Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Iceland, Greenland & the Faroe Islands

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I used this book heavily during two trips around Iceland in 2000 and 2002, albeit the third edition.

The authors know where the "odd" things are to be found. Thanks to them, I located strange stuff which isn't on the average tourist's agenda: geothermal areas, bubbling sulfurous mud pots, Asian restaurants (in Iceland!), cemeteries. I experienced some lovely, desolate terrain where no one was to be found for miles and miles.

But, then again, that's why this is the "Lonely Planet" guide!

This guide, like other ones published by Lonely Planet, is clearly oriented toward the type of tourist who backpacks and/or hitch-hikes. Nonetheless, it still has much use for the independent tourist who prefers hotels to huts and cars to cabins. Just pick a place and start exploring. Their detailed maps and descriptions won't lead you astray.

A special bonus provided with of Lonely Planet books is the company's "eKno" service, which allows one to call nearly anywhere in the world from anywhere in the world, with tolls automatically debuted from a prepaid account. eKno also allows one to listen to one's email messages. Toll-free access numbers are available in most countries. eKno cards come with Lonely Planet books, ready to be activated. I've found this service extremely valuable when calling from Europe to the US.

Despite the availability of internet resources, I think a printed guidebook is particularly helpful for unusual destinations such as these because it puts the hard-to-find information in one place under your fingertips. I used the previous edition of this book to take a week long trip to Greenland in January 2001. Even though a winter excursion to the Arctic is not a common vacation plan, this book told me how much sunlight to expect at what latitudes, estimated prices for air travel between towns, what sort of unpredictability to expect in the Arctic, whether or not it was feasible to do coastal travel by boat in the winter, the best times to see the aurora borealis, and the extent to which dog sleds are used as a 'normal' form of transportation, just to name a few. Of course it also provided detailed descriptions of towns which helped me choose my final destination. While providing the standard Lonely Planet maps, listings of places to stay, currency exchange options, restaurants, and whatnot, this particular guide also provides a healthy dose of reality. It makes clear that some places are quite difficult to visit unless you are well financed, and yet it also provides starting points for the extremely determined. Contrary to previous criticism, the previous edition (published in 1997) does in fact acknowledge the existence of the internet, providing email addresses and websites for further information. I can only imagine that this updated version is more complete. To quickly address the negative feedback that the guide is "outdated", please note the publication date of May 2001. That is quite current for any guide book. I do not think this book or say, "Lonely Planet : Antarctica" should be compared to the other Lonely Planet guides for the simple reason that the locales are some of the most remote on our planet with limited accessibility and unpredictable weather patterns. It's not nearly as easy for a writer or photographer to hop a jet to the Arctic as it is to Europe or Latin America. And once the person is there, he or she does not always have the luxury of roads or regular plane service to travel to the next destination. A person could end up waiting a week in northern Canada (as I did) to hop a plane to the next town on the itinerary. Furthermore, these are "niche" guidebooks which appeal to a very limited percentage of travelers. For economic reasons, they are not as likely to be frequently updated because the readership is not as substantial. My only criticism is as follows: because Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands are fairly remote destinations, I think there should be a deeper emphasis on what activities are available upon arrival, other than hiking, sightseeing, or organized tours. While the natural wonder of the area is amazing, the local cultures have just as much to offer. Furthermore, the Arctic can be a lonely place, even when you have traveling companions. Someone spending a few weeks in these northern wonderlands could benefit from more advice on how to best interact with the locals who spend their lives there.

Since 1999, I have been to Iceland twice and Greenland twice, for a total of seven weeks--extremely unusual for an American. Those trips included extended excursions by bicyle, backpack, and cross-country ski, with some bus excursions as well. Throughout, this book was my primary guide. I found it reliable and an extremely good source of inspiration, particularly for hikes.

I cite my own experience because I clearly fall into the target readership for this book. Car travelers aren't the intended audience, and may be disappointed. This book presumes (as do I, even at age 49) that the best way to see Iceland is afoot, a-pedal, or on one of that nation's wonderful backcountry bus routes. If you're not prepared to carry a backpack onto or off of the buses, you'll probably prefer another guidebook.

My main quibble is with the maps, which were hard to locate when I wanted them, and not very detailed. But you can get great maps in Reykjavik, so that's only a minor problem.

I have for sometime been an enthusiatic user of Lonely Planet guides for travels in Asia and in Europe. The guides I have used have been excellent sources, not only about the countries and their people but of the historical perspectives on how the country became what it is.

For this reason, I was disappointed with the contents of the Facts about Iceland section of the Lonely Planet Iceland Guide. Throughout the guide, there are political biased and incorrect statements about Iceland's recent history, especially regarding Iceland's relations with the United States.

Regarding the Post -Indepence section of the guide, American troops stayed on a Keflavik after the end of the war by treaty, mutually arrived at by the two governments. The American forces had come to Iceland by invitation of the Icelandic Government during WordWar II to preserve their security. Iceland has never had armed forces of her own.

