THE TRUTH about traveling to Iceland in 2025

[@janiniceland]

➡ Avoid crowds & discover the best locations in Iceland: bit.ly/janiniceland-map

[@LRT104]

I live in a beautiful tourist town. For me, I love the tourists. I get to see my home with fresh eyes every time I see a tourist in awe of something I am very used to looking at, and have perhaps lost notice of. It makes me feel very fortunate to be able to be here and work. I will be in Iceland very soon and surely in awe and I hope that enthusiasm can be as contagious to locals as it is for me in my town. I agree about the "zoo" feel of the ropes and paths...There is a popular trail near me that recently got the zoo treatment and signage with rules, but also facts about the nature. I read all of the information signs and learned some new things along with the other locals and tourists. There are so many wild areas to explore as well. Thanks again for another lovely video Jan.

[@janiniceland]

So well said and I couldn't agree more. Even though I am being reminded daily by the beautiful landscapes, sometimes it is can be easy to simply get used to things and tourist are the ones always reminding us how fortunate we are to live where we live. I remember how excited I was when I came here for the first time. It was the best. I think that tourists have to simply do their best to respect nature, culture and people of the place they're visiting and the locals should do their best to make people feel welcome (and not throw everyone into the same baskets only because of few ,bad apples'). I promise you will love it here and I look forward to hearing about your trip and what you liked the best :)

[@backyardprovence]

I went to Iceland for the second time in July 2020, during Covid. At that time they were letting in people who lived in Europe already. I spent the best 3.5 weeks there. NO ONE was there. It felt like I had the whole place to myself and most of the time I was the only car on the road. I even did a glacier hike with a local guide and I was the only one in the "group". It was glorious. I will forever be thankful that I was able to take that trip and those memories always make me smile.

[@janiniceland]

So glad you got to experience that! For me personally, even though Covid was stressful as my income here relies on the tourism, it was also some of my favourite moments. Looking back I wish I did more traveling to normally crowded places during that time

[@thoseUNheardRsweeter]

This was really interesting! Most of these things I had never even thought about in relation to travelling to Iceland. Thanks!

[@janiniceland]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Cheers! 🙏

[@fiucik1]

A tip to visit popular places on Iceland in the summer: go there veeery late. I visited Iceland last summer. Late June, early July. I was on Gulfoss, Geysir and Dettifos among other place almost alone, because I was there around and sometimes past midnight. And to witness a sunset that doesn't come(polar day) at Dettifos was something truly magical.

[@janiniceland]

that's true. thanks for sharing! I've done that once here and like you say, when weather's good, then the light can be truly magical and there's nobody there. I think the best would be to have a camper van so one doesn't have to worry about check-ins and outs from the hotels and just sleep during the day and travel during the night since the sun doesn't set.

[@animated000]

Been there 4 times 3 years. I go after September and before May. Airfare is dirt cheap! April 2024 $275 round trip from US. Did ring road, again. No crowds anywhere.

[@benburns5995]

Hi Jan, the old saying of a few bad people can ruin it for everyone else is so true. It's sad that they have enough bad people to create a Facebook page highlighting that point. The page is probably very successful for the person that created it. One positive point about the increase in tourists is that it is good for your Airbnb business. The picture you showed of the Rainbow by your home is really outstanding. Best wishes to you and the people of Iceland that the increase in tourism will bring more positive than negative experiences.

[@janiniceland]

Thank you Ben. Yes, sadly it takes just few people sometimes and I think it is very important that locals, wherever the place, remember that this is the case and they should never throw everyone into the same basket. I think that there are many positive sides of tourism and we can't forget about that and as someone directly dependent on tourism I can't imagine the life here without it (as me and so many others learned during covid)

[@lunavx]

I noticed it's got busier too on our 3rd trip, but we tend to just like chilling out in Reykjavik for a few days - I really enjoy it and hope to be back again soon

[@janiniceland]

Glad you like it there. Reykjavík is nice city and there're still many places to see and things too do in its proximity, so it's definitely a good place to be too :)

[@vilik7124]

Ahoj Jane, potvrdil's mi presne to, co jsem si o Islandu myslela. Cesta je zabookovana, jen skoda, ze jsem na tvoje videa neprisla uz driv. Asi kouknu uplne na vsechna pred vyletem. Jsou opravdu uzitecna a hlavne ujistujici. Letime na prvni tyden roku 2025. 😘👌

[@janiniceland]

Ahoj, dekuju! Myslis ohledne toho ze tu je hodne lidi? Vubec bych se toho nebal, jde hlavne o ty nejznamejsi mista + v lednu tu je jen zlomek lidi ve srovnanim s letnimi mesici :) navic podle me lepsi to tady zazit ted - drive nez napr. za nekelik let. Urcite si to uzijes, drzim palce at hlavne vyjde pocasi!

[@jameshummel7349]

Pro tip. Going during midnight sun hours.. sleep in, and explore late when people have left the busy spots

[@janiniceland]

I think this is a way to go if you want to visit famous spots here in the summer. I have to document some of those places this summer and so I might need to be doing more of that. I've tried it few times and it's always worth it. The light is also amazing during those late hours. The only downside is having to completely change your sleep schedule which always messes me up for the first day

[@seelo1167]

That’s what we plan to do when we visit in July

[@dr.chrisketo7193]

And from September.... ????

