Helga Stína is an independent Iceland travel planner and the woman behind the travel company Iceland Unwrapped. She focuses on helping her customers to find hidden gems here in Iceland. She has a great website. Its blog section is a solid resource for anyone planning a trip to Iceland. You can follow Helga Stína on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. All photos in this article are by Helga Stína, Fríða Hjaltested and Piotr Krajewski
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Thank you
Jon Heidar, Editor of Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine
Hey Helga Stína, thank you for taking the time for this interview. Can you please introduce yourself to my readers?
I am the founder and owner of Iceland Unwrapped by helgastina. I was born and raised in Iceland, but I have been living abroad for 20 years. The countries I have lived in are Brazil, Denmark, Austria, Portugal, and The Netherlands. Now I live in Reykjavík, Iceland, with my husband Mike from Chicago, my teenage son Gabríel Noor, and our cats Billy and Belle.
How did it come about that you started offering travel planning services here in Iceland?
I lived in the Netherlands for six years and heard about many people visiting Iceland. The infrequence with which visitors were connecting to locals surprised me. I wanted to change that and offer inspiration both for the travelers and the locals.
I have traveled a lot in my life as well as lived in different places, and my most memorable trips have included meeting and connecting with locals through culture and food and by experiencing unique places that only the locals know about. My desire was to create that experience for people traveling to Iceland.
When living in the Netherlands, I was also very homesick at times so I wanted to be connected to Iceland through my work. I found this approach very exciting and inspiring as a big part of my work is connecting to my network.
With my degrees in teaching, project management and global studies I found a path in work that can make use of the knowledge I gained from my studies, connection with my network and my wish to connect the world on a personalized level for my clients.
Have people’s travel requests or behavior changed after the worst of the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted?
My experience is that people that contact me want to have a unique experience, not the same as the friends who visited Iceland before them.
A calmer and richer way of traveling and experiencing this beautiful country has always been what I aim to offer as a travel planner, starting with personal contact with every client. Every plan starts with an online conversation. I work with small and big groups of tourists and professionals seeking connections and inspiration in Iceland.
When Covid started I was used to using this approach and making personalized plans with a lot of connection with the travelers. In that sense the requests have not changed since Covid, although I know in many cases people now want to avoid the crowds and not be stuck in traffic at every viewpoint on their trip.
What is the strangest request you have had from a customer?
Finding a suitable engagement location for a client is one of the nicest and strangest requests I have had.
Another one is organizing Dining with the Icelanders experience in various homes. It was for a group of 90 people from a business school in the UK on the same evening.
The third one was a group coming from the US wanting to focus on Crossfit.
What are your favorite places or activities here in Iceland?
The Westfjords – a wild natural region in Iceland´s Northwest, are a big favorite and the highlands.
Dining with the Icelanders and music in the homes of the musicians is also an absolute favorite. There is nothing like meeting nice, inspiring people and enjoying a good meal together or listening to music in a comfortable setting. Friendships continue and it’s an unforgettable experience.
What advice do you have for those visiting Iceland for the first time?
Get a travel planner to make the most of your visit. It’s easy to waste a lot of time and money if you follow the crowds, and you can miss out on the really special, quality sights, lodging and restaurants that aren’t on the basic tourist circuit.
Don´t drive the ring road in a week missing out on all the good stuff.
Make sure you take nature seriously, weather and changes in nature can affect your trip but your trip will nonetheless be an unforgettable one.
