Plan your trip

We want you to have an amazing time. Here is what you need to know.

How long shall we come for?

This really is the big question. If you are still deciding this, please take the following into account:

  • Reykjavík is great - for a couple of days. You can explore the city, maybe take a day tour of the ‘Golden Circle’ (which takes in Gullfoss waterfall, the geyser at Strokkur and Þingvellir national park), go whale watching and avoid car hire costs. But staying longer than that without a car is not the best way to experience Iceland.

  • Driving Route 1 (the ring road around the whole island) is epic - if you can stay for a week or more. This option is flexible enough to work with the ever-changing Icelandic weather, and is the best way to experience the sheer scale of the landscapes. If you are staying for at least a week - commit to this rather than staying in Reykjavík.

  • A shorter stay with a car is also great - in this case we recommend focusing on the south coast which features the Westman Islands, the black sand beaches at Vík and Jökulsárlón, the glacier lagoon where Steve took the picture on this page.

  • Feel free to ignore our advice! There are so many sources of travel info for Iceland, and they’re all pretty good. So maybe you decide to hit the north and discover Akureyri and Husavík, or spend a couple of days on the jaw-dropping Snæfellsnes Peninsula. And if so: more power to you! Can we come too?

  • Check out totaliceland.com. It’s a no-frills but very honest website run by Icelanders rather than tourism companies.

Getting to Iceland

International flights land in Keflavík, not Reykjavík. Keflavík airport is about 40 minutes’ drive from the capital, and it is easy to book a ‘flybus’ which will drop you off at the centre of Reykjavík and within walking distance of our welcome drinks location. You can also hire a car in Reykjavík after the wedding, but then return it to the airport in Keflavík after your trip.

Flying from Germany:

  • Fly PLAY flies from Berlin and Stuttgart. Fly PLAY is cheap but actually very decent.

  • Icelandair flies from Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.

Flying from the UK:

  • Easyjet flies from Luton, Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester.

  • Icelandair flies from Glasgow, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester.

Icelandair is unfortunately always more expensive - despite the experience not really being any better than Easyjet or PLAY.

As much as we would like to offer low-carbon alternatives, it is really quite difficult to get to Iceland without flying. But it is not impossible!

Accommodation

Before/After the wedding:

Tourism is a big deal in Iceland, and you should always pre-book accommodation. Reykjavík has everything from cheap(ish) hostels to cosy guesthouses and luxury hotels, but book early for better prices. Here are our Reykjavík recommendations - we’ve stayed at these places and they’re great!

On the wedding weekend:

If you’ve chosen our bus option, then you should stay in Flúðir at one of these locations so that you can get dropped off and picked up by the bus:

  • Icelandair Hotel Flúðir (Bit pricy but very nice) Right now their website is showing no availability for Friday 5 August 2022, but we think this is a system error and have emailed them to enquire.

  • Guesthouse Flúðir (Lovely little bed-and-breakfast with a range of differently sized and priced rooms).

  • Nortia Apartments

If no accommodation is available in Flúðir, check out the rooms and cottages at Hotel Skálholt (our bus can collect and return you here if required):

If you’re travelling in your own car, then it is better to stay in Laugarvatn (see info on the wedding page). Here are some decent options (but there are more):

If you’re planning to drive Route 1 (good choice), then definitely book your accommodation in advance. There are hundreds of guesthouses dotted around the island, and the earlier you book, the better selection you’ll find!

Travelling around Iceland

Car hire is an unfortunate inevitability in Iceland. It’s not cheap, but it remains the best way to explore the island at your own pace without relying on bus tours. That said, there is a national bus network operated by Strætó which will also get you around the island in a rough-but-reliable fashion.

Here are a few points worth noting about car hire:

  • It is generally slightly cheaper to go with local companies like Reykjavík Cars (who we have used in the past) than the international providers Like Hertz, Europcar etc. They all have branches in Reykjavík and at Keflavík Airport.

  • 2-wheel-drive is fine for the main roads we’ll be using on the wedding weekend and for Route 1 , but if you plan to venture onto the gravel roads or up into the highlands then you need 4-wheel drive. The Dacia Dusters commonly available are a solid 4WD option.

  • Camper van hire is currently taking off in Iceland, and would seem like a great option in terms of saving money for accommodation. We’ve never done it, but we’d certainly consider checking it out in the future. If you want to hire a camper van for your whole trip including the wedding weekend then you can park it at the campsite in Flúðir and use our bus to get to Hruni and Eyvindartunga.

  • The speed limit in Iceland is 90km/hour. Yes, you should stick to it because there are lots of cameras. But also don’t drive SLOWER than 90: Icelanders drive at a pretty consistent 95kph and get annoyed when tourists drive any faster or - especially - any SLOWER than that!

Eating and drinking

Food is generally expensive in Iceland, and restaurant prices can be brutal. Alcohol is heavily taxed (a large beer at a bar will cost you at least €10), but can be bought much more cheaply at the duty-free supermarket when you land at Keflavík, so grab some stocks there while you can.

Before embarking on your trip before or after the wedding, find a Bónus or a Krónan supermarket in Reykjavík or Selfoss (if you’re heading off directly from Flúðir) and buy food there - avoid the smaller, tourist-focused stores like 10-11 unless you have no other option. If all else fails, sustain yourself with Skyr from the brand Ìsey. It is cheap(ish), filling and healthy.

You can and should drink the tap water - it is pure and delicious and untreated. Always from the cold tap though - especially in Reykjavík the HOT water is geothermal and a bit sulphurous, so don’t drink that. And also don’t worry if it smells a bit weird in the shower - Icelanders don’t notice it and will find it strange if you complain.

What to bring along

Icelandic weather is quite literally a force of nature, and dressing for an Icelandic wedding presents a few unique challenges.

Be sure to bring:

  • A decent rain jacket and some solid footwear.

  • A warm jumper

  • Hat and gloves

  • Swimming gear (for the Secret Lagoon)

As far as the ‘dress code’ for the wedding itself goes, think rustic charm rather than svelte elegance - you won’t need your hiking boots, but there might be some pretty serious weather going on.