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The Top Three Reasons To Visit Iceland This Fall

The little country with the big tourism marketing imagination has given us tips on getting a date with an Icelander and ugly sweaters, but now Iceland is even coming up with some seriously good reasons for us to visit in the next couple of months. Aside from the bank failure, of course.

· Reykjavik International Film Festival
It runs from September 17 to 27 this year, it's full of excellent films and even the chance to catch the glow of the Northern Lights.

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Tags: Travel Snapshot / Rainbows / Iceland Travel / Jaunted Flickr Pool / → All Tags

Did Iceland Find a Pot of Gold at the End of This Rainbow?

Iceland has had a rough year. While tourism might now be booming, the country's main banks and currency collapsed earlier in the year, leaving the North Atlantic Island's econonmy and government in perpetual crisis mode. Not to mention in debt to various European countries.

There is some good news on the horizon in that Iceland is beginning talks to join the European Union which could greatly help them out. But it couldn't hurt for Icelanders to go hunting for a pot of gold at end of this rainbow, snapped by Jaunted Flickr member Chris Gold, at the Gullfoss Waterfalls. (Yes, we know it's corny but we couldn't resist!)

Got your own travel snapshot? Share it with us in the Jaunted Flickr Pool

Related Stories:
· Iceland Says Tourism is Booming, We Say Let's Go [Jaunted]
· Get the vapors at Iceland's Blue Lagoon [Jaunted]

Tags: Worlds-Coolest-Pools / Iceland Travel / Reykjavik / → All Tags

Get The Vapors At Iceland's Blue Lagoon

Last one in's a rotten egg! We're finding the best places in the world to stick our toes in this summer (or next winter) for our World's Coolest Pools map. Know of any pools we must check out? Let us know.

It's just what the doctor ordered: A thermal pool known for its health benefits and a 19th-century-style spa that once did double duty as an "Amazing Race" pit stop, but it's perfectly safe for the less adventurous too.

Time was aristocrats would flood the small towns built around natural pools and springs to "take the waters," advertised as good for sickly children or hysterical females (Lohan?). Now the rest of us can rub shoulders at the Blue Lagoon Spa with the rich and famous—like Dave Grohl, who compared it to a scene from "Apocalypse Now"—at a sightly reduced price.

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Tags: Travel Deals / Iceland Travel / → All Tags

Iceland Says Tourism is Booming, We Say Let's Go

We've been fans of zany Iceland for a long time now, and correctly tipped that it's the new budget destination - and now we hear that tourism in Iceland is going through a boom.

The Icelandic banking crisis and drop in currency value might mean that there are less locals sitting in the pubs these days, but it has made it much more affordable for tourists to pop over, with cheap fares from both the US and Europe. Tourism board director Oloef Yrr Atladottir (pronounce that!) actually sounds pleased that his nation's no longer classified as an expensive destination, and we couldn't agree more.

It's all landscape in Iceland: hot springs, geysers, waterfalls, glaciers and volcanoes. Getting out to these places is cheaper now and there are deals galore to attract tourists, with the hope we'll prop up the local economy a bit. Ever since we read about how to get a date with an Icelander we've been craving a trip to Iceland, so maybe we'll jump on the boom's coat-tails and try it out.

Flights from the US are cheap right now - for example, Icelandair flies from JFK to Reykjavik for $455 return. With places like the Hilton Reykjavik offering last-minute rooms for 12,700 koruna (under $100), there are plenty of incentives to get there now, before the boom breaks.

Related Stories:
· Iceland Tourism Booms as Currency Plummets [The Age]
· Iceland Invites You To Take Advantage Of Its Economic Misfortunes [Jaunted]
· Iceland Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: taivasalla]

Tags: Travel News Briefs / Amazing Race / Iceland Travel / Mike White / Ethiopian Airlines / Laid-Off Travel / AC-DC / Winter Storms / → All Tags

'School of Rock's' Mike White to Do 'Amazing Race'

With so much travel news flying around, we don't always have time to give every story big play. Here's more of the day's news, in brief.

