Background
Practical advices
Bring yourself a good tent that last in tough weather and is strong enough to survive large boulders as substitute for pegs. Now and then the surface is plain rock. Hostels on Iceland are both crowded and warm in the peak season.
The tourist information on Iceland and Faeroe Islands arrange a lot of exciting trips. The “Fire & Ice” trip requires good physical condition and is not always comfortable. Bus trips are rather expensive considered the distance. That is because the roads can be really challenging; hence a 100 km drive takes up to three hours. If you compare price versus time it seems more reasonable.
You should dress for something between –10 to +20 degrees Celsius. Be sure that you wear breathable clothes if you are going to explore the nature. “Cotton kills”, is said because you sweat and the sweat gets cold and freezes.
I had a long-sleeved running shirt and long underpants, both very breathable. I also wear a pair of good trekking trousers, a fleece and a ski-jacket. Walking on lava is an exhausting
challenge and its strongly recommended to bring robust boots. My cheap plastic boots was ripped up completely.
Medication
We didn’t bring any special medication besides plaster and bug spray. We did bring “power food” with lot of energy like fruit soup, chocolate bars etc. to restitute during long hikes.
Economy
We used approx. EUR 1300-1600 each in total on this trip. The ferry from Denmark to Iceland and the plane back to Copenhagen was EUR 625. The three-day “Fire & Ice” trip was EUR 180 without lodging and food, but included transportation and a very good and challenging guide.
Food is, like everything else, really expensive on Iceland and vegetables in particular. EUR 11 for one cauliflower. If you are invited for dinner then eat plenty of meat and spare the vegetables as those are considered as luxury up here.