Tassanee & Logi's Iceland Wedding Central
Date:
Saturday, June 24, 2006 (close to the longest day of the year, a little south of the Arctic Circle, so little darkness)
Location for the Ceremony and Reception:
Armuli vid Isafjardardjup (in the Western Fjords about 5 hrs by car away from Reykjavik)
We plan on getting married at a local church (about 5 km away from Armuli). The reception will be held at Armuli.
Budget:
- Airfare ~ $1000 per person via Icelandair taxes included from SFO
- Rental car ~ $100 per day
- Camping gear ~ $100 per person per day
- Hotel ~ $100 per night
- The grand total for a four day trip = $2,200
NOTE: Currently $1 = 60 Icelandic kronur. See here for current exchange rate.
Transportation:
The wedding site is about 5 hours away from Reykjavik and the International airport at Keflavik (KEF). You will be responsible for your own transportation to the wedding site in the Western Fjords of Iceland.
Two airlines serve Iceland (KEF), Icelandair
and Iceland Express.
Icelandair is the larger of the two and services several cities in
North America, including San Francisco (mid May through mid October).
Unfortunately, Icelandair tends to be on the pricier side, but they
offer the most convenient flights and will most likely give you the
shortest travel time. Iceland Express, while less expensive, only flies
to London (STN) or Copenhagen (CPH). WARNING:
Iceland Express flies to Stansteed which is about 2 hours away from Heathrow
airport by bus or train. Unless you can get a flight flying directly into Stansteed, be
sure to allow plenty of time to travel between the two airports.
When in Iceland you need to travel by land to the wedding. We will try to organize a car-pool so let us know your flight information as soon as possible. Most likely, you would need to be in Reykjavik by Friday, June 23 in the morning and be able to fly out of Iceland on Monday, June 26. (We will be in Iceland from Tuesday, June 20 to Monday, June 26.) If you choose to drive yourself, you will need to arrange for
a rental car. Several rental car agencies service
Keflavik international airport (the only international
airport in Iceland), including Hasso, Hertz and Avis to name a few. We would recomend Hasso
as their rates are about half that of the other rental car agencies. The caveat is that they do all their
buisness through fax and phone, so it is a little less
convenient. Be careful and considerate when driving in
Iceland. Most roads are only a single lane in each direction, We would
recommend that you to take it easy. Try to pull over every
now and then if you have a "train" of cars behind you.
The road surface is mostly paved although the last 30 km are on gravel.
Depending on your preference it may seem tempting to rent a big
SUV, and that will be marginally preferable on the last 30 km that are
on gravel. Despite that, we would recommend going for a small car as roads in
Iceland tend to be narrow. This will make you much more comfortable on
the other 470 km or so you will need to travel to the wedding site.
Cost is another issue as rental cars in Iceland are very expensive,
especially during the summer season. Typical prices for a small car are
around $100 per day, while an SUV will set you back about $200 a day.
Driving directions:
We would recommend picking up a detailed map at the airport (these
are nice, as the silly graphical ones that the car rental company gives
you is FAR less detailed), and ask your hotel staff for driving
directions to your hotel.
The following route is not by any means the shortest
avaliable (that one involves a bit of a Superjeep tour over a
mountain road so we will leave that for the brave) but it is the
safest, most paved and simplest we could find.
From the airport take HW 41 towards Reykjavik (this is a VERY popular
route so almost every other car should be taking this route to
Reykjavik). After about 50 km or so on HW 41, you should be in Reykjavik.
Make a right turn onto Miklabraut (this is a big street, you should
have passed through quite a bit of the Reykjavik area by now). Continue
straight on Miklabraut for a while, it will become HW 1. Stay on HW 1
for the next 200 km or so. Follow the signs to Akureyri in North
Iceland for now.
About 40 km or so into HW 1, you will go through the Hvalfjordur Tunnel. This is a large tunnel under one of Iceland's biggest fjords and quite an engineering achievement. At the other side of the tunnel there
should be a toll both. Currently the toll is about 1000 kr, payable in
either cash (preferable) or credit card. After the tunnel, continue
North on HW 1, through Borgarnes. About 100 km north of Borgarnes you
should find yourself driving over the Holltavorduheidi higlands. As
you decend into Hrutarfjordur, be on the lookout for Bru. This is where
you will turn left onto HW 61. At the junction there is a little coffee
shop and a gas station. Be sure to fill up here as gas stations will
be scarce after this stop.
