Virtuoso Travel + Life
March/April 2004
But drop-dead-gorgeous nature doesn't account for a steady nine-percent annual increase in visitors over the last decade. The country's appeal lies in more subtle combination: Iceland is a rugged adventure with a soft edge. It has virtually no crime, a reliable infrastructure, and a population of forthright, friendly English-speakers.

The New York Times
May 11, 2004
A New York Times article on the dangers U.S. travelers face when traveling abroad recently named Iceland as among the three safe havens in the world. The other two were Greenland and Canada. The article, written by Harry Hurt III, quotes Chris Palmer, Director of Risk Control for the insurance broker Aon, who is frequently tapped by motion picture studios to provide security training and personal protection on location. Palmer most recently provided drivers and bodyguards for the cast and crew of “Man on Fire,” which was filmed in Mexico City - where 10 to 20 kidnappings occur every day.

Cond� Nast Traveler
April 2004
Iceland just scored big in Conde Nast Traveler's 2004 Hot List of the hottest tables, bars and hotels in the world. Hotel Budir in Snaefellsnes and 101 Hotel in Reykjavik were judged to be two of the best in the world.
The bar at 101 Hotel also received an award as one of the global hotbeds of nightlife. Iceland is not just for late-night action though - Sjavarkjallarinn, (The SeafoodCellar), in Reykjavik was rated as one of the world's Hot Tables by the magazine for its Viking history and asian-influenced food.

Gourmet April 2004 Defying an arctic climate - and all the odds - Iceland’s chefs and growers are finding sophisticated ways to cook by learning how to work inventively with the land. Arthur Frommer’s - Budget Travel April 2004 Whatever your outdoor passion, Iceland aces it: hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, horseback-riding, river rafting, salmon fishing, off-road exploring or simply basking in naturally heated geothermal rock pools. National Geographic Jan/Feb 2004 Europe's "land of fire and ice" lures visitors with a combination of extreme landscapes, dramatic weather, and a storied population of renaissance men and women. Arthur Frommer's - Budget Travel December 8, 2003 At this time of year, Iceland likes to call itself Land of the Thirteen Santa Clauses (apparently they have thirteen trouble-making Christmas spirits), which makes us wonder if that means there are also thirteen times as many gifts? Car and Driver December 2003 But Formula Off-Road is symptomatic; Icelanders like doing things the Icelandic way. They opened the world's first public hydrogen filling station in the spring of 2003, although no public or private vehicle existed that could fill up-making them greener than a Sierra Club leprechaun. (By now, two hydrogen-powered city buses are running a normal schedule in Reykjavík.) The Boston Globe November 9, 2003 Reykjavik is a wonderful place to lose one's sense of time. You might be sitting in Kaffibarinn, watching the brilliant Arctic sunlight pour through the windows -- then suddenly look at your watch to realize it's 4:30 a.m. National Geographic Nov/Dec 2003 Artful locals, steamy pools, and hot fish: That's the dish on the world's northernmost capital. ISLANDS July 2003 The island with the chilly name - the most isolated nation in the Western world - is rapidly becoming one of Europe's hottest travel destinations, and once you've seen it, you won't wonder why. The Malibu Times July 24, 2003 Iceland, at least for now, is totally unique, a veritable rush of fresh air in a word full of clichés ands worse. National Geographic Magazine July 2003 Iceland is typical Atlantic salmon country: remote, unspoiled, blessed with clear, cold rivers, and painted during the summer fishing season with the two-hour sunsets of the northern latitudes. Cond� Nast Traveler July 2003 What happens to you here is more powerful than seeing. Call it witnessing-a visceral awareness that nature is a living presence. Forbes FYI Magazine Summer 2003 I packed my esthetic agenda with nature's action art: spewing geysers, rumbling pots of steamy liquid earth, gaggles of pink-footed geese, eider ducks and puffins, and eye-stretching fjords. International Travel News March 2003 The sun was out and it was a glorious day. After crossing the snow, we walked through a small meadow of wildflowers including lupine and yellow daisies. This colorful carpet was split by a gusting stream. Business Week February 24, 2003 Many Americans don’t realize Iceland is so close--only five hours from the East Coast. January 31, 2003 Travel experts reveal 2003�s hot destinations: Iceland�s popularity is growing among travelers seeking the active