Iceland Rovers Blog
Our blog features posts that will spark your curiosity, showcase Icelandic nature & culture, and highlight your comfort travel options in our beautiful country.
Rover of the Month: A Bridal Shower Leads to Iceland
This week's instalment of our "Rover of the Month" series tells the story of Nancy who, based on a fateful bridal shower, decided to hunt the Northern Lights. The rest is history.…
All About Puffins
Everybody knows them, everybody loves them, and somehow, despite existing all over the North Atlantic from Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland the British Isles and on the east coast of the United States, the Puffin has become almost the national symbol of Iceland.…
East Iceland Nature and Highlights
When it comes to visiting Iceland, Iceland’s south coast seems to take the largest chunk of the pie: the West is next, and then the North perhaps. What about East Iceland? It’s the furthest away from the capitol, the direct opposite end and hardest to access part of the country (unless you land by boat from the ferry from Denmark, which stops in Seyðisfjörður) and takes the longest to reach.…
Buns, Explosions and Ashes: Iceland Before Lent
Many countries that have a history of being christian have a period in which all of the rich foods are removed from the house in the days before lent. Jesus is said to have spent 40 days in the desert being tempted by the devil, and in giving up rich foods for lent we are said to show our solidarity.…
Rover of the Month: Cliff Proposes
This week's instalment of our "Rover of the Month" series tells the story of Cliff, who went with with his girlfriend, came back with his fiancée and now his wife! 3 months after the wedding, I caught up with Cliff and he told me the whole story.…
Mythical Beings of Iceland
They may be real, they may not be. Some people claim to have seen them, some people claim to have never. The mythical beings of Iceland emerge as legends from a landscape that has historically been very unforgiving, where nothing less than constant work was necessary in order to survive. The tales of trolls, elves, ghosts and other monsters exist most likely as a way to explain the harsh elements, and give them some meaning.…
The Nomadic Arctic Fox in Iceland
The Arctic Fox, Alopex lagopus (meaning “the rabbit-footed” in latin) has to take the crown as Iceland’s cutest animal ever. They have short muzzles, ears and legs, and they come in two morphs: blue and white. Their coats change colour with the seasons, changing to white for camouflage in the snow. The Arctic Fox in Iceland is the largest native, non-migratory terrestrial homeothermic animal on the island.…
Private vs. Tailor-Made Tours in Iceland: Which is Right for You?
There is a fine line between the two. A private tour becomes a tailor-made tour as soon as you start to customise it in some way. So you like the look of our Golden Circle tour, but you want to go Snorkelling. If that is the case, you have a word with us, and we will do a custom itinerary for you. Simple as that.…
Þorri, The Traditional Food Festival and Mens Day
Like many traditions in Iceland, þorri (translates to “frost” in Icelandic”) has pagan origins. It all starts with the Orkneyinga saga, which deals with a range of topics in what is now mostly Scandinavia but also more broadly Nordic countries in general. Therein, it is outlined that the Kvens (an ethnic minority of Finnish peasants living in Norway) offer a yearly sacrifice to þorri, likely related to Thor, the god of thunder, at mid-winter. This sacrifice was known as þorrablót.…
The Icelandic Lopapeysa: A History
The post has been a tricky one: getting to bottom of something about which there isn’t a huge amount of information. That has, however, made arriving at the conclusion all the more satisfying as well as showing that, far from being purely Icelandic, the Icelandic lopapeysa is very much a Nordic affair.…
