You too can have a view like this all to your lonesome, if you’re willing to pay a few (or many) extra króna for it.

A recent story from CNN Travel, has me thinking that Iceland — party location du jour for global hipsterdom via its affiliation with Björk, Sigur Rós, badass Viking design symbology, and a reputation for unhinged nightlife — may have finally jumped the fermented shark as a destination.

In 2005, 370,000 foreigners visited Iceland, more than the country’s population. The top three points of origin were Britain, the United States and Germany…

Like many other visitors, we felt relaxed and had a good night’s sleep after swimming in the Blue Lagoon and rubbing some of its white silica mud over our skin. The only drawback was the price—$44 each for the entry fee and the bus ride from our hotel. “Wow, we’re staying here all day just to get our money’s worth,” Peter Rowan, 38, who works for a bank in London, said in the Blue Lagoon’s restaurant. He and his wife, Natalie, were each limiting themselves to a sandwich and a cup of tea.

“This country is beautiful, the people are wonderful, but the prices stop you in your tracks,” he said.

Given that there are only 300,000 Icelanders, more than half of whom live in Reykjavik, that must lead to some pretty steep tourist to local ratios. Add to that the high cost of everything, including the infamous local booze, and it seems that the party may be grinding down.

Elsewhere:
– Reykjavik Grapevine: “Quentin Tarantino, You Should Work for the Icelandic Tourist Board”
– Turn Here: Reykjavik
– Jaunted: “Land of the Midnight Sun, Tourist Board”


Image courtesy of tobyloc’s photostream