Useful information

About Iceland
Iceland is a unique and beautiful country located just south of the arctic circle. Despite its northerly location, it has a temperate climate which is moderated by the North Atlantic current. Iceland is blessed with a bounty of natural resources, principally fish, hydropower and geothermal power. The extensive use of electricity produced from clean, renewable hydropower and geothermal power plants, coupled with the use of hot water to heat almost all the homes in the country means that Iceland has very little pollution. In fact, it is one of the least polluted cities in Europe.

The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik and it is the northernmost national capital in the world. Iceland´s population is quite small, currently less than 320,000  people (January 2010), the majority of which live in the capital city. The language of Iceland is Icelandic and it has changed little over the centuries. In fact, Icelanders can still read the original Icelandic Sagas written in the 9th and 10th century. But, most Icelanders speak English as well as other languages like Danish, German, Swedish and Norwegian.

Weather
Iceland's weather is very capricious. You can literally experience four seasons in one day. We highly recommend that you bring the following items for every tour:

• Good shoes, trekking boots or similar
• A warm, wind and rainproof jacket and trousers
• Gloves or mittens
• Ski cap
• Sunglasses

Have a Safe Journey
Driving in Iceland requires caution. Here you can find useful information on driving in Iceland. The video – Dangers on Icelandic roads? - Driving with Elfis – is highly recommended … a must see for all those who intend to drive their own vehicle in Iceland!

Pronunciation
Icelandic has characters in its alphabet that may seem quite foreign to some. Here's a quick guide to help your pronunciation:
Ð (capitalized)/ ð (lower case): called "eth" and pronounced like the "th" in there.
Æ/æ: called, "aye" and pronounced like the "i" in Iceland.
Ö/ö: pronounced like the "u" in further or murky.
Þ/þ: called "thorn" and pronounced like the "th" in thin.
Á/á: pronounced like the "ou" in ouch.
É/é: is like a normal "e," but with a subtle "y" before it. For instance, the Icelandic word for company is, "félag" and is pronounced like "fyelag."
Í/í: pronounced like the "ee" in eat.
Ó/ó: pronounced like the "o" in open.
Ú/ú: pronounced like the "o" in move.