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WOW Air

From $240 Roundtrip Nonstop – Toronto or Montreal to Reykjavik, Iceland

  • Last Updated:
  • Nov 15th, 2017 2:38 pm
Member
Jan 14, 2009
219 posts
1782 upvotes
lightbulb wrote: Iceland is an incredible place to visit if you like natural wonders / landscapes. Our family spent a week there over the Christmas-New Years holiday and had an amazing time despite the very very short daylight. I'll say you will never see New Year's celebrations like Reykjavik, where they have uncontrolled fireworks that go on for hours everywhere, throughout the city; unique and incredible experience. Although summer would be incredible with the endless sun, it is also much more expensive and would a lot of tourists everywhere, given the current popularity of Iceland. We used Iceland as a stopover on the way back from Paris, which both WOW and Iceland Air use as selling features.

We also used Lagoon Car Rental after much research and found them dependable, honest and fairly priced. I think it was about C$75 day for a new RAV 4 (manual).

Yes, Iceland is really expensive, especially alcohol and really poor selection of food in their supermarkets compared to Canada. Eating out is pricey, I remember our first night of fish & chips with one beer being about $35 each; very good quality food though.

I would definitely got back and recommend unless you're more of a resort / relax with cocktail kind of vacationer.
Holy crap you weren't joking:

For a country of ~300,000, that's a hell of a light show. But it would suck if you were expecting to see the Auroras that night lol
Member
Feb 28, 2012
287 posts
121 upvotes
Toronto, ON
axIguy wrote: Holy crap you weren't joking:

For a country of ~300,000, that's a hell of a light show. But it would suck if you were expecting to see the Auroras that night lol
HOLY COW!!!!!! Amazing!!!
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Jun 5, 2006
2845 posts
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When you say WOW Air doesn't offer seat selection, is that referring to advanced selection? Or you can't even select a seat during (online) check-in? Is it just first come first served as people enter the aircraft?

By the way, for prospective Iceland travelers there are more tips (including mine) in this Iceland discussion thread.
Sr. Member
Dec 24, 2006
566 posts
330 upvotes
Victoria
hitchahike wrote: Yes, a couple that we met actually did that. Icelandair offered stopover in Iceland (for a few days) without charging extra (that's what the couple told us). They also complained that it's about 1.5 time expensive than things in Scotland (that's where they went).
This is what I did in July. It was only a 3 hour flight from Iceland to Copenhagen :). Also alcohol is very, very expensive in Iceland so everybody will tell you to purchase at Duty Free. Do it! The limit you can bring into the country is much higher than what you can bring into Canada (I can't remember exactly how much though). The "Bonus" grocery stores are fairly reasonably priced so seek them out and purchase your food there. Iceland also has a ton of music festivals so, if this is your thing, plan your trip around one of them.
Member
Jan 14, 2009
219 posts
1782 upvotes
Smashy wrote: When you say WOW Air doesn't offer seat selection, is that referring to advanced selection? Or you can't even select a seat during (online) check-in? Is it just first come first served as people enter the aircraft?

By the way, for prospective Iceland travelers there are more tips (including mine) in this Iceland discussion thread.
I should say, WOW Air doesn't offer advanced seat selection unless you pay a fee. It's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. Here are the details for this flight:
wowair.png
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Dec 7, 2003
2133 posts
595 upvotes
Toronto
My wife and I have been to Iceland twice, once during November 2015 and again in September 2017.

If you're planning on going in November, I'd push it until late November/early December so you can book Glacier tours. They start running the tours mid-November but the weather might be too warm in which case they will cancel them for safety reasons. The lack of day light hours can hamper how much you are able to do during a day. I think we averaged 5-6 hours of daylight during that trip. We did not have any issue with road closures when we went and the weather hovered in the 1-5C but with rain. Make sure to bring some waterproof gear. We drove up around Snaefellsness Peninsula to the west, and then down to Jokulsarlon in the South staying in different hotels/gueshouses each night.

We used the driving maps from I Heary Reykjavik as our base of what to see.
Snaefellsness Driving Map

I would highly recommend renting a car (I'd get a 4x4 if you're not sticking to the main Ring Road as some of the side roads are not paved and can be a bit rough) and staying in different places as opposed to just staying in Reykjavik and doing day trips. The car we rented in November had studded snow tires, so no issues with traction. Diesel was 191ISK per liter at the end of Sept 2017.
Vedur.is is their website for weather and road closures. Always good to check in the morning and adjust your route if necessary.

Sept-April is considered their off season so not everything is open. Some of the smaller guest houses that serve dinner during the summer, may not offer it during the off season. Depending on where you stay that could mean having to drive 30 mins to the nearest gas station to get something to eat. The plus side, some of their gas stations offer decent diner type food.

On our last trip, we spent on average of $220CDN/night staying mostly at guesthouses (private bathrooms) and a couple hotels. I used booking.com to find the best prices and used ebates for a couple %s back.

Food is the killer though, a chicken sandwich combo at KFC will run you 1500ISK which is like 16.50CDN. Average $40-50 per meal with no alcohol. If you're trying to save money on food, going to the grocery stores and making sandwiches for lunch is your best bet. Breakfasts are usually included even at guesthouses. A cup of blabaer Skyr (think creamier Greek yogurt, super high protein) and some granola was our standard breakfast fare.

We were lucky and saw the Aurora on several different nights. You can google Iceland Aurora activity and the first link will tell you how active aurora activity is that day so you can plan accordingly.

