RTW in F/J - Hand Carry Only - Iceland, Finland, Washington and a few other places

[Lat34]

Tue 01 Oct

... As a data point, food here did look expensive, with one place selling edamame for 2,700 ISK a plate, another Italian restaurant had appetizers starting at 3,800 ISK so yes, be prepared for expensive food if you eat at the restaurants.

We just shut our eyes and decided not to think about the cost of food / drinks / petrol etc (or exchange rate with the south pacific peso) although MrLat DID moderate his usually enthusiastic consumption of "foreign malted products" ie local draft beers

 

[PrezRegan]

Wed 02 Oct

Today was another full day of touring, this time going along the South coast of Iceland. A lot of waterfalls were seen, as well as the famous black sand beaches, icebergs, and seals. Unfortunately, the weather remained overcast and drizzly.

The first waterfall was Skogafoss, which is one of the biggest in Iceland with a drop of over 60m. The climb up the staircase was worth it for the views.

We then went to the Reynisfjara Black Sands beach, which features the distinctive black sand and basalt columns. Apparently these stacks featured in Game of Thrones…

The final stop of the day was Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, which featured more black sand as well as ice chunks washed up on the shore and icebergs in the lagoon itself.

Accommodation for the night was at Smyrlabjorg guest houses. Accommodation is a bit more primitive - my room has two single beds and an ensuite. The restaurant on site is surprisingly good. For dinner I had a lamb carpaccio, lamb burger, and a skyr cheesecake thing, along with a local beer and a shot of Icelandic schnapps. Total cost came to about 11,000 ISK.

 

[NoName]

That would be the dream but I don't think it's likely to happen sadly - if one can really complain about flying any version of JAL F haha

Look to have just missed by a couple of weeks. A350-1000 now scheduled on JL44 every 2nd day from 24 October.

 

[Nexus007]

Fantastic trip report! I’ll be visiting Norway, Iceland, and Copenhagen next month, and I’m really excited!

Which tour company did you use for Iceland? Could you share the link?

I have booked this tour and the itinerary seems to be similar to yours.
Iceland -3-Day Ice Cave, South Coast, Golden Circle and Northern Lights

 

[ellen10]

I have just caught up with this great trip report.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[PrezRegan]

Fantastic trip report! I’ll be visiting Norway, Iceland, and Copenhagen next month, and I’m really excited!

Which tour company did you use for Iceland? Could you share the link?

I have booked this tour and the itinerary seems to be similar to yours.
Iceland -3-Day Ice Cave, South Coast, Golden Circle and Northern Lights

I used Guide to Iceland. I'll attach my itinerary after the Iceland portion of the trip.

At the end I was going to do a full review of whether I'd do a packaged tour again vs a DIY book each tour individually type thing. All Guide to Iceland does is aggregate a bunch of things together for you - each day tour has been provided by a different smaller company. The Southern tour was provided by Nice Travel

 

[kpc]

We hired a car and drove / toured Iceland ourselves over 13 days in Sep 2022...drove a total of 3200 kms. We booked and stayed at hotels etc along the way. The video below was one of many that inspired us to visit Iceland:

 

[ADLhighflyer]

Absolutely loving this report! Brings back memories of my Iceland adventures! Looking forward to the rest of your trip, and hope you continue to see the Northern Lights!

 

[PrezRegan]

Absolutely loving this report! Brings back memories of my Iceland adventures! Looking forward to the rest of your trip, and hope you continue to see the Northern Lights!

Apparently it'll clear up tonight so might see it again. Did get a glimpse last night too

 

[ADLhighflyer]

Potential for a huge aurora show in next 24-36hrs from sun activity yesterday!