Iceland Meets Thread

[sayhello]

OK, here it is! The Meets Thread for the new ABD Iceland trip! Post here to talk & share about this trip and hopefully connect with other DISers on the same departure.

 

[Cousin Orville]

DS and I will be on the 7/21 trip!

 

[sayhello]

I will be on the Sep 1 Adults only trip!

Sayhello

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

August 11 for myself and my dd (ds doesn't want to go because he'd rather attend a music festival)

 

[DCPhotoGal]

We were booked on the July trip but switched to Alaska.

 

[ctfl2009]

7/21 myself DH and daughter almost 9

 

[BluesTraveler]

7/21 for the four of us, DH, me, boys who will be 10 and 13 then

 

[WeLoveABD]

OK, here it is! The Meets Thread for the new ABD Iceland trip! Post here to talk & share about this trip and hopefully connect with other DISers on the same departure.

7/14--looks like a great trip!

 

[Rake 08]

11 Aug for us.

 

[hygienist999]

My DH booked the July 14-21 trip. Can't wait. A friend of mine just returned Saturday from Iceland an I hope to repeat some of the places she went to. She loved the horseback riding adventure. She said the horses were extremely comfortable to ride. The Blue Lagoon was gorgeous in her photo's and were the waterfalls they visited. This will be an excellent adventure.

 

[kristilew]

We booked August 11! DH, myself, and DD who will be 20 at the time. We've been trying to make an Iceland tour work for awhile now, so excited!

 

[CrazyZeus1]

We moved ours to the 7/14 trip! Our son will be...15 at travel time (GAH!). Excited about the trip...that will be our 18th ABD!

 

[CrazyZeus1]

7/14--looks like a great trip!

My DH booked the July 14-21 trip. Can't wait. A friend of mine just returned Saturday from Iceland an I hope to repeat some of the places she went to. She loved the horseback riding adventure. She said the horses were extremely comfortable to ride. The Blue Lagoon was gorgeous in her photo's and were the waterfalls they visited. This will be an excellent adventure.

We'll be on the trip with you!

 

[WeLoveABD]

We'll be on the trip with you!

Great! Our DS will be 24 and our DD will be a month shy of 18!

 

[SCFamily4]

My DH and I have signed up for the Sept 1st "adults" trip! This will be our first without the kids - and we are looking forward to the adventure!

 

[AshleiCal]

My husband and I just booked the 7/14 trip. This will be our first ABD.

 

[carpenta]

I am in the flying over Greenland on Icelandic Air at this moment back from Iceland. What a great experience...wonderful people and wonderous land. More to follow.

 

[sayhello]

I am in the flying over Greenland on Icelandic Air at this moment back from Iceland. What a great experience...wonderful people and wonderous land. More to follow.

Looking forward to it!!

