When IcelandAir opened up direct flights from Tampa to Reykjavik, we knew we had to jump on the amazing flight deals while they lasted. My boyfriend, Jeremy, and I flew round trip for $398 each on a half-full flight, leaving us plenty of room to stretch out in our own rows. This was our first big trip together (!!!) and we knew it would be one of many more to come.
But why Iceland, might you ask, and in the middle of winter nonetheless? Well, for the same reason that many of my trips come into fruition: pure, spontaneous decision making. I had heard from a friend that the direct flights had opened up from Tampa, plugged some dates into SkyScanner and couldn’t believe how cheap they were! Especially considering the fact that at this point, I was used to the flights prices for Europe and California. We got dates together that would work for both of our work schedules and pulled the trigger.
Day 1:
We landed around 6am at Keflavik International Airport and made our way to pick up our rental from SADcars, which offered the best value we had found. I definitely recommend getting a 4X4 vehicle as weather conditions change quickly and if you are venturing off of the Ring Road, you will certainly need it. The only piece of advice the rental agency gave us was that when opening the car door, hold it tight because if you don’t the wind could bend it backwards and cause damage to the door. Yes, you read that right! We were pretty stunned by that fact and were glad to have that bit of advice before venturing out on our trip.
We grabbed breakfast at Kaffivagninn, a simple local spot on the marina in Reykjavik that Jeremy had found online before our trip and wanted to try. They claim to be the oldest restaurant in Iceland and had soft lighting inside that offered a warm welcome for us by offsetting the darkness that still hung in the sky. We took our trip at the end of January, which means the sun came up around 10:30am every day and set by 5pm. Since we wanted to make it to see some sights on the Golden Circle by the time the sun was coming up, we headed straight there despite the early time of day. Trust me, everyone gets on the road early when traveling here even though the sun comes up late, so don’t give yourself time to get jet lag – just hit the road running!
On our way to Thingvellir National Park, we pulled off several times to take photos as the sun was rising and were instantly in awe of our new landscape. Thingvellir itself overlooks a large lake and has amazing views, but it was a bit too touristy for us and we only stayed about 30 minutes or so. It was a short drive to Geysir further into the Golden Circle, and this site I would highly recommend. Although it was still pretty crowded with tourists, watching the active hot geyser erupt water 100ft. in the air every few minutes was amazing! There are also several other hot mud pits on the grounds to view while you are there.
Our next stop was one of our favorite foodie experiences of the trip and although it was hard to find, it was well worth it after a day of braving the cold and crowds of tourists around the Golden Circle. We got lunch at Fridheimar Tomato Palace, a tomato growing greenhouse heated by geothermal energy that practices sustainability and responsible tourism. We opted for the unlimited fresh tomato soup with a variety of large homemade bread loaves. It was AMAZING and an extremely unique experience that I would recommend to everyone traveling near the Golden Circle.
That night we stayed at Au44 Hostel in Selfoss so we would have a short trip to Hveragerdi Hot Spring River in the morning. Au44 was a modern, quiet hostel with a grocery store next door, which is convenient if you choose to cook for yourself at the hostel as we did. We were so tired after the first day that we did a poor grocery shopping job and also forgot olive oil. We ended up making an interesting dinner of spinach and eggs, without cooking oil, because we were too tired to walk back to the store next door!
Day 2:
We woke up SO early and were very excited to make our way to the Hveragerdi Hot Spring River. We had read so many blogs about bathing in the amazing hot river in the Reykjadalur valley and were ready to make the treacherous hike before the sun came up to beat the crowds. Luckily for us, when we arrived at the start of the trail there was only one other car in the ice-covered parking lot. As we made our way up and over the small mountain, the trail became completely hidden due to the large snow drifts. At a few points, the wind was blowing snow so hard we could hardly see and we had to scoot on our butts around a few very steep ridges to avoid sliding down the edge.
Somehow, we made it down to the valley and were surprised to see there was no shelter to change clothes in. I am pretty adventurous, but holy crap it was SO cold and my fingers felt like they were going to fall off. I could not think of standing in the middle of the wind and snow, naked, while I changed into my swimsuit. We were pretty bummed but had a few other hot pools in mind for the trip, so we started the journey back to our car and enjoyed the beautiful views along the way.
