iceland and costa rica
 

I'm trying to plan a special one week vacation with my Husband and two adult children.
They want to go to Iceland from New York but I'm told by a travel agent that no one goes there. Sounds crazy since it looks so beautiful.Since we like adventure and new cultures rather than beach and rest, she suggested Costa Rica and told me we should have a driver since it is too difficult to navigate. I would appreciate any recommendations you have. Thanks ML

I loved Iceland! I haven't been to Costa Rica yet but it's on my to do list for 'someday'

You can easily research both destinations on this site.
Read some trip reports for inspiration.


A quick search for Iceland yielded these links
http://www.cafeinks.com/archives/348

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...a-cucumber.cfm

Here's a link to my trip report from last summer
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-10-days.cfm

You need a new travel agent. Anyone who would say that is clueless.

Agree that you need a new travel agent. Iceland is amazing. The forum here is not that active, but you will find lots of information on the Lonely Planet Iceland forum.

Could it be that your agent can make more commission sending you to Costa Rica? Should that be reason, she is not working for you. Either way, you really need to find someone else. Iceland is all about adventure and new cultures, not that Costa Rica is not. BTW, although there are many tours within Iceland, you do not need a driver and most sites that tourists see are not difficult drives.

I should have asked - when do intend to travel. If it is when there is little daylight in Iceland then your agent may have a point.

Got to agree with the rest--you need a new travel agent. While I have not been to Iceland, I have seen my friend's photos and heard her stories of the amazing vacation she had there.

My brother and his family drove through Costa Rica and we plan to do a driving trip there next year.

Well, it's settled, I'm getting a new travel agent. Actually, years ago I've planned several trips on my own using this wonderful site and I think I have the time to do it again.
We do plan to go in June, so I'll have to look up the daylight thing. Thanks for all your help and suggestion of lonely planet.

June is perfect. You will have nearly 24 hours of daylight then depending on how late in the month you go so there will be plenty of time for sightseeing and doing things. Some restaurants will be open past midnight. Last we were in Iceland was on the 4th of July several years ago. The sun would set as far as the horizon in the west, but not below. If you stay up all "night" you can watch it move along the horizon toward the east for sunrise.

Stoweflake

I think you need to follow Basingstoke's advice and start searching for another agent, that is the worst advice imaginable, I presume they specialise in party weeks to Cnacun.

Iceland is a well and truly established destination for European travellers. You could try Iceland Air who frequently have sales on seats between the US East Coast and Iceland.

Iceland is one of the rare areas of land sits on two tectonic plates and as a result has some of the most spectacular geographic features on earth.

Prior to the credit crunch, Iceland had one of the most spectacular economies in the world. A large market for higher end tourism developed with up market hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes. Unfortunately, Icelanders were not content witha spectacular economy, they wanted more and borrowed heavily. The 2008 credit crunch had a devastating effect on their financial system.

Do lots of research and you should be able to source deals on good hotels etc.

BTW Costa Rica's brand has suffered in the UK, friends are returning with the frequent feedback..."it's not what it used to be".

I couldn't believe it when I read your subject line - so funny, because my husband and I asked ourselved the same question!! We have one week off in December, and my first thought was Costa Rica (we like nature, animals, active pursuits). But then someone mentioned Iceland - and that was it, the excitement overtook me. I'm sure we'll see Costa Rica one day, but Iceland has so much to offer that, daylight be damned, we are leaving this Saturday for a week (hello, Northern Lights, glacier hike, Yule lads! :) In June, you will have so much to see and do there... And, yes, find another agent with a more adventurous mind... Happy family travels!

stoweflake - in June Iceland should be abut as good as it gets - endless daylight for sight-seeing, or exploring, or just for staying up and reading a newspaper at midnight, if that's your sort of thing.

in a week you could either tour one part of the island [we just loved the western fjords] or stay in Reykjavik and do day trips. it's worth getting hold of the brochure of one of the specialist holiday companies that goes there, to get some ideas about what is possible in the time you've got.

Gina - wrap up warm and take your walking boots. it'll be chilly, but fun!

Thanks to DickieG Annhig and GinaTo. Let me know how your trip goes! have fun.

Please do a trip report, including getting to/from there. We don't get many Iceland reports here and it's something I've been looking into. Not many airlines fly there and what I found was pretty pricey.

For some reason they think I am American and keep sending me emails of offers at about $300 from Boston and New York.

http://www.icelandair.co.uk/

Just saw tv Chef's "reservations" it featured his visit to Iceland. Didn't reflect too well. cold and well the food was different. :)

Forgot to mention the Chef was Anthony Bourdain

Iceland certainly can be cold but you are going in June are you not? It will be much warmer then and you certainly don't have to eat that fish that Tony ate. I saw that program also. Iceland isn't the only place that has a tradition of buried meat or fish.

If you watched the entire program, Tony also ate a lot of good looking food prepared by world class chefs.

stowflake - if you read my TR you'll see that we didn't always think a great deal of the food either; though some of it was very good IME you had to spend a lot of money to get it.

OTOH, another fodorite [astein from memory] enjoyed it very much, and yet another fodorite "flamed" me for criticising it. so who knows what you are going to think about it!

but Iceland is not just about the food. our kids [then about 16 & 19] still talk about what we saw - the geysers, whales, puffins, waterfalls, the place where the tectonic plates meet, etc. etc. overall we had a great time and I'm sure you will too.

hi again, snowflake,

here's a link to one of the threads about Iceland that Astein12 has contributed to.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...tel-glymur.cfm

as he points out, his TR seems to have disappeared, but if you click on his name, you'll find some other threads he's contributed to.

you could also click on my name and read my TR if you've got a few days to spare [it's a bit long].

stoweflake ,
if your TA told you that nobody goes to Iceland i would first, get a new tA, and second, just llook at the tours to Iceland and how fast they book up. i went to Iceland in 2010, and it was one of the BEST places i have ever gone to, 2nd only to TOKYO!!! funny, i will be going to costa Rica in March as part of an 11-day cruise.

I've seen both: I'd go back to Iceland in a heart-beat.

I would too LSURENJE!!!!

thank you all. putting on Iceland on the backburner due to family commitments. We decided to travel within the US. thanks

Hi

Im planning on heading to Iceland in December and was in Costa Rica in December last year.

Im not even sure you can compare the two! They seem very very different places.

Costa Rica was an amazing place but I would not say it was a comparable holiday with what I am planning for Iceland.

If you have any questions about Costa Rica please feel free to ask as I know I found it difficult to get information from travel agents in the UK. At present I cant really comment on Iceland as I am yet to go - very excited for my December trip though!

Stacey