The easy stuff first.
Bottled water. Don’t buy it unless you are in the middle of nowhere and thirsty. This is just tap water. All over the island, tap water is as clean as it gets. Never feel pressure to buy bottled water. When in a restaurant, ask for tap water.
Eat lamb or fish when in Iceland. Sure there are fantastic beef restaurants there, but the beef is very expensive and you get better beef for way less in other countries. But our fish was most likely fished yesterday or the same day. You will not get as good fish anywhere I think. Our lamb is just fantastic. They stay on the highlands for the summer and are as close to wild nature as you get. Reindeer and some birds are great as well. Also, try our fast food, even our cheap 7–11 hamburgers are good. Our hotdogs are fantastic. I have lived almost 20 years away from Iceland and I still take with me a bunch everytime I am there. Yes the Blue Lagoon is great, but it is just highway robbery, sorry. It is mostly just warm water and sea water. We have swimming pools everywhere that are nicer and cheaper and just fantastic.
A lot of questions on vegetarian food. There are many restaurants that specialize in vegetarian foods and get excellent feedback. Most restaurants have vegetarian options. It might be a bit harder on the country side, but you always have salads and pasta dishes.
Now for some common sense.
You should rent a car if you can. Drive the circle road. Have a look at the Fjords on the east side. Don’t just go to the same 3 places as everyone else. Don’t drive offroad, ever, never. This could be the last thing you do. We have sketchy roads for offroad cars which take you to places straight out of the Lord of The Ring scenario. But they are still roads. The other land is loose and you car can sink completely and totally. If you just get stuck, you have to pay a fortune to fix your damage. Don’t carve your names in hill sides even if some other idiots did so. It takes thousands of years for the moss to grow. Don’t spray paint inside caves.
Now for the serious.
We are just 300.000 people, give or take. We get over 2 million tourists. Our infrastructure is not there yet. There are not toilets everywhere. Don’t do your business everywhere. There are always gas stations somewhere. Plan a little. When we say something is dangerous, when there is a sign that tells you not to go outside of a path, follow this. Your leg will cook in 2 seconds to well done if you step into molten rocks or mud. The water isn’t boiling at 100 degrees Celsius, it is more likely a lot more than that as it is salty. It could be much more.
When you see a lake that is blue, warm and just asks you to bathe in it, 1 meter down it is boiling and it will kill you. If you don’t see a sign that it is safe to bathe, don’t bathe. When you are at Reynisfjara, don’t run into the waves, this will be the last thing you do. This isn’t like a movie. These waves weigh tons and will crush you and drag you out to sea faster than it takes to call for help and people rushing in to help your stupid ass will surely die as well.
We have enough toursists getting injured and dying. We do not want people to leave Iceland crying.
You should smile because you know as well as we do, this trip is something that you will be talking about for the rest of your life. Unlike other trips you easily forget about, this one will stay with you.
Be nice. People are nice in Iceland. If you are in trouble they will bend over backwards to help you, assist you in anyway they can. But misuse this trust and you close all doors. Don’t poop in someones garden.
Have fun and don’t buy bottled water. Buy a bottle and fill it up in the next sink. Drink our Coke and Pepsi, it is made with Icelandic water.
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