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

I'm back home and trying to dig myself out of piled up work. WONDERFUL TRIP!!!!!! Really got to see a lot of Iceland and it's small villages off the tourist circles. Can't say enough about our group (21) and the travel accommodations as well as our native guides, We traveled with Nat. Geo Family to Iceland and BRAVO!!!!!. Flew Icelandair to Keflavik Iceland Saga class. Saga class is their business class but is similar to the older plane business class on major US airlines. Read no pods but very good service and the food was some of the best we have eaten on a plane. Flew out of JFK and since we had a 6 hour layover we were given the use of their lounge and it was quite relaxing. Lounge usage comes with the ticket. Quiet flight and landed at 6:45 a.m. local time. Since we arrived a couple days early we took Gray Line transport from the airport to Reykjavik to our hotel. It was about $70.00 for three. The trip from the airport to the hotel is about 50 minutes. Not around the corner. Gray line drops you off at a main collection point and then you transfer to vans that take you to your specific hotel. It was easy and worked well in my opinion. You purchase tickets at the airport. We arrived at our hotel, Iceland Hotel Marina, the same hotel Disney will use. Cute hotel right on the waterfront and there is a working dry dock right in front of the hotel. The building was once a working commercial building for fishing but has been tastefully transformed into a memorable hotel. Check in was quick and easy and went to our room. It was a room with a queen sized bunk bed as well as a pull out couch. Our daughter loved the top bunk and it was her own world up there. Very comfortable. The hotel was a perfect spot to access the "downtown". Walkable to all the small shops and restaurants. We flew out the door and walked, walked, shopped, walked, ate, walked and walked. Beds were quite comfortable. Breakfast was included which was the usual meat, egg, bread, vegetables coffee and juices. BUT there was plenty of smoked salmon so I was pleased. It was very good. Near the hotel there are many options to take whale watching, puffin watching and general water tours just down the street from the hotel. The waterfront really is a working waterfront and you see large fishing vessels as well as NATO warships along with sailboats and charter boats. Just a "heads up" for picky eaters. Fish and lamb is the major "eats" and the American" fare is lesser emphasized on menus. We love fish so to us it was heaven but some of the kids ate pizza and burgers a lot and even one stop it ended up they ate a lamb burger. It was revealed after they asked the waiter when we were out in a countryside small shop we stopped for lunch. The kids did not complain at all. The drinking water is wonderful and plentiful and no need for bottled water. At some stops you can fill your water bottle right there at the water fall. Take a water bottle for sure. Need a 220 to 110 electrical adapter for all the hotels are 220 volt only. Temps were low 50's during the day and high 40's at night. Bring warm sweaters and jackets for sometimes it can get chilly on the water when the sun disappears. Our trip ( June 21 thru July 1) days were mostly cloudy and some small rain showers but none lasted very long. When the sun came out it was delightful yet very strong, bring sunblock for you can feel the strong sun rays on your exposed skin.
On day 1 of the trip we had to take a taxi back to Keflavik to meet our group at a local hotel for breakfast and meeting. The taxi was $160.00 for three and took about an hour. Expensive I agree but getting extra time in Reykjavik was well worth it. Keflavik is basically the airport, an old NATO airbase which has been closed for years and a smaller town located down the hill from the airport and not much else. If you choose come in early there really is limited attractions in Keflavik and bite the bullet and travel on to Reykjavik. Our bus was a perfect size to fit 21 people and two guides. It was a smaller Mercedes which enabled us to travel places bigger busses would have trouble navigating. Iceland is a small country of 300,000 and it is expected to welcome 3 million people this year. The natives are a little overwhelmed but they welcome the dollars it brings. Iceland is very clean and unspoiled IMO so don't expect built up tourist areas like parts of Europe. The roads are mostly paved but some are gravel and small and mostly follow the fjords so you can see the road you will travel from one side of the fjord and 25 minutes later you look back of where you were. Our trip went north and west to small villages. It is this aspect where Nat.Geo. differs from ABD. More on this aspect later. After breakfast we were off the the Blue Lagoon for a swim. It is a local thermal spa and pool which is basically a huge natural hot tub. You change, shower and immerse yourself in the local milky warm waters of Iceland. Perfect stop for the weary traveler. They even have a swim up bar for those who wish to imbibe. Everyone enjoyed and then we traveled to Reykjavik and the Iceland Marina Hotel. The welcome dinner was at a local restaurant. More later.


P.S. for those who chose Iceland you made a wonderful choice.

 

[sayhello]

Yay! So glad to hear you enjoyed Iceland, and looking forward to more of your report. You're making me want to do 2 pre-days in Reykjavik instead of only 1. (I was already leaning that way, anyways.. When I was there for a day and a half in 2015, I spent most of my time on a Golden Circle tour and didn't see that much of Reykjavik except for hunting the port area for a restaurant on a Friday night.)

Glad to hear the Icelandair Hotel Marina is nice. It's hard to tell from the photos.

Looking forward to more!

Sayhello