Iceland written by International Mountain Leader Ian Carter
Iceland is a fantastic place to spend time. You will find the people really friendly, helpful and they all seem to speak English. There is a variety of accommodation options depending on people’s budgets. Iceland offers some wonderful walking through amazing scenery. You can do single or multi day walks. In the mountains you can stay in non-catered huts or camp outside. There is nothing like sitting in a natural hot spring by a hut surrounded by multi coloured mountains and old lava flows. After trekking you can relax or head off to explore all that this Island has to offer!
How easy is it to get to?
Iceland is an easy destination to get to with flights from around the UK to Keflavik/Reykjavik. Once at the airport there is good public transport to get you into Reykjavik and then around the Island. You can also hire a car or a 4×4 for your trip.
Can you tell us about the most memorable moment of a recent trip?
Iceland is a great place for young people to undertake a Gold D of E expedition. This summer I spent 8 days with a group who had planned their trip to Iceland to walk the Laugavegur trail. Seeing them experience this fantastic landscape and rising to the challenges of crossing snow covered mountains, fording rivers and enjoying being in the mountains with friends made this a trip to remember.
What are your top tips for anyone travelling to this area?
Iceland can be an expensive place to visit. However, there is good hostel accommodation, camping and public transport to help keep costs down. On many of the treks you will find huts run by the Icelandic Touring Association to stay in or if you are on a budget you can camp outside for a smaller fee. You can even camp in Reykjavik. Supermarkets are mainly out of town but there are lots of smaller shops selling food supplies, but if you want to keep costs down, take most of your supplies from the UK. If travelling with young people you will find they are often given a discount.
What else is there to do, other than mountaineering, in this area?
Iceland has lots to offer the traveller apart from walking. In the summer you can visit the many tourist attractions including impressive water falls, float on ice filled lagoons, walk on black sandy beaches, see geysers erupt or stare into a continental divide. You can also scuba dive, quad bike trek or ride the famous Icelandic horses. At the end of a trip you can relax in the famous Blue Lagoon. In the winter you can snow shoe, ski, ski tour, skidoo trek and if you’re lucky, you can see the Northern Lights.
Are there any dangers or annoyances here?
Iceland is a great place to visit. It is a very safe place to travel with a warm and friendly welcome wherever you go. The ability to look after yourself in the mountains is important and the ability to assess rivers in terms of crossing them is very important. Not all rivers have bridges in place.
What one piece of kit could you not manage without on a trip like this?
As the weather in Iceland can be anything from sunshine to snow, even in the summer, I would always have a good set of waterproofs.
How do people contact you if they want to find out more?
If you would like to contact me to find out more about walking in Iceland then e-mail me on
info@edenoutdooradventures.co.uk or call 07525653099 or for an overview check out www.edenoutdooradventures.co.uk
Thank you Ian!