[@lynnmarad9121]

I understand your concerns. My home is the beautiful Maine coast where the population of tourists and those with summer homes explodes during the high season. Full confession, we depend on those people for our tourist dollars, so its a love/hate relationship. I will be a first time visitor to Iceland within the next 2 weeks, so I hope by traveling in a shoulder season we will miss the crowds. Unless the volcano has other ideas to keep us away…

[@janiniceland]

thank you for sharing :) I directly depend on tourism and honestly I love meeting people traveling here and sharing their excitement for this island. In my opinion as long as people respect the place, they should feel welcomed, we can't forget we're all tourists somewhere at least at some point in our lives. I don't think the volcano will be cause any problems and I'm sure you will love it here. There will be some crowds in the south even now at but still there are so many places which are completely empty :)

[@lynnmarad9121]

Thank you Jan. I look forward to experiencing Iceland firsthand. Yes, it’s true. We are all tourists at some time and place.❤

[@soggybawsmoto]

Visit Iceland in December, and you will have alot of these places to yourself. We visitied 11th - 19th December 2023, the only busy place was Geysir. We rented a 4wd Dacia Duster and went touring on our own. It was a magical holiday capturing the Northern Lights, and the start of the erruptions on 18/12/23. It was super exciting. The Perlan was fantastic. It wasnt on our radar before we travelled. We went twice there was so much to see.

[@janiniceland]

Thank you for sharing! Winter months are great for avoiding crowds, that's for sure. The downside for some however can be short days and more challenging weather. I personally like it but I know it can be too much for some 😀 But I'm happy to hear you had a great time here!

[@whicker14]

That’s why the eastfjords is my favourite part of Iceland, went in the height of summer but felt still so isolated is a magical place!

[@janiniceland]

It's a beautiful part of the island. I feel like as soon as you pass Hofn, everything gets sooo much quieter

[@whicker14]

this may be an odd place seeing how beautiful Iceland is but one of my favourite experiences in Iceland was at a little museum called Petra’s stone collection. Was a summers day (about 17 oc) was just such a beautiful place and so peaceful. Then driving up to borgafjordar estri (apologies for the misspelling😂) seeing a small vending machine in the middle of no where and meeting the owner of it who is possibly icelands most eccentric man 😂 then ending the day amongst puffins, was a day I’ll remember forever and would love to return to one day!

[@julianjaramillob]

Thanks for all of your very truth full videos. Very nice, simple with really use full info. Hope to enjoy it in 2 weeks from now!

[@janiniceland]

Glad it's helpful, Julian! I'm sure you will have a great time, excited for you!

[@GeorgeViol]

Great video, well illustrated and great tips to know as an interested visitor of Iceland. Keep up sharing with us!

[@janiniceland]

@@GeorgeViol thank you George! 🙏🏻💪

[@GeorgeViol]

@@janiniceland Many greetings from Crete, Greece!

[@catohnine511]

I first visited Iceland in 1994 and it was amazing! Subsequent visits in 2015 and 2017 and sadly it had become a victim of its own success.... barriers everywhere, parking charges and overcrowding; so sad 😞

[@janiniceland]

You're very lucky to experience it before tourism took off, must have been amazing. But still now there are plenty of places there're no people - it's usually those where you need to hike or where there's no easy access, but that works for me hah

[@bobcat6653]

I have my 3rd solo trip to Iceland scheduled for May 2024, a 2 week visit, where I will focus on the North Coast. the Westfjords and Snaefellsnes. Thanks for sharing your videos, very helpful and I too will be shying away from the well known destinations and focusing on the less traveled, quieter spots. The Troll peninsula is high among my plans.

[@janiniceland]

That sounds like a great plan and you can also see so much in 2 week. Excited for you and fingers crossed for some good weather!

[@burgseeli1911]

Thanks Jan i guess you're right very soon Iceland will be to touristy, but honest in my own experience you always will find breathtaking spots where you're can be completely alone.and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you and gives you the feeling to be on your own on an other planet . ❤

[@janiniceland]

That is very true :) One just need to go a little bit off the beaten path

[@yvonnevandermeer8471]

Hi i Jan, I’ve experienced by my self. I was in 2019 by Kfernufoss, the path was a small mountain path and and you had to climb over a rock. It felt great for me to made it to behind the waterfall. I went back there in 2022 and they made a easy gravel path and the rock was moved away. At that moment I felt said that there are more people now. Greetings from the Netherlands.

[@janiniceland]

Thank you for sharing this Yvonne. Yes, that is a bummer. Like I mentioned I think that Iceland is doing still a good job in trying to keep the changes at least as aesthetically pleasing as possible, but on the other hand I don't think that there should be an easy access everywhere. Some places should remain harder to access as the nature intended them to be.

[@matthewtanksley8458]

I'm from Wyoming in the US and it's the same here with our Yellowstone National Park and Gand Tetons. We as locals even have a growing resentment towards people who have moved here and started changing our way of life. It's not the same small community i grew up in.

