1. Iceland

Beer baths, rotten fish and game of Thrones. And that's on top of the Northern lights. In this episode,  you'll hear about the real Iceland - with facts only a local would know: from travelling,  to eating, to shopping,

For a free factsheet on Iceland and other goodies, email May at her website:  https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/may.swan-easton

Transcript

[00:00:00] Beer baths, rotten fish and game of Thrones. And that's on top of the Northern lights. Welcome to episode one of travels with May.

hello, I'm May Swan-Easton. And in this episode, our destination is Iceland. I keep listening because I'll be telling you how you can download a free fact sheet on the country a little later. But let's get straight into the conversation I had with Ron VIG, who is managing director of destination marketing company, OBO travel, who helped me create perfect Icelandic holiday for my clients.

The next 30 minutes, you'll hear about the real Iceland. With facts only a local would know from traveling to eating, to shopping,  Rannveig. Welcome. First question has to be, why should Iceland be on everyone's wishlist to visit? Because we have everything. We have everything that you can check. We have so [00:01:00] many things that you can check off your bucket list.

We obviously have the famous blue lagoon, which is just something you have to experience. We have the Northern lights, it's a natural phenomenon, but if you see the Northern lights, I have honestly had customers cry. From joy, uh, when seeing the Northern lights display display, we have our erupting hot Springs, countless waterfalls adventures to suit everyone, be it ice caving or lava tunnels, paddleboarding, and a Fjord.

There's just such a variety to experience and enjoy in this beautiful country. Every corner offers a brand new address, and you've also got some volcanoes haven't you? We've got a number of them and believe it or not, it was not just AFL player cook pronounce that may ACP to site  is the famous one that erupted in 2010, which I don't think the world will forget.

Anytime soon [00:02:00] we have volcanic eruptions actually on average, every four years here in Iceland, it's just not. That they're always so problematic. Like the one we had in 2010, we have an active volcano erupting right now, as we speak, it's been a re-upping for just over a month now. And it's what we call a tourist eruption, because I believe that every single Icelander has now hiked to that volcano through experience and see it with your own eyes erupting with the lava rivers flowing.

And so it is definitely the land of ice and fire. I saw on the news that, uh, uh, there was a couple of actually getting married, um, at the top of the volcano, um, with it smoldering and erupting in the background, which, um, was something quite dramatic, clear we've had, it's become very popular also to propose.

So we've had, um, a number of proposals by the volcano and you're absolutely [00:03:00] right. We've had one, uh, actual wedding at the volcano site. There is approximately a five week waiting list for the helicopter trip. You can hike whenever you want to. We've even created. Already hiking paths well-marked and very safe.

We have emergency services there 24 7. So if anything, we are encouraging people to go hiking to that volcano. It is very safe to do. Just, don't go too close to the lava. That's flowing over there and you sit up there in the mountain, looking at an actual volcanic eruption. It is unknown. Unbelievable. I hiked, um, for the first time, shortly after it started erupting and there was one crater that was actively spewing out lava.

Was unbelievable. Then I went three weeks later and I saw six craters spewing out lava, and the entire valley [00:04:00] was filled with brand new, fresh lava flowing. So even in the space of those three weeks, how it had changed was, was mind blowing. They are expecting this volcano to keep her opting for a very long time.

We never know it could close and be done by tomorrow. Um, but we are expecting it to. To be ongoing. I'm going to hike there many times as I can. So I know each season, um, has its attraction. Um, but in your opinion, if you have one, um, when's the best time to travel to Iceland. I always have an opinion may, but that, that question is without a doubt, the toughest that I get, uh, because I personally love Iceland.

Um, All seasons. It's the Northern lights, which is the draw to the winter season. Um, and to jump over here over to Iceland, just in a two or three hour flight is very ideal to do in the winter months for, um, focusing on Northern lights [00:05:00] and staying in the Capitol area. But my, without it out, my personal favorite season is the summer.

