The Rough Guide to Iceland (Rough Guides) Paperback – April 1, 2013

This is a very comprehensive guidebook for Iceland. Lots of suggested activities beyond Reykjavik and big three Golden Circle sites. Iceland was spectacular and I hope you get a chance to visit. Recommend at least a week if you can budget the time. Keep in mind Iceland is both spectacularly beautiful and spectacularly expensive. The car rental was almost as much as the airfare. Budget you time and money accordingly.

I found this book to be very helpful on my recent trip to Iceland (which was amazing!). The more popular areas have quite a bit of information to help you know what activities, accommodations, restaurants, and services are available in the area. The less popular areas of the country are still included and they give you enough information to help you plan your time in these areas (since you're likely to pass through these towns on your way to major tourist attractions. The authors are honest in telling you if a town is worth visiting and don't try to convince you that it's something it's not. I saw lots of tourists that also had this book on them, so it seems to be a popular resource.

This guide, from the pictures to the history, made my journey across Iceland so much more exciting! Friends bought the lonely planet guide and ended up taking my rough guides book since they were staying longer than me. The only thing that I wish was different was the southern coast section... We travelled clockwise like the book does, except when it hits the southern coast and changes to explaining from west to east.

Good overview of Iceland. I used this guide to drive around the ring road, and it was invaluable at pointing out things to do and tips about what to eat and where to stay. (Sparing us from just eating gas station hot dogs, which are good the first few times.)

The best guide to Iceland, its people and the culture.

We found this book very useful during our trip. It included many tidbits that other guides overlooked and added greatly to our experience. The depth of information was good. In fact, it is so packed with information, it is a bit hard to navigate the book, or find where you had read about that interesting POI to stop at.

I traveled with my sisters to Iceland in September 2013. We headed inland only one day and otherwise focused on sites along the Southern coast. We developed the itinerary with an Icelandic acquaintance so we knew, more or less, where we were heading. The Rough Guide was extraordinarily helpful in providing background on each place and focusing us on the things we really wanted to see and experience. It also helped us decide on other stops or detours we wanted to make along the way. Best part of the guide are the inserted narratives that educate (synopsis of Njal’s Saga and explanation of the early governing assembly at Thingvellir are two that especially impressed me). Outside of Reykjavik, it’s easy to feel lost in Iceland—it’s a vast land with little population. But the Guide really made us feel that we were on track and making the most of every day.

Traveling in Iceland using this new edition of the Rough Guide gave me and my wife the impression that the author did not like Iceland. Simply put, there was ample evidence that most of what was written was obtained by an online search or word-of-mouth. There were a number of inaccuracies and omissions that would be unimaginable if the author had actually spent time in Iceland. In all likelihood, it was written from a three-day stay in Reykjavik during July (the height of tourist season). Here are some examples of the lazy writing that caused us MANY headaches:-It is assumed that everyone in Iceland (locals and tourists) has a cellphone. There are rarely any phones available in hotel rooms or B&B's, and many times the phone number listed for a B&B is the cellphone of the owner. This was not mentioned in the book.-Some towns are simply not mentioned. While the towns in Iceland tend to be very small and would not rate a mention in most guidebooks, this is true of 90% of the towns. There are only 320,000 people in Iceland - their towns can all be listed. For example, try finding Suðureyri in the guidebook. Not there. The town is a fairly substantial fishing village near Ísafjörður.-Puffins: it is no secret that Iceland is home to many nesting grounds for puffins. We traveled to Iceland in the second half of August expecting to find puffins. According to the guidebook, the puffins can be found from April to Mid-September. Good luck with that. Any local can tell you (and will, if you ask them) that the puffins all leave by Mid-August. After August 15, you can only expect a few isolated puffins anywhere around Iceland. You might get lucky and find a group stopped at a southerly stop for a while (we did), but don't count on it. Where we saw a flock of puffins (at Vestmannaeyjar), none had been spotted a week prior. Yet another example of lazy, inaccurate writing that could have been corrected by some cursory research.-Opening hours: we found more than one attraction with incorrect hours listed. Don't trust any times that say open after 18:00.-Laugavegur: Everything written about the laugavegur lists it as a four-day hike from Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk, with no other options. The author clearly pulled all of his information about this trek from other sources and did not try it himself nor talk to someone who had. While it is a full four days from start to end, there are buses that can be hired that reach Álftavatn (and Emstrur), which cut the walk in half - something useful if you wish to go elsewhere. Taking a bus either in or out of Álftavatn also avoids all of the potentially treacherous river fordings. The hike from Landmannalaugar to Álftavatn is also, by far, the most scenic portion of the hike.-Buses: The only bus routes mentioned in the book start and end in Reykjavik. While those routes certainly exist and are useful, there are many other routes that start and end elsewhere. Bus tickets start at ~$50 a ride/person. Knowing all of the possibilities will help with planning more interesting excursions into the interior of Iceland without losing days on a bus.-Roads: the road conditions and experience of driving in Iceland is quite different from the U.K. (including Skye) or mainland Europe. Doable, but be ready for very rough terrain (even the "good" roads). Not mentioned in this book.I leave these bits of advice as examples of why you should find a different guidebook and as helpful tips to those wishing to go to Iceland (which is GREAT!). Good luck!