6 mistakes tourists make in Iceland, according to locals

• Insider asked Icelandic locals about mistakes they often see tourists make.

• Visitors who ignore warning signs at popular sites can suffer serious injury or death, one said.

• Tourists who only stay in Reykjavík have to drive long distances to the country's natural wonders.

In 2022, 1.7 million tourists visited Iceland, according to the Icelandic Tourist Board.

Insider asked Icelandic locals about mistakes they often see tourists make while visiting the land of fire and ice.

Here are the six biggest missteps.

Relying on sparse public transportation instead of renting a car is one mistake people make while visiting Iceland.

In Iceland, public-transportation options include a public bus, ferry lines, and domestic flights. But Anna Ragna, who was born and raised in Iceland and moved to the US in 2015, recommends renting a car in order to have more freedom of movement across the country.

"A lot of the buses are there to mostly ferry tourists, and they will almost always upcharge you for just a basic bus ride," Ragna said. "I always recommend getting a rental car because then you can actually drive with your own free will and you're not limited to public transportation and you can go further and do more and explore more."

Booking accommodations in Reykjavík for the entire duration of your trip adds lots of unnecessary driving time.

Many of Iceland's natural wonders are located long drives from the capital city. Davíð Geir Jónasson, owner of Vík Expeditions, told Insider that it's better to spend some nights staying outside of Reykjavík in order to minimize the amount of driving time.

"You come to Iceland for nature, and staying in Reykjavík, you're always spending four or five hours every day driving back and forth," he said.

Tips are not expected in Iceland, so don't try to force your server to accept one.

Tipping is commonplace in the US. But in Ragna's experience, tips aren't always appreciated by Icelandic service workers.

"A lot of times there would be tips on the table for the waitress and they say, 'We can't take it,' and then it'll end up turning into an argument, and that's something that happened quite often," Ragna said.

Stepping on the delicate moss that blankets lava fields throughout Iceland can damage it for decades.

While Icelandic moss can weather the country's harsh climate, the slow-growing organism is very fragile when stepped on, The Reykjavík Grapevine reported.

"It grows incredibly slowly and it can take up a hundred years just to grow a simple patch," Ragna said.

Visitors who expect to see the midnight sun in the winter or the northern lights in the summer will be disappointed.

The northern lights are usually visible in Iceland between September and April, according to Visit Iceland. The midnight sun season occurs between May and August, according to Guide to Iceland.

But Vanessa Terrazas, an Icelandic local who helps run adventurous elopements with Iceland Wedding Planner, said she often encounters tourists who didn't do their research and came to Iceland during the wrong season for the phenomenon they were hoping to see.

"That happens a lot," she said.

Ignoring warning signs at popular tourist sites can lead to serious injury or death.

In addition to running a tour company, Jónasson has spent more than 15 years as a member of Iceland's search-and-rescue team. He's seen firsthand what happens when tourists ignore warning signs at dangerous tourist sites like the Reynisfjara black-sand beach, where there have been 12 emergency calls and five deaths over the past decade, according to Reykjavík Excursions.

"People need to realize that this raw beauty in Iceland is also created by this elemental power," Jónasson said. "We have violent storms, volcanoes, glaciers, and we treat them with respect, in a careful way. In Iceland, a warning sign is put up because someone has died or multiple people have died. It's not just because something might happen."

Read the original article on Insider