So in Iceland, we have 24 hour daylight here. The sun basically doesn't set, uh, and self-driving around the island is so safe and easy to do. So spend, you know, 10 days, two weeks driving around the country because the variety of scenery activities and what you can enjoy in the country is endless. I can tell you may that I'm still myself as a local driving around finding brand new.

Amazing Icelandic germs, be it canyons and waterfalls and incredible scenery. So summer season for me is, is my favorites. That's good to know because they are obviously very different. Yeah. And, uh, most when my clients travel, I normally tell them to sort of go round about if they're, if they're budget conscious to go in spring, because that's when the room rates are normally lower, but yeah.

Um, you've got all the [00:06:00] flowers and, um, or the migratory birds, um, you know, uh, returning. So it's a nice time to go, but, uh, yeah, fully understand with regards to the, the Northern lights and they are something, how easy is it for people for tourists to drive around? Um, Iceland itself. I mean, are the road signs in English and Icelandic?

It's actually a very, very good question. And I can tell you that we are so small and simple that we have a road in Iceland called road. Number one. Road number one will literally lead you around the entire island. It is pretty much impossible to get lost over here. Um, it is very safe and very easy to self-drive in Iceland.

However, just bear in mind for you guys. We drive on the right side, not the wrong site. Like you do, but it is. And also just the idea of the daylight hours. So, I mean, you can be exploring waterflow falls at [00:07:00] midnight, you know, for all that I care. It's just, it's that endless daylight hours. It's such freedom just to go in the car and.

Stop at all of these places along the way. Um, because in Iceland as well, you're maybe driving from a to B, moving from one hotel to another, to explore all of the island, but you're never just driving a to B you're stopping countless times along the way to stop and enjoy, um, our incredible scenery and activities.

So do people stay longer in the summer than they do in the winter? Because of, because of the weather or because of what they're, they're looking to see that they can't go driving in the winter, et cetera. Definitely. Definitely because we at OBL travel, we, we very strongly recommend. Against self-driving in the winter months in Iceland, you need to be a very confident winter driver, um, meaning that you can drive on ICM, snowy road conditions.

[00:08:00] There are potential snow storms and road closure. So you have to be very vigilant constantly if you want to drive in the winter season. And it just isn't something that people are really up for, to be honest. So when it comes to the winter months, we are talking October to March. This is when we recommend you simply come to our capital city and stay there for 3, 4, 5, 6 nights.

Um, and go on guided tours with the locals from your hotel base in the city. There you can on a short break, you can still do the Northern lights, blue lagoon, golden circle, explore parts of the south coast. Some lava tunnels. There's a lot you can still do in the Southwestern area. Um, safely in the comfort of your hotel in, in daycare without having to drive yourself.

So what we feel is, especially from the UK, is that, uh, people visit us. Between three and five nights, typically in the winter months as a short break, it is more affordable in the winter months as well. [00:09:00] Um, and then once we come again, uh, they want more of Iceland. So then they would, um, you know, count for about two weeks to drive the full circle of routes around the island.

Most of the most popular must see sites that everyone wants to book. Yeah. Okay. So Northern lights with definitely in the winter months. That is number one for sure. Uh, and then we have the blue lagoon and the golden circle. These are typically the two tours that you sort of cannot miss. Uh, when coming here for the first time.

So bathing in the blue, the very famous blue lagoon and the golden circle is a full day tour from Reykjavik, taking you to Iceland, three most popular sites, which is our national park. With the two tectonic plates. You can walk between the two continents. Taking your onwards to the erupting hot spring Keizer.

And then you end up at good foster, the golden waterfall, which is glacier water thundering down into the canyon. So these are three of Iceland's [00:10:00] top attractions without a doubt. So Northern lights, blue lagoon called them circle is simply something you do for a first, a first time visit. But then it all depends on, and this is what we love doing.

And that is tailor making, depending on your own, you know, Budgets adventure side of you. And so on the south coast of Iceland, you can access it from Reykjavik, which is full of waterfalls, black, Sandy beaches, glaciers. You can go glacier hiking, go into a natural ice cave. You can snorkel and glacier water queen through continents.