· Teams for Amazing Race Season 14: The list of teams competing in the newest season of "Amazing Race" include screenwriter Mike White ("School of Rock") and his father, a gay activist. Also on the show will be stuntmen, flight attendants and a few students. [HitFix]

· Iceland Still in Turmoil: The troubled nation's coalition government collapses. [MSNBC]

· Free Airline Tickets to Africa: That's free tickets for your companions we mean. Ethiopian Airlines is offering this deal from DC's Dulles airport to 32 destinations in Africa from Feb. 1 to March 30th as a way to celebrate President Barack Obama. [Time]

· 6,200 Jobs Cut: It was the day of layoffs. Sprint, Home Depot and General Motors all announced layoffs. When the unemployment rate goes up, the travel industry goes down. Things look dark for the future. [NY Times]

· Oklahoma To Get Serious Winter Storms: Sadly, the bad weather had to come in town just as AC/DC kicks off their now appropriately-named "Black Ice Tour." [USA Today, Bam's Blog]

[Photo via HitFix]

Tags: Iceland / Iceland Travel / Icelandair / Budget Travel / Meltdownomics / → All Tags

Iceland Invites You to Take Advantage of its Economic Misfortunes

While pretty much the entire world took a bath in the financial markets last week, few countries got hit harder than Iceland. The elf-filled North Atlantic island saw its currency plummet, its three biggest banks fail, and its stock exchange close due to "unusual market conditions." But while the acute economic meltdown represents one of the biggest challenges the country has faced in generations, it also creates a great opportunity for travelers who had heretofore been dissuaded from visiting Iceland due to its notoriously lofty prices. Better still, rather than viewing opportunistic tourists as vultures swarming over carrion, the nation is welcoming them - and what little cash they have in their pockets - with open arms.

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Bad Souvenir Travel: Try to Be Trendy in a Lopapeysur

In the past, we've had no qualms about saying we like the blog of budget airline Iceland Express. Who wouldn't be pleased to get tips on getting a date with an Icelander or making your own sock movie?

But now this crazy gang have gone too far. In a recent post, they very strongly recommended that we buy a Lopapeysa to wear while we're visiting Iceland (and to proudly show off at home, too). A Lopapeysa is a traditional Icelandic sweater, but take one look at the picture and you know why this hasn't caught on around the world.

Worse than that, they're usually priced from €100 to €200 (US$150-$300) which we think is kind of a high price to pay to look this out of style.

Related Stories:
· Five Things to Remember When Visiting Iceland [Iceland Express Blog]
· It's Official: Iceland Socks [Jaunted]
· Iceland Express Impresses [Jaunted]

[Photo: jillhudgins]

Tags: Summer Travel / Iceland / Iceland Travel / → All Tags

Iceland Travel: Fun in the Summer Sun

If the summer heat has already gotten you down, then why don't you consider a trip to Iceland? Even in the capital of Reykjavik you'll be treated to coolness--expect temperatures in the 50s--as you experience a great deal of urban cleanliness--not to mention the country's green initiatives.

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Who Says Icelandic Museums Aren't Interesting?

If you're one of those travelers who thinks museums are boring, you obviously haven't swung by the Icelandic Phallological Museum, 300 miles northeast of Reykjavik. It's admittedly a bit out of the way, but this is the world's largest collection of phallic specimens.

Wherever you look in this museum, you'll see a penis. They have samples from whales and walruses, hamsters and seals, but as yet, no humans. However:

It should be noted that the museum has also been fortunate enough to receive a legally-certified gift token for a future specimen belonging to Homo Sapiens.

Apparently the guy who gave the gift token is a 93-year-old and a plastic replica is standing in until he's ready to hand over the real thing.

