - autumn, departure 09:00

If you book via GO LOCAL ICELAND initiative (email: lenka.uhrova@gmail.com), you get 15% discount. This offer is valid all-year round.

It´s important to bear in mind, though, that winter weather conditions can prevent quite some departures and that´s why when you´re making your plans and considering whale-watching in winter months, please do contact the company first (the contact person is Freyr):

Freyr@ArcticSeaTours.is

Tel: 00354 - 771-7600

Wishing you lots of nice experiences on the sea (preferably calm one).