iceland

anagallis_arvensis

Hints tips route advice????
2 week trip being thought about, fancy heading through the interior.

Magnus Thor

What time of year are you planning to visit Iceland? The interior only becomes accessible in the second half of summer but the costal road is open all year round.

In the interior you will encounter a lot of sand, black volcanic sand, with can cause rapid wear of components like rims and drivetrain. You can also encounter severely unpredictable weather with temperatures ranging from 0 to 20 degrees Celcius, high winds and lashing rain.
Just remember that up in the highlands of Iceland you will most likely be out of contact by anything except a satelite phone so be careful!

Magnus Thor
Iceland

Tourist Tony

Magnus has said it! There is also a lot of wind, midges can be horrendous in some places, and a lot of the roads are gravel.
Having said that, when the sun is out the scenery is astonishing. The lava flows and glaciers are so very, very different from anything you will see elsewhere, and the colours of the hills change with every shift of light.
Things can be spectacularly expensive (Booze!!!!) and of course there is the not-quite midnight sun.
Temperatures can be OK, but can drop very, very sharply, especially with katabatic wind flow off the ice fields.
And I will emphasise what Magnus says: the grit gets everywhere, and is effectively emery powder. You need a very good chainlube, non-sticky. Most of the cars I saw were either rusting away at the front, or had stone-guards mounted. What traffic there is can throw up a very nasty rooster tail of grit and stones as it passes.
But the place is wonderful. Must go back....