Traveling to Icland the end of May for two weeks. What should I expect?

Question

I'm on my third year of college and am finally deciding to take a break and meet new people. I plan on staying at a hostel, preferably in the captital to save some money (i hear the prices are shocking). Any recommendations or advice?

Answer 1

"Despite its name, Iceland is very mild for a country at that latitude owing to the warming effect of the Atlantic Gulf Stream. The weather is often compared with that of New England (though cooler in the winter)."
"Because it is so close to the Arctic Circle (a small island to the north of the main island crosses it), the amount of daylight varies dramatically by season. The sun sets briefly each night in June, but it doesn't get fully dark before it comes back up again. In March and September, days and nights are about equal, as elsewhere in the world. If you go in December, forget about sight-seeing; it'll be too dark outside. Summer is definitely the best time to go, and even then the tourist traffic is still mild. The midnight sun is a beautiful sight and one definitely not to be missed. It is easy to lose track of time when the sun is still high in the sky at 11pm."
"The local currency is the Icelandic 'krona (ISK). You will get a better rate of exchange if you buy and sell your krona in Iceland itself. Beware of the fact that almost everything is very expensive in Iceland."
"The hotels are usually fairly basic ... They are very clean and well maintained, light and airy with nothing at all that could even remotely be considered 'dingy'. They are expensive though.
Guesthouses are between hotels and hostels in prices and services. Guesthouses will usually have more space than a hostel with a shared bathroom that is cleaner and less crowded.
Iceland has many hostels throughout the entire country. They can be found on Hostelling International Iceland."

See:
1] The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa.
2] For an out of the way drive rent a car and travel along the southern part of the ring road to the town of Vik with its magnificent black sand beaches, rock outcroppings, glaciers, and lava fields.
3] South-central Iceland, easily accessible by car or tour from Reykjavik, boasts a number of sights: the Gullfoss waterfall Europe is quite spectacular; Geysir, the namesake of all geysers, and its neighbor Strokkur which erupts every five minutes or so; and Thingvellir, a beautiful landscape of water-cut lava fields, which is historically important as the site of Iceland's parliamentary government circa 930 AD.
4] Vatnajökull glacier is located in Southeast Iceland and is Europe's largest glacier. Jökulsárlón, the largest glacier lake in Iceland, is located off Route 1 and part of Vatnajökull glacier.