You can paddleboard in a Fjord, go whale watching. Okay. Whale watching in Descovy gets done right from the city center Harbor, where he jumped on the boat, go cruising for three hours in search of the whales right outside the city. That's a very popular thing to do. What about birdwatching is that beak in Iceland birdwatcher is big.

And I sent indeed, um, without a doubt, the most famous one over here is the Puffin. Uh, the Puffin is [00:11:00] seasonal. So you would come here in the summer months to, um, to witness the Puffin over here in Iceland. Uh, we have countless birds dotted all around the country. Um, we don't have that many actual guided tours.

It's more that, for example, when you're, self-driving, it's more in the summer months, the wildlife that we have are the whales. We have reindeer here in Iceland, they live in the east part of the country. That's the only place where they live. Uh, we don't farm them, so they're completely free roaming. So when you're, self-driving in the east part of the country, you may, or you may not encounter our reindeer.

Uh, the whales that we have are, for example, humpback whales, Minky whales, uh, poor places. We have a number of dolphins. Occasionally, we will see the killer whale. Um, so we have that. And then in the west fjords, we have the Arctic Fox. So there's a little bit of, of wildlife. We eat the whales cause a lot of people will [00:12:00] want to come and to see the whales.

Is there a season for that all year round? Uh, around the country, the, it is more likely to see whales in the summer months, simply because it's unlikely that we will cancel the departure. The winter months, the success rate drops a little bit, but that's simply because the sea gets choppier. Um, the killer whale is an interesting one.

The Orca, because they traveled such long distances is basically the most unreliable way all to, to see. When you're whale-watching because you never know, it's most likely to see them in the west in Iceland. And that is seasonal. It's the winter months and June. As an example, but otherwise Minky whales, humpback whales, all year round and the Northern lights.

Now, obviously they are going to be seasoned more. And it, you said it's the winter months. What happens? Um, if people book a tour and they don't see them, but they're there for say three or four nights, can they. Is it advisable just to rebook [00:13:00] or did you offer something that they can be booked free of charge or something like that?

Because that must be a, I know that's a big disappointment because I've had clients that have gone and didn't see it. And I've had clients that have gone and seen them every night. They were there, um, even from Reykjavik. So it's like, wow, you just can't tell, we also get the question so often, which month is better than the other, and that we cannot even answer either.

So we go. Northern lights hunting from 1st of September until 15th of April, September, and April has become a bit bright already. Um, so I wouldn't really recommend those months. I would say any time between October and March, you can simply be lucky or unlucky. When you come full and all the lights, we have incredible forecast systems that us locals use and monitor every hour of the day.

And I'm very pleased to say that you come with us during definitely on your first night, as soon as you arrive, because you come again for free. So if we go [00:14:00] out sailing Northern lights, cruise is our favorite option out of the city. Um, you got cruising and if you don't see the Northern lights, you simply get a return ticket for your charge and you come again.

Uh, that means that you can try each night of your stay if you're unlucky and don't see them on your first or second nights and nothing, um, to the IFR I've I've had clients ask. Um, is, um, the game of Thrones, um, to, because the series, I think it was in the episodes of north of the wall was filmed in Iceland.

Um, are those twos also operated from Reykjavik or are they somewhere else in Ireland? That's Iceland. That's not easy to get to where. Actually don't offer a guide at game of Thrones tour as such, um, because we did try it, but there just wasn't enough demand for it. Uh, the thing is that the game of Thrones have been shot in various locations in Iceland.

Um, There was, for example, [00:15:00] in the national park, during the golden circle, that's a game of throne sites. So SIM if you're a game of Thrones fan and you go on the golden circle, you will there see a site from game of Thrones along the south coast of Iceland. Go on a tour. There there's a waterfall there that was in the final series.

Um, we also have game of Thrones sites in, um, the sniffles peninsula, which is in the west. And if you're a game of Thrones fan than simply what we do, just let us know. And we will highlight to you, uh, which sites you will be experiencing, um, which were game of Thrones sites with regards to visit us twice.

And. Is it families, we can warriors adventures. What sort of people visit Iceland as a, as a tourist? Absolutely. We, we don't even have, you know, a certain market that is more traveling here than others. It is really equal. We have families with young [00:16:00] children. It's a very family friendly destination. We have elderly people.