Related Stories:
· Iceland's Penis Museum Pulls in the Crowds [Vagabondish]
· Icelandic Phallological Museum [Official Site]
· Iceland Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ollie Palmer]

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Arctic Travel: Land of the Midnight Golf

It's less than a month to go until the big Arctic Open Golf Championship so you'd better practice your swing and get used to playing at midnight.

Yep, up in Iceland they like to do things a little differently, and from June 26 to 28 you'll be able to take part in--or be a spectator for--the world's only golf tournament that takes place in the middle of the night, thanks to the almost endless daylight they get in northern Iceland in the summer.

The Akureyri Golf Club is the host for the unusual event, and we're thinking this might be the only time in our lives when we have half a chance to play well: Since the game's held at midnight, maybe our opponents will have trouble too.

Related Stories:
· Arctic Open [Official Site]
· Land of the Midnight Sun [Jaunted]

[Photo: Arctic Open]

Tags: Blogs / Iceland Travel / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / Iceland Express / → All Tags

Iceland Express Impresses

When we heard this week that little-known European low cost carrier Iceland Express had won an award for the best LCC website, we were instantly intrigued. And while cheap flights in and out of Iceland might not be a top priority on too many traveling agendas, keeping in touch with Iceland Express's website and especially their blog might get you to change your mind.

For a start, the basic Iceland Express website is so clean and refreshing looking that you basically want to book your flight immediately. Move on to the airline's blog and you'll be well and truly hooked. Posts include topics like "How to get a date with an Icelander", info on Icelandic events like the Reykjavík Gay Pride Festival and tips on where to hang out in Iceland, like in a street called Skólavörðustígur.

So far flights operate from Reykjavik to a dozen major destinations like Paris, Berlin and London; we recommend using Iceland Express to get to Skólavörðustígur before the rest of the world finds out how to pronounce it.

Related Stories:
· Iceland Express [Official Site]
· Iceland Express blog [Official Site]
· Budgies Name Best LCCs of 2007 [Jaunted]
· Iceland Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: albspotter]

Tags: Jaunted Field Trips / Iceland Travel / Iceland Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Rough Guides Gets It Right: Nordica Hotel

The Rough Guide to Iceland was our weapon of choice, during August 2006 Jaunted Field Trip to Iceland. Sometimes these guide books get it right, and sometimes they are off. In this feature, we will tell you what the guide pros said about a place and then give you our take.

Nordica Hotel

Rough Guides says:

ttp:Another Icelandair moneyspinner and the largest hotel in Iceland, with around 300 rooms. Although this place, formerly the Esja, has had a serious Nordic makeover--glass, chrome and natural wood everywhere you look, it still conspires to be overly big, impersonal and unjustifiably expensive. Make sure to at least get a room at the front, with views over the sea to Mount Esja. The walk into town from here is a good 25 min.

Jaunted says:
As local paper Reykjavik Mag, (the print organ of Reykjavik.com) explains, the Nordica is the "quintessential business hotel" though you "may luck out and get a room here as a part of a package holiday" which was our case. Coming to Iceland from New York City, possibly the capital of massive, sterile, pretentious, overpriced business hotels, Nordica was not a jarring transition. In fact it was exactly like one of the midtown glass tower or boutique hotels where we might attend a work party, visit friends in for a convention or hit the bar for celebrity spotting. Other similarities were that space in the "double" was tight, the gym costs extra (luckily the walk into town doubled as a workout) and that we had a fairly uninspiring rear view of a parking lot and strip mall (well, in New York that'd probably be another building's AC vent). On the positive side: outstanding buffet-style breakfast (totally worth it if included, not bad as an additional charge), uber-comfortable beds, thick walls and a helpful staff. All in all it's not a bad place, but if you're sinking a minimum of ISK 20,000 a night you'd be justified in hoping for more. Investigate other options unless you've either scored a great deal or have money (or a corporate expense account) to burn.

Related Stories
· 50 Cent Does Iceland [HotelChatter]
· Hotel Nordica reviews [TripAdvisor]