Pack your passport, but leave your preconceived notions about Iceland behind.

Whether you are expecting a desolate sub-Arctic outpost, a quaint fishing village or a sophisticated Scandinavian aesthetic, the reality is somewhere in between.

So be prepared to be both impressed and distressed by this unique island nation. The distress will be felt in your wallet, thanks to a diminished American dollar and an inflated Iceland krona.

Going during a shoulder season (spring or fall) keeps prices down, but not all the roads are open for tour buses (which is the economical way to see the sights).

If, for example, you want to see Jokulsarlon, the famous glacier lagoon on the southeast coast, or Snaefellsness peninsula in the southwest (where the puffins nest), a private tour is the way to go.

Iceland on Track charged $1,475 in April for a 14-hour tour to the glacier lagoon and everything in between. The endless rugged scenery along the coast is breathtaking. The trip included fiords, glacier tongues, black sand beaches, basalt columns, Hekla (a volcano that last erupted in 2000), miles and miles of old lava fields and waterfalls all on a black and tan landscape. The tan turns to green grass during the summer, the most popular time for tourists.

The temperature in March and April is much like Pittsburgh and so is the amount of sunlight. To compensate, Icelanders spend a lot of time swimming outdoors in geothermal heated pools. The most famous is the manmade Blue Lagoon Spa, about 40 minutes outside of Reykjavik and 15 minutes from the airport.

Civilization is concentrated in the capital, where a raucous weekend night life is enjoyed by a mostly under-40 crowd. Tourists and locals alike clog the main shopping street as they cruise in cars and on foot. There are an estimated 310,000 people in the whole country with approximately 193,000 of them in greater Reykjavik. To join the party it's only a five-hour flight from New York's JFK to Keflavik airport.