Travellive 11-2018

heated ground water. For those who love adventure, this is
worth the reward after a day-long trek. Relaxing in warm
water on an early summer night is a wonderful experience.
In mid-July, the night totally abandons the island nation
of Northern Europe. The sun stays in the sky, throwing
its brilliant beams down onto the earth. Those colors
are so vivid they make the landscape more astonishing.
Under the water, algae and seaweed rest themselves along
the current that smoothly runs over our calves. Illusions
appear in the warm steam from the lake. I think I’ve lost
myself in this fantasy world.
COST
Travelling to Iceland is quite pricey, so we chose to backpack,
buy food in supermarkets, rent a car and put up a tent.
• Car rental: 56 million VND/car/14 days. Petrol: 30,000
VND (about 190 ISK/liter) • Stay: Airbnb is about 3 million
VND/double room/night, shared bathroom; camping costs
about 280,000 VND/person/night; guesthouse is about
140.../4 persons/night • Food: about 1.4 million/person/meal
when eating out • Our cost for 17 days of backpacking for 4
people was 50 million VND/person.
MORE INFORMATION
Icelandic cuisine
‣ Like everywhere else,
you have two options in
Iceland: eat out or cook
yourself. Eating out is very
expensive, from 750,000
VND–1,300,000 VND).
‣ Supermarket products
are not cheap either
(about twice as much as
those in France). Two
popular supermarket
brands are Bonus (the logo
is a pink pig) and Netto.
Vegetables are not fresh
and canned products are
also quite limited. Most
supermarkets in Iceland
only have several kinds
of fish and canned fruits,
no pâté or canned meat.
Bread has a very short life,
just 3 or 4 days.
‣ Beer and liquor in
Iceland are sold only at a
handful of national stores,
they have strange hours
and the price is quite
expensive. Try to purchase
alcohol from the duty-free
sections at the airport if
needed.
‣ In Iceland, there is
no need to purchase
bottles of water from
supermarkets (about
50,000 VND/1.5 liter
bottle, limited options).
Feel free to drink tap
water.
‣ Iceland’s cities are very
small (aside from Reykjavik
and Akureyri) and each
only has a handful of good
eateries; if you plan to
eat out here during high
season, you should call to
book in advance, or you
may end up waiting 1-2
hours.
Icelandic Restaurants
‣ Höfn: Pakkhús
Restaurant or
Humarhöfnin Veitingahus,
both near the harbor
of Höfn. Pakkhús was
suggested by the head of
campsite, who assured
us that it was the best
restaurant in town. This
place is genuinely cozy
and well-decorated. A
specialty of Humarhöfnin
is king-prawns (Höfn is the
lobster capital of Iceland).
I really enjoyed the
lobster here; the lamb was
delicious too!
‣ Grundarfjörður:
Bjargarsteinn Mathus,
this restaurant, adorned
in an adorable Northern
sea style, affords a view
of the famous Kirkjufell
mountain.
How to get to
Landmannalaugar?
‣ Rental cars: There
are 3 entrances to
Landmannalaugar: 2 from
the West (F208 from
Gjains, and F225), and 1
from the East (F208 from
Vik). Driving on the F208
from Gjains (the West)
is the easiest way since
you don’t have to cross
any rivers, while on F225
and F208 from Vik, you
have to cross 3 or 6 times
respectively. You should
go back the same way.
‣ Take the bus: There
are buses from the
larger cities of Iceland,
such as Reykjavik
(the capital), Hella, or
Skaftafell National Park to
Landmannalaugar operated
by Reykjavik Excursions.
It takes 4 hours and 15
minutes from Reykjavik
to Landmannalaugar at a
cost of 8500 ISK (about 80
USD) for one way.
‣ In Iceland, you can buy
one ticket for different bus
routes, called a passport.
It allows you to travel
unlimited times within a
certain period of time,
depending on the type of
ticket.
TRAVELLIVE
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