Customer Reviews

Iceland (Lonely Planet Country Guide)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is not one of Lonely Planet's best guides. There is suprisingly little information. For example, the book mentions that there are a few companies that give day tours from Rekyavik but doesnt tell you anything about how they compare in price or services. basically, everything in the guide and more can be found at the tourist information center in Rekyavik, which luckily is run very well. I found this really disappointing since Iceland is very expensive and I was hoping to keep down costs (in reality this is almost impossible, even eating at the grocery store I was spending 10 dollars a meal for bread and cheese) Furthermore, Iceland is a very small country and it would have been very easy to have given a lot more details.

As with any tour book some of the info is out of date. some of the museums and businesses were closed including the Icelandic Phallogical Museum. It also seemed that this book was written for the high season in the summer months. I went in March and found the information on the offseason limited and sometimes inaccurate. I usually trust Lonely Planet but in this case I would have tried one of the other guide book companies or simply visit the tourist center when you get there.

I just came back from a two week tour of Iceland with two friends. Our experience was memorable--amazing--LP Iceland, however was not. We read the book front to back. We went around the whole of the island and didn't stay just in Reykjavik. We also camped 70% of the time- just to give a little background. What we found was that the book is so poorly written and for the most part so out of date, that much of the usefull information we got was from just grabbing the free pamphlets at the "Upplysinga" Centers. In the back of the book it says that the first edition was printed several years ago, and only last year did two writers go back out "into the field." I'd like to know what field that was? If these two men actually went back to Iceland, I'd bet my money that they only went to Reykjavik obtained information from pamphlets concerning other parts of Iceland and then wrote from those documents. Not much thought was put into the style of writting as well, or editing for that matter. Every site in Iceland (and I'm not arguing that this is untrue) could leave you captivated for several days, hold your attention for several days, enough to do to keep you several days...etc [paraphrasing]. I just feel that if I'm going to have to pay even $2 for a tid bit of information I would at least hope that it was well researched and not a half-baked job. My time and money, especially when in Iceland, are more valuable to me that having to chase around a tiny West Fjord village looking for a nonexistant camping site because I relied on an unreliable "guide" book. Lesson learned: LP Iceland poor poor example of what I know others say is one of the best guide books out there. I'm sticking to DK.

I've just returned from a week tour of Iceland. The info in the book is quite comprehensive - only it takes some time to find it (the index is appalling and the sections are oddly organised). The maps are hopeless if you're driving. However the Insight Guide's flexi-map makes a good companion to the Lonely Planet Guide.

I have been traveling all over Europe and usually Lonely Planet is the guide book you want to get. However, the book for Iceland is quite aweful. Most of the maps in the book are so small, I don't know how they expect anyone to really read them, much less the small font printed throuhout the book. Also the organization and lay-out of the book are highly lacking, which is usually one of the best features of the lonely planet books. I recommend anything else but this.

We recently returned from 10 days in Iceland (which I love, for reasons completely unrelated to this book). I checked out the older version of Lonely Planet's Iceland book at my library, then purchased this one as soon as it came out.

I agree with most of the negative reviews (and find the positives somewhat puzzling and/or generic). Like another reviewer I was also thoroughly disgusted and wanted to pitch the book just outside of Akureyri. In short, this version seems like a lazy remake of the previous version, which wasn't that good to start with. It seems like the authors talked to a few people here and there, included those people's assessment of their own businesses and services, and then updated a few facts to give the impression of an up-to-date book.

Of course, this wasn't our only source of information on Iceland and it shouldn't be for anyone (Rick Steves, help!). The tone of complete knowledge and helpfulness and experience got annoying after we realized how very partially helpful the book was. Good to read (check out from library if you can) before your trip, don't consider lodging/restaurants/business anywhere near inclusive, prices outdated in all currencies, many awesome sights not mentioned at all, use other resources to avoid getting burned like we did. Driving the ring road in 10 days required somewhat more micro-planning than we normally do, but was worth it, especially after freeing ourselves from this book.

we started out with three travel guides... by the end of our trip the other two were at the bottom of my bag and we were only using this one. it did a much better job than any of the other guides. i find it strange that so many other people wrote negative reviews. it did the job fine for us... we saw all of the country and got to do everything we wanted. the other options were useless.
yes-the maps were small and inaccurate- but i found that to be true of all the maps we used in iceland- including the ones we bought there!
i also saw many people walking around with copies of this guide. maybe it is not up to the usual caliber of a lonely planet guide book (i dont know- i havent used any others) but that might just be because of the nature of iceland- and not a fault of the book. i was nothing but pleased with it and considered it a big asset to our trip.

I've just returned from Iceland -- deemed the most expensive country in the world after Japan -- and I was able to keep costs down and still have fun with the help of this guide. There is a thorough section on budget accommodation, as well as many fine suggestions for dining out (which can quickly add up to the cost of a 3rd-world country's national debt if you're not careful). I also appreciated the elongated history section, which was much more thorough than in the previous edition. In general, costs and descriptions were extremely accurate, and the suggested iterneraries excellent. I cannot recommend this guide over all others enough.

My wife and I flew to Europe with Iceland Air and we had a complimentary stopover in Iceland. Armed with our Lonely Planet guide, we were able to really make the most of our 3 day stop. We took in all of Reykjavik and some outstanding thermal baths outside the city. The guide also gave us some useful local lingo, to "break the ice" (forgive me!) with the natives, who were extremely kind and affable. The restaurant tips were right on the money. I'll be going back to Iceland, and I'll take my LP with me. My wife can come too.

I purchased this sorry excuse for a guide book knowing full well my options for guide books to Iceland were limited, and a few kilometers outside of Akureyri I pitched it out the window of my rental car in shear frustration. For such a tiny country with a population about the size of Anchorage, Alaska (approx 300,000) readers would think the book might be a bit more comprehensive and up to date. The most current edition is two years old, and apparently a lot has changed in those two years, i.e. the Icelandic Phallogical Museum has been moved from Rekyjavik to Husavik. I found more helpful advice and information from on-line encyclopedias, the tourist information booths, and from word of mouth from other travellers. This book is excellent if you want suggestions about what to see and do, but I suggest you thoroughly research your selections from alternative sources before setting off on an adventure. I repsected and even liked the television show Lonely Planet on the Travel Channel (now called Globe Trekker) but I will never purchase another guide book from that name ever again.

I was very disappointed when I read all the bad reviews about this book, despite those reviews I went ahead and bought the book. When arrived to Reykjavik, I found a lot of information and seemed the book was just a waste of money, however this is not a tourist's book, it is for the adventurous people who enjoy the countryside. If you go to Iceland and expect to stay in the big cities such as Reykjavik or Akureyri don't buy the book cause you will feel disappointed, buy this book if you want to explore the country by yourself.

In Reykjavik you can find plenty of things to do, but once you are in the countryside this book is useful, although is very far from perfect I couldn't imagine myself without it.