[@janiniceland]

thank you for sharing! Yes I've see some videos of people talking about this problem there..Here in Iceland I think there's a resentment rather against bigger corporations rather that individuals moving here, but still it depends who you talk to. Reykjavík is an example where things that never occurred there are now becoming part of the new reality - theft, drugs, violence...all that started mainly with foreigners moving in. Which is sad for the majority of people, who just like me are not doing anything wrong, yet, many times I feel like we're all being thrown into the same bucket.

[@FalconX88]

Visited last year, it was amazing. Golden circle was crowded but on the east coast there was no one.

[@janiniceland]

Glad you enjoyed it! It is interesting to see how different/more quiet in suddenly becomes once you go further east/north. And it is understandable that places like golden circle are crowded, it is just such an easy and convenient trip to do

[@PavoTreks]

Great video mate, I feel exactly the same way about concrete and putting railing on the trails / dumbing them down. The main problem is that the peak season is very short in Iceland so probably in the future if people want to enjoy more solitude when travelling you would have to go outside of the summer season.

[@janiniceland]

Thank you! That's true, going outside of the main season is the safe bet for avoiding crowds, especially if you want to visit south of Iceland. Or you can still visit more remote areas and even in the summer there're usually not that many people around

[@shanef6957]

I agree with you and I booked a spontaneous trip to Iceland over morning coffee last week. I'll be visiting in early October. I feel the pain for the locals. I grew up in Niagara Falls, Canada. I used to avoid a number parts of the city from May to September. Then the city built a casino and it's overpopulated 12 months a year. It's not fun.

[@janiniceland]

That sounds much worse than what we're dealing with here. I'm curious to see final numbers by the end of the year, but from what I've noticed from speaking to local business it seems like the numbers actually compared to last year. At least in July. Have a great trip Shane, beginning of October is a great time to visit. Fingers crossed for some good weather!

[@JenAndJesAdventures]

We are going in October too! But then late October hahah

[@MarkYaklich-fm3ty]

Iceland is a beautiful country. We've been there twice. First time was in Summer 2012 and second time was in January 2017. There was a definitely noticeable more tourists when we returned in 2017 even though it was "off-season". Still the country is beautiful - like a different world and people were very friendly. Our next trip we want to drive the entire ring road - maybe we can stay at your airbnb :)

[@janiniceland]

You should definitely do the ring road. There're soooo many nice places everywhere. Even after all those years, I still feel like a barely scratched the surface sometimes haha. Always welcome, maybe see you here some day!

[@mariaschoenfeld]

Thank you for this great video and insights. I went to Iceland in 2016 the first time and locals took me for free to Golden Circle and other spots for sightseeing. So far I have been to Iceland four times now and going again in November 2024. But it changed a lot - I agree. I think there should be limits to tourist numbers set by government.

[@janiniceland]

thank you for sharing Maria! I just think that they could do better job in promoting other parts of Iceland to relieve some places from being overcrowded and support tourism in other parts. By the looks of numbers from this summer it seems like the tourism numbers are stabilising now, so the government should just improve how it's managed in my opinion. But all in all it's still not too bad if you know how to travel here or if you travel in off season like you now will.. Have a great trip in November :)

[@mariaschoenfeld]

@@janiniceland thanks a lot for your feedback. I agree :). And yes, I can't wait to be back to Iceland again. My absolutely favourite spot to come and enjoy nature.😍

[@Bragi71]

Yes, a lot of things changed the past years. 20 years ago I could build up my tent at Jökulsárlón, I just walked 15 minutes away from the Café… and I was the only one. Or going to Geysir for example, in the late 90s there were tourists, of course. But compared to nowadays allmost no one…

[@Francesanne_a.k.a._Tan]

Ill be visiting on October of this year for the first time ♡

[@janiniceland]

Excited for you! The first time visit of Iceland is the best, I still remember mine like it was yesterday:)

[@ppakala]

Loved this video. I am planing to visit in late september of 2025 for 8-9 days in a camper van. The plan is to do the ring road. I am curious if anything has any thoughts on campsites, crowds during late september. Thanks

[@1Organicwolf]

What about 2018 statistics? Rent a camper van from Camp Easy and explore Iceland with and without the crowds. If you rent a 4X4, you can go on the F roads, which gives you a whole other experience. I also recommend camping in small towns and getting to know the culture. It's one of the most beautiful countries I've been to.

[@evanlucas8914]

Another thing that's been driving this is Iceland Air has been making a bunch of new direct routes between Keflavik and major cities. They're opening one up in May for my home city of Pittsburgh and the promotional price was under $500 USD for a nonstop plane ticket in June July and August. That's insane for international travel from Pittsburgh.

[@janiniceland]

Thanks for sharing Evan! Yeah, that is a good deal for a direct flight. I've just spoken to a couple of folks from US the other day, I think they mentioned paying somewhere around $400

[@KODELINER]

Just got back from my first trip to Iceland, very much enjoyed the beautiful landscapes, the food, the people. It's a special place, felt very different to Norway which I've spent a lot of time in. It never felt that busy in Reykjavik (Friday night in the Posthus was probably the busiest it got) - the one thing I noticed was American tourists seemed to struggle with cultural differences more than others. The weather didn't bother me or fellow Brits I bumped into either.

