Iceland
The Land of Fire and Ice
Donna and I visited the breathtaking and stunning country of Iceland in October of 2016. October is the beginning of the Icelandic winter so the days were beginning to be shorter (sunrise was truly until near 10 am and the sun would start to set around 3 or 4 pm). The small Nordic Island nation of Iceland is pretty sparsely populated with a population of around 350,000 that many live in the capital city of Reykjavik. The island is full of contrasts. From roaring waterfalls, to snow covered mountains, to boiling hot geysers, volcanoes, glaciers, the Northern lights and a Nordic culture that stems from the vikings. This country is extremely safe and friendly and one of my favorite places Donna and I have ever visited.I completely understand why this small nation near the Arctic Circle is one of the most popular international travel destinations.
Getting to Iceland and transportation
There are really only two ways you can get to Iceland for a visit. You can fly to Keflavik International Airport that is the main gateway to the nation and around 30 miles to the west of Reykjavik or take a cruise that makes ports of call in Iceland. Donna and I flew the National Airline (Icelandair) into Iceland from Boston. The airline offers affordable flights to Iceland and most of Europe. They also offer free stopovers as you fly elsewhere in Europe that will give you a chance to see Iceland. The airport is fairly small and can be crowded before your flight. From the airport you could of course rent a car but they also have many airport buses that will drop you off at your hotel. The shuttle bus costs are around $20-$30 each way so the cost is not too much for the 30 mile ride to your hotel. In Reykjavik there is public bus transportation throughout the city but the best way to see the city to me was by Hop-on Hop Off Bus service. To go out to the countryside I recommend booking day trip excursions that pick you up at your hotel.
Airport Transfer (Click Link Below):
Other Country Information
The national language of Iceland is Icelandic but most people in Iceland know English very well so we had no trouble. The currency is the Icelandic Krona and is usually worth less than a US Dollar. Since much of the products consumed in Iceland have to be shipped in the price of food and other goods can be quite expensive in Iceland. At one tourist stop we had a Croissant sandwich for $25. My suggestion is to brings snacks and stay at a hotel that offers free breakfast to save money. Iceland is part of the European Union (EU) so for US citizens you just need a passport and room for two stamps.
Reykjavik City Tour and the National Museum
After settling in at the hotel for a bit and having breakfast we hit the ground running touring after we got to Iceland. I also recommend fighting jet lag by touring so your body more easily gets onto the new time. We took the City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-off bus to tour the Icelandic Capital city of Reykjavik. Its a very modern city that has a lot of Nordic culture and Viking history. The city has mountains around it and has nice views of the ocean. There are many restaurants (many that specialize in fish) and shops throughout the city. The city also has many cultural options like the very modern Harpa Concert Hall and in November they have a music festival. While touring the city we even saw a Texas Burger and Pizza restaurant (I would have like to have seen what their take on Texas food).
Our first stop in Reykjavik was the Pjodminjasafn Islands, The National Museum of Iceland. Visiting a countries’ National Museum gives great insight into the nations culture, history and outlook on life. This museum told many stories about the early settlers of Iceland, the difficulty of surviving in such a desolate land and the lives of the people there today. We saw many Viking Artifacts and other Icelandic items. There is a nice gift shop that gives you the chance to buy statues of Thor and his hammer and other Icelandic gifts. The museum has everything in English so you are able to read about the artifacts. The museum will take you an hour or so to tour.
Our next stop was in the center of Reykjavik. We stopped at the very large Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran Church that can been seen from quite a good distance. The church was finished in 1987 and is the largest church in Iceland. It has a nice interior and for a small price you can go to the top of the tower for a nice view of Reykjavik. Donna and I did go up to the top of the tower and spent some time admiring the view while it rained and sleeted outside. While Donna and I were there musicians were practicing. If you have never had the chance to hear music in the spacious halls of a massive church the sound is wonderful and something you should stop and listen to when you get the chance. In front of the church is a statue sent to Iceland by the United States of the Icelandic explorer Leif Eriksson who is said to have been the first to discover North America. Around the church there are various shops and restaurants including some that serve traditional Icelandic cuisine. Donna and I also one night walked through downtown Reykjavik and visited the church at night to see it lit up. If you happen to be in Iceland during New Years they have many fireworks set off near the church.
Our final stop during our tour of Reykjavik was The Pearl. Sitting on top of a hill is a building that stores hot water but in the middle iss a dome and a large area that at the time we visited had a restaurant, a man made geyser and a great observation deck at the top. At the time Icelanders were voting in one of the convention halls. We spent some time admiring the view from the top before the temperamental Icelandic weather changed once more and it started sleeting. The view is well worth spending some time admiring. Today the Pearl is home to The Pearl Museum that contains a man made Ice Cave, an exhibit on glaciers and other Icelandic exhibits. The new museum plus the view from the observation deck is a very nice stop to take.
Donna and I finished our initial tour of Reykjavik by riding the Hop-On Hop Off bus another time around the city without getting off so we could listen to the recorded tour without interruptions. If you have the time to ride the bus without getting off for a round in any city it is nice to be able to just relax and see the sights.
