Please be aware that a lot of the "hot pots" are on private ground and a kind of a sanctuary for the family that owns the land. Recently a lot of these places have been littered by tourists passing by and leaving their trash behind. Please be respectful while exploring.
You don't need a car, and you don't need a tour group. You can take regular public bus routes across the country and they always stop at the top sights anyway. Renting works but it is not required. Also, wool in Iceland is usually not dyed; instead, they sort the wool by the natural color of the sheep. So all those cool patterns you see tells you that that farm has different sheep in all of those specific colors.
Without doubt the most amazing trip of my life! There's so many places in the world I want to visit that I rarely visit the same place twice, but Iceland I would visit again and again. It's magical.
I'm so glad you made this video. We have been considering an Icelandic holiday for a while and I think you tipped the scales in favor of touring this beautiful country. Thanks so much!
+AnnaDaisybird it's worth it. Check out the ten shocks video and top 10 places video for more help. I should have a what to know before you go to iceland video up in the next couple weeks. All the best!
I love your videos. We just returned from a 2 week holiday in Europe (Milan (including Lake Como area), Venice, Vienna, Munich, and Zurich). We referenced your videos before we left, took notes and your information was invaluable! Thanks for making our holiday epic!!! And thanks for making your recent Iceland videos. You are amazing!
Wolters World What's your profession that you get to go to all these beautiful places? Love the videos, keep them coming. I'm planning trips and referencing your videos.
Just got back. Scenery is absolutely amazing, feels like you've been transported to a different planet sometimes. The only two things that are difficult is the ridiculous prices for everything (at the very least, stay in a place were you can cook your own food) and tourists that can't drive safely on Iceland's roads. Beautiful place.
I think people underrate the Midnight Sun. It's always talked about like a nuisance or a thing to watch out for. Frankly, I think it's worth the trip all by itself. It's such a cool phenomenon that happens in very few places around the world, you can stay out driving late because it's always bright out (no worrying about those dark rural roads and no lights) and it makes you feel like you can party for days. I fell asleep fine and COME ON, who goes anywhere relying solely on the sun for time anyway? 🇮🇸
+dunnowy123 it is a cool experience. Except with a small kid who won't go to bed :) I loved it when I loved in Finland. Party all night and it's still light. :)
+Wolters World haha I get that. It's definitely a transition and I can see some people disliking it if they already are very sensitive sleepers...but personally, going to the club at 1 am and it still being bright out is something that never gets old for me.
Such a great video. I visited Iceland a few years ago in the winter where I saw the northern lights. I would love to go back in the summertime when everything is green and lush. Mark, you should do a video on northern Norway. I visited Tromsø in the summer and winter a few years ago. It's further north than Reykjavik and above the arctic circle, so it's properly light all night in the summer and properly dark in the day in the winter. It's supposed to be one of the best places in the world for seeing the northern lights and it's surrounded by mountains and fjords. I think it's slightly cheaper than Oslo too. If I was to go back to northern Norway, I'd see Lofoten and Senja island, which look even more beautiful.
+IcelandHotSpots either the blue lagoon or the southern shore day trip, they were amazing. The black beaches are so unique and we went to a farm that was affected by the eruptions and saw a video on it. I even bought some buttons made of the cooled volcanic lava from the farm. Iceland is an amazing country and being so close to Ireland I hope to return soon!
My hubby (then boyfriend) bought me an Icelandic sweater there during a layover on his way home from Sweden. I loved it! It was beautiful....... buuuuut, it was a tad scratchy so you had to wear it with a t-shirt underneath and they shrink! No I didn't put it in the dryer! Despite taking good care of it, it shrunk. I still have it but I can't wear it anymore. 😕 We have discussed doing a day or two layover in Iceland on our way to Sweden (visiting his family) some time in the future. Flying over, it really is quite beautiful.