[@janiniceland]

thank you for sharing! Glad you had a great trip here. It usually gets busier in summer, but it really depends, the experience always vary with when, where and how people travel. Just out of curiosity, since you mention cultural differences - is there something that stands out that you've noticed people struggled with here?

[@KODELINER]

@@janiniceland I noticed American's had a lot of trouble understanding how and when to pay in restaurants, they kept insisiting waiters take their credit cards prior to eating the meal and didn't seem to believe that it wasn't the done thing. I overheard quite a few US tourists complaining about tours being cancelled and rescheduled too as if they didn't quite understand that weather and nature changes on its own whim and isn't controlled by tour companies. Again, I had an amazing trip and felt very welcomed by all Icelanders I spoke with! also everywhere I visited seemed to be playing excellent music, Icelanders have a killer taste in bands!

[@mdex1]

visit in winter, its the best, returning for 2nd visit in a few weeks 👍🏽👍🏽

[@janiniceland]

absolutely love the winters here too :) have a great trip!

[@mdex1]

@@janiniceland thanks

[@welshlad6427]

I have visited Iceland 8 times and there is definitely a difference from my first to last visit. My first visit was 2016 and my last was just a few days ago. Iceland is still wonderful but it’s definitely not the same especially in the more popular places. My favourite places now are East Iceland and Westfjords as they still have that old Icelandic feel.

[@janiniceland]

I agree and I think that these other regions won't really ever to the same level which we see at the most famous spots at the south. I'm sure their popularity will raise and I think that's good for small local communities in those areas but as many people still look to do a quick trip and visit the places they see promoted everywhere ( black beach, jökullsarlón, geysir, skogafoss etc) the south is just too convenient

[@animated000]

Icelanders are the friendliest people ive met in my entire life. Was there in april, up north and ditched out in the snow. 3 icelanders stopped to help even though it was pointless. I was deep in snow. Government needs to protect their culture, their land, their way of life

[@janiniceland]

I agree, locals are definitely friendlier and more open than in many other places in the world. Living here for many years I've seen both sides of the coin,, but still the majority is such an amazing people!

[@ZebsterP43]

We did 4 days on the Go,den Road and down to Vik in late summer 2019. It was kinda crowded but not too bad. We are hoping to go to Akureyri next fall. Hopefully it’s not too crowded yet

[@janiniceland]

There're of course busy spots like Goðafoss for example waterfall, but generally there're much less people in North Iceland :)

[@klaudiastrama4449]

Westfjords area is still quite secluded. Maybe not biggest city Ísafjörður or Dynjandi waterfall but the rest. I have been working in Westfjords during summer season and we have been travelling all over this area often and it is empty enough ❤

[@janiniceland]

Absolutely agree, it is such a peaceful region!

[@crandallcrute3918]

HI Jan - me again! Intersting and so true - but honestly - you could substitute British Columbia in your video every time you said Iceland and the video would still be on point! Cheers!

[@janiniceland]

Always happy to see your comments! So basically I should probably visit BC soon! :D And I thought that you're already past the big wave and things are more steady. Is tourism there still growing?

[@crandallcrute3918]

For many reasons - Covid among them - the province is getting busier every year - especially those areas popular on Social Media such as Whistler. It doesn't appear to me to be slowing at all. Cheers Mate!@@janiniceland

[@TheRealJBMcMunn]

Unfortunately, although travel affects the traveler, it also affects the place you travel to. We're seeing this more and more. In popular tourist destinations such as Barcelona and the Cinque Terre in Italy they are limiting tourism. Italy is turning into Disney World. No entry without a ticket for the Dolomites!

[@janiniceland]

Still waiting to see the numbers for the whole season, but we've actually seen a decrease this year even after all the predictions of this being the busiest summer. Would be good to see the numbers sort of stay around the current mark, even though the tourism has been great for Iceland in many ways, I think more than this will just keep raising more and more issues we already see here or in the places that you mentioned

[@Reahreic]

I went there in August 24, spent 2 weeks driving the ring road, an amazing experience, even though there were so many things we just didn't get to because of time constraints. Personally I was fine with the no drone signs (I don't care for instagramers and their buzzy drones), walkways (they help protect the area from self-important a-holes who destroy everything otherwise.), and the crowd size seemed tolerable to me. That said, while there's no going back once tourism starts, the relatively unmolested and raw land was a nice reprieve from the usual overbuilt tourist destinations. I say add a road paving tax to tourism to help pave more of the Non-F Roads, the road to Hvitserkur owes me a $600 tire...

[@janiniceland]

Thank you for sharing this! Happy to hear you enjoyed your time here. THere's so much to see, you'd need years to see every single place. BUt at least you have something to look for for the next trip maybe?

