Everyone’s least favorite part of traveling is probably the most crucial: buying the tickets. Sometimes, you find a nonstop flight at the right price, but within a day or two, you check back to see that the fare has gone up. Or, you think you’ve managed to snag the most amazing deal on a flight, only to realize that three layovers and an overnight airport stay will mean you arrive at your destination 2 days later than you expected.

Many people just give up and take the easy route, but as any seasoned traveler knows, convenience doesn’t come cheap. If only there was a way to bypass all the headache and still nab that sweet flight deal, without making it into a full-time job. Fortunately, there already is someone out there who has made it his full-time job: Scott Keyes, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights. He shares some tips for getting the right price on a great flight.

Firstly, flip the typical flight search process on its head by checking which destinations are offering cheap tickets and picking dates according to when they’re cheapest. “By doing that, rather than trying to pigeonhole the exact city and dates, you’re much more likely to get a deal,” says Keyes. He also says to ignore advertised fares, which he deems “pretty garbage”- prices are usually hiked up before they are discounted.

Planning ahead is a crucial element in getting great rates; last-minute airfare price drops are, in fact, the opposite of what actually happens, as airlines count on business travelers making last-minute bookings and hike the prices. Lastly, Keyes advises to ‘book first, think later’, and take full advantage of the 24-hour free cancellation window. As long as the booking is made at least one week prior to departure, you have 24 hours to cancel any flight to or from the U.S., penalty-free.

Did you know that optical illusions can help stop and slow down traffic? Well, Iceland has been doing it! A small fishing village in Iceland came up with three-dimensional crossings painted across the road to make cars come to a standstill. For pedestrians, the crossing appears as a row of tall columns, where you will feel as if you are walking through air. To a car, they seem to be floating above ground level.

While you may casually dismiss the idea of an elf, 44 percent of Icelanders don’t, with Reykjavik, the capital, famously dubbed as the “elves’ capital.” Elves are supposed to be searching for new homes around the holiday season – Christmas and New Year – and so shoes are left out for them to fill with treats. Construction activities are halted around places where elves are known to reside. Lagging behind on elf jargon? Earn an elf diploma in a three to four hours course at Reykjavik’s Elf School.

Are your muscles aching from exhaustion due to hiking? No worries if you’re in Iceland – you are never too far from a quick dip in one of the natural geothermal streams dotted around the country. A hot water dip will relax your muscles and rejuvenate you in minutes. These naturally heated springs have been around since the Vikings’ times. You are also likely to find a warm pool or hot tub in most places – a surreal way to absorb the beauty of the landscape around you.

While driving around Iceland, it is not unusual to spot giant marshmallows in pink, white, green, or even black, dotting the landscape. You may even be tempted to get off the car and start munching on them after roasting them over a campfire. However, they aren’t really marshmallows; they’re hay bales wrapped up neatly in plastic to make them last longer and stay fresh up to three years. Hay is the largest harvest and is mostly used as fodder for cattle – not a treat trick for tourists!

Is your baby having fits of wakefulness during nap time? Probably it’s best to leave the napping child in the cold outside, tucked in a warm blanket and comfortable woolen sweater and mittens, of course – says an average Icelandic parent, who’ve witnessed generations of babies being exposed to the fresh air for better sleep. It is normal to find a sleeping baby in a pram outside Iceland’s numerous cafes or houses – the parents are probably watching nearby, don’t panic!

Iceland is one of the safest counties in the world, claiming the spot 12 years in a row. You might think that the police force might be busy all the time, laboring day and night to ward off evil. Actually, they’re probably on Facebook posting about the time they cuddled a stray dog or cat, reading a book in a cozy corner, skiing, or even celebrating donut day by splurging on mouthwatering delights. Check their Instagram feeds for the coolest updates.

The hand-drawn map comes straight out of a real letter meant to be delivered to a farm in Iceland; the postal service even delivered it! “A horse farm with an Icelandic/Danish couple and three kids and a lot of sheep,” was the only available description of the recipients! Kudos to the cool postal service team for brilliantly locating the recipient. So much for locating an old friend or a long lost relative – just send a postcard with as much information as you can remember.

Home to just about 364,000 people, imagine the horrors of running into your love interest at a family dinner, discovering she’s your cousin, and feeling yourself going red in the face! Iceland has come up with an app that tracks your potential date’s family history of the last 1200 years – all you need to do is “bump” your phone with that of your partner’s phone. “App of Icelanders” is created by three software engineering students using the Islendingabok containing genealogical details of almost the entire population.

While the entire world struggles to combat plastic pollution –an alarming build-up of plastic in our oceans and landfills – a 32-year-old product design student, Ari Jónsson from Iceland Academy of Arts, has designed a bottle that will hold up when full and decompose when not in use. Made using only agar, a gelatinous substance that comes from red algae, and water, it is completely natural and safe to drink from. Water binds the agar and keeps its shape – it decomposes miraculously when empty!

