Quick offer: If you’re heading to Iceland soon, check out our Driving in Iceland course. You’ll be a better and more confident driver as soon as you get to Iceland! And if you buy the course we’ll send you a free digital copy of our new book when it’s released in January!
The new Safe Travel conditions map
If you’re renting a car in Iceland, you need to check on the weather and road conditions. (This is a good idea even if you’re not driving!) My recommendation has always been to check what I call “The Big 3” safety sites:
1. road.is shows you the current road conditions:
2. en.vedur.is gives you a weather forecast. And if sever weather is expected, you get a nice alert map:
(This isn’t current, by the way. There’s no yellow alert right now!)
3. And SafeTravel.is provides specific guidance of dangerous or changing conditions:
(Again, not current information. But seriously, always watch out for Reynisfjara.)
It isn’t too hard to check the Big 3 sites every day, or maybe a couple of times a day. But I’m assuming most tourists don’t actually do it. Or at least some don’t. So the third site, Safe Travel has created a new map that is meant to be a one-stop-shop for all of your Icelandic safety needs. You can find it at SafeTravel.is/conditions, and it looks great!
You’ve got weather, road conditions, and safety warnings all in one map. Hover over the circles to see warnings and advisories. (Above I hovered over the red circle with a warning about Dettifoss.) I haven’t seen enough to recommend you only check this one site– I’ll have to see how it looks when there is a serious weather alert. So for now I’ll check the “Big 3 plus 1 more.” But it seems likely that “The Big 3” will be replaced by “That One Map” sometime next year.
Fewer tourists in Iceland … and cheaper hotels?
Wow Air went out of business in March of 2019. With fewer cheap tickets to Iceland, fewer tourists are visiting Iceland. Tourism was down 18.4% in October 2019 compared to October 2018. (Hopefully Play Airlines changes this … see the next story below!)
So demand for lodging is down, but supply is up. It takes a long time to build a hotel, and many new projects started years ago. I mentioned a couple of new hotels opening in last month’s monthly Iceland update.
Less demand and more supply should lead to cheaper prices, right? Yes! Here’s an article titled “Great Deals on Accommodation.” The article says that prices for lodging are down about 12% compared to 2017 after adjusting for currency strength. Hopefully you can find some deals for your 2020 trip!
Airline update: Play delayed, China confirmed
Last month we talked a lot about Play Airline, the new discount Icelandic airline. Play announced they were going to give away 1,000 free airline tickets once their booking engine was live. And they said that would be in November. Here’s what the site looked like until the end of November:
“Sale starts in Novembe.r” November has come and gone; here’s what the site looks like now:
The reason for the delay? Sounds like it’s funding. According to Iceland Monitor:
“So far, getting investors on board has proceeded slowly.”
“An air operating license has not yet been issued – something that experts in the industry explain by the difficulties encountered in getting investors on board.”
Hopefully Play will get things sorted out soon and begin selling tickets. Maybe instead of giving away 1000 tickets, they should sell them for equity in the company! (I’m mostly kidding.) Keep an eye on their web site and see if you can score some of those free tickets.
Meanwhile, the Chinese airline Juneyao Air will begin service from China to Iceland in March of 2020. Hopefully Play Airline will join them next year and tourism figures will start to stabilize.
Reynisfjara … again
I hope I won’t have to make this a permanent feature. In our September 2019 Iceland update, we talked about a rockslide that injured 3 people at Reynisfjara beach on the south coast of Iceland. Then in our October 2019 Iceland update, we shared a video of a “sneaker wave” knocking tourists over. We got to skip a month, but now there is another video of another sneaker wave knocking over more (and presumably different) tourists.
Reynisfjara is not like beaches you might be used to in other parts of the world. Once in a while, a wave comes that goes very very very very far past any other wave you’ve seen, even if you’ve been standing there for hours. Take a look at this most recent video; sorry if it’s sideways:
Be careful out there! Enjoy the beach, but stay far from the water. Especially in the colder months.
New restaurants in Reykjavik
Finally, there’s a new pizza place opening in Reykjavik soon. Mandi Pizza Replaces Nonnabiti which closed in September. This is on Hafnarstræti 9, right in the heart of the Reykjavik harbor area– very close to the famous hot dog stand.
While we’re talking about restaurants, Yuzu is a new hamburger restaurant that opened in September. This is further east than Mandi, in the shopping areas of Reykjavik. The Grapevine seemed to like Yuzu’s food!
As always, send us any questions or comments. Thanks!
If you’re heading to Iceland soon, check out our Driving in Iceland course. You’ll be a better and more confident driver as soon as you get to Iceland! And if you buy the course we’ll send you a free digital copy of our new book when it’s released in January!!
Hi, Thank you so much for all your well researched information on Iceland. It is much appreciated.
I am planning a trip in March 2020 with my two grandsons (11 & 12). We will arrive March 22 and leave March 28. Given that it will still be winter, would you recommend spending a few days in Reykjavik and then move to a different location for the last few days? What other location might give us the best chance to explore?
Hi Melinda! Late March can still feel like winter, or it could be a beautiful start to spring! I think you have a couple of options:
– Stay in Reykjavik most or all of the time. You could take bus trips to the Golden Circle and the South Coast. This is less stressful, and you can stay in one place.
– Rent a car and explore for most (or all!) of the time. The car will have snow tires (and many companies, including Blue, will include studded snow tires.) You’ll have to drive carefully, and check the Big 3 sites every day. But many roads should be clear. I’ll send you screenshots of road conditions from late March in 2017, 2018, and 2019. (Yes, I have a weird collection of stuff, but sometimes it comes in handy!) It looks like you’d see some spots of ice, but that would be okay if you’re careful. And be ready to change your plans if there’s a late winter storm!