More than in any other country I can think of, simply road-tripping is a big part of the joy of exploring Iceland. And it’s hard to get lost: Route 1, the “Ring Road,” circles the island in one big loop. Each little road branching off the main road has a sign showing what’s out there — and at most points of visual or historical interest, there’s a handy pullout, with a thoughtful information board explaining things in Icelandic and English. (Forgive my fancy camera work as I not-so-gracefully multitask in this clip.)
In my travels, I see the reality of our changing climate everywhere. Join me now at the icy tongue of Sólheimajökull, on Iceland’s South Coast — and listen in as my guide Stefan reflects on the impact of climate change on a dramatic glacier.
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What about you? Have you witnessed the impacts of climate change during your travels? Let me know here, onFacebook, or on Twitter.
My friend and local guide, Stefan Valsson ofReykjavík Bike Tours, brought me here today. I just love the luxury of traveling with a local guide. With a local guide, you’ll know where the most dramatic bluffs are and what you’re seeing from them — and you’ll have all your puffin questions answered. In this clip from the top of the windy Dyrhólaey promontory, Stefan gives a good defense of why it’s OK to eat the cute local puffins.
Of course, it’s expensive to hire your own private guide. My work: to take these tours privately, learn what I can, and then distill all the insights and tips I’ve gathered into a guidebook so my readers can enjoy — secondhand but much, much more affordably — the brilliance of a guide like Stefan.
A particularly gratifying reward for me is meeting so many happy travelers on this route who have the first edition of Rick Steves Iceland. It’s only been out a few months, and already it’s the dominant guidebook here. I’m hugely thankful for the brilliant work of my co-author Ian Watson and contributing author Cameron Hewitt.
Hello from Iceland! I’ll be posting from here for the next couple of weeks as I explore and take notes for the second edition of our new guidebook, Rick Steves Iceland. There’s a lot to discover on this little island, and I look forward to packing you along. (Do you have traveling friends who are also dreaming of Iceland? Be sure to invite them to join us here or on Facebook.)
We begin in the tiny town of Vík, Iceland’s southernmost village. While most travelers’ Icelandic memories are a charm bracelet of jaw-droppingly beautiful natural sights, I enjoy visiting the workaday towns along the way — and showing them to travelers. These towns aren’t pretty, as it’s rare to find buildings here from before WWII. Most Icelandic homes are built more to resist the weather than to delight the eye. Still, on this ice-covered rock between Norway and Greenland (just a bit bigger than Maine, with 340,000 people), towns like Vík are real — and good travel is real, too. Join me on a quick tour of Vík with Stefan Valsson of Reykjavík Bike Tours.
By the way, guides like Stefan are easy to book anywhere in the world via Tours By Locals. I’ve used them in both hemispheres to book guides when I don’t have a particular person already in mind.
Cameron shares all of his best advice in this 75-minute video. If Iceland is in your own travel plans, you’ll want to find a bit of time, sit back, and watch.
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