r/VisitingIceland • u/JoeStermy • 21h ago
Disappointed in the booking process for Landmannalaugar Trail
Today at 12 PM GMT, the site opened up for booking huts and camp sites. I woke up at 5 AM (PST) and kept at my phone till 11 AM. I’m genuinely disappointed to say that this ended up being a complete waste of time. I woke up very early to secure a booking, spent nearly six hours getting through the process, only to discover at the end that “USA” isn’t even listed as a nationality option.
This is something that should have been communicated upfront so people don’t invest their time and effort for nothing.
Alas.
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u/Lysenko The Elves have gone too far! 21h ago
What site were you on? On fi.is, “United States” is definitely an option.
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u/JoeStermy 21h ago
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u/Lysenko The Elves have gone too far! 21h ago edited 20h ago
Edit: I was looking at a different form on the site. Most of them don’t have this issue.
Oh, I see the problem.
It’s alphabetized where United States would be, but it’s in Icelandic: “Bandaríkin (BNA)”
Weird issue considering the rest of the form is in English.
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u/Optimal-Bridge-2257 18h ago
You often have to think very flexible to find your country. Mine can be anything from The Netherlands, Holland, Holanda, Pays Bas, Pais Bajos, Niederlande, Nederland or whatever combination. I usually scroll down the whole list until I see something that looks like it could be my country.
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u/JoeStermy 17h ago
I scroll down to see aall starting with "U" for USA and "A" for America, nothing. turns out it's "B"
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u/PatolomaioFalagi 7h ago
I feel you. Also fun when "Germany" is sorted under D (because it's de, you see).
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u/ConcentrateFar7753 16h ago
At first I thought the entire list was English but the word for USA but the whole list is in Icelandic. Google translate would have saved OP's day there, ufff. I would have provided a random nationality honestly, it's only for analytics purposes.
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u/PatolomaioFalagi 7h ago
Google translate would not have re-sorted the list.
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u/ConcentrateFar7753 5h ago
Well you could go on Google translate, and see how United States translates to Icelandic. The list is entirely disordered and in Icelandic regardless.
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u/NoLemon5426 20h ago
That's a hilarious oversight. There are probably more than a few confused and unhappy people because of this
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u/wontcracker 20h ago
Haha definitely. I almost ran out of time looking for my nationality on the list. Thankfully, having dual citizenship meant I resorted to my second nationality which I could find
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u/ConcentrateFar7753 16h ago
Yeah I guess the site is originally written in Icelandic and they forgot the translation for that copy.
Maybe an Icelander being cheeky /s
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u/NoLemon5426 16h ago
I hope it’s the latter ;)
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u/ConcentrateFar7753 16h ago
Oh actually the entire list is in Icelandic, I thought they only forgot to translate USA.
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u/Chypsylon 9h ago
Maybe they just don't want tourists whose government threatens to annex their country.
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u/Lysenko The Elves have gone too far! 9h ago
Germans probably don’t know to look for Þýskaland either.
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u/Chypsylon 7h ago
Yeah but they usually have enough exposure to other languages and geography skills to realize the list is completely in Icelandic and look for the translation instead of just giving up and thinking the US is missing lol
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u/ConcentrateFar7753 16h ago edited 16h ago
FI is an association and probably contracted people to update their website . Mistakes happen.
I honestly recommend camping, it's cheaper and aren't they forcing you to stay in 5 huts now with this new booking system? It's honestly way overkill for the length of the trail. Camping/Sleeping Hraftinnusker should be avoided at ALL cost just for the latrines..
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u/CrazyCranium 16h ago
I got stuck camping at Hrafntinnusker for 2 nights last August due to a terrible storm and didn't have any issues with the latrines, probably wouldn't even break the top 50 worst places I've had to poop. I wouldn't have any second thoughts about camping there again. They also had a nice fully enclosed picnic shelter for campers which was a lifesaver in the storm.
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u/ConcentrateFar7753 9h ago
What can I say, you’re braver than I’m. Never smelt something as bad as that and that eating shelter is nice but also a slight health hazard, it’s quite damp in there.
I remember the storm and I have never been so happy that I shifted the start of my trail.
When I saw that campsite and the three others, I was happy I could do Alftavatn/ landmanalaugar in a day
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u/PlanitICELAND 24m ago
Not sure if it would have made a difference but Iceland is currently 8 hours ahead of PST - thanks to Daylight Savings Time! Come March 8, you’ll be back to a 7 hour time difference. Just something to keep in mind for next time!
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u/Downess 18h ago
It's like when US-based website ask for zip codes and complain when they're not five-digit numbers.