Destination Information - Iceland

AIR INFORMATION – GETTING THERE AND AWAY
Polar Star Expeditions is not able to arrange your air but here are some details that will help with your planning. Most international flights from Iceland depart from Keflavik, located an hour’s drive from Reykjavik. Icelandair serves many European and North American hubs.

CLIMATE
In September, the average temperature in Reykjavik usually ranges from 2°C to 8°C..

CURRENCY
Iceland’s unit of currency is the Icelandic Kroner. Approximate exchange rates (at time of writing) are:
1 USD = 68 ISK
1 CAD = 60 ISK
1 GBP = 128 ISK
1 Euro = 86 ISK
1 AUD = 52 ISK
1 NZ = 44 ISK

ECONOMY
The major industries in Iceland include potatoes, green vegetables, dairy, fish processing, aluminium, steel production and tourism.  

ELECTRICITY
The electrical current in Iceland is 220 volts.

GEOGRAPHY
Iceland is an island located between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom. It is 103,000 km² and its terrain is made up of predominantly plateaus combined with mountain peaks and icefields. The coastline is cut by dramatic bays and fjords.

GOVERNMENT
Iceland is a constitutional republic and at time of writing, the president is Olafur Ragnar Grimsson. The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik.

LANGUAGE
The official language of Iceland is Icelandic but English, German and other Nordic languages are also widely spoken.

RELIGION
The vast majority of Icelanders belong to the Lutheran Church of Iceland (approximately 85.5%) with other religious groups including Reykjavik Free Church and Roman Catholic.

PEOPLE
The population of Iceland is approximately 299,000 predominantly made up of people of Nordic and Celtic descent.

TIME
GMT

WILDLIFE
Some of the wildlife you might see in Iceland are puffins, reindeer, Arctic Fox, reindeer, Minke Whale, White Beaconed Whale, Killer Whale and Humpback whale.