Downtown Luxury Slum

1. If you’re flying economy on Icelandair, be sure to pack your own food or plan to buy some. You won’t be given any free snacks and may not even get free drinks.

2. Book your hotel way in advance.

3. Take all of the money. Hotels, food, and drinks are expensive. Most natural wonders are free to see but if you take a tour, you’ll have to pay for that, and if you drive, expect to pay about $5 when you park. You’ll rely primarily on credit cards but a little small change *might* come in handy when you want to use a public bathroom.

4. Pack for any and every weather condition. It will probably be windy and sunny and rainy today. Make sure you have waterproof shoes.

5. Pack a water bottle and drink tap water.

6. Pack a swimsuit. There are pools and hot springs everywhere.

7. As mentioned earlier, booze is expensive. Here are two options to minimize the pain: A) Pick some up at the duty-free store before leaving the airport. B) Take advantage of happy hours – the AppyHour app (Android / Apple) can help you find the best deals.

8. Try to see the Northern Lights, but keep your expectations low. Use the Aurora app (Anroid / Apple) to help you figure out if it’s even worth trying on any given day.

Since I’m still planning and haven’t yet been, I’d appreciate any additional tips you might have?

* Featured image by I, Yelkrokoyade, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2332363