Just found out 14 days in Iceland cost me $6000 CDN. That's a medium sized campervan rental, gas, excludes flights, minimal shopping, a few beers, cooking my own food from grocery stores, and campground fees for 1 person. Add to this, bumping elbows with tourists at nearly every corner of the country and brushed off by almost every local I met. Would I go again? Definitely not. Don't get me wrong, the scenery is beautiful, just like in all the photos. It's a photographers paradise. But the country has been flooded with tourism to the point of excess. Iceland definitely has something to offer, but solitude is not one of them.
loving your videos! i went to iceland in march 2016 w/ a friend and we absolutely loved it! i'd say that it's the best place in the world to go if you have an interest in nature and geology. when you're there you Have to see the blue lagoon. it's almost a surreal experience... you're sitting in 30 degree celsius blue water, surrounded by snow-topped mountains, when all of a sudden it starts snowing. (pro tip: get a waterproof cover for your phone before you go there, then you're allowed to take photos while in the lagoon. or you can buy one there, i think it's about 12,000 krona.) lol you do get used to all water smelling like sulfur/eggs you will see some amazing weather whilst you're there as well. we went in march, and it rained most of the time (which is pretty average for a northern irish person tbh lmao). but in no time at all the weather can switch to a blizzard, or hurricane winds. there was maybe 6 foot deep snow in the country while we were there (and we saw someone riding through that on a quad bike!!!) if you go in winter you might have to put off some of your plans because the weather might just be too dangerous to go out in. the wind can be quite insane too: our tour coach was blown off the road. the shops are a bit like a best-of-both-worlds between US stores and European franchises. there's no mcdonalds, but there are taco bells lol. no but really, iceland is a stunningly beautiful country that you have to see.
My wife and I have been there twice, each time in October. We see the Northern Lights both times! We also used Airbnb and VRBO for our stays. It was nice having an apartment for the week. They have a bakery at at least two locations that served the best sweet rolls, Brauđ & Co. The city pools are worth visiting. Believe it or not they're outdoor heated pools and spas year round.
I was in Iceland this July as well for the first time and you couldnt have said it better; its hard to find things one would hate about iceland!!! Its a true paradise!
+IcelandHotSpots i visited many of them. Reykjavik, Blue lagoons, did the Golden Circle (pingvallavatn lake, Geysir, Gullfoss Falls), valley of reykjadalur (a must do), seljalandsfoss, vestmannaeyjar island tour, skogafoss waterfall, reynisdrangar, kaffi kjós, jökulsárlón, seltjarnarnes and went to an authentic icelandic wedding and reception.
When I was on the plane coming back from my Iceland vacation, I was flipping through the newspaper and I saw an article with a picture of what I believed to be Iceland. Then I looked at the title and it said "Amazing pictures from Mars"... :-)
I've been to Iceland (three years ago). It was absolutely FANTASTIC! And, yes, the people are the nicest in the world... I went to a few discos, and because I was a tourist, the bouncers (with smiles) let me in for free. Then afterwards, some local people (& cute girls) took me to there flat, for an after-party. Wow!!
You got to work on your audio dude. Too inconsistent, fluctuating from being too soft, then becoming too loud. Other then that, nice advice. Needed this very much. My brother and I are planning to have a vacation at Iceland during the summer of 2017.
+jonn mace yeah. I hadn't heard the audio until I started editing. Believe me it was much worse before I worked on it. Really sucks as I really liked this video. The wind just messed it up so much.
He is so correct about the weather. It's never good, well, it's never warm compared to the US. I went in March, and yes it was cold, but I heard it's not much warmer in the summer. Plus you will get to have day and night, and enjoy the Blue Lagoon with snow on the sides of the water.
Awesome video. I was at the, airport in Iceland on June 17, and a security guard found out my last name was Danish. I got a glare, and I told him we were the cool, not conquering other countries part of Denmark and happy becoming an independent republic day. He let us through faster after he knew we had learned a little history before. Luckily the day before, a good Icelandic buddy had told me about the history. Otherwise, I may have still been at security.
The clothes... Look for 66° North (66°Norður) stores. The rainclothes for children are the best and what every icelandic kid has (1-5years old) some have been used by 4-6 children before... they last. There is a gas station in every small town/village in the country. But, yeah, fill the car up, especially if you are sightseeing...
One thing that you might experience and hate is the lack of ventilation in houses. Apparently it isn’t standard, they suggest opening the windows. Our hotel room got very hot and hard to breath in during the night.
