Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [55]
Guðmundur Jónasson Travel (Map; 511 1515; www.gjtravel.is; Borgartún 34) Offers day excursions along the Ring Road and into the highlands, and can arrange super-Jeep trips, self-drive holidays and group travel.
Iceland Excursions (Gray Line Iceland; Map; 540 1313; www.grayline.is; Hafnarstræti 20) A bus-tour operator with comprehensive day trips plus horse riding, whale watching, underground explorations, diving, and self-drive holidays. Book online for the best prices.
Reykjavík Excursions (Kynnisferðir; Map; 580 5400; www.re.is; BSÍ bus terminal, Vatnsmýrarvegur 10) The most popular bus-tour operator has summer and winter programs. Extras include horse riding, snowmobiling and themed tours tying in with festivals.
See the boxed text (above) for examples of places to visit and things to try, with approximate prices and seasonal availability. Click here for a rundown on major activities available in Iceland.
Super-Jeep & Supertruck Tours
If you fancy bigger wheels and a little more exclusivity, you can go sightseeing by super-Jeep or supertruck instead of by bus. Most of the places and activities listed in the previous section are on offer (prices are at least double).
Activity Group ( 580 9900; www.activity.is) Super-Jeep and supertruck activity and sightseeing tours.
Atours ( 517 4455; www.atours.is) Super-Jeep trips to the Golden Circle, Landmannalaugar, Þórsmörk and the south coast, plus the option of adding on outdoor activities.
Air Tours
Iceland is surprisingly large, and driving distances to beauty spots outside Reykjavík can be daunting if you’re only here for a short time. One solution is an air tour: Eagle Air Iceland (Map; 562 4200; www.eagleair.is; Reykjavík Domestic Airport) offer sightseeing flights over volcanoes and glaciers from €120 per 30 minutes.
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FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Also see the list of festivals Click here, many of which are celebrated with gleeful enthusiasm in Reykjavík. For forthcoming live music, www.musik.is.
February
Winter Lights (www.vetrarhatid.is) In mid- or late February Reykjavík celebrates the end of winter with cultural events, a mini food festival and lots of illuminated buildings.
May
Listahátið í Reykjavík (Reykjavík Arts Festival; www.listahatid.is/en) Held from mid-May every year, this popular two-week event features films, dance, theatre, concerts and art exhibitions from Iceland and around the world.
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GAY & LESBIAN REYKJAVÍK
Reykjavík is a very tolerant place; its bar and club scene is so integrated that segregated gay bars close down almost before they’ve opened.
The gay and lesbian organisation Samtökin ‘78 (Map; 552 7878; www.samtokin78.is; 4th fl, Laugavegur 3; office 1-5pm Mon-Fri) provides information during office hours and doubles as an informal gay community centre ( 8-11pm Mon & Thu year-round, sometimes also 1-5pm Sat late Jul–Aug).
Created especially for gay, lesbian and bisexual visitors to Iceland, www.gayice.is is an English-language website with great information and upcoming events.
Q Bar (Map; 578 7868; Ingólfsstræti 3; to 1am Sun-Thu, to 5am Fri & Sat) is one of the smallest bars in Reykjavík, a smart, stylish, minimalist place that transformed itself into a gay bar a couple of years ago. It bills itself as ‘straight friendly’ and certainly entertains a mixed clientele. Barbara (Map; Laugavegur 22) is also a gay bar/club in theory, although in practice it attracts everyone in town who likes wild dancing. The only specifically gay club in Reykjavík is the men-only leather bar, MSC Iceland (Map; 893 9552; basement, Laugavegur 28; from 11pm Fri & Sat).
There are several good gay-friendly guest houses close to the centre, such as Room with a View. Reykjavík has a lively Gay Pride celebration – see above for more information.
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August
Gay Pride (www.gaypride.is) This is Iceland’s second- biggest festival – thousands of people parade carnival-style through