outdoor life, from riding Icelandic horses to glacier hiking. Arthur Frommer�s � Budget Travel February 2003 Reykjavik, Iceland. Geothermal mud baths, absolutely pure air, plus big sky Northern Lights country among glaciers, geysers, waterfalls, and active volcanoes a few hours east. It�s only a few hours from America. And just taste that tap water! Travel & Leisure Magazine September 2002 Descending through the clouds above Akureyri, we encountered a wholly different landscape from that in the south: here, towering green mountains, their peaks fringed with snow, flank a sparkling blue fjord. We're only 60 miles below the Arctic Circle, yet verdant meadows and farmland thrive in the mild summer climate. August 16, 2002 Swimming is a national pastime here. There are pools everywhere, filled with water from the hot springs that bubble up all over the country. The Reykjavik area alone has a dozen public pools, most outdoors and most costing just a few dollars to visit. The New York Times July 16, 2002 North of Vatnajokull Glacier, Iceland - This is Europe's second-largest wilderness, a high plateau of lakes and virgin rivers, jagged canyond and snowy former volcanoes linked by swards of treeless tundra inhabited by thousands of reindeer and geese. The Washington Post June 30, 2002 "There may be no stranger place on Earth, and I guarantee there is nothing quite so "other" anywhere within a five-hour plane ride of America's East Coast. Yet despite its geographical strangeness, the people bring to the land a familiar, European feel. English is widely spoken." - "Sometimes in Iceland, it's hard to remember you're still on planet Earth." Click here to read the article. Travel Holiday May 2002 But Iceland is a weird place. And the polar lifestyles aren't the only contradiction. There's the land-a mind-bogging topographic hodgepodge of volcanoes, glaciers, hot springs, and lava fields. ISLANDS May/June 2002 Iceland may sound cold, but it's really one of Europe's hottest destinations, with hot springs, volcanoes, and geysers to prove it - along with mountains, glaciers, and one of the greatest wilderness areas in Europe. Baltimore Sun April 28, 2002 At the public bath I visit, Laugardalur, on the outskirts of Reykjavik, there were, in addition to a sumptuously warm Olympic-sized pool, five circular hot tubs - called "hot pots" or "gossip pots" - lined up like a soup buffet. All were of different temperatures, ranging from warm to scalding. I never made it past the third, as the waters (and, who knows, maybe the gossip) in numbers four and five were too steamy for me. Boston Globe April 14, 2002 For the past few years, the buzz has been growing about the night life in this Arctic Circle city. A cutting-edge music scene fronted first by Bjork, and more recently by bands such as Gus Gus and Sigur Ros, has helped cement Reykjavik's reputation as the capital of cool. April 2002 Coffeehouses have been part of the Reykjavik social scene since the first espresso was brewed at Mokka Kaffi in the 1950s. Today there are dozens of cafés in town, each with its own personality and clientele. Womans Wear Daily March 20, 2002 You should know that such brilliant showfolk as Julie Christie, Sarah Polley and Helen Mirren, part of the cast in the soon due flick, "No Such Thing" (it takes a look at instant gratification and sensationalism), are mad about Iceland. Yes, Iceland. That's where most of the movie was shot and Christine and Polley especially - speaking of instant gratification - fell in love with the place. Black & White Magazine February 2002 Iceland is not only a place to appreciate a unique view of photography but, for camera toting visitors, a great place to create it. Outdoor Photographer September 2001 Iceland is much larger than one might imagine. A circumnavigation of the country on the Ring Road is 900 miles. Photographic opportunities are not only as vast as the country, but at times unusual. In addition to glaciers and waterfalls, Iceland has about 200 volcanoes and more hot springs and solfataras -- volcanic vents that spew hot gases and vapors-than any other country in the world. Boston Sunday Herald July 29, 2001 REYKJAVIK, Iceland - A weekend in Iceland? Why not? It takes less time to fly to Reykjavik from Boston - 4 1/2 hours - than to Los Angeles, and there are advantages to flying east instead of west: snowcaps instead of strip malls, 60 degrees average summer temperatures instead of sweltering heat, and absolutely no tipping. The Cincinnati Enquirer July 8, 2001 If you want to meet people in England, you go to a pub. In France, a coffee house. In Iceland, you go to the thermal pool. Iceland is one of the world's best getaways for spa vacation, where nearly everyone, native