If you think that the TV is now just about bad news, lazy soap operas, and dark stuff, you may be wrong – this is not the case in Iceland where an entire show has been made on the not-so-secret-anymore lives of cats. Keeping up with the Kattarshians is a streaming TV series from Iceland that features kittens in the place of the Kardashians. Watch furry felines go frenzy in action as they rampage a doll’s house built for them and are caught in the act with hidden cameras.

Believe it or not, Iceland is one of the few countries where McDonald’s restaurants do not exist! Reykjavik does have our beloved KFC and even Taco Bell, but don’t expect to find a Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets anywhere in Iceland – thanks to the popularity of local burger joint, Hambórgarabúllan. After the financial crash of 2008, the one McDonald’s restaurant in Reykjavik left town. To make it worse (or better depending on your opinion), there is no Starbucks as well.

An average Icelander will work around 1697 hours a year, which is much more than any other European country! Iceland gets 26th place when it comes to the time spent at work and 32nd in terms of spending time for leisure, hobbies, or personal enjoyment. Men spend about 47 hours, and women spend 37 hours working. There is greater women representation in the workforce – about 45%. If you’re in Iceland, it may be hard to divide your time between work and family.

You know how every country has its own special food – one that everyone has to try at least once if one ever visits the country? You may or may not be glad to know that, for Iceland, it is something known as Hakarl, which is basically fermented shark. Hakarl is made by beheading a shark, burying it underground for around three months, and then hanging it out to dry under the sun. Icelanders love to have this food with unsweetened schnapps.

As a foreigner, you might be surprised to notice Icelanders saying “Já,” which means yes, while inhaling. This is nothing but a quirk of speech known as innsog, which they use to emphasize if they agree or if they want to encourage the speaker to continue talking. Neither the native speakers nor the linguists know where this innsog originated from. It’s their natural way of talking; they don’t understand why foreigners are curious regarding this.

If books are your best friend, then you should consider moving to Iceland, a country that religiously celebrates jólabókaflóð or the Christmas book flood. Icelanders have stuck to the tradition of gifting books to their loved ones for many years, and reading is a favorite hobby. Iceland Publishers Association delivers fresh catalogs of new titles to every home at the onset of the holiday season. Most books are also published around this time.

Iceland is one of the few countries where you can experience both the Midnight Sun and Northern Lights. Midnight Sun takes place in the South of the Antarctic Circle and North of the Arctic Circle during summer every year. The sun doesn’t set for several weeks, and Icelanders call it the Summer Solstice; they have some traditions revolving around this. The Northern Lights are not visible if the background is not dark enough. During winter, nights become dark, and so it’s perfect to spot the Northern Lights in Iceland.

The phrase “per capita” is used a lot in Iceland. The term means ‘per person.’ Although the country suffers from a small nation complex, they consider their beloved land to be the best country in the world. It is true, per capita, of course. The small country has won Miss World four times because they have the most beautiful women per capita. The country also has the most Nobel Prize winners as well. However, they have only one Nobel Laureate.

Puffins are considered a delicacy in Iceland. Westman Island hosts the largest puffin colony in Iceland, and consequently, the puffin is considered a national dish there. Puffin can be consumed with boiled milk sauce, or it can be smoked. Known as the clown of the sea, puffins’ heart is often eaten raw as a delicacy. The puffin colony of Iceland amounts to 10-15 million, and Iceland remains one of two nations legally allowing the hunting and consumption of the creature.

We know it’s hard to imagine any place in the world without mosquitoes, but well…visit Iceland. Even though it isn’t as freezing as Antarctica, it is still clear of the nuisances of the blood-sucking parasites. Despite having neighboring countries with mosquito menace – Norway and Denmark – and numerous ponds or lakes (potential mosquito breeding grounds), Iceland has none. You read that right. Possibly, the frequent freeze-thaw cycles experienced by the country provides instability to potential larvae. Global warming may well ruin that peace soon enough, who knows?

Iceland is one of the few countries to ditch the traditional method of following family heritage and lineages to name their children. Iceland has a patronymic or matronymic system, which restricts the names you can give to your children. Male Descendants take on their father’s first name and add “son” to the end as a suffix. Females take their father’s first name with a “dottir” added as a suffix at the end of it. Sometimes, a mother’s first names are also allowed if you don’t have your father around much. Suppose Jón’s father is Jón, so his name would be Jón Jónsson.