[@Reahreic]

@@janiniceland Oh certainly, at least 20 more places to see my wife, kids, and myself want to move to Iceland now as it's such serene place. (I've got to find a software dev job that will let me work remotely.)

[@DemureDarlings]

Just came back yesterday and it was so many volcanoes 🌋 eruptions 😮

[@janiniceland]

Always something exciting here haha. But I'm glad you got to experience that :)

[@oyvind-b]

We have done extensive research and have now a list of sights, big and small, containing 140. Can we do this in 3 weeks? I don't think so, but it will at least keep us busy. Can't wait for july!

[@janiniceland]

in your case I think that no matter how many you'll visit, you'll be here for 3 weeks and I think just that itself guarantees you an absolutely amazing adventure! Way to go! 🙏

[@Sindrijo]

I am have my doubts that we'll be able to spread out the tourism, and this is to do with the budgets of most travellers meaning it's usually a short trip of 2-3 days and that means that most likely those short-term visitors will just keep doing the same thing that is happening now. RVK->Golden Circle->Diamond Beach->Blue Lagoon I think if we invested in some more highland infrastructure it might be possible to spread this tourism around more, for example North East Iceland has a lot of potential for nature tourism. I also think that if we somehow manage to promote cultural heritage sites more then it will be easier to spread out the tourism more but the fact remains that there is a bit of a 'dead zone' in my opinion between the north and the south of the island. More people need to witness the midnight sun giving Drangey a fleeting "kiss"...

[@janiniceland]

A lot of good points here, I'm also curious to see what will happen with Akureyri. There are only some international flights from Netherlands and maybe somewhere else I think, and then EasyJet connecting UK, but only during the winter-which I don't understand why just winter . I can imagine if people had for example an option to land in Keflavík and then not have to do the whole circle but finish their trip and get on the flight back from Akureyri or the other way around, that could be great too...I mean you can fly back from AK to Rvk now, but that wont fit to everyone's budget either + only a few rental companies have the pick up/drop off points both south and north etc. Let's see where it goes, but there'll be some changes as it appears now. Something that I'm just learning is that this year is unexpectedly turning out to be much slower than everyone expected, with many people not being able to afford the cost of accommodation and tours with many places seeing more than 20% decrease in bookings. Waiting for some official numbers to come out.

[@JoelRiveraMD]

What about visiting Iceland in September ? I’m more interested in nature photography and wildlife . What’s the best month for photography of animals and wildlife ?

[@janiniceland]

I think that September is great month to visit - northern lights are back, it is still summer-ish and great for wildlife photography I would say, too. I'm just not sure about puffins, I think that you can generally see them nesting between June and September, but something tells me its only until beginning/middle of the month.

[@macleadg]

I’m from the U.S. I was in Iceland in 2018. All the Icelanders were very, very nice, except for one incredibly obnoxious attendant at a car rental pickup point. Respect the people and respect the cleanliness of their environment, and you will be fine. I went to a remote village in the interior of the island, and encountered one (young!) person who didn’t speak English.

[@ML-ws6ce]

We spent a hell of a time back in 2015. To see all the Videos about Iceland lead me to one decision: we'll never see us agian.....l'll keep my memories from this stunning island

[@janiniceland]

@@ML-ws6ce i think it’s still worth coming and visiting and exploring more off the beaten path locations, I still often fimd myself completely alone at many of the places on the island :)

[@machnumber]

Create more tourist spots near Reykjavik to retain and scatter the tourists that just want to do tourists things while making the island spots less crowded. They will still see wonderful things. Could be museums, cultural places or even put a sign somewhere random "PARK HERE" and be sure it will be crowded !

[@jabbard73]

My last day was 06-14-2024 - Best Place Ever. !

[@janiniceland]

Glad you had a good trip here! June is an amazing month to travel here

[@3.0ptix]

I’m planning on going September 2025. I’m a photographer and hoping all these signs and ropes don’t hurt getting those amazing shots. I’d always be safe and respectful of nature but just hope they haven’t cut off or but barriers up so we can no longer get those picture perfect shots. Haven’t huge crowds will already ruin a photo. Going to be doing a lot of photoshop work to remove people.

[@arvincharles]

Having visited in 2014 and again in 2024, I think it's a bit too crowded now. But if you have never visited before, you have no way to compare.

[@janiniceland]

@@arvincharles the popular places are busy in the summer for sure, people just need to go a bit of the beaten path, it’s still quite easy to find places that are completely empty :)

[@arvincharles]

@@janiniceland I agree. The biggest difference for me was there was nobody at Gljufrabui in peak summer in 2014. Now, there are lines in September. It kind of took away some of the magic for me, but you just have to work a little more to get away from the crowds nowadays. The other really sad thing is seeing how far the glaciers have receeded. Kviarjokull is way smaller now vs 10 years ago. Same for Jokulsarlon. I can't even imagine how I'll feel when I return 10 years from now.