We have, you know, young couples with honeymooners. And everything in between. So what we love to do is to hear about you, who you are. Are you, how old are the children? If you're traveling as a family, are you adventurous? Are you on a budget and so on? And then Iceland has ever has something to offer. For every type of traveler, we will tailor make it based on who you are.

So you have all standards of accommodation from, um, self-catering buddy up to five-star hotels. Absolutely. There are not many, five star hotels in Iceland. In fact, there are only two. Uh, and there are no five-star hotels in bakery. So there are only two, five star motels in all of Iceland. Um, but indeed, for example, if you look at Reykjavik, the capital there, we have, um, apartment accommodation, sorting families, very well with the kitchen, knots and bedrooms, um, and a [00:17:00] nice living area.

We have a three star, four star, and then. Of course, when you go into the countryside, we have exciting accommodation, for example, which feature outdoor hot tubs, Northern lights wake up calls. The only thing we don't have may is the ice hotel or igloo hotel, um, which is bizarre that Iceland does not feature an ice hotel.

We're always asked about this. Um, we, we cannot build those over here, sadly. So that's the only option. So, so do most people will, when they, when they base themselves, for instance, in Reykjavik, how he's getting around, is it, is it walking? Is it public transportation? Is there a public transportation system?

It, a public transportation system, but we're quite embarrassed by it. It's actually not great. So when you base yourself in daycare week, you're always in the city center. With us and  is tiny. Uh, the population of Iceland is only 350,000 people. [00:18:00] And 250,000 people live in the capital area. The city center of Reykjavik is absolutely tiny.

So you walk outside of your hotel doorstep, and, um, you are exploring the city center over at Garrick by foot, definitely variety of restaurants, museums, and, and a wonderful, you know, that you can just, it's a wonderful city to stroll on your own. But what we typically say is, is your only one's half a day or one day at most, uh, free in Reykjavik because it is a small city.

You want to use your time out and about. And this is when we pick you up at your hotel, take you out to exploring on the tour that you're booked on and return you back to your hotel. If somebody's staying anywhere really in Iceland and particularly Reykjavik food and drink, um, are there plenty of restaurants to choose from?

Cause you've, you've said it's a small city. Um, but is there lots of places to eat and drink  is absolutely fantastic. And if you want, uh, our local [00:19:00] delicacies, I would recommend our seafood, which literally jumps out of the ocean onto your plate. Um, and the Atlantic lamb, because we have free roaming. Uh, lamb sheep here in Iceland.

So the Icelandic lamb is gorgeous, but of course we cater for everyone. We are very good with vegan, vegetarian and so on. And the options in Reykjavik are they are literally countless and you can have everything from a hot dog at our famous hot dog stands for five-year-old app to, you know, super fancy gala dinners for 80 year old.

All in. So I was, I was good. I was going to ask what the, um, average cost of a meal, um, would be in it's about what? 80, 80 years let's go to a standard, a nice restaurant, but standard sort of, um, maybe 25, 30 year old or so. That's very good. And you've also got Michelin star restaurants, which surprised me.

I don't know why there's five. No, there's only one. [00:20:00] Oh, I read it somewhere that there was five. Oh really? No. Iceland only have one. Um, whereabouts is that one that one's in dynamic and I agree with you strangely enough, we only have that one. One Michelin star because our procedure is really, we actually noticed that this tends to be our customer's biggest surprise for some reason is how amazing the crustiness is here in Iceland.

That's all the feedback I've ever had from previous clients that visited. And what about, um, Drink. We are beer drinkers in Iceland, for sure. We have breweries dotted around the entire country. So we love our beer and we have a huge number of, um, of breweries that you can visit here and taste, taste all of the local beer that we have an offer.

It is almost countless, uh, and fun fact about the beer. Actually, we decided here in Iceland, for some reason that it's amazing to be, then it's. [00:21:00] So we have a beer bath in the north of Iceland. It's actually just very close to where I am right now. Um, you go into a tub which is beer and has fantastic healing powers to your skin.