Hope that info helps!
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Apr 21, 2011
44 posts
1 upvote
Toronto
kudos2012 wrote: Just to give you a heads up on what to expect in Iceland:
- First off, it's a beautiful country and a fantasy land of sorts with pictureque natural landscapes.
- You can try to go for a short city-break, but the real beauty lies outside of Reykjavik. There's not a tremendous amount to do in the city. But there are spectacular waterfalls and cliffs along the coast.
- If you plan on renting a car, bring someone who can drive standard /manual transmission. Automatic is like 6x to 10x the price and available in only a handful of models, if any.
- If you plan on journeying by car around the country, keep in mind that many roads are closed for winter as of September/October. So the flight dates may very much restrict you to the lower east corner and tourist circuits. Don't get there in November and be surprised that one can't drive all around the country.
- Everything is expensive, including food. Your best best would be to stay at a B&B and cook some meals on your own. But not everybody has the time or energy for this. Buy granola bars for the road.
Thanks for the advise!
How would I know anything about this.............lol
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Jan 2, 2012
4682 posts
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KINGSTON,ON
Man, I'd so love to go there.
I don't think you can get a round trip regional flight from Kingston, Ontario to Toronto for that price. If only the accommodation costs weren't so high... Too bad it's not camping season.
Banned
Dec 2, 2009
255 posts
75 upvotes
Terrace
WOW actually charges for carry on? That's rediculous. Pretty sure 99% of people travelling will at least have a backpack, might as well just increase the price of the base flight.
Sr. Member
Jun 27, 2004
861 posts
41 upvotes
Kitchener
kevinssmith wrote: WOW actually charges for carry on? That's rediculous. Pretty sure 99% of people travelling will at least have a backpack, might as well just increase the price of the base flight.
If it's a single person travelling, I agree, but with a family of 4 I can pick and choose (ie, my 8 & 11 year old can share a bag with my wife and I). But yes, you do have to plan ahead and be aware of the charges. I've flown WOW to Amsterdam as well with a stop in Reykjavik. I actually really liked WOW air, though an awful lot of people were pissed at the extra fees - they were checking everyone's bag in a sizer at Pearson when I last flew out and a good number of people where oversized on their baggage and ended up paying extra.
Sr. Member
Jan 20, 2007
652 posts
653 upvotes
Backpack is the way to go if you're no frills and don't want to pay extra for luggage. I bought this backpack (was on sale for $65 at Live Out There) specifically for a WOW flight. Checked the dimensions to make sure it was within their guidelines for a personal item, which is free. Was able to fit about a week's worth of clothes plus necessities. The lady took one look at it and didn't even ask me to put it in the sizer. Leave the personal item tag that they attach to your bag for the return flight.
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Nov 18, 2008
9291 posts
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Mont-Royal
so a meal in a restaurant is like 50$?? here in montreal with tips, it's already 25-35$, can't be pricey with than that..?
"Every marathon you run, your heart scars and you will die faster. If you think running a marathon is fitness, then you know NOTHING ABOUT HEALTH & FITNESS."
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Sr. Member
Apr 12, 2012
798 posts
184 upvotes
Toronto
It was pricey when I went to Sweden a few years back in winter. I am sure Iceland is probably more expensive than Sweden
The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
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Dec 28, 2015
614 posts
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Westmount, QC
L4cky wrote: so a meal in a restaurant is like 50$?? here in montreal with tips, it's already 25-35$, can't be pricey with than that..?
It's about 2-3x more expensive then Montreal which is pretty cheap like rest of Canada
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Apr 8, 2015
2104 posts
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Roxboro, QC
Any perspective for young families? Is airbnb say two cottages on opposite ends of the ring work?
Member
Jun 12, 2006
384 posts
66 upvotes
Toronto
Just got back from Iceland. Be prepared to spend money there, it is not a cheap trip. But absolutely worth it.
Member
Jan 14, 2009
219 posts
1782 upvotes
soupmaster666 wrote: I booked a round-trip flight for two adults for $1100 tax-in (before seeing this post). That was for the middle-tier tickets that allow seat selection and one checked/one carry-on item per person. Choosing an exit row seat or additional leg room seat was not included and an additional $60/ticket/flight.
This fare also allows for advanced seat selection - for a fee. There's an image in the post you quoted with exact fees if anyone wants more details.
Member
Jan 14, 2009
219 posts
1782 upvotes
And just so there's no confusion, I've updated OP with seat selection fees for WOW Air. As I mentioned before, very reasonable - even compared with Canadian legacy carriers that charge $25+ per seat per direction over the water.
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Sep 13, 2004
6019 posts
3614 upvotes
Toronto
digger1 wrote: The shortest day will be on November 30th with only 5 hours of daylight.
No, the shortest day will be the one closest to the Winter Solstice, as always. This year it is December 21. That day will be 4:07:15 long in Reykjavik. November 30th's day will be 5:05:25.

Source: https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/iceland ... &year=2017
Deal Expert
Jun 26, 2011
15096 posts
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GTA
axIguy wrote: And just so there's no confusion, I've updated OP with seat selection fees for WOW Air. As I mentioned before, very reasonable - even compared with Canadian legacy carriers that charge $25+ per seat per direction over the water.
I flew wow this summer and left our seats till the airport. Got put in the exit row, presumably because nobody wanted to pay extra for it

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