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Mini-Guide To Iceland

With a country population of just over 300,000 people, Iceland is a big country with people living in a handful of large towns and cities. Iceland is very volcanically active and the interior of the island is mainly mountains and glaciers with big glacial rivers running to the sea. Although parts of Iceland are within the Artic Circle, the island has a temperate climate due to the Gulf Stream - which warms the island with its waters - keeping the temperature between -1C and 15C on average during the year.

Or view the list of airports in Iceland.

Iceland is a very wet country, with Reykjavik (the main and capital city) receiving over 210 days of rain a year. There are lots of tourist attractions in Iceland including geysers - reflecting the active geology of the country. In fact, the majority of buildings in Reykjavik are heated geo-thermally. The Icelandic Krona (ISK) is the primary currency of Iceland Travelling around the island is easy with a ring-road (of 840 miles, 1340 km) going around the outer edge of Iceland. The road goes through the major towns and cities, including Reykjavik - and in the whole it is tarmaced. However, there are portions of the road which are gravel and there are numerous narrow passes, blind bends and extreme care should be taken when driving on it. Cuisine in Iceland is primarily based around fish, lamb and dairy products with traditional dishes including singed sheep heads, sasuage (from sheep offal) and cured ram. Icelanders have a very good quality of life, including being in the top 5 happiest places to live in the world. Visitors from overseas, including many European countries or United States will find accommodation and eating out quite expensive - although the quality of everything is extremely high and the price reflects that service. Flying to Iceland is possibly from several of Europe's biggest cities - with cheap flights available from Iceland Express.