Golfing during Iceland’s summer months is next level; this season brings with it the famous midnight sun, which certainly makes for a new golfing experience. Normally at home in England, my friends and I tee off in the early hours of the morning, so the idea of playing 18-holes at midnight was a welcoming thought.

During my time in Iceland I played at a variety of courses, but Oddur stood out to me the most. Oddur is considered to be one of the finest golf courses in Iceland, located in the majestic surroundings of Urriðavatnsdalir, about 20 minutes driving distance from the centre of Reykjavík.

Oddur was designed by Hannes Þorsteinsson, a golf course architect and member of the British Institute of Golf Course Architects, and was beautifully put together. The tees were in great position, in line with the fairways and greens, all encapsulated between lava rocks and hills.

My family and I travelled in a camper van from CampEasy; this allowed us to travel across the country at our own pace. We managed to pick up a golf card, which gave us access to 29 courses in Iceland; in total it was 94 euros for two adults and our 16-year-old son, and saved us a bunch of money.

Golfing in Iceland was a thrilling experience; I would highly recommend my holiday to any avid golfer.

Thanks to Ben Johnsson for sending IceNews this short piece about golfing in Iceland. As well as being an amateur golfer, Ben is also a painter and decorator by trade in Kent, England.

Iceland is a land of excitement, incredible outdoor adventures and pursuits, culture, and a landscape so unique to the rest of the world.

Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital, is a cosmopolitan city in the same stature as Berlin, Paris, or London, but just smaller in size.  The city is vibrant with culture, art and live music, and holds regular events such as the Reykjavík Arts Festival, and the Reykjavík Fashion Festival – there’s always something for everyone.

Everyone is welcome in Iceland, and all rights are celebrated, especially within the gay community. Every year, Reykjavík holds Gay Pride, where by lesbians and gay men, bisexuals and transgender people, friends, relatives, fellow citizens and numerous foreign visitors all show solidarity together. The day is a colourful event featuring a grand outdoor concert and the famous Pride Parade, which is usually attended by over eighty thousand people.

Additionally, there is always something incredible to see in Iceland, whether it be bubbling volcanoes, shooting geysirs, or huge glacial ice sheets. There are a number of tour providers offering hiking trips and volcano trips.

WOW air prides itself on honouring its promise, “Low Price, New Planes, Biggest Smile”, and offering a different flight experience. Despite it being Iceland’s budget airline, WOW air is not budget in value and offers a wealth of service, fun, and customer dedication.

For more information about WOW air, visit http://wowiceland.co.uk

The ministers will sign an agreement on ‘Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response’. This is the second legally binding agreement among the Arctic States and will enhance response measures and cooperation in the Arctic.

The ministers will also welcome the release of several important scientific reports and approve policy recommendations from:

•    the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment, the best available science informed by traditional ecological knowledge on the status and trends of Arctic biodiversity and accompanying policy recommendations for biodiversity conservation,

•    the Arctic Ocean Review and

•    the Arctic Ocean Acidification assessment.

These reports provide new benchmarks and knowledge about the state of the Arctic environment.

Beginning on 14 May, the six working groups of the Arctic Council will make presentations and provide information on accomplishments during the Swedish Chairmanship and their ongoing activities at the ‘Folkets hus’ (the Community Center) in Kiruna. This event is open to the public and media.

The Ministerial Meeting will take place on the morning of 15 May at Kiruna City Hall. A press event will be held directly after the meeting. Delegates and media will then visit the LKAB iron ore mine, where the working groups will provide further information on their assessments and policy relevant recommendations.

The Kiruna Ministerial Meeting can be followed via web stream from the Arctic Council website.Ministers in attendance:

•             Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden

•             Lena Ek, Minister for the Environment, Sweden

•             Leona Aglukkaq, Minister for the Arctic Council, Canada

•             John F. Kerry, Secretary of State, USA

•             The Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Iceland

•             Espen Barth Eide, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway

•             Villy Søvndal, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark

•             Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Finland

•             Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Russia

Certified by VISA Europe and approved by the Visa PayWave standards, the new software is the first one in Iceland to offer this kind of technical innovation. It enables merchants to accept payments via contactless Visa cards and also via smartphones where the credit card functionality has been implemented on the SIM card.

“This is a major step towards establishing contactless payments in Iceland,”  explained Sigurhans Vignir, the Executive Director of Corporate Solutions of Valitor. “With this development in place, we can prepare merchants with a pilot   phase where Valitor will initiate contactless card and smartphone payments in cooperation with all card issuers in the country, as well as with two of the country’s largest network providers Síminn and Vodafone.”

Valitor and Point have been working together since 1995 and the cooperation has proved very successful.  Elvar Guðjónsson, CEO of Point, commented, “It has been an interesting challenge to finalise this project so we are very pleased that it‘s now in place. This is yet another great milestone in the cooperation of Point and Valitor.”

The software is currently in experimental runs with selected vendors to ensure proper functionality before the official distribution. All acquirers and service providers that use the merchant POS terminals VeriFone Vx820 and Vx680 from Point can update the POS terminals with this software.

