Facts About Iceland

Travel Safely in Iceland

Do not underestimate the dangers you could encounter in Iceland. Strangers do not easily understand the behavior of our nature and our weather.

A website, Safetravel.is is available to help our foreign guests understand what to expect when you go driving, hiking, biking, swimming, horseback riding, climbing, sailing etc. in Iceland. You can also read all about our telecommunications, our emergency number 112, other useful phone numbers and about emergency situations and rescue. 

The fact is that every year, lives are lost because our foreign travelers didn't inform themselves OR believe the advices they were given. Only a few weeks ago, two German mountain climbers did not return from their hike on Svínafellsjökull glacier and despite extensive rescue operations have not been found yet. And maybe they never will.

Come prepared and you will have a wonderful experience. Don't let your travel turn into the worst nightmare of your life.

Government services in Iceland

If you need information about government services in Iceland you should definitely visit www.island.is which is a new public portal in four languages, Icelandic, English, Polish and Croatian.

This website gives a wide range of information about the various services of the national and local governments.

Do you need information about residence permits, employment or Icelandic courses and interpreter services? Or information about work in Iceland? Then Island.is is the right place for you.

Icelandic Women Rule....

Yes, indeed! Icelandic women are two thirds of all students graduating from universities in Iceland and they are also 52% of all students who graduate from the secondary level of education.

Note that the university graduates come from very different age groups which I think is very interesting. Our youngest female graduate in 2006 was 19 years old while our oldest was 75 years old.

See STATICE for more info.

Photo: Icelandic girls

Iceland News in English for Tourists

If you feel the need to listen to the news while in Iceland, you can listen to a short news broadcast in English, every morning Mon-Fri at 07:31 on the State Radio, FM 93,5 and FM 92.4, from June 1st to Sept. 1st.

You can also listen to a telephone recording of the same news if you call +354-515-3690.

As for written news you should try News in English from the website of Morgunbladid daily newspaper or current news in Iceland from Iceland Review.

Tourist Information Offices in Iceland

You should absolutely make good use of the Icelandic tourist information offices. You will find at least 44 such offices located in various places throughout the country. Some of them are partly financed by the Icelandic Tourist Board and provide information both on a national and regional scale.

List of tourist information centers

Photo: The geyser Strokkur in Haukadal

Icelandic Journalists Enjoy Much Freedom - or Rather Enjoyed...

Reporters without Borders is "an organization which fights for press freedom and denounces the violations of the human rights all over the world."

According to a new report from the organization, journalists from Iceland and Norway enjoy the highest level of freedom in the whole world after measuring the level of press freedom in 169 countries!

Take a look at their website: http://www.rsf.org/

November 2009:
Sadly we have fallen down to the 9th seat in the Press Freedom Index for 2009. Not good at all.

Icelandic Pancake Pan

A pan was born.... fifty years ago! The Icelandic pancake frying pan was designed by Mr. Gudmundur Haraldsson, who had been working for the same company, Malmsmidja Ámunda Sigurdssonar since 1947.

The company is still going strong and makes up to 600 pancake frying pans a day. Take a look at a photo of this famous frying pan and see a recipe of real Icelandic pancakes.

In Iceland the Men Work Longer Hours than Women

A recent report from Statistics Iceland shows that every week Icelandic men work on average ten hours more than Icelandic women.

While the average Icelander is estimated to work for 43.2 hours per week, the men work 47.6 hours a week and the women 37.4 hours. The period checked was the third quarter of 2007 (July, August and September).

Photo: A group of Icelandic tour guides in the little village of Stokkseyri, South Iceland.

Imagine Peace Tower in Videy, Iceland by Yoko Ono

On October 9, 2007 Iceland got a very special visit from Yoko Ono and her son Sean, Ringo Starr and George Harrison's widow Olivia. 

Yoko Ono unveiled her so called light tower on the island of Videy outside Reykjavik harbour. The title of her work is "Imagine Peace Tower" and in fact this day would have been John Lennon's 67th birthday

The tower will be lit every year from October 9 to December 8 (the day Lennon died) as well as on New year's Eve and the first week of spring. It is composed of a beam of light, coming from a very big wishing well which features the words "Imagine peace" in no less than 24 languages.

What's on in Iceland?

You have planned your trip to Iceland in a certain period and now you want to know what's on during your stay.

The best place to look is http://www.whatson.is where you'll get all kinds of information about events, exhibitions, concerts, shows etc.  You can check events one month ahead and download the latest issue in a pdf format.