MOST VISITORS TO ICELAND ARE CONTENT TO RENT THEIR OWN CAR TO GET AROUND THE COUNTRY, OR AT THE VERY LEAST TO CATCH THE BUS (OR HITCH.) One alternative to this, albeit an expensive one, is to hire a driver to drive you around. Actually, it doesn't sound as expensive as it seems: if you get a large group together (say eight persons), then a taxi tour will cost the same as a regular bus or minibus tour... or even cheaper. And you will be able to enjoy each others' company in isolation, and you will have more control over the direction of your tour, than if you were just another mug on the bus. Another possibility which I heard raised by a multilingual South American guy who was staying at my hotel in Reykjavik in June 2006, is to hire a taxi to drive you and your crew around town during the Friday and Saturday night runtur. If you have a big enough group (or deep enough pockets) you could be cruising the streets in style in a rent-a-limo, hip-hop blasting from the speakers, and babes sprouting from out of the windows, waving glasses of champagnes at all the merrymakers on the streets. Yes, it is possible to hire a limo to do this in Iceland. Conversely you could just take it up to Akranes or something to admire the view. For all the various taxi tour and luxury limo options in Iceland, read the information below:
Gold Limo: Fellsmúla 26 - 28 108 Reykjavík. Phone: 354/897 0931. Email: goldlimo@goldlimo.is.
The ads for this outfit in the Reykjavik newspapers proclaim: "Hollywood convenience in Iceland!" To my eyes though, the interior of the vehicle looks more hip-hop than Hollywood, a fact echoed by the gold paintjob on the exterior. Back inside there are lava lamps, a bar with plenty of glasses (and presumably champagne bottles), video screens, and plush seats. The limo can hold up to 17 and is said to be perfect for all occasions such as birthdays, weddings and meetings. And the runtur!
Hreyfill Specialized Taxi Tours: Fellsmúla 26 - 28 108 Reykjavík. Phone: 354/588 5522. Fax: 354/588 5526. http://hreyfill.is/isl/taxitours.htm.
As well as running a regular taxi service in Reykjavik, Hreyfill operate extended taxi tours to places in southwest Iceland. The tours have exotic names like Jarðhiti ("The Hot Earth Tour"), which takes in Krísuvík and the Blue Lagoon, Draumaland vatnsins ("The Aquamarine Dream Tour"), centered naturally on the aforementioned Blue Lagoon, and Undur Suðurstrandarinnar (this sets out from Reykjavík and takes in Skógar, Sólheimajökull and Vík before heading back to the capital. In regards to the Hot Earth Tour, the Hreyfill company website claims: "Áhugaverð ferð um gutlandi hveri og bullandi leðjupolla á jarðhitasvæðinu við Krísuvík, landsvæði sem minnir á tunglið, umkringt þungbúnum fjöllum.
Heimsókn í Bláa lónið fyrir hressandi sund eða bað. Þægileg og eftirminnileg ferð. Lengd ferðar: 3 klukkustundir." The tour is three hours -- the cost (worth, or verð as they say in Icelandic) is 17600 ISK for a car of four passengers, or 19600 ISK for a load of five to eight passengers. The Reykjavík to Vík tour costs 44000 ISK for a carload of four and 49000 ISK for five to eight passengers. The Reykjavik city tour, on the other hand, seems to cost 4400/4900 ISK per hour (depending on the number of folks on board.)
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