you might consider Japan or South Korea for your next destination - I hear they have the best camera equipment like external microphones and mic windscreens there ;-)
Sure our country can be great to visit but if you want to come here please do so with respect, there's been a huge wave of tourists leaving their mess (and even feces) all over the place (lack of toilets is no excuse, especially since in many cases people simply aren't looking well enough, for instance i've heard of them pooping at a harbour 30m away from a public wc) or coming here just to harass the locals at the pubs, as nice as the people can be we do not take kindly to littering and violence :/ (oh and you can still go to the pubs allright, just respect one and other, don't come here just to pick fights to see if icelanders can handle themselves in a fight..) Also, a lot of people come to iceland, stay only around reykjavík and don't like the stay... to those people : Why didn't you stay in the east or north then? the water's even better and less smelly there. Check out Akureyri or Egilstaðir out or any spot in between, don't just stay in the capital, the capitals are usually the worst places to stay in any country :/ also also : Pro-tip, the beers in the grocery stores? non-alcoholic variants. (everything over 2.25% is illegal to sell in a grocery store and the only place you can get alcohol is in vínbúðin/átvr I don't know how often i've laughed at tourists buying like 30 light-beers. i've stopped them if i heard them speaking english though, told them where they can buy the beers they want but i wonder how many have gone and bought these light-beers thinking they'd get some awesome party going...
No hating on low-alcohol beer... if it's good beer. All too often, alcohol-free is absolute sh*te, though, especially if the alcoholic version isn't too good, too.
I am from Iceland swell and went to visit Porufoss , Icelands national park. We saw many tourists pooping on the untouched moss. Btw I am from Akranes, south from Reykjavik
One of the things I couldn’t get used to in my week in Iceland was the rotten egg smell of the geothermal water. Very expensive country too. With that said, I would visit Iceland every year if I could afford it, as Marc says the people were the nicest I’ve ever met, the food was fantastic, and the landscape is breathtaking.
I'm so glad I subbed to you! I can't afford to travel often whatsoever (aka read this as I'm super poor), but your vids help immensely with trying to decide on where I want to go first. This is also useful as I'm *legally* blind, so I cannot drive and it helps to know these things
depends on your prioritization. You dont' need to make a lot of money to travel if you plan your trips correctly and prioritize what you buy in your personal life. Do you really need that $10 latte?
TIB1973 not everyone is having money troubles because they're buying expensive coffee. Some people can barely afford to live at home. I think people should just do what they can. I can only afford to travel a bit but am I staying in accommodation with a shower that doesn't have some dudes pubes in it? I think the fuck not.
I don't know. I can fly from Denver to Reykjavik round trip for around $500+ depending on the time of year on Icelandair. And there isn't anything rickety about them. Better than any U.S. airlines i have ever flown
i envy your kids that they get to travel a lot. must be an interesting life for them. i moved a lot growing up but i probably have not travelled as much as you do. i travel once or twice a year but to countries which i have lived in back and forth. the only countries i visited which i did not live in were italy, egypt, taiwan, south korea, malaysia.
i would expect that maybe when they grow up they will always have the urge of travelling as well. thats why i am always itching to get out of the country at least once or twice a year to get a taste of something different and also compare and contract the cultures and traditions of each of the countries i have visited.
john david jaime oyola it’s a completely different kind of vacation. Equally beautiful. There’s a lot of video of winter vacations in iceland. I’m tryimg to plan one right now, i think i’ll go with guided tours even if it is not my style
I have a question: I’m coming from us going to morocco but I’m going to stop by Iceland for 3 days, do I need a return ticket to show them or my my ticket to morocco will be enough. Thank u
Love this video! Im looking to go with my friend after we graduate and we couldn't be more excited. Just one question but what is the location from where you are shooting this video? The rock formation behind you is beautiful and i would love to find it.
Icelandic wool is the absolute BEST, WARMEST wool in the world. Go to the coldest place on earth where sheep are raised and that's where you find the warmest wool.
How is the smell in iceland. I friend of mine stayed a year there and she said some times the air smells like rotten eggs? I think it's because of the gysirs?
How did your son get to hold a puffin!? Did you go to some sort of reserve? Planning a trip to Iceland next year and would LOVEEEEE a similar experience!
Have to be in the Autumn in Vestmanneyjar. When the kids go out and save the puffing chicks.. Think you can just go out walking and save one yourself (not sure how it goes, i´m not from Vestmanneyjar) You can probably google it :)
Couryn Beleck we held Puffins that were rescued (see the other comment) on the Westman Islands at a museum. Totti the Puffin wanders free throughout the museum!
That's awesome, you're going to love it! If you like a little wine or beer, buy it at the airport when you land, it's MUCH cheaper than the liquor store in Reykjavik. Have fun!
I really like your videos so I want to give a suggestion about production quality: normalize the sound levels of the final video. The wind overtook your mic sporadically during this video so I was constantly adjusting my speaker volume to compensate. Great video anyway!
