Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Roothy123, review of photography excursion to be found in this post.

Thanks. I haven't been following all the Roll Calls so didn't see this. Sounds great, just hope we have Sig.  There are 2 times available, half hour apart, so obviously there will likely be another photographer for some of us. Hope he/she is as great.

 

[jtwind]

2 hours ago, kate7047 said:

From Iceland Review-

"While authorities will review border measures, Þórólfur stated there is simply not enough manpower to test all arriving travellers since their numbers have increased."

87% vaccination rate in Iceland, 100% incoming tourists screened for vaccination status and none with severe symptoms.  

All surges start small.

 

That part about not having enough manpower to do the entry tests was interesting to me too.  I guess they don't have the option to hire and train more people?

 

But, in the end, we won't have a say in the matter.  All those of us going in the near future can do is to keep ourselves updated in case further testing is needed..

Edited July 18, 2021 by jtwind

[LindaS272]

15 minutes ago, jtwind said:

All surges start small.

 

That part about not having enough manpower to do the entry tests was interesting to me too.  I guess they don't have the option to hire and train more people?

 

But, in the end, we won't have a say in the matter.  All those of us going in the near future can do is to keep ourselves updated in case further testing is needed..

My understanding is that it’s a capacity issue at their labs. I think it was at the end of May when they had over a dozen flights come in on a weekend that the news reported they were overwhelmed and overstretched on the lab capacity even then. Flight numbers only increased after that.

[jtwind]

29 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

My understanding is that it’s a capacity issue at their labs. I think it was at the end of May when they had over a dozen flights come in on a weekend that the news reported they were overwhelmed and overstretched on the lab capacity even then. Flight numbers only increased after that.

Yeah.  I guess it doesn't make a lot of sense to go through the expense of bringing up testing capacity if you think that arrival testing won't need to continue for very long.

 

Hoping they make the right decisions (whatever that means) and keep Iceland safe.

 

I like the idea of heavy entry requirements and then being good to as you please on the island.

[kate7047]

50 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Yeah.  I guess it doesn't make a lot of sense to go through the expense of bringing up testing capacity if you think that arrival testing won't need to continue for very long.

 

Hoping they make the right decisions (whatever that means) and keep Iceland safe.

 

I like the idea of heavy entry requirements and then being good to as you please on the island.

Yeah, problem was the Sky case was negative on board for days 1, 2 and 3 and only turned positive on day 4. So surely would have tested negative at KEF for that matter. 

[jtwind]

10 minutes ago, kate7047 said:

Yeah, problem was the Sky case was negative on board for days 1, 2 and 3 and only turned positive on day 4. So surely would have tested negative at KEF for that matter. 

Yep.  Border testing won't and can't catch everything.  But it should catch many.  Better than nuthin' IMO, and worth the effort, IMO.

[ustowas]

On 7/17/2021 at 2:24 PM, philw1776 said:

Finally got my 3 July cruise pics processed. Great cruise! Would go again!
Click to view album via FLICKR.
 

 

 

t\Thank younfor the fantastic photos what were your impressions of the various parts of the tour? what could you see along the route the bus took for the national treasures??

[philw1776]

1 minute ago, ustowas said:

t\Thank younfor the fantastic photos what were your impressions of the various parts of the tour? what could you see along the route the bus took for the national treasures??

You're welcome. Loved everything every day. National Treasures featured gorgeous overlook of the fjord and ship leaving & returning plus a beautiful ride through mountain countryside. Mvatyn lake is picturesque, crater walk beautiful, loved quirky Dimmuborgir lava labyrinth with the overlook vista of Mvatyn lake the best. I enjoyed sulphur cauldrons at Námaskard but daughter hated the stinky smelly place. :)
<can't get rid of BOLD>

 

Isafjordur included was a nice tour. Isa is an easy town to walk from the ship. Visit the library (former hospital) with museum upstairs. Free. 

 

My least fav paid excursion was Nature of Djúpivogur & Berufjörður Fjord  which was just a very nice waterfall plus a beautiful meadow. Not worth the $. Daughter walked miles to the black sand beach on her own but said the trail to/from there was nothing special. Djúpivogur included was decent despite the town itself being nothing much. The aria inside the dark tower with only candlelight was lovely.

[Peregrina651]

Ditto everything Phil said about the all day "National Treasures" out of Akureyri. Loved it. The timing was great; I did not feel rushed at any of the stops. I thought that the sites chosen gave us a smattering of everything -- lava, geo-thermal, waterfalls, Alaskan lupine and a beautiful lake.

 

 

[FoggyEthan]

10 hours ago, philw1776 said:

My least fav paid excursion was Nature of Djúpivogur & Berufjörður Fjord  which was just a very nice waterfall plus a beautiful meadow. Not worth the $. Daughter walked miles to the black sand beach on her own but said the trail to/from there was nothing special. Djúpivogur included was decent despite the town itself being nothing much. The aria inside the dark tower with only candlelight was lovely.

 

Djup really has amazingly beautiful hiking, with lots of birds, but it is longer than many would probably like (7 miles) and the footing is difficult. I didn't even know about it until I noticed a stick stuck in the ground with yellow paint on the top, and then realized they were lined up. Hopefully you can find better info on it in the TI. I really can't recommend it highly enough, if you can do it. At least it's almost entirely flat. But the footing...