[@alex_romancino]

I'm going to iceland for 2 weeks at the end of august with my girlfriend! Im very excited about it

[@janiniceland]

First time visit? August here is beautiful. With a little bit of luck you might even be able to see some northern lights at the end of the month when it's starting to get dark again :)

[@alex_romancino]

@@janiniceland yes!! we have rented a 4x4 and camping all over the island every day, cannot wait

[@facadinha1]

Welcome to my life on the Açores Portugal its getting the same my frend

[@janiniceland]

sorry to hear that, I believe that authorities at most places just need to do a better job in managing it

[@facadinha1]

@@janiniceland in 2026 ill be there on iceland to explore that beautiful place

[@winterivzoder9263]

be there next week.... Lifting the Husafell Stone, train at Magnus' gym, visiting the grave of Jon Pall Sigmarson and hanging around watching the stunning scenery

[@janiniceland]

Haha good luck with the stone! Let me know how it went, 186 kg, that's quite impressive.

[@phillester1362]

I want to immigrare to Iceland. how much for 3-4 acres?

[@ajmk22]

omg I am SO glad for filming how many people are there now ... gong show. I'd Rather someone tell me so I know ... takes away from the authenticity and protection for nature... compared to when I wanted to go in 2015 ... I was on that timline in life .. I am sorry I didn't get to go like you did ... looks like Banff or something people walking around with crowds.. so annoying...what a shame. the DISRESPECT people have .. is astounding .. and unfortunate and always gets worse.. I remember in 2012 how FB and Insta already started to destroy amazing places that those who found without social media got to enjoy and idiots like that who ruin it or do dumb things only found it because of social media

[@janiniceland]

thankfully though, there're still a looot of places here that are without any people. I think it also is about a convenience. Places right by the road are packed, while those where you need to hike or have more challenging route are half empty...

[@InQontrolHD]

Golden Circle is overrun imo.. was there in 2023 and driven by in 24, it was almost double of that..

[@janiniceland]

true, the summer months especially. what month were you there?

[@InQontrolHD]

@@janiniceland Late july both years, but we went to the north this year and it was waaay emptier.

[@truepaulesko]

I live in Spain and things like the golden circle are important so "normal" tourist go there and the rest of the nice places can be kept more like "secret"

[@janiniceland]

@@truepaulesko yaeh that makes sense - I mean I still recommend golden circle as well as all the other famous touristy places to everyone who's coming to Iceland for the first time. They're still beautiful and worth visiting even though they're crowded. But sadly in the same time, because of the crowds it puts those places into a ,,nice to see but wouldn't visit again'' category

[@truepaulesko]

@@janiniceland agree but from experience in where I live I think it's good idea to sacrifice something in order to save other things. I loved to come here to a beach in the north of Spain that is very big but has a very small parking lot, I used to come at the end of the day after work or at the begining before working. Now it's impossible. People are here at 7 am to be able to park, and do not leave until night. It's quite a remote place but the place got shilled on Instagram and this is the result. To me it's better some beaches are crowded but leave others alone, it's a bit sad to live in a wonderful place and not being able to enjoy it (well ... At least I enjoy the beach on winter hahaha which is also nice)

[@HaruKodama]

Went to iceland a few weeks ago. The "stupid behavior of tourists" point can't be stressed enough. Whenever I went to one of the more touristy parts, people were just so dumb. Drone flying in a no drone area, walking on the other side of the designated ropes (the side you're NOT supposed to walk on), you name it, there was someone doing it. The less touristy areas were amazing

[@janiniceland]

Yes, that's the sad reality and why I almost never go to these popular places anymore...in the winter maybe. But I'm glad you got to experience some less touristy places, too. It is truly a night and day difference!

[@behramkhan9537]

Kindly tell which one is more beautiful iceland or finland

[@janiniceland]

Honestly I don't know, I haven't visited Finland yet :) but I heard it's beautiful

[@PeteDarrell1972]

Sadly it's everywhere the same! I think they call it progress... Not me! ;-) I remember 'my' Portugal (West Algarve) back in the '90th to how it changed quickly till 2014. Haven't been there since, guess I'll be shocked in some points if I will go again. Just like there where nearly no paved roads, just a few cars but still a lot of horses (mostly donkeys) and buggys, no surfer and most important, the locals were poor but happy plus it was damn cheap and unregulated. The same like in Iceland by the changing of the lanscape by artificial pavements at all the used to be wild 'tourist' destinations. Sadly we can't turn back time... I would if I could! Good that I've been to Iceland already in 2017! I thought already back than, that I will not come back that soon. It was already in 2017 much too expensive to be there... ;-) Or think about your hometown in Czech. Don't promote that area too much, or it will follow this trend! I remember beautiful, kind of wild and free, 'East' Germany with the iron curtin and shortly after. Go there today, wild and free is long time over, signs everywhere and everything everywhere cost money. Yeah, they call it progress... Dang it!

[@janiniceland]

Thanks so much for sharing this Pete! Now when I've been on both sides of it, as a tourist and a local it is a big dilemma for me now. Do I like or do I not? Am I just trying to find positives in it because my work depends on this....It's sad to see the negative sides of it but then there're so many positives too. Jobs, new businesses, infrastructure...when I travel around Iceland now I often avoid touristy places but when I boil it down to individuals, I love meeting people traveling here and sharing their excitement. People just need to respect the places they're visiting and locals should be welcoming to tourists. But I know it is often more easily said than done. I can just hope that at least some of my videos will educate people to not become a bad tourist.

