Rick Steves Iceland

I preordered this book knowing it would be worth the wait and it was. In typical Rick Steves fashion, there is a lot of historical and practical information. As always there are plenty of time and money-saving tips. I particularly like how the ‘best of’ and ‘must sees’ are called out and color or shape coded. It makes finding bucket list ideas easier. There are also some handy single and multi day schedule samples as well. The book describes what there is to see be geographic region, broken into chapters like Western Iceland, Southeast Iceland and so on. Like most of Steves’ books, it caters to families and older travelers in my opinion. But that’s his demographic. While the vast majority of the book focuses on the peak season of the summer months, there are some tips and highlights that cover winter as well (my interest) but not as much as I had hoped for. There’s a lot of value in this book and is pretty much all you need to plan a typical vacation to Iceland. I take a half star off for a couple of reasons. There’s a lot of back and forth page turning, where something is referenced on another page. Not a reason the dislike the book, but somewhat annoying. But more than that, I’m looking for more extreme adventure, such as self-driven off road sites on the famous F roads, or dogsledding tours, and this book doesn’t cover that much. It only references driving rules and encourages buying tours for the off highway stuff. I also wish there had been a color map included as a pullout to take in the car or something. An additional book will be needed for the backcountry or extreme adventure information. But all in all an excellent book. A must-have for your first time in Iceland.

It is a good overview and provides good information on what to see. But it lacks the in-depth knowledge and analysis that I found in his Italy books. I think he misses or undersells many excellent things to see or do. A drive around Heimaey is one example of one of the amazing things we did that he doesn't really discuss. I also disagree with many of his restaurant recommendations and he needs to provide more options reviews in Reykjavik.He may be more focused on how to see the most things in the least amount of time and more focused on museums over the natural wonders on the island.

We have been a follower of Rick Steves travel but this is not his best.NOT good advise to use Airbnb. Just spent 17 days. Think its better to stay in guest houses with breakfast (unless you have a big group and want to cook in...not my idea of vacation! I also don't agree with getting the small car and no 4x4. Even the "good roads" sometimes are gravel and potholes. We have loved his "off the beaten path" but only one suggestion in this book (Westman Islands) so nothing special. Lastly his travel times from place to place and his length of hiking time are not very accurate. Lastly, the book is hard to follow...jumps around too much.

It's great having a new Rick Steves book to supplement the meager Iceland travel book offerings! Before I received it, I read Lonely Planet Iceland which was great. However, Rick Steves definitely delivers with his down-to-earth, "opinionated" travel writing. He doesn't hesitate to tell you what's worthwhile and what's not, which is valuable for a trendy tourist destination like Iceland. He also has different advice than Lonely Planet on the highlights of the country, ranging from which broad regions to prioritize, down to specific sights. You may agree or disagree, but it's great to have another trusted opinion when researching your trip. I also like his description of road trips, including directions, scenic routes, suggested stops, places to eat, etc. The book is organized very well. I suspect this will be the book that earns a place in my suitcase!

I just returned from a two-week trip touring Iceland by car. I ordered three books on touring Iceland which we perused frequently both in planning the trip and while we were in country. Of the three, Rick’s was by far the least detailed and almost continuously seemed to have a mostly negative opinion of almost all the spectacular and outrageously beautiful sites we visited. One of which was the incredible town of Seydisfjordur, located at the end of an impressive fairytale-like fjord in east Iceland that was covered in spectacular waterfalls. We spent two days in Seydisfjordur and stayed at a comfortable and beautiful inn on the waterfront while dining in two restaurants that served maybe the best meals we ate while in the country. Rick’s book not only did not discuss any of this, he went out of his way to indicate that the town was simply a tired little commercial shipping port with decaying buildings throughout; just the opposite of what we witnessed! And if we had based our trip entirely upon his recommendations, we probably would not have come here. We found this type of negatively biased commentary to be characteristic of this entire book, and we don’t understand why. Iceland is a spectacularly beautiful country with absolutely amazing scenery like from another world that we had never previously experienced anywhere else. If you want to plan a remarkable trip to Iceland that will leave you with lasting memories, do not buy Rick Steve’s! What is his bias against Iceland???

Much to my surprise, this guide is meant exclusively for the US public. As we are Europeans most if not all of the practical information was of much use or relevance and we ended up having to buy in a rush Lonely Planet, which is far more geared toward a more global public. This factor could usefully be indicated in the description of the product.

Lo stile dello scrittore è interessante, e mostra molto particolari che sia la Rough che la Lonely ignorano, specie per ReykjavikTuttavia se qualcosa non gli piace , lo ignora . Completamente. Io visiterò i Westfjords e la penisola di Snaefellsnes nel prossimo viaggio (motivo per cui ho comprato questa guida, visto che la mia vecchia Lonely è ormai datata ); ebbene, con mio completo sconcerto entrambi meritano un trafiletto di mezza pagina : nient’altroSe volete un approfondimento su alcuni capitoli del vostro viaggio va bene , ma se volete visitare il West Iceland passate oltre

Rick Steves series is always our go-to when traveling in Europe. So glad an Iceland one came out in time for our trip. The advices were very useful.

The book is very helpful and covers a great range of things that should be helpful on our trip to Iceland

As always Rick Steves books are wonderful.