Where to buy 120 film in Iceland ?

[Ole]

Thread moved to "Geographic Location" where it belongs.

 

[crispinuk]

Hello David,
I hope you had as great a time in Iceland as I did.

Yes, taking film as carry-on baggage is the best way, I think almost everyone is in agreement that hand baggage X-rays are OK. The point of sending film ahead is to avoid the risk of turning up at Heathrow on the morning of August 10th 2006 (or on any future date there's a similar 'terrorist alert') with a bag full of £150 worth of film and be told that it has to be checked in, and go through the check-in baggage X-ray, which I think almost everyone agrees is not so good for film. Out of interest what would you have done/do in such a situation (for arguments sake they refuse a special hand search of the film as the security people are FAR too busy as it is, it's check-in X-ray or it stays behind ) ? So yes, we can now take film as carry on, but the risk remains that we might have to check it in when we turn up at the airport, and as a pro how does the risk of forwarding at least some film to your destination compare to turning up with a bag full of potentially fogged film and the only film available is a box of 5 rolls for 4300kr ?
I hope that doesn't sound confrontational, it isn't meant to be at all, I'm just intrigued by your very relaxed attitude :0)

On the hire car topic, yes I'd be happier bending a (discounted) hire car knowing that my extra insurance will pick up the bill :0) Unfortunately I only hire a car once a year so the risk of a breakdown would, for me, be easily offset by the costs of hiring a Landrover for 2-3 weeks compared with ferrying over my own car (or that of someone foolish enough to lend to me). May I be so bold as to ask how much the personal hire car insurance costs and where it is available ?

Looking forward to seeing your Iceland photos on your website (mine aren't back from the lab yet :0( )

Crispin

 

[David Henderson]

I did enjoy it thanks, though I feel I wasn't often in the right place at the right time in variable weather and no experience of the place. I viewed this, as with most of my trips, as a form of reconnaissance, and its highly possible I'll go again.

I guess the circumstances you outline, getting a surprise at the airport, are possible though I consider this unlikely to the point that I don't want to plan for it. If it occurred my first consideration would be whether I wanted to travel at all given the risks and delays of the day and the fact that most of what I do isn't tightly time-constrained. If I did proceed then living as I do 15 mins from LHR and a half hour from LGW I'm sure I could persuade someone to bring my Pelicase (if I'd planned to travel without it) so I could check my gear and take away the film I couldn't carry. If my destination was a large city I'd assume I could buy film there and again someone would do a web-search to pinpoint where. If all this was just too difficult I'd use my Fedex Account ( not the postal service)to get film to me the following day, if possible collecting it from a Fedex office.

I have an insurance policy from http://www.insurance4carhire.com who seem to offer a range of products covering different geographical ranges and reflecting CDW or equivalent conventions in different countries. They start at £49 pa and whilst it looks good value I haven't yet had to claim and as people say, you find out about your insurer when you have to claim.

 

[crispinuk]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I was expecting the insurance to cost more so thanks for the tip. A quick web search only produced comments that people had claimed and been paid without problem, so it looks reasonably reputable.