We continued along the Ring Road to Seljalandsfoss waterfall and it was amazing. In my opinion, you don’t need to hit all the waterfalls that Iceland is known for, especially if you go in the winter when you can’t see the greenery because some of them look pretty similar. Opt for one that is very tall, and another that is very wide and you will probably have your fix. After all, there is so much more to look at! If you have crampons, it’s good to wear them to the falls since the water spray can cause the paths to ice over and make it nearly impossible to walk! We definitely had some laughs betting on who would fall first (I think it was me, by the way).
After Seljalandsfoss, we went in search of Seljavallalaug hot spring pool, which is one of the most well-known pools in Iceland. It was a stunning and short hike to the pool and we were surprised that the water was pretty chilly, despite being fed by the hot spring. This one had a shelter and we knew we couldn’t pass jumping in for the sake of it! We walked across the ice in our bare feet and swimsuits in below freezing temps but we went in! We huddled in the corner where the hot water was flowing in for about 2 minutes since it was the only warm part of the pool. Jeremy stayed in a bit longer than myself so I could put some warm clothes on and snap a photo of him. Amazing scenery, am I right?
We went to Reynisfjara Beach afterwards and it was a little rainy so we weren’t able to take any pictures of the pristine black sand beach and tall basalt stacks that were like nothing I had ever seen before. Beware of the sneaker waves!
Night 2 we stayed at Puffin Hostel in Vik and made a makeshift dinner. It’s pretty exhausting being outside in the extreme weather all day! We asked the hotel attendant about the possibility of seeing the northern lights and he said the conditions for the evening were about right. The only problem is, they can come out anywhere from 11pm-4am and you can’t predict it. We grabbed a beer and went up to the famous Reyniskirkja Church in Vik, perched on a high hill, to get away from any light pollution. There were a few other cars parked with us and we couldn’t see anything but some stars in the sky. It was cold, so we got back in the car and laid the seats back to look out the sunroof. All of the sudden, we heard people shouting and knew we had gotten pretty lucky.
It was amazing to watch the green Northern Lights shoot across the sky like glowing fireworks and we watched in awe with grins wide on our faces. We almost forgot to get pictures because it was hard to look away from the sight of them.
Day 3:
The day we climbed a glacier! We knew this would be a pretty driving intensive day, so we set off early to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon where we would be meeting our glacier tour guide from Blue Iceland. This was the only paid adventure we wanted to do on the trip, as you aren’t legally allowed to do a self-guided tour here. Typically, we aren’t the types to spend a lot on paid adventures and like to find our own way, but this seemed like the right opportunity to.
On our way, we passed incredible and ever-changing landscapes that made me feel more like I was on the moon rather than in another country. Seriously, there were these round rock things covered in green moss that were so unique and incredible. Always make sure when you’re road tripping that you leave yourself plenty of time to get from Point A to Point B so you do not feel rushed if you want to stop to take in certain sights. We also got out and played on some huge ice chunks for about 30 minutes just because they looked cool.
Right before we got to Jokulsarlon, we stopped at Diamond Beach, which ended up being one of my favorite sights from the entire trip. We even had a canvas made to hang in our apartment from one of the pictures I took! I am glad we stopped when we did, because when we passed the next morning the entire beach was covered in snow.
We met our guide, John, and were pretty impressed with our ride for the day!
We toured a “blue cave” at the base of the glacier and then climbed up the glacier for a bit in our crampons. I could not believe how MASSIVE it was! This was my first time seeing a glacier and I was pretty amped up for it. We definitely enjoyed our tour, but if you’re traveling here on a tighter budget, there are certainly plenty of other things to spend your $300 on.
We chose to stay at Guesthouse Nypugardar near Hofn for our third night. The Guesthouse is very hard to find in the dark as it is tucked off the Ring Road a mile or two, but we managed to get there easily with the directions they gave us. The Guesthouse is family run and was very quiet as we were among the only guests there. We had a relaxing evening and enjoyed their farm-fresh breakfast spread the next morning.
Day 4:
In the night, we were hit pretty hard with a snow-storm and had gotten about 8 inches of snow. Thankful for our 4×4 vehicle, we set off for our longest driving day for us thus far.
We didn’t book accommodations for night 4 & 5 as we didn’t quite want to be committed in case we heard of some different places from locals during days 1-3 of the trip. We almost considered staying at the Guesthouse another night since the weather was so bad, but we were worried we might not be able to make the long drive back to Reykjavik in one day on day 5. After some debate, we decide to book night 4 in Vik, and make the drive there despite the white-out conditions. Just after making the decision to head to Vik, we passed one car that had slid off the bank and almost into the Jokulsarlon Lagoon! The weather ended up clearing after the first few hours, and we had a beautiful drive back to Vik and spent most of the day in the car. Did I mention to bring lots of snacks and easy meals to make on the go? I made a few lap PB&J’s throughout our trip while Jeremy drove.