[@marcelapaskova7390]

My letime za tři týdny. Moooc se těšíme. Budeme mít 10dni 4x4 auto.

[@janiniceland]

Preji krasny pobyt! 10 dni je super, muzu garantovat hromadu zazitku 😀 berete to kolem celeho ostrova?

[@marcelapaskova7390]

@@janiniceland ano, jedeme s dvěma dětmi, máme 4x4 obytné auto. Strašně se těšíme. Nejtěžší je odhadnout oblečení, myslím ❤️

[@janiniceland]

@@marcelapaskova7390 na tohle tema jsem taky delal nedavno video. Pokud ale kempujete tak bych se sbalil jak na zimu, i pres to, ze pocitam ze auto bude mit nejake topeni. Podvlikacky, teple kalhoty, teple ponozky, perovku, cepici, nakrcnik a rukavice. A nejakou nepromokavou bundu a boty na hory. Pripravil bych se jak na zimu. Teploty muzou byt kdekoliv kolem 0-15 C ale vitr je to co vas tady dostane :D nikdy tady clovek nevi, jeden den budete v tricku a druhy budete radi za vsechny vrstvy 😀

[@shdws182]

Just got back from Iceland and I expected a quiet time and a feeling of being alone with nature, but no. I was wrong. It was super crowded, so many obnoxious tourists, and people who don’t respect the signs. So many people flying their drones.

[@EyesofZoey]

Well... It depends.. I do have to say I did not enjoy the golden circle just because of the many people. IMO for a Photograph, you don't need to see the golden circle. As "normal" tourists who are used to crowded places it doesnt matter. I enjoyed the lonely places way more ( since im used to be alone in Lost Places) but lets be honest, its like in Urban Exploration... It got wayyyyy to famous last years- like Iceland - ... And because of... Us Photographs, Instagram Hype... And so on... Idk.. Its a difficult theme to discuss about... I like to visit places but I dont like Tourism... 😂🤷‍♀️

[@janiniceland]

Same here. Golden circle could be a bit too much for those who like the quiet places. For example I often enjoy a small random waterfall I stumble across when hiking or driving around, more that the big one all signs and guides are pointing to. It's difficult. If I take away the fact that my work depends on it, if I look on a tourism as a whole I don't really like that much about it, but when I boil it down to individuals, I love meeting tourist from all parts of the world and sharing their excitement about the place. I just think that tourists need to be respectful to the place they're visiting and locals should never put everyone into the same basket. btw - i've seen the urban exploration boom here on youtube so I can imagine how this can attract many people now 😁

[@EyesofZoey]

@@janiniceland yeah.. Basically youtube and IG Hype destroyed my Hobby 🙈😜 I pulled back into Nature since a while to find my peace and lonelyness ..but also I really loved to meet all the different characters from all over the World at the Eruption in July. Thats why I also like solo traveling.. You see.. Im very two sided with that theme 😂 Respect is very important indeed and the way the locals in iceland work and live with the tourism is absolutely great and organised imo

[@steveburbidge875]

Been 10 years in a row, still coming this year

[@janiniceland]

that's amazing, what's been your favourite place or region you've visited here over those years?

[@myroadtours6147]

Iceland has become a very trendy place for foreigners.

[@anaelhonings8683]

I first heard about Iceland at 13 in 1994. I wanted to visit it since 1999 but, as a broke student, I waited until 2005 (when my then boyfriend invited me). I was quite ill but I loved it. Since then I wanted to go back but I had that fear it had became a paradise for stupid tourists. My fear is now confirmed and sadly, I don't think I will return.

[@janiniceland]

Thank you for sharing this. But even though some places are like that, there are soooo many places all around the island where there're still no people at all. I don't think you should get discouraged, the only thing that's changed is that now you will need to do a little better research and not rely on the popular tourist guides which everyone follows.

[@martinpickard5818]

We live in a beautiful part of southwest England and we HATE tourists,sadly we all become tourists at some point….we arrive in Iceland tomorrow…..we will do our best to go unnoticed……I may be in touch for some help….😁😁

[@janiniceland]

Honestly I enjoy people's excitement when they come here because I remember how i loved every bit of landscape the first time I came here. Travel & tourism is in my opinion so important and I think that all we can do as individuals is to be respectful to the place we're visiting and people. But also I think that locals should always do their best to be good locals and don't throw everyone into the same basket. I've been to places where I didn't feel welcome as soon as someone found out I wasn't from there. It changes the whole vibe so drastically. As a foreigner living here I now understand the both sides of this. Sadly there'll always be some brainless individuals disrespecting places they're visiting, and it is a shame that the good tourists then have to ,,pay for it''. Have a great trip Martin, looking forward to hearing some travel stories!

[@nopretribrapture2318]

well you'de hate me too then as i'll be a tourist south west uk, and im part Cornish and Welsh and have the rights to travel wherever i want , disabled as well !

