Reviews

The Little Book of Tourists in Iceland: Tips, tricks, and what the Icelanders really think of you by Alda Sigmundsdóttir, Megan Herbert

laurenfro22's review against another edition

5.0

I’d just like to know what the Toyota Yaris did to Sigmundsdóttir to piss her off enough to put in the text more than once 😂
Fantastic survey of common tourist questions, concerns, and things to know before visiting. 

michperk's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

4.0

cheriekg's review

5.0

A sobering but entertaining look at tourism in Iceland. This should be read by everyone before a visit, but those who need it, won't read it.

sanjastajdohar's review

5.0

Highly informative and important. A must read for anyone visiting Iceland.

livrad's review

4.0

This was an interesting read on how Iceland has tried to cope with the huge influx of tourists, how they still need to adapt, and what will happen when the tourism boom goes away. For example, in the early 2000s, the number of tourists surpassed the national population, but now there are 6x the number of visitors to Iceland than its population, leading to issues of accommodation, driving up rent prices, a worker shortage, lacking restrooms, environmental impacts, roads and infrastructure not built for such trafficking, food shortages, etc.

lilkstew's review

fast-paced

4.0

iliana_cg's review

informative slow-paced

2.5

margotcolville's review

informative lighthearted fast-paced

2.75

elke_go_read's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

4.0

jlrmac's review

4.0

This short, fun book was a great background read for anyone wanting to know something about Iceland’s people, economy, government, and personality and not a guide to sights.

Iceland is teaming with tourists-who spend lots of money (plastic cards accepted universally) but price locals out of their own country, strain the country’s natural sights, transportation systems, housing, ecosystem, medical facilities, etc. I was saddened to learn of pollution, big developers, the depletion through development, and corrupt politicians, rich getting richer.

Iceland can be deceptively dangerous—wind, icebergs, huge waves on beaches, fragile glaciers, rough terrain, geothermal features, inexperienced foreign drivers, unexpected weather changes, hikers without trained guides.

Some of the humor was noting the differences by nationality of what tourists think of Icelanders and questions they ask by nationality: Spain, France, Chinese, American, British, Nordic. “How to Piss Off A Local” included calling Icelandic horses PONIES or petting them, building stone cairns for fun (instead of leaving only the ones that mark the trails!), and not showering before entering a pool!

It is mandatory that everyone shower naked at the pool (with soap). This freaks out a lot of more modest visitors. Someone who recently visited there told me some facilities have a private area when requested.

A couple of important websites for visitors planning or during their Iceland trip:
https://www.vakinn.is/en/ to check for quality certified companies and services (and not get ripped off)
https://safetravel.is Check every day during your visit for alerts, tips, leaving itinerary online, etc.

A list of helpful websites was provided at the end of the text. An index would have been helpful, but not expected in a little volume like this.

The only other comment I wanted to make was I disagree with Alda’s insistence that you need STUDDED snow tires if driving in the winter. I disagree. Modern snow tires are very helpful. Studs damage roads and provide little advantage to GOOD modern SNOW TIRES.

The kindle version I read was c. 2017, 1st edition. The author was born in Iceland, lived in Canada, Cyprus, the United Kingdom and Germany, for longer or shorter periods, and has returned back “home” with an outsider/insider perspective [my words.