Iceland as a Travel Product

Ernesto Adduci
Jul 25, 2017 · 6 min read
Black Beach, Vik. Photo by the author.

When was the last time you’ve seen an ad for Iceland? I haven’t, ever, and I believe I’m the target: I just spent ten days on the island.

There are places you go to because you see an ad and maybe you see yourself in it, identified with the situation somehow, maybe it shows an escape route for our boring lives, maybe a better version of you. Maybe it’s on special.

Iceland doesn’t need to do that.

Just google the word Iceland. Look at the first ten images you see; it’s an extraordinary place isn’t it. It looks peaceful, beautiful, unique, virgin in a way. Now google words like Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica or even United States. You don’t get that, you get references to sports, food, sometimes political stuff, maps or flags.

With Iceland you get to experience the most extraordinary natural beauty. That’s what the internet of things tells you, and that’s what anybody who goes to Iceland tells you. You don’t need an ad, an app or a promo for that. The people will do it for you.

Now, the question is: How a country of 330,000 people managed to create such good global reputation, while growing an economy based on foreign tourism, that doesn’t destroy the country?

I want to believe they are smart, I’m sure they are lucky too, but mostly smart. This is why:

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Websites and blogs recommend that you don’t stop along the roads to take pictures, and there’s a reason for that: every mile is more beautiful than anything you’ve imagined.

As I was driving our big van from the airport to Reykjavik I stared at the rugged terrain, the beautiful mountains, the peaceful horses and sheep. After a while I started noticing why everything was so beautiful: there was not one billboard in sight. I drove more than 1400 kilometers and I didn’t see one billboard. That’s extraordinary, especially when you compare it to almost every other destination on Earth, that pretty much wants to sell you tours, hotels, restaurants, banks and any other service they can. In Iceland they don’t do that, you are there, and they let you enjoy the reason why you are there.

Scenery from the road, near to someplace I can’t pronounce.

I don’t know if there’s a law forbidding billboards or not, but the cleanliness of the country speaks wonders about their government and their citizens. If they need to tell you there’s a restaurant ahead, they plant a discreet flag; the road signage is elegant and in earthy colors, and guess what…we didn’t get lost once and always found places to eat, buy groceries, and pull diesel.

Safety

I was about to enter a chocolate shop in downtown Reykjavik with my wife and son, when I noticed a lady pushing a stroller, and parking it just outside. As I held the door open for her, I realized she was leaving her child in the stroller, unattended. Sacrebleu! “What’s wrong with this person?” I thought. We got our candy and walked out, seeing the peaceful baby in his stroller. A couple doors down we found a grocery store, where I saw two other strollers parked outside. Yes, you guessed it, babies were inside the strollers! Not crying babies, just sleeping or calmed, looking at the blue sky.

My best guess is that nobody thinks their baby can be stolen. Just doesn’t occur to them. Of course after this discovery I continued observing. I saw one police bike and one police car in 10 days. Never heard a siren. Not once. The only attempt of peace disruption was a drunk dude in the main street on Friday night. He wasn’t really disrupting that much. I believe he was British.

Anyway, Iceland is as safe as it gets. They had like 2 murders in the last five years. Compare that to Rio, Chicago or Paris. The feeling of security anywhere in Iceland is priceless.

The Language Barrier

Cocktails at Matur Og Drykkur, at the Saga Museum building.

I remember the first time I went to France. I read many articles telling me that I should learn some words and lines in French because it goes a long way. Of course as soon as I got to the front desk of the hotel, I got the stink-eye for my accent, mispronouncing or God knows why! In Berlin I found many people who didn’t speak English, same goes for Prague or Vienna, where I found myself mooing to get a steak. In Iceland everybody speaks English, from the guy in charge of the whale-watching tour, to the one that sells you hot dogs in a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

It’s definitely welcoming, and adds to the feeling of total Icelandic safety. Of course you’ll find menus in Icelandic, but there’s always one in English or other languages, or someone happy to let you know what Skyr is.

The Next Food Wave

Remember when nobody knew who that Redzepi guy from Copenhagen was? Well, now the entire world knows, and it really took us by surprise. How come the best restaurant of the world is in Denmark? Well, it was, and it caused a revolution, but that’s the past. The future is Iceland.

Blue Mussels at Lava. Photo by the wife.

This is a country with a population smaller than any state in the US. Not only that, but half the country is either a glacier or a pool of lava and rocks. Not exactly the paradise for a chef, yet they thrive. We didn’t get to Dill, but just read the reviews. We went to Matur Og Drykkur, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant hosted at the Saga Museum building. An extraordinary meal, great service and beautiful ambiance. We also went to Grillid at the Radison Blu, another Bib Gourmand, another great meal. The beauty of the Icelandic food is that any restaurant, either Lava (at the touristic Blue Lagoon), Harbour 101, or Anna on the road to Vik, is delicious. Really good stuff. How do they do some much with so little is beyond me. Believe me, Iceland is next!

The Krona Economy

Down to here the place is perfect, right? How about I add this: every geyser, waterfall, beach, crater, or beautiful place you go to is free. Yep, completely free, you don’t even have to pay for parking. F-R-E-E.

Don’t pack your bags just yet.

A six-pack of your regular IPA beer goes for about $27 in the only liquor store chain in the country. I went to a bakery with my friend Jack to buy two coffees (not Espressos, no double shots; regular coffee from a thermos) and two loafs of bread, only to pay $25. How about filling the car’s tank for $78, or paying $608 for dinner for 4 at a hotel restaurant. Candy bars are only $10, or my son’s Puffin pen for $19. Iceland is the most expensive place I’ve ever been to. Compared to Reykjavik, Montecarlo is cheap! I’m not exaggerating.

This might play to their favor. Somehow it’s not everybody who goes to Iceland, it might be a self-selection mechanism that could be working for them. I’m not a good person or a rich one at that, but I’m not going to steal a baby from a stroller, and somehow they got me, and it worked for both of us. I saw people traveling in a budget, hitchhiking, sleeping in the great Icelandic outdoors, but I’m sure they had to eat at some point. Somehow they could afford it. It worked for them too.

The fact of the matter is that Iceland is not for everybody, the most basic things are very expensive (read more of the reasons why the island is so expensive here), it’s cold and grey even in the Summer, and in Winter they will not get me, but the place is gorgeous. I can say without any fear to be mistaken that those ten days in Iceland were the best Holiday of my life.

Save some money and go now, it’s worth it! I hope they keep it that way.

Ernesto Adduci

Written by

Advertiser and marketing exec, travel specialist, retired rock producer, soccer enthusiast and father of the most beautiful boy in the world.

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