Go north on HW 61 towards Isafjordur. You should go through several
fjords here before coming into the town of Holmavik. WARNING: Be sure to leave Holmavik
with a tank full of gas, as this is the nearest gas station to the
wedding site, but there are still 50 km or so to the wedding site ONE
WAY. After filling up at Holmavik continue north on HW 61 and go across
the highlands. As you start decending into Isafjardardjup be on the
lookout for HW 635 towards Kaldalon.
Take HW 635 towards Kaldalon/Nauteyri. This is the stretch of road on which you
need to be careful. If you have 4WD, we would recommend switching it on once on HW 635 as
it tends to give you slightly better stability at high speeds. If you
do not have a 4WD, don't worry, just take it easy. Gravel roads are not
slippery unless you go through them at high speeds (any more than 50
km/hr could give you a demonstration.) Be on the lookout for sheep on
this road--yes it is true you are likely to have to sound your horn a
few times to convince the sheep to move off the road. Thus it is
especially important to be observant around tight turns, blind hills, and at any time you can not see the road ahead clearly. WARNING: Keep an eye on the
speedometer while on gravel roads. Your car (with or without the 4wd)
will have a hard time stopping, especially if you choose to drive away
from the somewhat bumpy center portion. Try braking a few times on straight,
level sections to familiarize yourself with the car and how it
handles.
After about 30 km you should come accros a sign to Armuli (I/II). Take the left turn into the rather long driveway. After
about a 1/2 km you should come across the farm.
Lodging:
We recommend the camping option, as the nearest hotel Ferdathjonustan Reykjanesi
is about an hour away. However if camping is just not your cup of tea
the hotel at Reykjanes offers reasonable prices (8400 kr for a
dbl room per night with breakfast) and their facilities are nice
(including a 50m swimming pool), but economical. As a note, this hotel is a
student dorm during the school year and it is actually more of a hostel setting.
You will get a room, but will have to share bathrooms. You can also rent sleeping bags instead of a private room!
As camping gear tends to be rather bulky, we suggest you rent your gear
once in Iceland. Keep in mind that the weather is variable, so bring
plenty of warm clothes. Utilif
offers rentals of various kinds including packages. Call +354-534-1505 or e-mail at
tjold@utilif.is. Prices are about 5-10.000 kr per person for two day
"all you need" rental packages. As a note, there are only 3 bathrooms at the farm, so be prepared to wait in line for restroom facilities if you choose to camp.
Activities:
There is a lot of fun to be had on the farm and in the adjoining area. As Gudrun's (Logi's mom's) cooking may be generous on the caloric side, we will be playing soccer. Just at the steps of the farm is a large grassy field that is ideal for soccer. In the picture Logi, Vidar (Logi's dad) and Orri (Logi's brother) are playing soccer after a good meal.
There are two sea kayaks and a river kayak that skilled kayakers can use. These are closed deck kayaks so you should know how to get yourself out of the kayak in case it capsizes. As the pictures show, some of us are better (i.e. dryer) kayakers than others.
Hiking is another alternative and the landscape is fantastic. Also fishing is a fun activity that could help in generating food for the wedding guests.
Weather
Climate in June is usually moderate. However there is a saying about
the Icelandic weather, if you don't like it just wait five minutes and
it will change, repeat as necesssary. It can get quite cold (down to
the 30s and 40s) and as warm as 80s. Rain is quite likely, so be sure
to bring some rain gear.
Iceland Climate
Live Weather information
Links
Iceland facts
Wedding Registries
Amazon
Home Depot
Monetary gifts are always appreciated!
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San Jose, CA 95136
About Tassanee and Logi
Tassanee and Logi met in November of 2002 at a mutual friend's birthday party.
Logi proposed to Tassanee on August 28, 2004 while SCUBA diving at Breakwater in Monterey, CA. He had made laminated cards asking Tassanee to marry him, and an adjustable size temporary engagement ring. At a depth of 20 feet, Logi produced a series of laminated cards that read: "As our love for the ocean brought us together, I could think of no other place to ask this question: Will you marry me?" Since she was not given a yes/no card, Tassanee was only able to give an "OK" sign. Logi was really able to surprise Tassanee with his unique proposal!
Any questions/comments? Email Tassanee or Logi