Users on TripAdvsior have rated Reykjavik4you ‘excellent’, which has resulted in the hotel in Reykjavík being listed at number 2. One TripAdvisor user from the UK stated:

“(We) stopped here for a week in early February and I have to say we were really impressed with the studio apartment we had. It had everything you needed to be a home from home. We arrived late evening and were still welcomed with an efficient check in. Their apartments were lovely and warm with a cooking area that is sufficient enough having everything you needed to cook a meal. The apartment was cleaned everyday as well. You’re a stones throw away from a wonderful bakery and a short walk from a supermarket. The centre of Reykjavik is around a 2 minutes walk away so your close to the night life and yet far enough away to not hear the noise. Iceland is very expensive so this option is a great way to still enjoy the island yet self cater at reasonable prices. Lastly, go to Iceland its a fantastic place we loved it.”

All of the apartments with Reykjavik4you are fully furnished including the kitchen, allowing you to cook every night if you wish. Furthermore, all of the apartments come equipped with a flat screen TV, where you can relax on a comfortable sofa.

Reykjavik4you’s apartments are all located within short walking distance from Reykjavík’s main attractions and facilities. Laugavegur and Skolavordustigur, Reykjavík’s main shopping streets are just a walk away, accommodating a variety of quaint fashion boutiques, cosy coffee shops and top quality restaurants.

For more information regarding lodging in Reykjavík, visit www.reykjavik4you.com. In addition, to read more reviews on TripAdvisor, click here.

The European Algae Biomass Conference 2013 aims to bring together senior executives from industry and academia to discuss the latest commercial and technical developments, challenges and research breakthroughs throughout the entire algae value chain.

Representatives of Kadeco, including Kadeco’s Managing Director Kjartan Þór Eiríksson, will be exhibiting the algae biomass production opportunities at the Ásbru Enterprise Park in Iceland.

Ásbrú has available industrial lots with the possibility to develop buildings into facilities that are suitable for algae biomass production. The local facilities already build give manufactures possibilities to start production in smaller scale and gradually build up on a nearby lot.

It has previously been noted that Iceland has big advantages as a location for algae biomass production due to the country’s local geothermal renewable energy sources providing a lowered cost of production. This also results in stable grid connections and reliable delivery rates. In contrast from the U.S., Iceland can make long-term energy contracts offering a much-needed stability in productions cost.

In addition, Keilir, an educational institution located at Ásbrú, offers two multidisciplinary B.Sc. programs in co-operation with the University of Iceland; green energy technology, and mechatronics – these institutions provide opportunities regarding future Labour.

Ásbrú Enterprise Park is on the forefront of entrepreneurship, business and academic development in Iceland, with focus on technology, renewable energy, medical tourism and engineering.

For more information regarding Kadeco, and algae biomass production in Iceland, visit http://www.asbru.is/english/kadeco/.

Valitor has been providing issuing services since 1983, whereby the company has grown from being the main partner of Visa and MasterCard in Iceland, to the second largest issuer of pre-paid Visa credit cards in Europe.

Valitor has partnered with an array of financial institutes and businesses to expand its services to a wider client base including CorporatePay, and PRESEND Nordic AB. CorporatePay helps clients maximise profitability by designing and delivering world-class pre-paid card programmes, regardless of industry or size.

PRESEND Nordic AB is a subsidiary of Retain24, Sweden’s largest gift card processor. PRESEND offers simple, secure and flexible Visa pre-paid card solutions in the Nordic region.

Furthermore, Valitor has recently won two international Card and Payment Awards for its innovative solutions a ceremony held in London, UK, which took place on 6^th March 2013.

“We are extremely elated for this high-profile recognition; we pride ourselves in our long established partnerships and clientele of 30 years,” commented Viðar Þorkelsson, CEO of Valitor.

For more information regarding Valitor and its credit card issuing services, visit http://www.valitor.com/issuing-services/

We started in Reykjavík and drove along the south coast. On our first day we suffered the unfortunate incident of getting a flat tire. However, in Iceland we have this proverb which says that if you start off on the wrong foot you’ll eventually have a good journey, or as we say it “fall er fararheill”.

So far this journey could not have turned out better, yet we still have three days to go. We have had the most fantastic hosts along the way and tasted some of the best food we have ever tasted in our life, and all on the house! It’s no wonder Iceland has been elected the friendliest country in the world for tourists. Icelanders simply love to play the good host and pride themselves in the service they have to offer.

We at Iceland Unlimited love to collaborate with such people, which are also why we are on this journey to find these wonderfully driven individuals so we can offer our customers the best there is available around the country.

With us is a travel blogger named Seattle. To avoid boring her to death with endless hotel and guesthouse visits, we have tried to spice things up a bit by searching less known sightseeing spots and attraction. Few of the things we have visited are the wreckage of a U.S. military plane that crashed into Sólheimasandur desert in 1973, Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon, tiled shaped lava formations dubbed as The Church Floor, a café in Mývatn where you can watch the cows being milked as you enjoy a cup of coffee and a home baked cake, as well as all the wonderful attractions that Eskifjörður has to offer. One of these attractions is a loft in an old sailor house by the harbour which has been left untouched for almost 100 years.

Today we are staying the majestic Mývatn area and tomorrow we are heading to Akureyri, the capital of the north. You want to know more about our adventures? Then make sure you follow our blog. See you on the road!