2025 Iceland Trip

Here are links to all the photos and commentary from our trip to Iceland.

The Beach at Reykjanes Lighthouse
The Beach at Reykjanes Lighthouse

The trip, which lasted from 02 to 07 May, was to celebrate our 20th Wedding anniversary (13 May). The photos are organized by day and broken into sections based on who shot them. My shots were mostly taken with a Nikon Z6II with one of these lens:

  • Wide angle: Nikon 14-24mm f/4 S (rarely used)
  • Medium Zoom: Nikon 24-120mm f/4 (standard lens)
  • Telephoto: Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5 -5.6 (mostly for birds)

I took some shots with my iPhone. Most of these were when I was too lazy to pull out the Nikon or when I was driving and it was a Bad Idea to faff with the big camera. I also experimented with video on the Nikon. Shooting video on these mirrorless cameras is all the rage. Before this trip, I had never even switched it into video mode, but I thought I would try. I limited them to 10 seconds so my hand shaking wouldn’t overcome the VR, and because that seemed long enough for most things.

Jess shoots stills and video exclusively with her iPhone 13 Pro. One day, I will get her shooting with a real camera on a trip. We have a Nikon Z5 that she uses to shoot listing photos for our eBay store.

General stuff about Iceland and the Trip

All my notes are in local terms, and I am sticking to them for this write-up; it helps keep the mood. Iceland is pretty tame as foreign countries go, but it’s still a foreign country; they do things differently there. In particular:

  • Prices are in Icelandic Kroner (Kr), the exchange rate is 130 Kr / 1 USD (I will give prices in both.)
  • Distances are in km (mile = km / 1.6)
  • Like most of the rest of the world, they invert the ‘.’ and the ‘,’ in numbers (Ex, 10.000 = 10,000)
  • Also, like most of the world, they use a 24-hour clock. I prefer that anyway, less ambiguity and easier math.
  • Temperatures are reported in °C. Along the coast, temperatures don’t vary much from day to night or day to day. So you only have to figure out the temperature around noon and know that for the rest of the trip, it will probably be within 5°F. °F = °C * 9/5 + 32
  • Iceland is windy, like the Midwest. A handy tip is to park your car facing into the wind. That way, it won’t rip the door from your hand when you open it. Wind speed is reported in m/sec.
    Wind speed (mph) = m/s * 2.2.
  • Wi-Fi is ubiquitous. Nearly every building, bus, or boat had open Wi-Fi.
  • Cell service was good even in relatively remote (but still touristy) areas. A few waterfall stops even had a cell repeater to ensure solid service (probably more for safety reasons than so you can stream your stunts on Facebook).
  • However, you need a solid cellular data plan when you are not on Wi-Fi. We had International Roaming on our Mint (T Mobile) account and while it was okay for iMessage and light weight stuff, there were issues.They have apps for EVERYTHING, so if you aren’t on Wi-Fi, you’ve got problems without good data (more on this in the Charging section). My recommendation is to spring for an in-country eSIM. It’s worth it.
  • You do not need ANY local currency. We’ve now spent 10 days over two trips and we don’t even know what it looks like. While most tourist things say they take cash, they say it in a voice the tells you they are praying you don’t have any. What you do need is a credit card with a chip for the rare occasions you are somewhere that doesn’t take Apple Pay. That’s it.
  • Unless you want to buy gas or charge your EV. While not required, a debit card that works in Iceland will make your life immeasurably easier.
  • There is no tipping in Iceland; they actually pay waitstaff like it’s a job. Most service people would be offended by tips. No, really.
  • Don’t forget to shop duty free! You are allowed to bring 2L home w/o declaring anything.
  • On the bottle 66 deg refers to the latitude, not temperature. To an Icelander 66 Deg is the face of the sun.

Katla Vodka - Duty Free
Katla Vodka – Duty Free