Tuesday 5th August
Tuesday 5th August
Tuesday 5th August
It was raining as we drove to Keflavik at 6.30am to drop the car and catch the plane back to Heathrow.
The Hertz staff were helpful and the queue was fairly short to
check in. At around 8am the plane took off on the three-hour flight
back to London.
On the way home we reflected on Iceland. It is a wonderful place to spend a holiday: clean; lots of daylight (in summer); friendly people; good roads wth very little traffic; a generally relaxed and helpful attitude; and a welcome emphasis on health and physical exercise. Quality of life seems important to the Icelandic people, and despite being quite a materialistic nation, they have a very low crime rate (Iceland's only prison holds just 65 people, most of whom are "part time" prisoners!). Outside Reykjavik, it seems as if the Icelanders are only now getting used to tourism things are simple and basic, which can be charming. The rural areas are beautiful: we would try to spend more time riding, and perhaps even cycling, if we visited again. The tours were quite well done although perhaps on the expensive side. Reykjavik is a really cosy city which you can get to know in a couple of days. It's very easy to get around as everybody speaks English, while signs and menus all have an English translation.
Gripes
Our main bugbear was the ridiculously high price attached to alcoholic drinks and the very limited choice of beer and wine. To my mind, punitive taxation of alcohol is like putting a huge tax on, say, kitchen knives penalising the majority of people who use them sensibly for the sake of a few stupid people who might stab themselves. There will always be a minority of any population which feels a pyshological need to abuse drugs, whether tobacco, alcohol, glue, controlled narcotics or even foodstuffs. By putting such high taxes on alcoholic products (£5+ for a pint of beer; £25+ for a bottle of wine) all the government succeeds in doing is artificially restricting consumption, thereby creating a fascination with alcohol for its own sake rather than a culture which enjoys its drink in moderation as we enjoy real ale and the French enjoy wine (most sensible people drink because it tastes good, compliments a good meal and is relaxing the alcohol content is largely irrelevant).
In summary, our opinion is that Iceland is a fascinating albeit expensive destination by European standards. It would be better if prices could come down, especially those for eating and drinking in good restaurants, but equally we accept that as virtually everything except fish is imported to this remote place, there is a much greater price to pay for having the luxury of, say, a strawberry than there would be in the UK or in France simply because of the distance and normal economies of scale do not apply as the population is so small. Iceland also has the highest national debt-per-capita of any country in the European area, and relies heavily on loans and heavy import taxation to maintain a comparable infrastructure.
As a country, Iceland has more to offer than immediately meets the eye - it is culturally very rich, and historically significant, having suffered a lot of hardship and isolation and only recently (1945) gained full independence and adopted a programme of modernisation very quickly as a result. However despite having all modern conveniences and being quite high tech it is a good place to visit to regain balance and get back to nature and perhaps reflect on the fact that fewer people in a given area does can do wonders for mental and physical well-being.
Planning and Financial Details
The way we arranged our holiday was to spend some time in Reykjavik first (four nights) before starting the driving tour. On reflection, this was a good idea because being launched straight into the tour, with the internal flight and then a long car journey, might have been too much too soon. As it was we enjoyed our relaxing stay in Reykjavik before doing the tour, and the extra night at the end was a useful buffer which allowed it all to sink in while we took it easy. We booked our tour through Icelandair (based in Tottenham Court Road, London: telephone 0171-388 5599 fax 0171-387 5711, e-mail london@icelandair.is). However there are dozens of other operators who can arrange trips to Iceland. Icelandair were very helpful, but slightly dippy and unable to easily comprehend that we wanted to "tailor" our package very slightly rather than book something right off the shelf. They did, however, get it all right in the end.
Four nights in Loftleidir Color
North & South self-drive tour including itinerary, accommodation,
car insurance, unlimited mileage, for 2 people (car type B - Toyota
Corolla)
Extra night in Hotel Island
Airport transfers
Sub Total for Tour
Excursion tours, activities, meals, miscellaneous items
and petrol all added up to just under:
Total cost of trip:
Average cost per day (12 days for two people sharing)
Plus points
Minus points
Beautiful and unusual environment with stunning scenery; weather
far better than expected
Alcohol ludicrously expensive;
range of alcoholic drinks on offer very poor
Friendly people
Availability of wholemeal bread
virtually nil
Good, clean, comfortable accommodation
all hotels with duvetsFood can be bland
Empty roads
Eating and drinking out is expensive;
portions often small by European standards
Safe, clean, unspoilt, relaxing
Car hire is expensive
© Richard Harrison
All photographs are © Richard Harrison and Samantha Coe 1997