Iceland willingly became a member of NATO to serve her own interests,especially regarding security during the Cold War.

There are other politically biased and incorrect statements in the guide regarding this time period. I e-mailed what I thought was a polite message to Lonely Planet advising them to have another look at their history sections, but I received no reply. I, and I suspect a lot of others, feel that a travel guide should not be a political forum.

Having travelled to Iceland twice and purchased/read three different Iceland travel books, I wholeheartedly recommend LP's book over the others.

Although some folks prefer not to plan their trips ahead of time, the high cost of travel in Iceland combined with early sellouts of daytrips outside of Reykjavik necessitate some planning before arrival. This book contains more of the relevant details than the others.

While other books have more pictures, LP Iceland is the only one I've seen that contains enough specific facts on where to inquire about activities/meals/daytrips/etc to keep from wasting 1-2 expensive days after arrival figuring out what to do.

The additional sections on daytrips to Greenland and the Faroes are also particularly useful as planning tools.

While this travel gudie does cover Iceland in detail, one needs to be careful to note that lonely planet does have their own agenda. Many of the hotels they reccommend over other establishments are not the best accomodations. Their may even be other hotels in the area where they say there are no other places to stay. And from a guide in the west fjords, some of their contact information as well as their descriptions may be far off.

I bought this book just before I came to live in Iceland and it has helped tremendously. I never leave the house without it, because it has everything from off-season places to eat/stay and buy gas, to cultural stories about random places as you're driving around. The guide will help whether you just want to do the touristy stuff, or if you want to get off the beaten path. Some of the info on restaurants and hotels has changed, and it should maybe be updated again. Definitely worth buying.

Recommend picking up a road atlas at one of the chain bookstores when you get here. Internet access also a plus when you travel for up-to-date weather and road info, especially in the winter.

The LP Iceland, Greenland and Faroes book reviewed here is now outdated. It has been superseded by specific books on Greenland and on Iceland while if you're looking for the latest practical info on the Faroe Islands you'll now need to buy the Scandinavian Europe book. Although that doesn't have a huge coverage of the islands, it should be fine for a one-week trip - indeed the Bradt Faroes book is by comparison almost over detailed with stuff that's of little real help while the Bradt town maps have some serious errors.

I don't think this book ever left my hand from the moment I stepped off the plane at Keflavik Airport until I loaded my bags into the Flybus for the return trip. This was the only book I was able to find specifically on Iceland, with enough information on Reykjavik and the surrounding towns to give me a little confidence while exploring this breathtaking land. The section on South Central Iceland is a must read for anyone planning to see the Golden Circle.

As always, Lonely Planet provides excellent and authoritative up-to-date guidebooks, and such an endeavour deserves no less than four stars. Yet, even the best guidebook writers can commit errors and flaws. In this particular guidebook, I find a strong and definite partiality by the author, positively biased towards the places and peoples he writes about. It is of course understandable, that an author would like her or his area of coverage to be the nicest in the world, with the most marvelous people, and everything else wonderful. Unfortunately this is not always the case. And it is certainly not the case for this particular part of the world. Indeed, it would be far worse and horrible, if the author were biased against - rather than in favour of - the people and land they are writing about (which is rare, but happened in the Armenia chapter of the LP guide on Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). So, here once again we find a great LP guidebook, but which turns a particular part of part of the world into the most fantastic thing on Earth, without flaws or bad sides to it - which unfortunately is not the case. Iceland may be a nice country, but Reykjavík is one of the most boring and ugly cities I ever found, and Icelandics can be very introverted and stiff. Nature of course is beautiful, but it is not found everywhere on the island. Greenland is also nice, but the author seriously fails to mention - among other things - that Kangerlussuaq (the only international hub, to where you are bound to fly if you come from Copenhagen) is no more than an airport and some old military barracks, and its population of 400 souls are all airport staff ! So I planned a nice couple of days in Greenland, and that is where I found myself for a good start... The Faroe islands also offer some beautiful sights, but I really did not find it any more interesting than Ireland or Scotland or so many places in continental Northern Europe or Scandinavia. The capital city, Tórshavn, is probably one of the most boring places on this planet, full of locals getting drunk and being nasty to visitors. I found the Faroese people (described as very "warm" in the book) to be the most rude and cold I have ever met - and I have been to 157 countries so far ! I would therefore recommend readers to buy this guidebook nevertheless, but take its enthusiasm with extreme caution. First of all, by all means, do not set off to that part of the world just because you are captivated by this book. Secondly, once you do get there, do not take everything in the book for granted, and try and use other sources (local tourist offices are usually helpful, as they are run by the state). This book is an excellent tool of publicity for the region, and I cannot blame the author for falling in love with it, but readers should be warned of the book's excessively positive coverage of just about everything.