How to be your own travel Agent – Iceland Edition

Here is take two on “How to be your own Travel Agent”. I did one last week and used Ireland as an example. It turns out, people like reading the step-by-step so I decided to do almost the same post, but use Iceland as my example! That way, I can show you how I planned out our last Iceland trip and made it feel like the whole Iceland experience, without driving around the whole island.

So here goes, buckle up and be ready to see why you should plan your trip to Iceland!

Decide Where and when you want to go

As I said, Iceland will be the dedicated destination. Iceland is a land of rustic and raw beauty. The terrain and landscapes are like nowhere I’ve been. The land of 10,000 waterfalls, it was like we saw one at every turn. If you go to Iceland, don’t forget your camera!

First things first, do your homework! Before you get into the nitty gritty, you have to learn a little about out your destination and do a little research. You want to know when is the best time to travel there. Are you looking for the best weather that location has to offer? If so, you may be dealing with more crowds. Some people want to avoid the crowds, so you may chose an off-peak time. This is usually OK, but you may need to come more prepared (depending on your destination). In Iceland, being prepared is especially true! You want to make sure you dress for the dramatic weather that may come your way. If you are not dressed properly, this could make for an uncomfortable trip. No matter what time of the year you go, you will want waterproof gear. Iceland never get particularly hot, so get a feel for the weather when you plan to go. We went in October. I had with waterproof pants, hiking boots and jacket. I brought a hat and gloves for colder days. I focused on wearing layers. Some days, I wore a light layer, especially if the sun was out. There were other days I had my layers on and a winter hat.

As mentioned above, we went in October. Tourist season is just slowing down a bit, so it isn’t quite at peak. The weather is still nice… granted, we are from Minnesota so we are accustomed to cold and snow and more cold. We came prepared with layers and waterproof clothing. We stayed comfortable the whole trip.

How do I do my research??

Research hint 1: Depending on what I’m looking up, a simple Google search is all I need! I use Google for things like weather and locations of cities and destinations. Make sure that once you know whereabouts you want to go, that you chose the right airport. For Iceland, you’ll fly into Reykjavik .

Research hint 2: I rely heavily on Pinterest! I use Pinterest to read other people’s blogs and advice. I find these to be the most realistic and laid out plans out there. I even prefer them over travel books (which I use some as well). Example: Here is my blog on Iceland. I put it on Pinterest for others to use.

When I chose to travel to Iceland, I was pretty clueless. By looking up itineraries in Pinterest and reading through real-life trips, I learned SO MUCH. Blogs help me figure out which parts of the country I want to see the most, the do’s and don’t AND how to pack.

Research hint 3: Join Facebook groups that are geared for travel tips to your destination. You will learn SO much. You can either ask your own questions or maybe read others’ questions you didn’t even think about.

Research hint 4: Buy or checkout a book from the library about your destination. I have used books from Rick Steve’s, Lonely Planet, and Fodor’s in the past. All seem to have useful information. Even though I mentioned I like Pinterest/blogs more, I do like having written material and maps with me as I’m looking through blogs. I usually use them together when I am just starting my travel research.

FINDING YOUR FLIGHT

Once my research is done and I know where I am going and when, I start to look for flights. I book my flight first (before accommodations) because I usually don’t travel with set dates. When I go into planning travel, I have a good idea of when I want to go, but I keep my dates somewhat flexible because it’s amazing how changing your flight a day or two can change that price of your ticket.

When you book matters as well. If I am planning a vacation with a domestic flight, I typically book about 3 months prior. Sometimes I will book earlier than that, if the price seems fair. For international, I book about 6 months prior to my departure. Also, I have heard several times that it’s best to book on a Tuesday? Flights can be less on this day. Now, this may be a true statement… I have never seen noticed this in my flight purchasing.

Here is two screen shots of how I book my flights. First I do a general search for approximately when I plan to travel. To see the price differences, I click on one of the flight dates and a calendar of prices show up. This gives me a picture of which day of the week is best for prices.

One other thing to note… I really aim to get a non-stop flight, if possible. Not everyone cares about this and often you can save money if you have a layover. This is just something else you can consider when booking flights.

Car Rental

Depending on where you’re going, you may want to rent a car. I always do this off of Expedia. Many times, I bundle flight an car together. Things you will want to think about and consider:

• Size of the vehicle. How many people are traveling with you and will the people and luggage fit?
• Are you traveling with kids? Do you need to book or bring along any car seats?
• Depending on where you travel, do you need 4×4? For Iceland, it depends on where you plan to go and the time of year. We went in October and get an AWD, which worked well for us. I would say go with an AWD at minimum, if you plan to leave the city.
• Do you want Navigation. We did not do this in Iceland and had no issues with using our phones. But depending on where you go, this is a good thing to question!
• When booking, pay attention to whether the car has automatic or manual transition.
• Insurance? Do you want to purchase insurance?

Accommodations

OK, flight and car has been booked! Now I start looking into where to stay. This is where some of your previous research comes into play. Did you decide if you want to stay in one location? Are you planning on moving around? And how many nights in each location?

For our Iceland trip we chose to stay 2 nights near Selfoss, 2 nights in Arnarstapi and 2 nights in Reykjavik. Our goal was to get a great Iceland experience, but we didn’t feel like we had the time to drive all the way around the country.

Selfoss

We stayed two nights near Selfoss. We prefer to be out of town a little, just because we prefer the privacy, space and scenery. We also aimed for renting homes with hot tubs! While we stayed in this location, we visited the south coast between Selfoss and Vik.

Here are some VRBO choices:

#1 Log Cabin

#2 Isolated Lakeside Cabin

#3 Cabin in Lava Village

Here are sights we saw during this part of the trip… Including the Golden Circle which we did the day we drove to location 2.

Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Next accommodation sight… Snaefelsnes Peninsula. We stayed in Arnarstapi. This peninsula was my favorite part of the trip. The scenery is so otherworldly. I felt like I was on the moon half the time. It was just breathtaking!

Here are some great VRBO Options:

Some Sights from the Snaefellsness Peninsula

Reykjavik

Our last couple nights were spent in Reykjavik. We decided to stick with VRBO’s because we like having the living space and kitchen. Here are some options:

What to do

A big part of travel is figuring out how you’ll spend your time. I typically wait until a month or so before our adventure to really nail this down and make reservations. For Iceland, I honestly didn’t book too many adventures ahead of time. A lot of our time was spent hiking and adventuring around, less “organized” activities.

Again, your research comes into play here… You will plan out your activities based on what interested you when learning about your destination.

Things I booked in advance were the Blue Lagoon and a walking food tour.

That sums it up! Those are the major things I plan prior to a trip. Other things to think about…. make sure your passport and driver’s license are up to date and valid. I keep a printed confirmation of most of my travels on hand as well. I haven’t had to resort to this, but in case my phone doesn’t work, I have back up.

You will also want to check in with your bank and cell phone companies to see if you need anything while traveling. I use Verizon and have an international plan. My phone automatically will charge $10/day whenever I use my phone internationally. My bank no longer requires this, but the past, I did have to inform them of travel dates, so they wouldn’t suspect fraud activity.

One more thing… Packing… I definitely will research my destinations weather, so I know how to pack. Using Pinterest can be helpful with this as well. Here is my Iceland packing itinerary.

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