Welcome to All Kinds of Useful and Useless Information — a collection of travel tips, local quirks, random facts, and wonderfully unnecessary knowledge about Iceland. Some of it may help you avoid mistakes, some of it may help you understand the country a little better, and some of it is simply here because not everything on the internet needs to be sensible.
Useful Information
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Don’t walk into people’s gardens unless you have permission.
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The weather can change in five minutes, so dress like you don’t trust the sky.
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Off-road driving is illegal in Iceland and damages fragile nature.
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Sheep do not understand traffic rules.
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Many roads in Iceland look short on a map and long in real life.
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Always check road and weather conditions before heading out.
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Not every hot spring is safe for bathing.
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Don’t stop in the middle of the road to take photos.
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Fuel stations can be far apart, especially outside bigger towns.
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Respect closed signs, warning signs, and ropes around dangerous areas.
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Moss is not a mattress. Please don’t step on it.
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Water from the cold tap is usually better than bottled water.
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Summer daylight can ruin your sleep and improve your road trip.
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Winter daylight disappears faster than your travel budget.
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If a road has an F in front of the number, don’t treat it like a normal road.
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Icelandic names may look confusing, but Google Maps is usually more confident than you are.
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“Just a quick stop” in Iceland often becomes forty-five minutes.
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Always keep an eye on the ocean. The waves are not your friends.
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Parking rules still apply even when the view is amazing.
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Don’t assume every cute-looking trail is an easy one.
Useless Information
Icelandic music nobody asked you to listen to
A completely unnecessary introduction to songs, artists, and sounds you probably weren’t looking for — but may end up loving, or at least being confused by.
Facts about elves you will believe more after day three
A highly unscientific look at Icelandic elf folklore, mysterious rocks, and the strange moment when you start thinking, “Well… maybe.”
How many photos of the same waterfall is too many
A question with no clear answer, mainly because every waterfall somehow looks different in every single photo you take.
A ranking of Icelandic wind based on emotional damage
Not all wind is equal. Some wind messes up your hair, and some wind makes you question your entire travel plan.
Which mountain looks most like a sleeping troll
An entirely unnecessary but important investigation into Iceland’s mountain shapes and the trolls they may or may not resemble.
Things Icelanders pretend are normal
A collection of weather habits, food choices, and daily behaviors that locals treat as completely ordinary and visitors absolutely do not.
How to pronounce place names badly but confidently
A survival guide for travelers who know they are saying it wrong, but choose courage over accuracy.
Icelandic words that look made up but are somehow real
A celebration of wonderfully strange-looking words that seem fictional until someone fluent calmly uses them in a sentence.
Local legends you suddenly take very seriously in the fog
Stories, myths, and strange possibilities that seem charming in daylight and far more believable in bad weather.
How many times per day you can say “this feels unreal”
A rough estimate based on scenery, weather, silence, lava, waterfalls, and your declining ability to act normal.