The land of ice and fire seems straight out of an episode of Game of Thrones, mainly because a big chunk of it is filmed there.
It has an eery feel to its vast wilderness that fits the show perfectly and makes for a really cool gay trip. Here are a few gay travel tips that will make your visit to the land founded by Vikings that were too tough for the rest of ancient Scandinavia, as much fun as that sentence was to write.
1. Check out AirBnB
Tourism is Iceland’s biggest industry, and since the financial crash decimated a lot of other businesses, they have invested heavily in getting as many tourists there as possible. With insanely cheap flights connecting Europe to North America, there’s plenty of foot-traffic, and the government would prefer that they stay in fancy-ass hotels. So that’s what they built. You’ll find plenty of luxury hotels and a few hostels, but not much in between. If you’re on a budget, but wouldn’t call yourself a budget traveller, Airbnb is a popular option.
2. Book everything in advance
The best time of year to visit is definitely summer, although that does rule out seeing the Northern Lights as the sun never really sets. This means that flights, accommodation, and tours will all be booked solid if you leave it until your trip to book anything. This includes booking your entrance AND transport to and from the Blue Lagoon in advance. There’s no difference in price but there is limited availability, so get clicking now.
We flew direct from Gatwick to Keflavik (Iceland’s only international airport) with low-cost airline rising stars Wow Air. They offer civilised flight times for a reasonable price (from £250) or plenty of those crack of dawn flights for even more reasonable prices. Both of which come complete with lavish purple decor, and check out this legroom!
3. Regular vs. gay tours
When it comes to the typical tourist jaunts, Reykjavik Excursions endless options and departure times, ferrying us to the Golden Falls (careful) and the Blue Lagoon in comfort. However, if you fancied something a little special, you could opt for a gay tour company called Pink Iceland, who arrange many of the same tours, but with a little rainbow twist.
4. Rainbow unicorn chocolate
There’s rainbow unicorn chocolate. If you don’t buy it you’re technically not allowed to call yourself gay anymore.
5. Visit the penis museum
Yeah, of course, there’s a penis museum. Why wouldn’t there be?
6. Get the public transport app
If you don’t drive or don’t really want to drive while in Iceland, then you need to download the Straeto.is app. For some bizarre reason, Google doesn’t recognise any of Iceland’s rather limited public transport, so this is the only way to figure out how to actually get anywhere rather than paying 3,000 Kr (£21) for each taxi trip into town. Plus the buses will not give you change, and you can pay for tickets directly through the app.
7. Take a sleeping mask
If you go during the summer, don’t underestimate the importance of a sleeping mask. Iceland gets about an hour or 2 of “darkness” per night, so you basically just don’t sleep and go a little crazy.
8. Pre-drink
Before hitting the town for a night of gay dancing at the infamous and only gay club in the country, Kiki bar, be sure to get lightly trashed before heading out. Like many things in this beautiful country, alcohol is insanely expensive. And this is coming from someone who lives in London.
9. Hook up
Iceland is the safest country in the world, so you should feel confident to go meet up with guys. And be sure to set aside some time for this, since the community is so small and insular, any fresh meat will be well received and the locals would be grateful of some new conversation. Note: We cannot guarantee that they’ll all be winners.
Be sure to check out Pink Iceland for more information and to book a gay tour or two. And feel free to check out my Instagram for more pictures of me being a dork around Iceland (and around the world!).
GAY RIGHTS In Iceland
LEGAL:
Same-sex sexual activity
Age of consent: 15
Marriage
Sex-sex unions
Step child adoption
Joint adoption
Right to change legal gender
Access to IVF for all couples
“NOT LEGAL”
Blood donation for gay and bisexual men
Anti-discrimination laws in employment
Anti-discrimination laws concerning gender ID
THE COUNTRY
Capital: Reykjavík
Langauge: Icelandic
Population: 330,000+
Currency: Icelandic Króna
Time Zone: GMT
