OT- Iceland in March

I'm going to Iceland at the end of March, and just was wondering if anyone here had been there and they had any tips, hints, etc? I will be trying (hopefully) Northern Lights pictures, so any tips there would be great too. Trying to absorb as much info as possible. Much appreciated.

If you're doing this independantly, check out this new and highly detailed Photographer's Map of Iceland.
Here's one fellow's review.

Scott Ficke has some excellent Iceland images on his website. You might contact him through e-mail here on RMNP or through his site.

John, that is cool! I've added it to my favorites just in case someday I get to go there.

Joshua, I was there in July of 2010. We rented a camper/pickup truck for 2 weeks and drove the entire Ring Road as well as some other areas. If you send me some questions (dgrall@freshairphotos.com), I would be happy to answer those which I can. March will be a different experience than July, in terms of weather and access to some areas.

I also have some photos here http://www.freshairphotos.com/icetn.html and http://www.freshairphotos.com/icetn2.html.

Joshua, I spent 3 weeks there in June/July of 2006. I have several books and a really good large map that I'd be happy to let you borrow. Be aware that in March you will not have access to a good portion of the island by car. You can probably hire guides to get you to inaccessible areas but in my experience they are very costly. Shoot me an email with your phone number and I'd be happy to share everything I know.

Joshua, I was there last March. It was my only time there, so I'm not exactly an expert. It was also my first time with night photography, let alone aurora photography. There's a travelogue of my trip here https://picasaweb.google.com/100890052121509617133/Iceland . You will get to be very friendly with the gas stations there. You will need to buy a gas card (valid for that particular chain), be prepared to eat anywhere from a few to a majority of your meals at them (hot dogs, hamburgers, and, if you're lucky, pizza), and they often have free maps of the area which will be more detailed & more up to date than any map you can buy here or maybe even the gazetteers there. The free ones will also mark which roads are open only in summer. Wear/bring all your wool clothing and good rain shells. Be very flexible in your plans -- go where the weather looks best, rather than where you may have made room reservations. This is a good weather forecast site http://en.vedur.is/#tab=athugun . I assume you have the Aurora forecast page? Internet is fast & widely available (it was free everywhere we stayed) for backing up your photos on the cloud. I'll be going again in a few weeks -- longer nights & hopefully drier weather than we had last March. Let me know if you have any specific questions, & I'll try to answer (from my vast knowledge base )

Thanks everyone for the info. I have rented a "Happy Camper" (Ford Transit van) that has a fold down bed, sink, cooler, stove burner, and a auto heater in it, so my wheels are also my room for the night. I figured this would keep me the most flexible to move around where I think gives the best photo chances.

I'm flying out Friday the 22nd after work, so I land at KEF around 6:30AM in Iceland, fly home Sunday the 31st, so that gives me 8 nights there. Hopefully I see the aurora at least once or twice.

I'm aware that the bulk of the middle of the island will be inaccessible then, but have read that the "ring road" is plowed all winter. Did that seem to be the case Monika? I for sure want to hit the south coast with the glaciers, sea stacks near Vik, etc, other than that, I'll want to visit some of the other falls and go anywhere that might give aurora shots.

PS, bring a microfiber cloth to wipe off your lens during your aurora shoots as it will probably be getting a fair amount of condensation. There's an ATM in the baggage claim area of the airport so you can get cash. I think everywhere we went took credit cards, but if you're making a small purchase, you may want ISK. Grocery stores charge for each plastic bag you use, so try to reuse the ones you get. And remember to take pictures of your rental car before you drive off in it -- the company we used tried to charge for scratches/dents that were already there. We had to go back through previous rental records until we found ones that recorded the damage from previous renters.