5 Reasons to Travel to Iceland
Iceland caught the world’s attention when the Krona (Iceland’s currency) fell by 50% overnight in October 2008. A year after the financial crash McDonalds pulled out from Iceland. Today the country’s economy has recovered. The booming tourism business will bring in almost a million visitors this year. Iceland has only 340,000 people.
Reykjavik, the capital city is
5 hours 44 minutes from New York City and
six hours 38 minutes from Edmonton Canada. Both flights are direct if you fly with Icelandair.
This friendly country is a great place to visit for travelers of any age. Here are 5 reasons to travel to Iceland…
One: Easy to get to
You don’t need a visa to enter Iceland if you hold an American or Canadian passport. Leave your language books behind because almost everyone in Iceland speaks English. You don’t even need to change your money to Krona. In Iceland, all businesses take Visa and Mastercard with ease.
Most importantly Iceland is close to North America. A mere six hours or less from New York City, Toronto, Boston and
seven hours 42 minutes direct flight from Denver to Reykjavik.
Two: Safest country in Europe
You will find a stroller left outside a café while mom and dad have a cup of coffee. Or a portable table and chairs outside a townhouse by a busy street and they’ll still be there the next day.
Iceland is safe.
Three: Nature
Geologically speaking Iceland is a young country. Being young means it has active volcanoes, black sand beaches, glaciers, fjords, rivers, waterfalls and barren green valleys and pastures. Most of these natural wonders are untouched and away from all the busyness of a metropolis or the pollution of big factories.
This pureness provides Iceland with one of the purest drinking water in the world. Iceland uses geothermal energy for heating their homes, offices and all indoor space heating. This itself is an attraction for tourists.
Iceland’s massive natural beauty attracts thousands of adventure travelers every year. Travelers from all over the world hike, bike, ride, swim, dive, sail, kayak and drive around the island seeking to see the natural beauty of the country.
One of the most popular day tours is the Golden Circle Tour from Reykjavik. This tour takes you to Pingvellir National Park- a historical and geological wonder. You will also visit 105 feet tall Gullfoss (golden waterfall in Icelandic) and Geysir.
Geysir is an active geothermal area with mud pools and spouting geysers. The Strokkur erupts every 4-8 minutes that reaches a height of 50-65 feet or more.
In winter, tourists flock to Iceland for the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). Iceland is one of the most perfect places to view the Aurora Borealis because of the lack of city lights and the colder temperature produces brighter snow. The Northern Lights usually starts by October and ends by the first week of April.
Four: Wellness
Iceland is filled with thermal pools, hot tubs, saunas and steam baths. Going to the thermal pools is part of the Icelandic daily lifestyle. In Reykjavik there are seven geothermal pools that are open all year. These pools are the source of wellness and relaxation for the locals.
The Blue Lagoon is Iceland’s top geothermal spa attraction for tourists. The Blue Lagoon has all natural ingredients to clean, exfoliate, revitalize and nourishes the skin and relax the body.
Information:
Blue Lagoon
Five: Unique food experience
Try Icelandic traditional food of fermented shark, smoked lamb, dried fish, smoked trout, rye pancakes, sheep heads and lamb pate. Or try gamey meat like whale and puffin meat. Iceland is famous for their variety of licorice including salted licorice.
Though a small city compared to many of its European counterparts, Reykjavik has an array of excellent restaurants including Icelandic, Nordic, French, Italian, Japanese and fusion. Lamb and fish are the must have dishes in Iceland.
Tips:
1. For up to date info on road safety and weather conditions, go to
Safe Travel.
2.
Airlines flying to Reykjavik Iceland.