You're soak there for half an hour, but don't worry. You don't have to drink that beer. You have a fresh draft right next to your tub where you drink fresh beer while you're soaking in actual beer. Um, so yeah, I would love him to say. Beer drinkers over here. Um, and then have the very famous Icelandic, uh, liquor called  or translated to, uh, black death.

Black man is a, is a clear liquor, very, very strong. And it is typically what we use to, um, to swallow after a bite of rotten shark. So we eat. Yeah. We eat for months at shark over here in Iceland, in little cubes, eat the rotten shark and chase it down with the Icelandic black. [00:22:00] Okay. Yes. Um, maybe next time.

Um, and it's 80% proof. I understand this, this, uh, it's like a snap. Isn't it? It's definitely like a snaps. Yeah, we, uh, we drink shots. Yeah. Um, so if somebody goes to a restaurant tipping, is that expected in, in Iceland or excellent, not expected that it's welcomed as such, but definitely not expected. And that counts sexually for all the Nordic countries.

Um, salaries here are high and it does cover people's wages as such, so they don't rely on tips. And do you have a favorite restaurant that you can tell us about? It's? Um, very simple. That way. Um, my favorite restaurant in all of Iceland is a tiny little hot dog stand down by the Harbor. Uh, and there you will get the world's best hot dog for five-year-old honestly.

Uh, but if you okay, if you want to go into a restaurant, sit down, not a hot dog stand, [00:23:00] and I do have quite a few in daycare because they are, they are incredible. I personally love, um, uh, so she's social. They have incredible sushi and also a mix of some Icelandic dishes, like the lamb, um, restaurant that Reykjavik has, uh, some of the best seafood.

They have a seafood buffet. So you have a very nice variety there. We have cooperating, which is kind of a, more of a godlike festive sort of, um, feel to it. It's an on the fourth floor of our new concert hall. So you have incredible scenery over the Harbor and, uh, an amazing food. We see the hotels and the bars, restaurants.

Do they have entertainment? Interesting. A very good question. The, um, the hotels typically, no, they don't have live music, but some of them in Reykjavik, for example, some of them have restaurants. It's not that common, even that they even have restaurants because of the Y the wide variety [00:24:00] of restaurants in the city center.

So you would rather actually want to go out and roam around in the city for the huge variety of restaurants in life. There we have. Um, the pubs and clubs and nightlife in Reykjavik is actually legendary. Um, on Thursdays till Sundays, the clubs are open until 5:00 AM. We party like crazy people on the weekends.

Um, so once you've been out and about, and, uh, you feel like a night out, leave the hotel, uh, because. You just keep there to be honest, leave the hotel, go into the city and roam around, go pub crawling. We have a lot of, um, live music and a huge variety for, you know, for everyone. And let me actually just add as well that this is ridiculous that I'm talking about the Capitol.

Yeah. The countryside as a whole different story there, you're kind of. You're getting a very different experience there. Um, and what we want to offer there is a very different [00:25:00] vibe. So you're out and about exploring all day. And if you come and stay in the countryside, hotels, it's all about, you know, eating relatively early 7:00 PM, having a very nice dinner at your hotel.

And many of the hotels then offer, like for example, outdoor hot tubs or sound. Uh, so it's all about that kind of relaxing after a day out, um, adventuring. Uh, but all of the countryside hotels also have have bars, but it's not, you know, live music and that kind of entertainment. So you have a very different scene, whether you're in the capital city or out in the countryside.

And shops. I love shopping. It's my passion. It's one of the things I love to do when I'm on holiday, whether it's a craft market or whether it's the, you know, the shops in on fifth avenue in New York. So, um, are the shops open every day? We're open every day. Um, in the city center of lake, you will mainly find.

A typical sort of souvenir stores. So there you would go and buy, for example, atypical Icelandic [00:26:00] sweater made a wall, um, you know, mittens and things like that. And a, and a Teddy bear Puffin, or, you know, those kinds of souvenir gifts. Then we have malls and malls in a gimmick are open, um, every day of the week.

