[UNW]∎ Libro The Rough Guide to Iceland David Leffman James Proctor 9781858285979 Books

The Rough Guide to Iceland David Leffman James Proctor 9781858285979 Books

Download As PDF : The Rough Guide to Iceland David Leffman James Proctor 9781858285979 Books

The Rough Guide to Iceland David Leffman James Proctor 9781858285979 Books

This is a great map for planning your trip to Iceland. However, there are so many errors on it in terms of route numbers, campgrounds, etc., that I would avoid it when actually traveling there. One evening, my wife and I planned to stay at one of the marked campgrounds on the map, only to find it didn't exist. As we continued down the road, we thought we'd look at another marked campground. It also didn't exist. As a result, it was a *very* long day and we pulled into a campground far down the road and at 10 o'clock at night. It wasn't just campgrounds that were marked incorrectly, but the route numbers as well. As nice a map as it is, there are far too many errors on this to justify it as an in-country map. Use it to plan your overall trip, then pick up one of the regional tourist maps (free of charge at the info booth in Keflavik) or purchase a good road map/atlas for the actual driving.


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The Rough Guide to Iceland David Leffman James Proctor 9781858285979 Books Reviews

I don't know what these other reviewers were looking at. This map may be ok if all you do is drive around the ring road but it lacks any sort of detail once you get off the ring road. And if you are only going to use it for the ring road... why even have a map? it goes in a circle. Afraid of getting lost on the circle?

The scale is too small to be useful, there are no detail maps of towns or cities including Reykjavik which is crazy. And dozens of roads in my experience were simply not on this map. I drove the southwest, south and west portions of the country. It would be nice if they included some landmarks or attractions or features on the map too. They have a legend with icons for some geological features but what is actually marked is unclear and small.

There must be better maps than this. I found it virtually useless to be honest and wound up using maps I grabbed at visitor centers.
We took a 2-week vacation to Iceland in May 2010, and spent most of the time driving around in a rental car. This map was essential. We drove along the south coast from Reykjavik to Jokulsarlon Bay, then up to the Snaefellsness Peninsula. The map shows all towns and several farms as well, so it's easy to track your progress. It also has little icons for gas stations, camp sites, churches, and museums (note outside of Reykjavik, gas stations are a good place to get food). The map labels major mountain peaks, glaciers and glacial tongues, lakes, and lava flows.
This map does not contain a close-up of any towns. For Reykjavik details, we used our guidebook. We also ended up buying a regional map of the Snaefellsness peninsula, though this map would have been adequate for our travels there.
The cover fell off after about a week and a half, but the paper itself is very durable, and can tolerate a lot of folding and re-folding. The cover is really not important.
Overall, I would recommend this map if you plan on doing a lot of driving outside of Reykjavik.
Rough Guides used to be good. This Iceland book is nothing more than a glorified 200-something page travel brochure, full of mediocre photos and the same kind of info you can get for free on the web or in official tourist brochures. A total waste of money. Go instead for Andrew Evans's Bradt guide to Iceland, which has the in-depth perspective and cultural information you need to make your trip truly memorable.
Traveling in Iceland using this new edition of the Rough Guide gave me and my wife the impression that the author did not like Iceland. Simply put, there was ample evidence that most of what was written was obtained by an online search or word-of-mouth. There were a number of inaccuracies and omissions that would be unimaginable if the author had actually spent time in Iceland. In all likelihood, it was written from a three-day stay in Reykjavik during July (the height of tourist season). Here are some examples of the lazy writing that caused us MANY headaches

-It is assumed that everyone in Iceland (locals and tourists) has a cellphone. There are rarely any phones available in hotel rooms or B&B's, and many times the phone number listed for a B&B is the cellphone of the owner. This was not mentioned in the book.
-Some towns are simply not mentioned. While the towns in Iceland tend to be very small and would not rate a mention in most guidebooks, this is true of 90% of the towns. There are only 320,000 people in Iceland - their towns can all be listed. For example, try finding Suðureyri in the guidebook. Not there. The town is a fairly substantial fishing village near Ísafjörður.
-Puffins it is no secret that Iceland is home to many nesting grounds for puffins. We traveled to Iceland in the second half of August expecting to find puffins. According to the guidebook, the puffins can be found from April to Mid-September. Good luck with that. Any local can tell you (and will, if you ask them) that the puffins all leave by Mid-August. After August 15, you can only expect a few isolated puffins anywhere around Iceland. You might get lucky and find a group stopped at a southerly stop for a while (we did), but don't count on it. Where we saw a flock of puffins (at Vestmannaeyjar), none had been spotted a week prior. Yet another example of lazy, inaccurate writing that could have been corrected by some cursory research.
-Opening hours we found more than one attraction with incorrect hours listed. Don't trust any times that say open after 1800.
-Laugavegur Everything written about the laugavegur lists it as a four-day hike from Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk, with no other options. The author clearly pulled all of his information about this trek from other sources and did not try it himself nor talk to someone who had. While it is a full four days from start to end, there are buses that can be hired that reach Álftavatn (and Emstrur), which cut the walk in half - something useful if you wish to go elsewhere. Taking a bus either in or out of Álftavatn also avoids all of the potentially treacherous river fordings. The hike from Landmannalaugar to Álftavatn is also, by far, the most scenic portion of the hike.
-Buses The only bus routes mentioned in the book start and end in Reykjavik. While those routes certainly exist and are useful, there are many other routes that start and end elsewhere. Bus tickets start at ~$50 a ride/person. Knowing all of the possibilities will help with planning more interesting excursions into the interior of Iceland without losing days on a bus.
-Roads the road conditions and experience of driving in Iceland is quite different from the U.K. (including Skye) or mainland Europe. Doable, but be ready for very rough terrain (even the "good" roads). Not mentioned in this book.

I leave these bits of advice as examples of why you should find a different guidebook and as helpful tips to those wishing to go to Iceland (which is GREAT!). Good luck!
This is a great map for planning your trip to Iceland. However, there are so many errors on it in terms of route numbers, campgrounds, etc., that I would avoid it when actually traveling there. One evening, my wife and I planned to stay at one of the marked campgrounds on the map, only to find it didn't exist. As we continued down the road, we thought we'd look at another marked campground. It also didn't exist. As a result, it was a *very* long day and we pulled into a campground far down the road and at 10 o'clock at night. It wasn't just campgrounds that were marked incorrectly, but the route numbers as well. As nice a map as it is, there are far too many errors on this to justify it as an in-country map. Use it to plan your overall trip, then pick up one of the regional tourist maps (free of charge at the info booth in Keflavik) or purchase a good road map/atlas for the actual driving.