By the time we got to Vik it was getting dark and decided we deserved to splurge on a nice meal. There weren’t a whole lot of places to go in town, but we certainly chose right with Sudur Vik. This restaurant is situated on the upper floor of an old restored house and has a unique atmosphere with a barn-like, rustic feel. The service was friendly and we had some delicious eats! Jeremy had a burger topped with a huge cut of fresh goat cheese and I had a lamb steak. Not pictured: the most incredible Mushroom Bisque (one of my favorites) of my life.
We were very pleased with the accommodations we chose for night four at Guesthouse Carina. We had our own room with an amazing view over the town of Vik and this may have been our favorite stay of the trip. The Guesthouse also provided us breakfast for a slight up-charge, but it was worth it to have a decent meal the next morning.
Day 5:
The night before we had found a trail on our map that we could access from our Guesthouse to trek to the top of the bluff overlooking Reynisfjara, the black sand beach. It ended up being one of our favorite parts of the entire trip! This is why you should always leave a little room in your plans, and your soul, for some spontaneity. Jeremy and I were the only ones at the top of the bluff and it was huge! We explored for hours and couldn’t get enough of the views overlooking the beach and Vik. We felt on top of the world and best of all, like we were the only ones there!
Across Reynisfjara beach from the bluff we were on in the photo above is Dyrhólaey, another viewpoint to overlook the crashing waves of the Atlantic. There were some amazing views on this side of Reynisfjara as well and a short and easy pit stop for anyone to make. We were once again reminded how fierce the waves can be!
On the last night of our trip, we wanted to relax. We had heard so much hype about the Blue Lagoon but were torn as to whether or not it would be the best site for us. We both tend to shy away from the overly touristy and mainstream options. We decided Blue Lagoon wasn’t for us, and instead opted for the Secret Lagoon at half the cost. I can’t say enough good things about the Secret Lagoon! Although it was a good deal smaller, the laid-back atmosphere and more “natural “ vibe was right up our alley. Did you know the Blue Lagoon is man-made, by the way? Such a shame. Be prepared for the requirement to fully cleanse before going in the pool, no bathing suits in the showers. All part of the authentic Iceland experience!
They had a nice boardwalk around the perimeter where you could walk in the cold air and see some other hot pools (too hot to swim in). We enjoyed standing in the steam that the other pools would give off, and then hopping back in the lagoon once we got cold again! We spent about four hours soaking in the hot pool and afterwards decided to head into the city to spend our last night close to the airport.
We got an incredible and affordable room in downtown Reykjavik at Thor Guesthouse. Our room literally overlooked part of the city and we were walking distance to all the best shops, restaurants and sights. We ordered the nightly special from Tapas barinn and it did not disappoint! Basically you select an option for how many plates you want and they bring you out the Chef’s featured small plates. You have no idea what you will be getting before it arrives – how fun! They also have a super neat atmosphere that looks like you’re dining in a somewhat unfinished basement, which you are. Check out a few of our favorites below.
Day 6:
We walked around some of the best sights in downtown Reykjavik on our last morning. Among our favorites were the iconic Harpa Hall, Hallgrimskirkja, and of course the Phallological Museum for some laughs!
Harpa Hall
Hallgrimskirkja
Downtown Reykjavik
What to Pack:
Let me start out by saying one thing, if you’re traveling to Iceland in the winter months as we did, be sure to bring ALL the warm clothes. Before our trip, we checked the weather and it showed around 30-34 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the trip. Both of us being from the north, didn’t think it sounded too bad, BUT the wind will rip through your layers if you do not dress appropriately. I advise bringing a long parka that covers your bum, a good hat that covers your ears fully, snow boots, tall socks, well-insulated mittens, and crampons. It may not be the coldest temperatures you have ever been in, but it is certainly harsh.
Are Hostels & Guesthouses Safe?
YES!! But also, it depends. Do not let what you have seen in the movies or read about online hold you back from the highly affordable and interactive social experience of staying at a hostel or guesthouse. As with anything, it is always best to be smart by staying aware of your surroundings and researching the area you are staying in. Most offer private room accommodations if you do not want to stay in the typical dorm-style space for fear of personal safety or safety of your belongings. Usually, you will still share the kitchen and restrooms with other travelers, but restrooms and showers are typically still private with locking doors. Use this as an opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and learn about each others’ experiences!
January 2018
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