I read an article that said the three top things to buy from the shops in Iceland, where, and this is really interesting. Cause you mentioned one is efficient as jumper, a reindeer pelts and some licorice. So can you elaborate on the liquid? Oh my God. Licorice for Icelanders. Licorice is life. Honestly, we love licorice.

So we licorice is the go-to candy for us and always has been, and always will be. We have even managed to, you know, put licorice into our chocolates and we have a licorice shot at the bar, for example, which is delicious. It's dangerously delicious. My I'm telling you, um, so they told about the licorice here, honestly.

[00:27:00] Well, that's, that's what I heard. I, I, that's something else in my tick box that I'm going to have to try. Um, well, one question that, um, ease easy, important, I think is design slim practice, environmental sustainability, particularly tourists are concerned. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We, we, um, We're very high up there when it comes to sustainability.

We are very lucky that we have, um, we have so much geothermal heat, for example. So we are very sustainable that way we recycle very well. Uh, we're all very aware and our government is, is very involved in this as well. So, I mean, for example, what you can do is you can visit one of our greenhouses. Which is, um, a very interesting thing to do because we have greenhouses here that we heat up and lights up with geothermal activity all year round.

So here in Iceland, we can grow tomatoes. Yeah. Very, you know, in a very environmentally friendly way. Uh, so [00:28:00] this is something that we're very, um, yeah, we're very keen on, on being careful of, for example, it's illegal here as well to drive off road. So, um, we respect nature very much. That's good to know that.

And again, it's, it's a forefront. I think of so many. Tourists that that plan to visit different destinations. It's one thing that I get asked about quite a lot. So you haven't, so just as a, you didn't mention anything about, um, museums or, or, um, art galleries. Do you have that sort of thing, museums in the typical.

Forum of the word, uh, would be rhetoric, uh, and indict Gehrig. We have a huge variety. We have a folk museum. Uh, we have art galleries. We have museums about our volcanoes. Um, so we have a huge variety of museum options. And we have a whale museum as well, for example, uh, so you, if [00:29:00] you're into museums and an arts and culture, then you would have plenty to do in the capital city and then are dotted around the country.

We have the art museums here and there, which are then more specialized, for example, maybe more focused on, on the folklore. And telling stories about our elves, uh, and our whole belief in ourselves here in Iceland. And, um, we have a museum, for example, as well in the south where you can make your own lover.

Um, and it's all about our old Kainos and so on. Yep. You believe in elves. Oh, I'll definitely. I'll live here in Iceland with us.

You been drinking that drink?

Well, I personally don't believe in Alice, but I, as a whole, I mean, it's just part of our poll Chlor actually, you know, we don't, we don't genuinely believe in ALS, even though I have met [00:30:00] people who really do, but we just have such fantastic stories around it. Uh, the wonderful elements that live underneath the Hills dotted around the country.

What would be your top tip for my listener when they visit Iceland will be, be your top tip. Well book in advance and book with an experts because Iceland in Iceland, things can go wrong. It's just the way Iceland is. We have snow storms. We have horrible weather. You definitely need to be taken care of when you travel over here.

So, and also prepare meaning pre-book everything don't count on things being available. Once you arrive here because you will. Quite possibly be let down with things being fully booked and so on. So I think that is, will always be my top tip. Um, when visiting Iceland is to actually, um, use an experts because otherwise [00:31:00] you are very likely to miss out.

Thank you, Ron baker. Um, my top tip is always wear layers and layers of clothing. Lots of layers. Okay. Well, I think for us, that's just, it's such a given, you know, we feel like we almost don't even have to say it, uh, but definitely wear layers. Well, thank you so much for joining us today around VIG, um, sharing your knowledge and expertise.

On all things, Iceland really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you ma for free fact sheet or visiting Iceland with some bright hints and tips. Visit my website, https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/may.swan-easton, and request by email .

Next time, we head to the Seychelles with Karen confi. So to make sure you don't miss it, click follow on this podcast to make sure each episode arrives into your podcast at every fortnight. And whilst you're there, please leave a review.

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