Iceland + Amsterdam Mar'13


iluvs90

Senior Member
Apr 11, 2010
887
11
18
Singapore
Adding on to the wealth of info on Iceland i was able to find/ study and then benefitted from this forum, brought my EM5 (mainly kit lens with the northern light using 14mm) to Iceland and all geared up with 3 spare batt and a tripod (beike) as well as a back up camera GF5.

Just some info, i rented a car from Budget.is and they got me a Nissan Note which did 1567km (we didnt do a full ring). Petrol card gotten from N1 (the biggest chain in Iceland) and i think i gotten about 7-8 cards each 5000 ISK in value (which is about 50 SGD). As one forumer said, when at half tank better plan to pump at the next one. N1 station uses automated pumps (in Icelandic) so the steps are as below:

1. Insert card... machine will do credit check
2. Machine spit out card
3. Pick up gas pump (diesel or 95) and start filling up
4. Some pumps i encounter fills up in fits and starts so do watch it in case petrol overflows
5. Once done put pump back into its holder... that's it... drive off
Optional: if need receipt put card back into machine
Note: some stations in Reykjavik is full service ones so there are pump attendants

We took KLM transit Amsterdam then transfer to Iceland via Icelandic Air. One small interesting note on KLM, the center seats (3-4-3) have better leg room than the side ones... we found out regrettably after agreeing to swap with a family of 4 (we were 3 only).

Our itinerary is roughly: Arrival Reykjavik (1 nite) - Snaefellsnes Peninsula - Borganes (1 nite) - Thingvellir - Geysir - Gullfoss - Selfoss - Vik (1st nite) - Jokulsarlon - Vik (2nd nite) - Skogarfoss - Grindavik (1 nite) - Reykjavik (1 nite) departure - Amsterdam (3 nites)

Hotels we stayed:
CenterHotel ThingHolt (Reykjavik) > Hotel Hamar (Borganes) > Volcano Hotel (Vik) > Blue Lagoon Clinic Hotel (Grindavik) > CenterHotel ThingHolt (Rjk)

Iceland is really a beautiful place to visit, the road trip was well worth it... i will be back to complete the Ring! Some pictures to share. My shots are very touristy type so thanks for viewing. Below photos have been PP'd in PS or Picasa. ^_^

The Sun Voyager sculpture
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Hallgrímskirkja Church
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Tjornin Lake
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Icelandic horses
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Snaefellsnes Peninsula
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Snaefellsnes
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Snaefellsjokull
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Thingvellir
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Geysir
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Gullfoss - took my breath away
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Aurora Borealis - faint one but glad to have the opportunity nonetheless
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Selandjafoss
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Lamb steak - this was the best lamb i have eaten! served at Volcano hotel at Vik
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Jokulsarlon
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Only place at Jokulsarlon for food
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Lava rock with moss
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Black sand beach at Vik
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Dyrholaey
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Skogarfoss
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Grindavik - Blue Lagoon
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Reykjavik Harpa Exhibition Centre and harbour - last look, bye bye... hope to go back again one day
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A bit of Amsterdam

Heineken tour
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The many canals of this beautiful city and its workhorse
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Clogs
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Kubus houses
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Of course must go see windmills!!
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And finally last meal in Holland is their pancake at the well known shop
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PP'd additional ones and will add on here:
More Icelandic horses
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Dyrholaey
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A good meal at Icelandic Fish & Chip in Reykjavik
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A superb meal at Grillmarkadurinn Reykjavik
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how's the weather like over at Iceland and Amsterdam?
 

nice~ Gulfoss is magnificant indeed
how's the weather in march?
It snowed on my last day in Reykjavik in nov
 

Hi agawad and redsun, the weather was mostly good in iceland and so far our coldest was when we land in Reykjavik but over the few days temp ranged between 0-8c so we are glad we rented a car cos that was our mobile hut. it did rain on some days but we were on the move so sometimes we drove out of the zone. If going best yo get a rain jacket and pants.

I tot Amsterdam was colder than Iceland probably due to being near Water. Last day it snow and it was just wonderful.
 

thanx, iluvs90!
 

Did you get a chance to taste Hákarl - their infamous fermented shark, and black death ? I totally missed that one out during my previous trip.

Ryan
 

Hmmm no man, i thing such novelty food will be wasted on me. hehehe...

But i did eat their salted cod which i tot is good but may dead of overdose if eating the whole piece...
 

Hello there, an awesome adventure it looks like!
I am going to Netherlands (particularly Groningen). Will Netherlands custom stop me from bringing a big backpack of camera, lenses, tripod etc? Thanks!
 

Hello there, an awesome adventure it looks like!
I am going to Netherlands (particularly Groningen). Will Netherlands custom stop me from bringing a big backpack of camera, lenses, tripod etc? Thanks!

Nope. They will not stop u. Dont worry