Iceland Dos and Don'ts
Iceland is generally a very informal country. It is customary to shake hands, when greeting and leaving, and Icelanders always remove shoes before entering their home. Smoking is prohibited in public buildings and the gracious visitor to a private home should always ask for permission before lighting up. People always refer to each other by their first names, even when addressing teachers, doctors and the president, so don’t be offended if you are addressed in this way. Even the telephone book is alphabetized by first name! Dress is also fairly casual and smart casual attire rather than a full suit would be appropriate on most occasions, although traditional sectors like banking and the law still maintain more formality. It is a good idea to wear at least smart casual clothing in a nightclub or bar. Dinner times are relatively early in homes but around 8pm if eating out. Weekend entertainment runs until the wee hours (many bars remain open until after 4am) and the crowd never really picks up until after midnight. Thanks to the extremely high cost of alcohol, it isn’t customary to buy rounds in pubs, although an offer to do so would undoubtedly be well received. Icelanders are proud of their country, so expect everyone to ask you, “How do you like Iceland?” with eager anticipation of your response. Negative answers aren’t necessarily well received. You may wish to avoid discussing the issue of whaling in Iceland, which over 90% of the population support. Also remember that Icelandic women quickly grew tired of an Icelandair campaign to visit Iceland “for a one night stand”. They are not all eager to meet foreign strangers in pubs. The country is generally extremely safe and it’s not unusual to see prams outside popular cafés—the baby is securely napping in the pram while the parents are enjoying a good espresso inside. Children, in general, are very welcome and accommodated by society. Last edited Jan 30, 11 3:01 PM. Contributors: Aron H. |
Travel Tips for Dos and Donts in Iceland
Iceland
When you visit Iceland you should split your trip. Spend some days in Reykjavik to meet Icelandic people! After that you might rent a car and explore the wonderful rough nature of Iceland!
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Hafnarfjordhur, Iceland
For some reason, the people from Reykjavik all make fun of the people from Hafnarfjordur... no idea why.
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Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Iceland
A great little town close to the Icecaps, Skatafell National Park, waterfalls, volcanic lava fields, mountains, glaciers, sandurs.... Breathtaking. Don't expect much of a night life here, but you'll be too busy gazing at the wondrous landscape to care much about that. The locals are friendly as they seemed to be everywhere I visited in Iceland!
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Akureyri, Iceland
Akureyri is Icelands second largest town. Located up north in a fjord. Very nicely located. From the airport to town you can easily walk. The city itself is quite small and uneventfull. But plenty of hinking opporunities and whalewatching tours are offered at the local tourist office.
But whats really worth doing is taking the ordinary bus further up north to the smalles coastal villages and just walk around the dailylives. For exaple Dalvik is a cute village. Small and besides a harbour with small fish processing buildings, 1 supermarket, 1 do it yourselfshop, 1very bright white church and a fuelstation (where i ate the best Hot dog ever!!) there´s just plain nordic nature.
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Reykjavik, Iceland
Places to stay: Floki Inn, small guesthouse near city centre, and only few minutes away from the busterminal and Saga Museum.
Very expensive city, but because of its small size prettymuch everything is within walking distance. Even the domestic airport terminal. The Saga Museum is worth visiting, even for Museumscared humanbeings its interesting because of its realistic `madame Tussaud`style of showing the countries history.
Just mind prices are very high here so its recommended to buy some drinks and food at the local supermarkets as the bars and cafetarias are really expensive.
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