If you haven’t visited, now’s the time when prices drop and Iceland takes on a warm glow for the holidays. If you’ve been once or twice, it’s time for a return engagement. One traveler once told us: “Iceland is the kind of place that when you visit for the first time, you’re already thinking about returning.”

We couldn’t agree more and have collected a number of money-saving packages to convince you to pack your bags and come see us.

>Turkey On Ice
>Viking New Year's - It's all Fun
>Iceland Frees You From the Monday Blues
>Christmas Feast All December Long
>365 Days Of Iceland
>All Directions Point To Iceland
>Iceland Gets A Helping Hand
>May We Have the Envelope Please?
>Now Shop At The Blue Lagoon Online
>Can You Hear Me Now?
>Whole Foods Features Icelandic Products …
>Iceland Is Takin' Care Of Business
>THEY SAID IT

Turkey On Ice
Celebrate your next Thanksgiving with a new twist by having your traditional feast in Iceland. Let us fix you a dinner that includes traditional American fare along with Icelandic specialties. The package also includes transatlantic airfare, three nights hotel stay with Scandinavian breakfasts and a visit to the Blue Lagoon starting at $751*. Click here for more details.

Viking New Year's - It's all Fun
New Year's Eve in Iceland is one spectacular celebration. Celebrations start with a dinner, followed by bonfires where people sing traditional Icelandic folk songs accompanied by trolls, elves and other strange beings. At midnight all hell breaks loose with a spectacular display of fireworks as well as bonfire parties in many communities.

This is an amazing moment for those who spend this special evening in the capital Reykjavik, something to remember for the rest of their lives. But this is only a start of the night. Parties, club outings and fireworks continue into the early morning hours welcoming the new year the Icelandic way. Packages including airfare, three nights stay, tours and entertainment start at $1,257*. Click here for more details.

Iceland Frees You From the Monday Blues
Sundays are spoiled for some people with the specter of work on Monday hanging over their heads. But there is hope: escape the commuter blues by flying to Iceland on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday for the cheapest airfares available. Round-trip transatlantic flights and two nights in a double room in Reykjavik cost only $395* per person. Click here for more details.

Additional information about travel and packages to Iceland is available from Professional Travel Agents as well as www.icelandair.com or by phone at 800 223 5500. Icelandair U.S. gateways include Baltimore/Washington (BWI) as well as Boston, New York, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando and San Francisco. Flights connect through the airline's hub in Reykjavik to destinations in Scandinavia, Great Britain and Continental Europe.

For even more details, you can also call 800 779 2899 or log onto www.icelandairholidays.com.

*Prices quoted are exclusive of applicable taxes and official charges by destination. Click here to view approximate taxes by destination. Click here to read the General Terms and Conditions of Icelandair Holidays Packages.

Christmas Feast All December Long
Iceland is also a treat for grownups in the beginning of December when restaurants around the country lay out their lavish "Christmas Buffets." These smorgasbords become quite extravagant in their content and presentation because of the fierce competition between the restaurants for the holiday business. The Christmas buffets carry traditional Icelandic goodies such as succulent lamb, Hangikjot (smoked lamb), venison, goose and other game bird, ocean-fresh seafood, and laufabraud (paper-thin bread). The dessert tables overflow with Christmas cookies, delicate tortes and cream-laden cakes. Just one more reason close out your 2005 in Iceland.

365 Days Of Iceland
Icelandair Holidays will publish their trip planner listing travel deals and destinations, November ’05 - November ’06, this November. The brochure is great for planning your Icelandic adventure for whenever and wherever you would like to visit. Complete information is available as always on www.icelandairholidays.com.

All Directions Point To Iceland
Looking to see what regional specialties Iceland has to offer? We try to make it easy on you. For a handy Web site tip, just type in the region followed by “.is” and you’ll go there. East.is, South.is., West.is, Northiceland.is, Westfjords.is, northwest.is and Reyjkjanes.is (Southwestern Iceland), are all options. You get the picture. It’s a great way to explore what the different areas of Iceland have to offer.

