Under the Northern Lights: Exploring Iceland & East Greenland

You can spend a couple of months exploring Europe and still feel like you have not seen everything. Generally speaking, a two-week Europe trip should be just enough if you are looking to cover its major highlights. However, if you want a comprehensive travel experience within this duration, it is better that you focus on a region or a few countries rather than traveling all over the continent. 

Choose a single country or schedule your trip around a handful of cities in different countries. While larger European cities may require three to four days to explore, you can get around smaller destinations in a day or two. Planning your trip around a particular region will cut down your travel time and save your time in transit.

Given that summer temperatures do not rise much above 16°C, the best time to visit Iceland is between the months of May and September. Gullfoss Waterfall is also at its most impressive at this time of year, and the midnight sun is visible in the country’s north. Travel outside of the summer season and you may find the country’s museums and hiking routes, such as the Laugavegur Trail, closed. However, the period between November to February does have the bonus of being the season of the Northern Lights, and major attractions such as the Blue Lagoon remain open all year round. Find more information here.

Iceland is one of the most expensive countries in the world to visit, although there are ways to keep costs down, such as by renting a camper van. Overall, visitors should be looking at a daily per-person budget of between USD 100 and USD 200. Most hotels, restaurants, and shops accept credit cards from major providers, and there are no minimum purchase requirements. Since cards are the preferred method of payment, you should be okay even if you avoid carrying cash completely, although having some for emergencies is always a good idea.

The currency of Iceland is the krona (ISK). It is difficult to exchange your dollars and euros with the Icelandic currencies outside of the country, but easy to do once in the country, both at the airport and in bank branches around the island. USD 1 is equivalent to around ISK 130.

Passport holders from around 60 nations, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, do not require a visa to enter Iceland as a tourist. Stays are limited to a maximum of 89 days in any six-month period. If you are coming from or going to another Schengen country, this time must also be included in your allowance. Iceland is incredibly safe with very low crime rates. A bigger concern is ensuring that you pack correctly for a climate that can swing from sunny skies to snow showers in a couple of hours. You can find more information here.