Profile photo for Arnar Steinn Thorsteinsson
362 messages

Arnar Steinn Thorsteinsson

I am the sales manager at Nonni Travel. I´ve been in the travel business in Iceland since 2006 and watched it grow first hand. I emphasize promoting places and experiences away from the crowd, trying to give people a glimpse and taste of what Iceland is really about: beauty, serenity and one-ness with nature.

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"I specialize in Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. These countries are what we call the West Nordic countries. I´m not an adventure traveller, although I love racing on snowmobiles over glaciers and frozen fjords in Greenland. When I travel, I look for beauty in all it´s forms, good local food and communication with the locals. I want to experience places with all my senses and create long lasting memories. This is what I try to create for my customers as well."

How did you get involved in travel?

"I have always loved travelling myself, both in my own country and especially in East and Southeast Asia. After graduating from university in China, I came back home and was looking for a job and was presented with an opportunity with an inbound tour operator that needed someone who could speak Chinese. I accepted and learned my trade as I went along. Over the years I have travelled all over the world promoting Iceland as a destination, making so many friends along the way!"

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"One of the most memorable experiences I´ve had was in Vietnam. I was in Ho Chi Minh city and it was time to leave. My girlfriend at the time had a late night flight at around 11 pm and I had a flight the next morning at around 7 am. We went to the airport and said our goodbyes and then I found myself a comfortable place, grabbed a book and sort of settled in for the night.
Time went by and the airport gradually became empty and the security guards had been eyeing me for a while. Finally, when there was absolutely no-one except me and security guys left, they approached and told me that the airport was closing for the night. I was quite surprised and told them I had a flight in a couple of hours and asked if I could stay.
No way friend, go find a hotel. I explained I didn´t really have any money left and had nowhere to go, and begged them to let me stay. The group of security guards held a meeting and in the end, they let me stay outside, breaking all the rules, with one of the guards who spoke a bit of English. So we spent the night together, walking around the parking lot, drinking tea and talking. By sunrise, we knew all about each other and had learned a lot about each others cultures, desires and dreams. It was a night I´ll never forget and as a result, I think Vietnam is hands down the friendliest country in the world to visit."

Arnar Steinn is part of the following groups: Iceland Travel Agents
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Recent trip reviews for Arnar Steinn

2017 Iceland
Iceland | Dec 12 - Dec 16, 2017

J
Jennifer D.
Havertown, PA | Reviewed on Dec 17, 2017
This was overall a really well planned trip! It was a really amazing adventure that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Day 1: arrived and went straight to Blue Lagoon. This was a great and relaxing way to start the trip. I wouldn't have wanted to start the trip any other way. After we drove into Rrykavic. Foss hotel was great and easy to navigate from... The front desk worker was slightly rude but they had our room ready early which was very helpful. The rest of the day spent... Read more

This was overall a really well planned trip! It was a really amazing adventure that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

Day 1: arrived and went straight to Blue Lagoon. This was a great and relaxing way to start the trip. I wouldn't have wanted to start the trip any other way. After we drove into Rrykavic. Foss hotel was great and easy to navigate from... The front desk worker was slightly rude but they had our room ready early which was very helpful. The rest of the day spent adventuring in the city.

Day 2: we left early morning to catch the waterfalls. We made it to Vik before realizing that the Volcanoes exhibit mentioned in our itinerary was actually closer to waterfalls than to Vik. So we had to back track quite a bit to make it to that. We felt the itinerary was slightly misleading for that part. As a heads up the Eyjafjalljokull exhibition will be closing on January 1, 2018. Then we drove out to Foss Nupar. Great hotel and service.

Day 3: from Nupar we drove to Skaftafell for our glacier climb. We had Maximo as a guide and he was GREAT. So much fun. Then we drove back to Vik. Another great hotel at Katla.

Day 4: left early for the golden circle. No complaints on the day. But as a general comment for your itineraries, listing the address for everything would be greatly appreciated. We had some issues finding the actual address to drive to for some of these stops.

Day 5: it was great to stay in the same hotel when we returned to Rekjavik. It made navigating so much easier!

Great trip and we will use KimKim again.

Local specialist: Arnar Steinn Thorsteinsson
Hiking the glacier | Photo taken by Jennifer D
Wandering the Streets of Reykjavik | Photo taken by Jennifer D
Driving to Skaftafell | Photo taken by Jennifer D
Arnar Steinn
Arnar Steinn Thorsteinsson
Local specialist in Reykjavik, Iceland | Replied on Apr 12, 2018

Hi Jennifer and thank you so much for the valuable feedback. I am really glad to hear that it was an overall success, but we will be sure to make note about your points regarding the itinerary, I agree that it could have been clearer and my apologies for that.
Best holiday wishes from all of us at Nonni Travel!

Northern Lights and see Iceland
Iceland | Oct 11 - Oct 18, 2017

Pam
Pam L.
Ridgefield, WA | Reviewed on Oct 20, 2017
I would definitely look to Kimkim again for traveling overseas. The trip was very well organized and the team did a great job working with my budget and making arrangements, communicating with me and answering questions. There was only one thing that wasn't 100% but still not bad. 2 tour companies merged in Iceland and my voucher said one company would be picking me up but it was actually the other companies bus that came and he was a bit late. That one 2-day tour had a young... Read more

I would definitely look to Kimkim again for traveling overseas. The trip was very well organized and the team did a great job working with my budget and making arrangements, communicating with me and answering questions.

There was only one thing that wasn't 100% but still not bad. 2 tour companies merged in Iceland and my voucher said one company would be picking me up but it was actually the other companies bus that came and he was a bit late. That one 2-day tour had a young inexperienced guide that wasn't well organized with food and bathroom stops and didn't inform us well of all the places we went. e.g. there was one stop listed on the itinerary, kind of a big deal for that location, and he never mentioned it or took us the 50 meters on the other side of the trees to see it. I just happened to stop there with another group, unscheduled, where that guide did show us and give the story. The other 2-day guide was the best, i can't imagine having a better guide. It felt like the first guide wasn't properly trained and we were the unfortunate beneficiaries of his being new at this.

But as far as Kimkim arrangements, superb. If I see airfare sales in the future I will defiantely keep Iceland and Kimkim in mind for my plans.

Local specialist: Arnar Steinn Thorsteinsson
Arnar Steinn
Arnar Steinn Thorsteinsson
Local specialist in Reykjavik, Iceland | Replied on Apr 12, 2018

Hi Pamela and thank you for your kind words.
I´m really glad to hear that overall, the trip was successful and you had a good time. I am really sad to hear about the inexperienced guide on one of your tours and I would like to pass that on to the tour company and discuss the matter with them, which tour was it? +
In my mind, the quality of the guide is of paramount importance and I get really upset when people have this kind of experience when travelling in Iceland.