American's Guide to Iceland
An Akureyri sunset from the deck of Casa Magna, the best Airbnb in North Iceland
The first thing an American experiences when arriving in Iceland is price shock. Not a little shock but insanely inflated prices for everything. A 5-year-old beat up rental car? $2000/week. How about a crappy airport hotel room? €250/night. The really unpleasant surprise is when you try to rent lodgings near some of the major natural features. You can easily pay $800 or more per night for a hotel room with few amenities, then pay $50 for a sandwich and soda in the hotel restaurant. Even the toilets in Iceland are expensive. Don't be surprised to pay $2 for to pee.
Knowing this in advance we plan ahead (many months ahead) and rent Airbnbs for lodging. You'll need at least one Airbnb address in the north and one in the south if you want to see most of the major natural features. You might need a 3rd in between, depending on what you want to see. If you're interested in the Westfjords area that would be another lodging experience as it is easily a 6-8 hour drive + ferry from Reykjavik to Hornstrandir.
Our first stop on our 2018 Iceland adventure is Akureyri, in the north. It is a long drive from Reykjavik made even longer after our overnight flight from Canada, but drive we do. We've rented the best Airbnb in North Iceland, Casa Magna.
On the long drive to Akureyri we decide to circle the Vatnsnes Peninsula and check out some of the natural features there, starting with the Ánastaðastapi Sea Stack.
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Our next stop is the Hamarsrétt Sheep Roundup.
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