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What to Do With 9 Days in Iceland
How are 9 days best spent travelling around Iceland and why do so many consider that to be the optimal length for an Iceland holiday? Read on to find out how to spend 9
Michael Chapman
Certified Travel Expert
English
Michael Chapman is a British travel writer living in Reykjavík. A former scuba and lava cave guide, he draws on firsthand experience to write about Iceland’s nature and culture. He’s also the author of Hidden Iceland (2020).
My articles
Luxury and Business Travel in Iceland | The VIP Experience
Discover the kinds of VIP experiences available in Iceland. Find out more about places & things to see and do only available to exclusive travellers. Read on.
Fitness in Iceland | Sports, Exercise & Wellbeing
Find out how to keep up with your fitness when travelling in Iceland. Read about the great places you can work out and swim. Find out more.
Geothermal Areas in Iceland
A comprehensive guide to geothermal pools and hot spots in Iceland. Find the top places to visit on your stay. Discover more.
What to Do During a Stopover in Iceland
Find out what activities you can do to pass the time during a stopover in Iceland. From the Blue Lagoon to day tours, check out this complete guide.
How to Purchase Property in Iceland | A Homeowner's Guide
Read about how to purchase property in Iceland. Find out if foreigners can purchase property and what the average cost of houses and apartments is.
Avoiding the Crowds in Iceland
Discover top tips for avoiding crowds when travelling in Iceland. Find out the best places to visit if you would like to see more untouched areas. Read on.
The Forests of Iceland | Foresting a Treeless Land
Find out the history of forests in Iceland and which forests you can visit today. Explore this ultimate guide now.
The Most Infamous Eruptions in Icelandic History
A detailed guide to the most infamous volcanic eruptions in Iceland's history. From long ago, to the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption, find it all now.
My blogs
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Reykjavik City Break | A Weekend in Iceland's Capital
What is there to do for visitors staying in Iceland over the weekend? Which attractions are close to the capital, Reykjavík, and just what secrets does the city hold? How can you keep your budget down, or how best to spend big for a big weekend? Read on to find out all you need to know about a weekend in Reykjavík, Iceland. Discover the cheapest and biggest range of city breaks in Reykjavik Go to this link to find the biggest selection of Reykjavik Tours. It’s been a long week at the office desk. Your back is sore, your head’s rattling with sales data, you’ve embarrassed yourself in
EVENT: "Strell Ytzia Blossom: A Utopian Drag Show" | June 7th 2018, Gaukurinn
Iceland is famed for its entrepreneurship, tolerance and creativity, a trinity that have come to a head with the recent IndieGoGo campaign for estranged magazine, founded by long-term residents and editors, Kaspars Bekeris and Matthias Boyer. These efforts will reach a shuddering climax on June 7th with the show "Strell Ytzia Blossom: A Utopian Drag Show". Read on for more. Read on: The Drag Scene in Iceland. Header Credit: estranged magazine Over recent years, the drag scene in Iceland has exploded with a host of new acts, new shows, new approaches to the art form. From the outset, it wa
Iceland Proposes Circumcision Ban | Opinion
Icelandic MPs have made international headlines this year with a bill proposing to ban male circumcision. The bill has been met with condemnation from religious leaders, yet has the majority backing of Iceland's domestic population and major political parties. If the bill succeeds, Iceland will be the first country in Europe to ban male circumcision. Oh, how the debate rages... should, or should we not circumcise our children? There does seem to be plenty of justification, doesn’t there? Shall we list them together like a prenatal Christmas list? Well, the ethereal usefulness of religious
Swimming Pool Etiquette in Iceland
First and foremost, if you expect to soothe yourself in one of Iceland’s swimming pools, be warned—you will be expected to shower first, buck-naked, scrubbing your dangly bits in front of a watchful sanitation warden. Read on to find out more. Having been raised in the commonwealth, I am accustomed to bathing and, in fact, luxuriating in waters likely to be befouled by human filth, be it excrement or something even more unsavoury. The Icelanders, unbeholden to civilised accustom, have chosen a cultural keepsake that defies logic; the need to cleanse themselves before entering the ethereal w
A Day's Ice Caving with Katla Track
With winter coming to an end, Guide To Iceland decided to spend some time with Katla Track, an adventure tour and sightseeing operator based in Vík í Mýrdal, to gain a closer look at their popular Fast Track Ice Caving tour, the only one of its kind available during the summer. Read on for more information. Blinking into consciousness, I was, for a moment, confused to find myself lying in a bed that was not own, and even felt a slight jolt of the excitement at the thought that, perhaps, I’d had something of a lucky night. As waking life took hold, it dawned on me slowly that I was at Midgar
Discovering Thorsmork with Midgard Adventure
Guide to Iceland went to check out Midgard Adventure in Hvolsvöllur, South Iceland, to see what this adventure tour operator can offer its guests. Read on to find out all about Guide to Iceland's trip to Þórsmörk with Midgard Adventure. Despite my best intentions, I’m often prone to negative thinking, easily able to scapegoat, justify and question the world around me without, I might add, real passion or elegance, but rather, a morbid waiting-room ambience that settles itself in the brain and begins, almost subconsciously, to speak for me. I am a man who needs a rattle every so often, or I
How To Avoid Cycling In Iceland
Everyone loves a cyclist—that is until they’re driving alongside one, at which point, they become a dangerous nuisance, likely to record every moment of your frustration on their readily equip helmet-camera. Before you know it, your unrelenting anger is showcased to the world through YouTube; within a week, you’ll find yourself before a tribunal, attempting to justify your reaction to a jury of cyclists. Then, your license is banned. You’re facing a five-year jail term for road rage. Thank you, bikie. From: 2-Day Biking Tour | Snaefellsjokull Glacier From All Sides. When not engaged in r
Naming Names | The Mystery of the Icelandic Naming Committee & Other Cases.
Icelandic naming tradition uses a patronymic or, more rarely, matronymic system, meaning the suffix -son ('son') or -dóttir ('daughter') is added to the genitive form of the father's name, ie. Ólafur Jónsson is the son of Jón Einarsson. Names in Iceland must also be pre-approved by law—but who holds the authority to accept what names are and are not acceptable? Read on to find out more about the mysterious minds of the Icelandic Naming Committee. Names are funny, aren’t they? If your answer is ‘not particularly’, I would resoundingly agree with you, save for two obvious exceptions; cel
Reykjavik Folk Festival 2018
Iceland’s long tradition of folk music was celebrated in full force this weekend (1-3 March 2018), as the first night of Reykjavik’s annual Folk Festival got underway. Once again, I was to sit there appreciating each performance, sipping away at cold Einstök as the musicians rolled out one by one to delight with their eclectic range of talents. See Also: Music in Iceland. Concert Photos taken by Kaspars Bekeris Held on the first floor of Kex Bar and Hostel, in a wide, red-lit hall, the festival enters its eighth year, drawing an ever-increasing fanbase to its rich tapestry of community, l
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