Iceland: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Iceland feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 308 written places.
Weather rules everything; independence and understatement are national traits.
✓ Considered polite
- Shower fully without swimwear before entering any pool - it is mandatory and monitored
- Check road and weather sites every morning if driving
- Take off shoes when entering homes
- Respect closure signs on trails - they protect you and fragile moss
✗ Better avoided
- Tip - it is genuinely not done and prices include everything
- Walk on the moss - it takes decades to regrow
- Buy bottled water - Icelandic tap water is the same water, free
- Underestimate weather that changes four times a day
Worth knowing
- Cards work for absolutely everything including public toilets - cash is nearly extinct
- The Bonus and Kronan supermarkets are the budget traveller's lifeline
- Pools are the town square - every village has a geothermal one
- Fuel stations often need a PIN-enabled card at the pump
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.