Iceland offers a lot of dishes to try out, but the one people love the most is hot dogs. People have this most frequently for morning snacks to lunch and dinner. Apparently it is the national food of Iceland, which is sold everywhere from gas stations to airports, convenience stores to shopping malls. The best place to have hot dogs is Reykjavik. It tastes different from US hot dogs as it is made of Icelandic organic lamb with a bit of pork and beef.

Love train journeys? You have to make do without one in Iceland. Despite numerous plans of chalking out a railway network, none have seen the light of day. Even though there were plans to provide trains and railway networks historically, none have been added to the public network. Blame it on the harsh environment, the pressure on the road network, a rather small population, and the popularity of using cars. The bus network in Iceland, however, is very reliable and can take you everywhere.

As the country is located very close to the Arctic Circle, it experiences the longest days during June – July. This happens because the North Pole is angled toward the stars during that time and doesn’t let the sky disappear. You can read a book outside your home at midnight. Exactly the opposite happens in the winter; nights become longer. People can experience only three to four hours of daylight, even less than that in some places.

You may be surprised to know that Norway’s population is around 15 times that of Iceland although both of the countries belong to a similar climate and topology. Iceland holds only 364,000 people in an area roughly equal to the Kentucky state of the USA, where 4.3 million people are living. Many factors contributed to this low population of Iceland, including eruption and famines in the late 18th century, hard winter, difficulties in cultivation, emigration due to financial trouble and more, but things are starting to change now.

While the children of the Western world wait for Santa’s presents on Christmas Day, children in Iceland wait for 13 Santas! Icelandic children keep their shoes by the bedroom window every evening for 13 days prior to Christmas day. Every night, at least one of the Yule Lads fill it with a gift. From Stubby, who’s short and steals food from frying pans, to Gully Gawk, who steals the foam of cow milk, each Yule Lad has its own idiosyncrasies, which is reflected in their gifts and pranks.

There are strict laws on what names are allowed in Iceland to preserve the Icelandic language. All names not previously accepted must be approved by the Icelandic Naming Committee. Iceland’s “naming committee” keeps an official register of approved Icelandic names. There are many names that are banned if they don’t adhere to laws. Parents are also advised to wait a few days or weeks to observe the child before assigning a name. Most people are addressed by their first names, and even telephone directories bear the same rule.

To date, Iceland has been involved in just one war or something similar to a war. When Iceland extended its fishing limits from four to twelve nautical miles, it didn’t go well with the British fleet. Boats were rammed, and shots were fired in a series of confrontations between Icelandic crews and Royal Navy warships protecting the British trawlers. This continued on and off for about twenty years, before reaching an agreement in June 1976.

Icelanders’ puffy noses don’t like to settle with just Christmas and Easter. The folks celebrate a variety of holidays and festivals in the city of Reykjavik, some of them dating back to the times before the Vikings came. The Thorrablot in January celebrates Viking dishes that are not easy-going on tourists’ digestive tracts. The Reykjavik Icelandic Horse Festival is a time to appreciate the tough, yet cute horses. The Bóndadajur is an ode to husbands!

If you’re an aspiring writer, this one’s an awesome fact – at least one in ten Icelanders publish their own books. Icelanders’ habit of reading can actually be traced back to the 1200s. Every household has a writer; the competition is intense! They write poetry, sagas, children’s fiction, but crime novels are the most popular literary work. If you intend to try reading some Icelandic literature, then be sure to check out Halldór Kiljan Laxness. He is one of the most famous writers here and a Nobel Prize winner in Literature.

Icelandic people are comfortable with nudity. It’s legal to be completely naked anywhere in the county, as long as you don’t offend anyone. The history of nudity stems from the pool and hot spring culture, folklore, and feminist protests. Although swimsuits are required in public pools, there is a twist; you are obligated to bathe naked publicly before you get in their pools, especially the Blue Lagoon pool. This is because most of their pools are non-chlorinated, and Icelanders have to be assured that you are not spreading germs.

Although it is quite similar to Norwegian and Danish, the Icelandic language remains totally unique; its drawn-out vowels and soft consonants strike a chord of familiarity, warmth, and strangeness. Icelandic language is not very different from its original version – the one brought by Norwegians back in the 700s. During those days, the language was known as a “Norse language” or a “Danish tongue.” A Bible from the early 1500s can still easily be read by Icelanders today!

Iceland is one of the very few countries that not only preaches equality but also practices it. In fact, some would say that it is the most feminist country you’ll find in the entire world. This is because reports from the World Economic Forum indicate that Iceland has one of the lowest gender-based gaps in the world. Not only that, but Icelanders also accept its LGBTQ community with open arms.

Can you imagine a country without any standing army and a police force without weapons? Iceland seems to have no need for them. Zero economic class differences and equality everywhere is the first and foremost reason behind this low occurrence of crime. There is no use of firearms when any crime occurs either; it’s because acquiring a weapon is not easy there. To minimize crimes, the country controls the substance trade seriously. Moreover, Icelanders’ social welfare and education promote a culture that creates good human souls.