and visitor, takes the waters - and takes them seriously. The New Hampshire News July 1, 2001 Did I realize Iceland is the swimming pool capital of the world? No, I hadn't a clue. I thought this island nation of 280,000 was more less a chunk of ice adrift in the North Atlantic. The Post-Star, Glenn Falls, N.Y. June 3, 2001 Reykjavik is the most northern of all the capitals in Europe, but it is far from the coldest city. Zurich, for example, is colder in winter, as is New York City here (not to mention Glens Falls). The heat comes from two sources. The Gulf Stream washes Reykjavik's Shores and the city sits on a Geothermal reservoir. Its large Outdoor thermal swimming pools are used throughout the winter - even in January, when the average temperature is 31 degrees Fahrenheit. Letters, May/June 2001 I've heard that the Apollo astronauts trained in Iceland because its interior resembles the lunar surface. As a matter of fact we were told that Neil Armstrong's first words when he stepped onto the moon were actually "Hey, this place looks just like Iceland!" Doctor's Review April 2001 The Blue Lagoon is an unusual place in an unusual country, and on the night I visited the mood was more madcap than medicinal. March 2001 Hotdog Haven. Would you travel 2,754 miles for a hotdog? It would depend on the hotdog, right? Let me tell you about the pylsa in Iceland, where I recently spent a week. March 30,2001 Viking descendants aren't Iceland's only breathtaking attractions. This island the size of Kentucky boasts mountains, glaciers, geysers, hot springs and waterfalls - as well as small but sturdy horses that sure-footedly carry vacationers across the volcanic landscape. Cond� Nast Traveler February 2001 Reykjav�k. So far north, so hot? You bet. Iceland's capital is proving itself to be a magnet for the style pack - and redefining the idea of chilling out. The New York Times Magazine Fall 2000 Not many men would turn down the chance to ford glacial rivers in hardy vehicles, explore vast lava fields, trek amid 100-foot waterfalls, angle for prize salmon and then sit nearly naked next to a beautiful blond ice princess in a steaming, mineral-rich geothermal pool. August 13, 2000 One of Reykjavik's chief charms predates the 90's; it is both easy and exotic. Easy because it is a mere five-hour flight from New York and almost everyone speaks a fluent, softly accented English. Exotic because it is a land apart. Hamptons Magazine May 5, 2000 Settle in for bliss, loafing away your cares in the steaming cerulean waters of the Blue Lagoon... March 27, 2000 Icelanders tend to work 10-hours-plus a day, communicate mainly by mobile phone and e-mail, and are passionate about any electronic distraction, from movies to web surfing. TRAVEL & LEISURE March 2000 Wielding the energy and edginess of a city 100 times its size, Reykjavik, Iceland, has seized a sport among the world's cultural capitals. Young, cosmopolitan Icelanders are creating some of today's best (and strangest) pop music, quirky fashions, and simply the wildest nightlife in Europe. All this in a country of 270,000 people. Welcome to the next frontier...

Gourmet April 2004 Iceland is rich with terroir and with opportunities to taste the connections among earth, water, and food. There may be no other place where we can encounter an environment this pure as we discover the pleasures of a cuisine in the making. TRAVEL + LEISURE April 2004 Although Iceland is most famous as the Land of the Midnight Sun, there are good reasons why its capital, Reykjavik, was named European City of Culture in the year 2000. MD Life Fall 2003 Busy doctors may want to journey to Iceland for a weekend getaway. Busier doctors should escape to Iceland for longer stay and maximize the healing and enrichment opportunities this country has to offer. The Northern European November 6-19, 2003 Icelanders go in for Christmas in a big way, with the 13 separate Santa Clauses (Yuletide Lads) who play pranks and sing in the beautifully lit streets. ISLANDS December 2003 Drive the Ring Road and you'll discover the island's Tolkienesque green coastline, hikes to thundering waterfalls, steaming thermal basins, and mountain ranges once hunted by half-demented warriors (with great names like Hrolf, Njall, and Egill) from the Icelandic Sagas. Spa finder Magazine September/October 2003 Hot springs, dynamic nightlife, and unusual spas make Iceland an enchanting and romantic destination. San Francisco Chronicle October 19, 2003 The world's northernmost capital is a wee city of 140,000, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in culture, art, cuisine, chic shopping and a hedonistic club scene The New York Sun June 20-22, 2003 The Earth too is a force here