Top Iceland travel tips: Plan the perfect visit

Iceland’s capital is Reykjavík, located in the southwest of the country.

The city’s name translates to ‘Smoky Bay’, because the first Norse settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, mistook the steam rising from the area’s abundant geothermal hot springs for smoke when he arrived in 874 AD.

The population of Iceland is relatively small, with 395,000 people living across the country.

The majority of residents live in the country’s southwest. The capital city, Reykjavík, is home to roughly 139,000, while the greater Reykjavík area is home to around 250,000 – almost two-thirds of the entire population.

Reykjavík itself feels compact and is easy to explore on foot. Its size makes it an ideal introduction to Icelandic culture and daily life, with plenty of museums, cozy cafes, and unmissable landmarks close together. You can get a sense of the city’s character by making the most of a guided Reykjavík walking tour. 

Iceland covers approximately 103,000 square kilometers (39,770 square miles), making it the second-largest island in Europe (behind Great Britain, which is more than double the size of Iceland). England itself is 130,000 square kilometers, or 50,000 square miles.

A good comparison of country size is Ireland, at approx 85,000 square kilometers (33,000 square miles), including Northern Ireland. Other European countries of a similar size are Bulgaria and Hungary.

Across the Atlantic, Iceland is tiny compared to the United States. To give you an idea, it’s nearly the same size as the state of Kentucky.

The Icelandic flag features a Nordic cross design (a cross on a rectangular background), with a blue background and a red cross with a white outline. The other Nordic nations, like Norway and Denmark, share the same basic cross design, with different colors.

For Iceland, the three colors of the flag represent the landscapes and elements that Iceland is so known for: blue for the mountains, sea, and sky; red for the fire of the volcanoes; and white for the ice of the glaciers.

Iceland observes Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), putting it in the same time zone as the UK and Ireland, and an hour behind Western Europe. 

For travelers from the United States and Canada, Iceland is usually five hours ahead of Eastern Time and eight hours ahead of Pacific Time. 

Note: In Iceland, the clocks don’t move for summer (daylight saving) time. So, if you’re visiting from the UK, there’s no time difference during the winter, and Iceland is one hour behind during British Summer Time.

The local currency is the Icelandic króna (plural krónur), which is written as ISK and may also be seen as kr.

Iceland is almost a cashless society – most locals pay for everything by card, even for a coffee or parking. So, many visitors find that they rarely need to use cash. That said, carrying a small amount of krónur might be useful as a backup.

US travelers should also note that Iceland relies on chip-and-pin card systems, so swipe-and-sign cards may not always work. Mobile payments are common, and ATMs are usually easy to find in towns and cities, should you need access to cash.

It’s worth noting differences in the way numbers are written in Iceland, which can confuse some visitors. A comma (,) is used as the decimal separator and a period (.) is used to separate thousands. So, if you see a price of 10.499,00 ISK, reverse the punctuation! This would be written as 10,499.00 ISK in most English-speaking countries.

The national language is Icelandic, but English is taught from an early age, and you’ll find that most locals speak excellent English, especially in tourism-related roles.

Road signs, menus, and visitor information are often available in English, making Iceland an easy destination for first-time travelers.

While you’ll have no problem getting by using English, Icelanders are grateful anytime a visitor tries to use phrases like ‘góðan daginn’ (meaning good morning or good afternoon and pronounced goh-than dai-yin) or ‘takk’ (meaning thank you and pronounced tahk).

Iceland uses plugs with two round pins, similar to those used in most of continental Europe, so visitors from North America and the UK will need adaptors.

Electricity in Iceland operates at 220 volts, the same voltage as in Europe. If you bring electronics from the US or Canada, you’ll need an adapter for both the plugs and the current.