Iceland is no longer a secret to the rest of the world. With beautiful rivers, breathtaking glaciers, and active volcanoes, many Americans are discovering the isolated, Nordic country of Iceland as the perfect place to get away from their normal surroundings.
Recently, I was able to catch up with one of the Americans visiting Iceland on a weekend trip from Chicago, Illinois. Brad Templin is a Trader at Feis Trading and wanted to find a cool new place to visit on a weekend off from his busy job. Brad stumbled upon Iceland through an internet search and made the trip over to Reykjavik for a weekend in September. Here are his thoughts on the trip.
1. How did you hear about Iceland as a possible vacation spot?
I felt like getting out of the U.S. for a quick adventure, and unfortunately didn't have any buddies to travel with, so I Googled best place to visit as a guy traveling solo, and Reykjavik was in the top ten spots of basically every blog or article that came up with that Google search.
As I started talking to buddies about doing the trip, I began to hear other stories of people I knew who had visited Iceland. I reached out to those friends of friends, and everyone had great things to say about their trips and highly recommended that I visit.
2. What was the level of difficulty finding airfare, a place to stay, and ground transportation for your trip to Iceland? Did everything go smoothly?
Given that I had received some great recommendations from two buddies in the US, as well as an Icelandic girl they put me in touch with, I was able to book hotel and flight reservations in under an hour. One trick I learned is that the cost of airfare is much cheaper if you book the round trip flight from New York City to Keflavik International Airport separately from the Chicago to New York City flights.
3. What were your first impressions of Iceland?
My first impression was I had no idea how small the population of Reykjavik actually was. It is pretty crazy that the capital of Iceland only has like 250,000 people. My second impression was the unbelievable natural beauty. The landscape is so unique to anything I would see in Chicago.
4. Would you recommend Iceland as a possible vacation spot to your friends?
Definitely! I actually have already recommended Iceland to a friend. I am hoping that I can find a way to get back to Reykjavik if some of my friends end up going.
5. Would you compare the Icelandic landscape to anything you have seen in the USA?
Not really. Maybe, the dormant volcanoes on Maui, HI were slightly similar, but obviously different in a lot of ways. Hawaii is more of a tropical island, while Iceland is located near the Scandinavian countries and is a much colder climate.
6. What was the coolest thing you did/saw while on your trip?
This… Iceland offers a number of amazing tours and I would recommend any travelers to take at least one day of their trip to explore the amazing landscape outside of the city.
7. How was the Reykjavik night life?
Nightlife was great. Everyone was real friendly and partied hard. I randomly ran into a bachelor party from NYC that included some buddies of mine, which was a huge bonus. If you go out in Reykjavik you better be ready to stay out late!
8. Any tips or suggestions for other Americans considering a trip to Iceland?
Stay more than two nights!
Iceland is no longer a secret to the rest of the world. With beautiful rivers, breathtaking glaciers, and active volcanoes, many Americans are discovering the isolated, Nordic country of Iceland as the perfect place to get away from their normal surroundings.
Recently, I was able to catch up with one of the Americans visiting Iceland on a weekend trip from Chicago, Illinois. Brad Templin is a Trader at Feis Trading and wanted to find a cool new place to visit on a weekend off from his busy job. Brad stumbled upon Iceland through an internet search and made the trip over to Reykjavik for a weekend in September. Here are his thoughts on the trip.
1. How did you hear about Iceland as a possible vacation spot?
I felt like getting out of the U.S. for a quick adventure, and unfortunately didn't have any buddies to travel with, so I Googled best place to visit as a guy traveling solo, and Reykjavik was in the top ten spots of basically every blog or article that came up with that Google search.
As I started talking to buddies about doing the trip, I began to hear other stories of people I knew who had visited Iceland. I reached out to those friends of friends, and everyone had great things to say about their trips and highly recommended that I visit.
2. What was the level of difficulty finding airfare, a place to stay, and ground transportation for your trip to Iceland? Did everything go smoothly?
Given that I had received some great recommendations from two buddies in the US, as well as an Icelandic girl they put me in touch with, I was able to book hotel and flight reservations in under an hour. One trick I learned is that the cost of airfare is much cheaper if you book the round trip flight from New York City to Keflavik International Airport separately from the Chicago to New York City flights.
3. What were your first impressions of Iceland?
My first impression was I had no idea how small the population of Reykjavik actually was. It is pretty crazy that the capital of Iceland only has like 250,000 people. My second impression was the unbelievable natural beauty. The landscape is so unique to anything I would see in Chicago.
4. Would you recommend Iceland as a possible vacation spot to your friends?
Definitely! I actually have already recommended Iceland to a friend. I am hoping that I can find a way to get back to Reykjavik if some of my friends end up going.
5. Would you compare the Icelandic landscape to anything you have seen in the USA?
Not really. Maybe, the dormant volcanoes on Maui, HI were slightly similar, but obviously different in a lot of ways. Hawaii is more of a tropical island, while Iceland is located near the Scandinavian countries and is a much colder climate.
6. What was the coolest thing you did/saw while on your trip?
This… Iceland offers a number of amazing tours and I would recommend any travelers to take at least one day of their trip to explore the amazing landscape outside of the city.
7. How was the Reykjavik night life?
Nightlife was great. Everyone was real friendly and partied hard. I randomly ran into a bachelor party from NYC that included some buddies of mine, which was a huge bonus. If you go out in Reykjavik you better be ready to stay out late!
8. Any tips or suggestions for other Americans considering a trip to Iceland?
Stay more than two nights!