almost inconceivable to most New Yorkers - volcanic activity has resulted in islets appearing virtually overnight, and the land is about as exothermally alive as it gets, with geysers, mineral springs, lake-filled craters, lava fields, and glaciers dominating a nearly treeless landscape. Minneapolis Star-Tribune June 22, 2003 Roughly the size of Kentucky, Iceland in many ways resembles America's first National Park. So much is similar to Yellowstone: the pungent smell of sulfur, youthful mountains and massive valleys, the bubbling mud pits and spewing geysers. The only things missing? Crowds and trees. … Travel Holiday June 2003 Volcanos, steaming pools, millions of puffins-the wildest land on Earth is closer than you think. Gourmet Magazine May 2003 Iceland has two inseparable souls. One is water, the other the grasses of the river valleys. MSNBC News February 24, 2003 Don�t let the fact that Icelanders consume more Coca-cola per capita than any other nation ib the world fool you; their palates are sophisticated uncompromising when it comes to fresh ingredients. New York Post February 18, 2003 But Reykjavik, no farther by plane than San Francisco, is one of the fashionistas’ best-kept secrets. That’s because prices on designer labels are about 30 percent cheaper here than in the United States. Gotham Magazine February 2003 Very romantic. Don�t bring the long johns. In a country of thermal springs, you won�t be surprised to learn that steam pipes run under the sidewalks. Shop, explore and snuggle. Like we said, a tosty place. ISLANDS December 2002 No matter what your mode of travel, you’ll set off into spectacular terrain created by a combination of Arctic freeze and impressive volcanism. Smithsonian September 2002 The Blue Lagoon is an artificial lake by surplus water from the geothermic power station at Svartshengi on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, a volcanic region filled with natural hot springs. Rich in mineral salts and organic matter, the Blue Lagoon's warm waters are renowned for their curative properties. Time Magazine August 26, 2002 Blessed by nature, Iceland aims to create the world’s first hydrogen economy. The New York Times Magazine July 7, 2002 Since Iceland derives much of its energy from geothermal springs and burns relatively little fossil fuel, its atmosphere is largely uncorrupted, and shellfish, cod, haddock and other fish abound in its clean waters. Natural History The Magazine of the American Museum of Natural History June 2002 In southeastern Iceland, some 4,500 feet above sea level, lies Vatnajökull - the largest temperate-zone ice cap in Europe. On the last day of September 1996, the ground beneath the glacier began to shake. The trembling indicated that a volcanic eruption, destined to be among the biggest recorded in twentieth-century Iceland, had started beneath the ice. The Boston Globe June 30, 2002 However, bathing outdoors at the one-of-a-kind Blue Lagoon - especially in icy temperatures, when the sleet makes your hair freeze and a masseuse caresses your shoulders and neck - is several orders of magnitude more exotic than the average hot pot. Outside June 2002 Only on this remote North Atlantic island do you find such glorious quirks as tolting ponies and entire villages of sleep-deprived puffin chasers. International Herald Tribune Friday, May 24, 2002 A great way to sample the delights of Iceland is a 24-hour stopover package that includes hotel, transfers and sightseeing. Flights from the United States land in Reykjavik at 6 or 7 a.m., giving you enough time to visit the volcanic springs of the Blue Lagoon before taking off for Europe in the late afternoon. Newsweek April 22, 2002 It took the skins of 113 calves to record "Flateyjarbok," the thickest of Iceland's ancient sagas. The 14th-century manuscript and scores of others like it tell the stories of the ancient Norse cultures in the barren landscape better than any history book could. Newsday March 21, 2002 The North Atlantic seabed coughed up Iceland 20 million years ago in a fit of volcanic burps. And ever since, this Nordic island nation, which has about the same square miles as Kentucky, has proven itself quite the eccentric. Blue Magazine February/March 2002 In an ongoing quest to explore the changing world of travel, BLUE has compiled a roundup of the best places to escape politics and propaganda. If you'd rather find icebergs than anthrax, check out: 1. ICELAND: 2. PATAGONIA: 3. ANTARCTICA: 4. NEW ZEALAND: 5. ALASKA: 6. BRITISH COLUMBIA. ………..I would always recommend that people go to Iceland. True, it has a low population density and is remote from terrorism, but that's not why I would recommend Iceland now. I'd go there to find nature, simplicity