Iceland Gets A Helping Hand
Iceland’s marketing organization in the U.S., the Iceland Tourist Board, has appointed Olafur William Hand as its new marketing manager for North America. He replaces Petur Agustsson who left for a sales position with Icelandair in New England. Hand, 37, a former sales and marketing manager for Apple Computers in Iceland, will be responsible for promoting Iceland to media, and supporting the efforts of professional travel agents, tour operators and wholesalers who book vacation and meeting travel to this increasingly popular adventure destination in the North Atlantic. He will report to Einar Gustavsson, the director of the Iceland Tourist Board.

May We Have the Envelope Please?
They may talk funny, but folks in the UK certainly know a thing or two about Iceland. The country was named the UK’s favorite European country in 19th annual Guardian, Observer and Guardian Unlimited Travel Awards. Last year, we ranked second in the poll, the longest-running independent survey of its kind. The awards are based upon 27,000 questionnaires completed by the newspapers’ readers. Not surprisingly, Icelandair also made a strong showing, ranking fourth as the best short-haul airline, up from 14th place last year. We better stock up on more tea and cucumber sandwiches.

Now Shop At The Blue Lagoon Online
The Blue Lagoon is offering you a gate way to buy there world famous Blue Lagoon skin care products online.

Blue Lagoon skin care products are based on a unique blend of Blue Lagoon geothermal seawater active ingredients. They are designed to purify, protect and revitalize the skin, leaving it healthy and glowing. A complete range of face and body products is available.

Most Internet orders are processed within 24 hours of receipt. (Weekend days and major holidays are not included in the processing time). Orders are processed and shipped on business days only.

Blue Lagoon keeps the sales history of its customers but never gives the personal information to any unaffiliated third parties unless with your agreement. For orders enquiries please contact by phone + 354 420-8811 or by email: [email protected].

Can You Hear Me Now?
Why are Icelanders so technologically advanced? You try living in the middle of nowhere and see how you like it. A recent study shows that there are just 40 fewer cell phones used in Iceland than there are Icelanders. The total amount of cell phones in use is 293,537 according to a report from the Post and Telecom Administration in Iceland. According to Statistics Iceland there were 293,577 Icelanders in the country as of December 1, 2004. That leaves just 40 Luddites not pulling their weight. We’re working on ‘em.

MEDIA MATTERS

Whole Foods Features Icelandic Products
On September 14, The New York Times put Icelandic cuisine in the limelight. Journalism’s gray lady focused on the new wave of Icelandic foods coming to 28 stores in the mid-Atlantic U.S. at high quality shopping locations like Whole Foods. The products include free-range lamb, skyr (a tangy low-fat cheese similar to yogurt), and cod filets marked with numbers so shoppers can actually track them back to the boats that caught them. For more information about Iceland’s fresh, natural foods, log onto www.nytimes.xom/2005/09/14/dining/14icel.html to read the whole article.

Iceland Is Takin' Care Of Business
Iceland was mentioned again in the September 29 New York Times, as the paper reported on the results of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competition Rankings. Finland edged out the U.S. as the most economically competitive country in the world, but the small island nation of Iceland showed its economic might by placing seventh on the planet in economic fervor. The study assigned scores to nations by looking at factors like government economic policy, the strength of local institutions and the degree to which technology has been used to bolster growth. The high rankings of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway highlighted the countries' ability to foster a climate in which business can flourish while they also run large social welfare systems. Click here to read the full article.

THEY SAID IT

“Reykjavik is arguably Europe’s hottest nightlife destination these days …

- Julian Kesner, New York Daily News, Sept. 18, 2005

“Whether it's due to the imposing geography or the Viking heritage, Icelanders play hard but land soft - meaning, you can be active and outdoors without having to worry about breaking any bones. Plenty of Iceland's attractions have an edge to them, such as midnight golfing and geothermal swimming, which, according to the Icelandic Tourist Board, is the national sport. In addition, many of the activities are either in Reykjavik (for example, the city has nine geothermal pools) or within a one- or two-hour drive from the capital, so you can pack a lot into one day. And weather is never a deterrent: You can swim when it's snowing and snowmobile in fall.”

- Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, September 4, 2005

“Trendy Reykjavik, once known primarily for chess and political summits, has become a northern European center of nightlife and fashion.”

- San Francisco Chronicle, July 17, 2005

Want to learn even more about Iceland? Log onto www.icelandtouristboard.com for a free downloadable version of “Good Morning Iceland,” an informative newsletter covering new spas, popular driving tours, specialized medical services for athletes, and six “energizing” ideas for visitors.