[minka34]

14 minutes ago, FoggyEthan said:

but it is longer than many would probably like (7 miles) and the footing is difficult.

Which hike did you go on?  We just hiked from town on a trail marked with similar sticks - it had some steep parts up and down near the end but it was only about 2-3 miles round trip. It was "to" a white sand beach. Only ducks and beautiful scenery, and one type of really vocal squaking bird (black with an orange beak).  We ran into the Nature walk near the end going the opposite direction, so maybe that's the trail we were on.

[AKexplorer]

There are several trails ranging from 1.8 miles to 5.2 miles in Djúpivogur that are listed on the ALL TRAILS app. They are all rated easy. The trail to the Black Beach is 5.2 miles, a loop trail is 1.8 miles and the Bulandsness trail is 3.6 miles. It seems that some trail intersect and you can do the loop trail and then pickup the trail to the Black Beach very easily ending up with a 7 miles hike.

[LindaS272]

5 hours ago, minka34 said:

Which hike did you go on?  We just hiked from town on a trail marked with similar sticks - it had some steep parts up and down near the end but it was only about 2-3 miles round trip. It was "to" a white sand beach. Only ducks and beautiful scenery, and one type of really vocal squaking bird (black with an orange beak).  We ran into the Nature walk near the end going the opposite direction, so maybe that's the trail we were on.

If long pointy orange beak—oyster catcher. I’m not a birder but we kept seeing these guys and I finally found them on a chart in a nature center. 🙂 

[jtwind]

Pre-arrival test requirements are expected to restart July 26.

[Steve NH]

Where did you read this? We are arriving on July 27 for the Jupiter cruise.

[jtwind]

2 minutes ago, Steve NH said:

Where did you read this? We are arriving on July 27 for the Jupiter cruise.

Promise not to shoot me if I am wrong.  My Icelantic isn't very good.  The decision has apparently been made, but the English translation is still in the works.  Check back here, and stay aware of the situation.

[Steve NH]

1 minute ago, jtwind said:

Promise not to shoot me if I am wrong.  My Icelantic isn't very good.  The decision has apparently been made, but the English translation is still in the works.  Check back here, and stay aware of the situation.

I only hope that you are wrong. I've googled and not come up with any update. Yet.

[Steve NH]

4 minutes ago, Steve NH said:

I only hope that you are wrong. I've googled and not come up with any update. Yet.

Here is an article confirming the change. Effective July 26. Great.

 

COVID-19 in Iceland: All Travellers Required to Present Negative Test Before Boarding (icelandreview.com)

[gskimmel]

This is confusing.  We depart July 25th but arrive in Iceland on July 26th AM.  Not sure if we are required as our plane departs before this starts but it lands on the day it starts.  But I guess it doesn't hurt to get tested to just to confirm.

[minka34]

3 minutes ago, gskimmel said:

I guess it doesn't hurt to get tested to just to confirm.

Several of us got tested before we left so we would at least have a reasonable expectation of being negative when we boarded the ship.  Peace of mind.  Probably now need to do it, but still, you would rather know when at home instead of finding out in Iceland, right?!

[jtwind]

55 minutes ago, Steve NH said:

Here is an article confirming the change. Effective July 26. Great.

 

COVID-19 in Iceland: All Travellers Required to Present Negative Test Before Boarding (icelandreview.com)

I will start a new thread so that more folks will see this.

[dcl999]

11 hours ago, Steve NH said:

Here is an article confirming the change. Effective July 26. Great.

 

COVID-19 in Iceland: All Travellers Required to Present Negative Test Before Boarding (icelandreview.com)

That’s going to create a major problem for us. We’ll have to get our test on a Saturday or Sunday. The only place around here that has a 24 hour turnaround for PCR tests is closed weekends. 

[JER/MPR]

28 minutes ago, dcl999 said:

That’s going to create a major problem for us. We’ll have to get our test on a Saturday or Sunday. The only place around here that has a 24 hour turnaround for PCR tests is closed weekends. 

We used the Abbott home test, bought directly from them for about $45.  Very easy,  you call in when ready to take the test,  about 45 minutes total and have the results emailed to you.  We used it for our return to US JFK tomorrow.  I believe it is the only home test excepted by CDC for this use. 

[PeabodyMa]

38 minutes ago, JER/MPR said:

We used the Abbott home test, bought directly from them for about $45.  Very easy,  you call in when ready to take the test,  about 45 minutes total and have the results emailed to you.  We used it for our return to US JFK tomorrow.  I believe it is the only home test excepted by CDC for this use. 

I thought Iceland requires a PCR Test, not an antigen test.

[dcl999]

31 minutes ago, JER/MPR said:

We used the Abbott home test, bought directly from them for about $45.  Very easy,  you call in when ready to take the test,  about 45 minutes total and have the results emailed to you.  We used it for our return to US JFK tomorrow.  I believe it is the only home test excepted by CDC for this use. 

The Abbott test I found was a rapid antigen test as is the one Delta is selling. If yours is a home PCR test please let me know the name. 
Hopefully Iceland will decide to allow antigen tests for vaccinated travelers. They specifically do not allow an antigen test and  require a PCR test for non vaccinated travelers.