Sauces are a part of one of the long-cherished aspects of the culture of Iceland; they use a sauce on almost every food. They have some unique sauce items with specific foods. Even though the food is great already, people try to make it better by coating it with sauce. The most common sauce items are gravy, bearnaise sauce, various dipping sauces and condiments, tomato sauce, paprika, cheese and mushroom.

Icelanders love their ice-creams, and the proof is the word- ísbíltúr- a word that literally means jumping into your car, taking a ride outside and rewarding yourself with an ice-cream. No matter what the temperatures outside drop to – be it freezing cold or sizzling hot – expect to find the ice-cream parlors open at all the times of the day for a quick visit. Enjoy it on the streets, at the shop, or in the warmth of your car.

Iceland is located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a 60,000km crack found on the floor of the ocean created as a result of the separation of the Eurasian tectonic and North American plates. This spot is constantly subjected to earthquakes and volcano eruptions. This is why you might hear of a major volcanic event in Iceland once every five years. Mount Hekla, the most famous volcano in Iceland, has erupted a total of 18 times in the past 916 years. Grímsvötn, Askja, Katla, and Krafla are some other well-known active volcanoes.

The average American taste might include hot soup in freezing winters and waffle ice-creams in the summer, but Icelanders tend to be different. Their taste buds are up for a feast no matter what the temperature is or how the weather is. Be it extremely cold or blood boiling hot outside, Icelanders have barbecues throughout the year. It’s a must to have lamb, sea fish, and kebab grilled and served with delicious sauces.

If you think monster trucks are meant only for movies, think again. These ginormous vehicles are seen in countries like Greenland, Alaska, and especially, Iceland! The reason why these monsters are so popular here is not the extreme height of men and women, ranging between 180cm and 167cm, but it’s actually due to their harsh plateau. Their winters are rugged and buried deep in snow due to which they require heavy-duty car-crushing vehicles with oversized tires to move around.

Suppose you’ve had a mug of delicious Viking gold, and you’d like a refill. Canadians would add the word “please” if they want someone to refill their mug. What about Icelanders? They’d actually say, “tiu dropar, takk,” which translates to “ten more drops, please.” Say this, and they will happily refill your mug, no matter what you’re having. For those who are eager to talk like a local, this can be your first phrase to try out.

The country hosts some of the most attractive and bizarre waterfalls. These water bodies are a representation of Iceland’s folklore and geography. They have carved the country’s terrain to produce fields and hills for lava. The oak fishing boats in the North provide tours for watching dolphins and whales. Húsavík, one of the fishing towns, is popularly known as the whale watching capital of Europe and operates tours throughout the year.

When people enter Iceland after they step out of the airport, the first thing they notice is the lack of trees. Now, it may seem like an asteroid hit the country and damaged all the trees, but the reason lies in its history. Before the Vikings arrived, 40% of Iceland’s terrain consisted of forests. Other European lands have a similar history of depleting natural resources. It’s actually the lava from active volcanoes that has decreased the depth of the soil, which ultimately cannot support the growth of trees.

It is not legal to have a lizard, turtle or snake as a pet in Iceland. So, you won’t find any amphibians or reptiles there. This ban came after a pet turtle reportedly infected owners with something called Salmonella paratyphi B in the 1990s. However, these animals are still traded in Iceland’s black market. To put a stop to that, Icelandic authorities even planned to put hundreds of Leopard geckos and Iguanas with health clearance certificates on the market.

You may think that Iceland is a utopia in many ways. However, the country’s past reveals some pretty dark secrets. Much like North America and some European countries, Iceland has been on a series of witch hunts between 1654 and 1690. The country primarily targeted men on these hunts but has also prosecuted one woman during this time. The first witch hunt was executed in 1625 – a man named Jon Rognvaldsson. He was reportedly accused of trying to summon a ghost to harm horses and injure a child.

Icelandic students are taught their native language, Icelandic, along with English and Danish (or any other Scandinavian language of their choice). They have a 100 percent literacy rate, and 97 percent Icelanders speak Icelandic as their mother tongue. German, Spanish, French, Polish, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Filipino, Thai, and Latvian are some other languages commonly used in Iceland. The development of the Icelandic language is done to help people communicate with the physically challenged community.

Although its name is ICE-land, only 10 percent of the surface of this country is made up of ice. Not only that, but their winters are quite mild too. This is due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, which flows to the South and West of Iceland from the faraway islands of the Caribbean. As the popular joke goes, you must wait five minutes for the weather to change in Iceland if you don’t like it. There are also a lot of storms, winds, and rainfalls.