of life, to be aware of the world but, at the same time, distant. It's a very neutral peaceful place. There are few human-made problems. And technically, it's only five hours from New York. In a way, it's the closest remote place to go. THE SOPHISTICATED TRAVELER New York Times Magazine March 3, 2002 So in mid-August, just as New York was swamped by one of the nastier heat waves in resent memory, we took off for a week on the Laxa I Adaldal, a river that is said to hold some of the biggest salmon in Iceland. Boston Sunday Herald July 29, 2001 Golf is quite the rage in Iceland too. There are many Courses, and snow and ice notwithstanding, it's played almost in any weather. Salmon fishing is also popular, as are bicycling, whale watching, snow-mobiling and - in summertime - riding Super Jeeps on the nearby glacier. The Denver Post July 15, 2001 Only in Iceland could we Witness one of Earth's newest landmasses struggling to come to grips With its geological destiny. During resent centuries, Iceland has endured a major eruption approximately every five years, making it one of the most volcanically active - and certainly one of the hottest - spots on Earth. The Cincinnati Enquirer July 8, 2001 Blue Lagoon Just as you're getting used to the Icelandic landscape - Volcanic rubble here, stunted shrubs there, often only lichen brave enough to try the topsoil - you have another surreal prospect before you. The New Hampshire News July 1, 2001 After a day seeing the sites, we were eager for some action. Iceland's choice of outdoor activities runs the gamut from fishing, hiking, biking, rafting, mountain climbing and kayaking to whale watching. My favorite was riding through the lava fields on a personable Icelandic horse. Food Arts May 2001 Cosmopolitan cafes are vital to the new cool scene in Iceland, suddenly a hot travel destination. Esquire May 2001 When all else fails, there's always Iceland, the last, best place on earth. The New York Times Magazine April 22, 2001 Fifteen, twenty minutes north of Reykjavik, along the coastal Ring Road that circumscribes the whole of Iceland, the last of several small, suburban developments gives way to an elemental vastness just this side of the ineffable. March 2001 Joan Tapper, Editor in Chief, Islands Magazine, March 2001 issue "SOME ISLANDS LANDSCAPES ARE SIMPLY AWE-INSPIRING. Iceland fits that profile. It's a jaw-dropping, eye-popping accumulation of geological wonders that would leave most of us speechless. Happily, Kenneth Brower, who deliberately left himself open to the island's penchant for serendipitous surprise, rises to the descriptive occasion... But what vitalized the writer most was the landscape itself, with its iceberg lagoon and glacial plains and thundering waterfalls." TIME MAGAZINE March 26, 2001 THE UNFROZEN NORTH. Who needs sun and surf? With its thermal springs and hopping club scene, Iceland is the hot gateway. TRAVEL HOLIDAY December/January 2001 John Owens, Vice President/Editor in Chief, Travel Holiday Magazine, December/January 2001 issue "It's no secret that a summer trip to this island of volcanoes, glaciers, waterfalls, and midnight sun is like stepping into Nature's Special-Effects Department. Bus as my wife, daughter, and I found on a long weekend last February, winter can be just as inviting if you're in the mood for an offbeat, super soft adventure. In fact, I'd say that no matter what else you do this winter (run for the sun, cruise, ski, cocoon at an inn), try and save a few days for a trip to Iceland." Food & Wine September 2000 But aside a few strange Viking delicacies, I discovered an emerging food scene in which nature and culture play off each other in delicious and memorable ways. The Toronto Star May 27, 2000 Swelling from provincial backwash to a "European City of Culture" in less than 60 years, Reykjavik boasts an amazing cultural community for its size; university, opera house, symphony, orchestra, dance company, plus a score of art galleries and museums. Live Broadcast from Iceland May 12, 2000 Matt Lauer... and it really is a land of contrasts, you have the steam rising from these thermal waters, you have glacier-covered mountains as well, and by the way, this is one of the safest places you travel to, the police here don't even carry guns. March 2000 The women look like either Uma Thurman or Patsy Kensit, and every third man resembles Brad Pitt... Reykjavik has acquired such wholesome reputation for good looks - and such subsequent notoriety as party town, a winter Ibiza. CNN Traveler Spring 2000 It is not just an impression. Iceland remains in large part unspoiled by mankind's excesses, and population, out of necessity, have a greater than usual respect for the environment.