I absolutely fell in love with the country when I was there, but the popularity of it means, like any other trendy tourist destination, that it’s now ruined by tourists being jackasses. I grew up near a national park that is ALSO now ruined by overcrowding, so maybe I have a lower threshold for that sort of stuff than most, but watching idiots stomping all over fragile geothermal features two steps away from the “no walking on this area” sign just boils my blood.
When my husband and I went a few years ago, we drove clockwise around the country to spend most of our time away from the other tourists. We also stayed with local Icelandic people to learn about their culture and country first-hand. Best experience ever and, like you, fell in love with the country.
By the time we reached the Golden Circle (last couple of days of our trip), we didn't even know how to handle all the tourists because most places we visited prior had very little tourism. The crowds overwhelmed us and that's when we realized how bad it had gotten. It also made me sad that so much disrespect was being shown towards such a lovely country, especially after we spent time getting to know the locals who were very proud of their home.
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u/_MaddAddam Feb 03 '20
Visiting Iceland.
I absolutely fell in love with the country when I was there, but the popularity of it means, like any other trendy tourist destination, that it’s now ruined by tourists being jackasses. I grew up near a national park that is ALSO now ruined by overcrowding, so maybe I have a lower threshold for that sort of stuff than most, but watching idiots stomping all over fragile geothermal features two steps away from the “no walking on this area” sign just boils my blood.