[@makeyour77]

What about if i like to work there and live there, is that hard for EU citizens to find a decent job. I subscribed to your channel

[@janiniceland]

Thank you! I will be making a video on this in a future, but it isn’t too difficult i think. Well, maybe the beginings are because of the competition but it also depends what you consider a decent job. The easiest it’s probably in tourims.

[@tarik6990]

Are you Czech? :)

[@janiniceland]

yes, is the accent so bad? 😅

[@tarik6990]

@@janiniceland No it's just very obvious but that's ok :)

[@thephoenix3155]

Iceland is a stunning place but I get put off visiting it because it suffers from Overtourism to the dangerous and alarming level, it gets 2.5 to 4 million tourists and the population is less than 400,000. But you would be excellent as a tour leader at the less visited parts of the country.

[@composedlight6850]

10 years plus ago it was much better. Prices are too high and charges everywhere, you even have to pay to park your car and you pay a lot .

[@janiniceland]

yeah, good old days.... I-m not really a fan of those paid parking lots, especially since at most of those places you cant see any improvements in the infrastructure other than the ,,new parking lot itself and the cameras''

[@sbblmb]

Since the Americans and hipster Europeans see basically only 3-4% of the country around Reykjavik and the obnoxious Golden Circle, or maximum the southern glacial lakes, the wonderful Westfjords, Eastfjords and North(eastern) Highlands are for us real travellers..

[@janiniceland]

It's a mix of many factors, but yeah almost everyone ends up visiting the same places

[@neologian1783]

Pretty much true only if you are the sort of tourist taking the fat bus from Reykjavik and unwilling to waddle no more than 100 meters to your object of interest. If you are active, and willing to put on a day pack and hoof it further than the average WalMart shopper looking for Cheetos, then Iceland still pays off in huge dividends.

[@janiniceland]

Haha that's 100% true, well said!

[@edwardbathrick2203]

Maybe start charging for visas?

[@Heathen7]

People ruin everything.

[@michaelwolff305]

... by the way, we say $3-7 in the US, not 3-7 $.

[@janiniceland]

Noted 🙏

[@neilmackey9626]

And that's all well and fine, Michael...but when you're visiting somewhere outside the U.S., try following the local customs, not American ones. As an American, I often cringe at those, "Well, back in the U.S, we do it THIS way..." comments. As the old saying goes, "When in Rome..."...

[@joningiolason4436]

I believe that iceland dosent naturaly have trees its why most houses where made out of dirt

[@TooMuchTemper]

I just went from michigan in usa! Great time! Although i did see some idiot tourists from USA. Signs saying no drones! Still seen 3 downed drones! People being loud in the quiet early breakfast restaurants. Mostly older woman.

[@janiniceland]

Glad you liked it! Yeah some people can really get annoying sometimes, the best one can do is to just ignore it..

[@erlasolrunvaltysdottir5787]

Flott umfjöllun hjá þér þetta með að borga fyrir bílastæðin er orðið almenn á Íslandi því miður 💥

[@janiniceland]

Takk Erla! I think that locals should not have to pay to park/access these places. We're being charged on taxes more than enough already

[@user-jp1qt8ut3s]

2,5M tourists isn’t even that much…

[@janiniceland]

it sure isn't especially comparing to other frequently visited places..but sometimes it definitely feels like a lot..I think it's just the concentration of the people at certain places, since 90% of people visits the same spots

[@user-jp1qt8ut3s]

@@janiniceland In a few years I want to hike from cabin to cabin. I thought it would be possible north of Myrdals sandviken (or something that sounds similar). That is still not too busy, right?

[@janiniceland]

@@user-jp1qt8ut3s I wouldn't worry about that too much, not that many people do hiking here, especially traverses like that. Most of the crowded places are those you can access straight from the road

[@behramkhan9537]

It seems like you do not want people to visit Iceland

[@janiniceland]

oh no, that is not true. If there was no tourism I wouldn't be here. I'm just trying to raise awareness regarding the current situation so that people will know what to expect :)

[@MichaelBoelton]

iceland needs to institute a $1000 fee on arrival to weed out the rift raft.

[@JohannNorris]

Yeah, I don’t follow the rules in Iceland. I crossed the line all the time because it’s my fucking country. I can do whatever the fuck I want. 😂😂

[@ryder1128]

"Promo SM"

[@WojtinhoFCJ]

I will probably never visit Iceland, but those ''stupid tourists'' pics/pages are actually stupid, and it is not just about Iceland. You can be respectful while not following dumb rules because some are like crossing the street on red light when it is empty. And we are supposed to follow like slaves? Tourism is about exploration, and how can FREE MEN explore something when there are barriers and signs everywhere? What is wrong with sitting on grass behind a fucking barrier? Even on a cliff, people are resposnsible for themselves, just shouldn't do anything invasive, but free exploration on your own is not invasive and certainly not disrespectful towards the locals.

[@janiniceland]

While I agree with a lot of it, I’ve seen first hand how this doesn’t work at crowded places. You get thousands of people a day to one spot and so it perhaps makes sense to have to pointers to where you can or can not go if you don’t want to see the whole place turn into a mud pit and ruin fauna around it.