Reykjavik Hop-On Hop-off Bus Tickets (Click Link Below):
The Golden Circle Tour
On our second day in Iceland we took a Grayline tour that picked us up at our hotel in the morning by van and then we got on a tour bus at the main depot. THe tour started well before sunrise (we were picked up around 7:30-8:00am). We left Reykjavik and headed to the Icelandic National Park of Pingvellir. We got there right as the sun was rising and were treated to a spectacular snowy sunrise over the rift valley that is being created by the North American Plate and Eurasian plate pulling away from each other. At that point we are able to see two continental plates as Iceland is partially on the North American plate and partially on the Eurasian plate. Pingvellir was also the home of the Icelandic parliament from the 900s ad up until the 18th century. There are hiking trails available and there is a small visitors center with a video and a small museum. There is a restroom on site but as in many places in Europe it costs a few cents to use it. Right before we left the site the sun went away and it began snowing. The weather is constantly changing in Iceland.
We left Pingvellir and went to a small cafe and gift shop near buy to get some coffee, stop at the restroom and get a few souvenirs. We had time to make a few small snowmen out of the newly fallen snow. The landscape of Iceland changes from rocky valleys to green fields and then to boiling geysers and back again. It made the drive very interesting. Our next stop was the magnificent Gulfoss (The Golden Falls). The falls on the Hvita River plunges a little over 100 feet into a gorge. The snow on the cliffs and the mist from the waterfall that created a rainbow was a beautiful sight to see. We walked down the stairs to see the falls from the bottom but if you are there during the winter as we were be careful since many of the steps were icy. We didn’t venture too close to the falls since the mist iced over the path. Near the falls is a nice cafe and gift shop where we got lunch. The all you can eat soup and bread was the best deal there. It was a nice stop we spent around an hour. We left after that to our next stop.
Our next stop was nearby Gulfoss in a area of boiling geysers. AS we walked on the path to the main geysers we saw boiling water and steam coming out of the ground. We first went to the now mostly silent Geysir (not a misspelling its the name of the geyser and where English gets the word geyser from). We als saw the Little Geysir slightly boiling. The main spectacle is the geyser that erupts around every 10 minutes. We got to see Strokkur (Churn in Icelandic) erupt a couple times while we stopped there. I had never seen a Geyser erupt before and it was a cool experience. Our tour was not quite finished yet as we had one more unique stop left.
After driving through the scenic but desolate Icelandic landscape we came to our final stop before returning to Reykjavik. We visited the Fakasel Icelandic Horse Park to see the unique Icelandic Horse. These small horses (they are not ponies) are full of hair (heavy coat) to withstand the winters. They are hardy horse able to deal with the conditions in Iceland. We stopped to see some of these horses and stop by the visitors center for the park. Fakasel has dinner shows telling the story of Iceland and the Icelandic horse that I would like to see some day. After saying good bye to the Icelandic horses we headed back to our hotel after a wonderful but day but our evening wasn’t over yet considering we had a relatively clear sky and we were in the prime part of the year to see the Aurora Borealis.
Golden Circle Tours (Click Links Below):
The Aurora Borealis (The Northern Lights)
After our Golden Circle tour that evening we decided to go on a guided Northern Lights tour by Greyline Iceland. They take you by tour bus to an area away from the lights of Reykjavik so you can get the chance to see The Northern Lights. If you do not see the lights you can re-schedule to try again another night. We ended up going to the small cafe we visited near Pingvellir. Like many natural phenomena the lights can be elusive. It was a cold night and we waited quite a while with just seeing slight glows where the Earth’s atmosphere was being charged by the solar wind but it was not enough to cause the Northern Lights as seen in pictures. Some tours left after not seeing any lights. As our guide considered going to a new location, the glowing got brighter until the point in erupted into the dazzling Northern Lights! The lights we saw were not quite the bright green we see in pictures but you could see green and purple colors swirling and twisting in the sky. It lasted a couple minutes and then was gone again. Clouds shortly after covered the sky but we were able to see the lights on our first try! We do not have any pictures of the lights but we have the memories of what we saw that night. I highly recommend taking a tour similar to one we took. It does take patience and it can be cold but its very rewarding when you see the lights.
Northern Lights Tour (Click Link Below):
The Southern Coast
On our next day in Iceland we took a small group van tour of Iceland’s Southern Coast. We used a local Icelandic family owned company called Your Day Tours. We left Reykjavik before dawn and took the ring road that circles Iceland (Route 1) towards the city of Vik. It was a rainy day but a little rain should not spoil your trip. When you travel you have to be ready for the good and bad that might come your way. It is all part of the adventure. We passed over snowy mountains and then passed by some small cities. We could see small green houses where Icelanders grow some of their produce. As we drove we could see small waterfalls pouring over the green mountains in the area. We also could see Icelandic horses roaming the pastures. The drive was a couple hours to our first tourist stop but we did make a quick break stop. The tour guide gave us good information as we went and at time we listened to Icelandic music as we drove.
Our first stop is the tall waterfall (nearly 200 feet tall) Skogafoss on the Skoga River. The water fall has stairs you can walk up to get to the top but with the rain we decided to admire the waterfall coming over green cliffs. It is a nice stop and we spent about 20-30 minutes before heading to the next stop of the day.
Our net stop was Reynisfjara Beach. Its a volcanic black sand beach that is out of this world. It actually was used as a different planet in filming of Star Wars: Rogue One. The beach is definitely not one you would want to swim in due to its very rough seas. The beach starts at black basalt column cliffs with a small cave. Towards the cave its actually black pebbles since the waves have not crushed the rocks into sand there. Out in the distance you can see columns or sea stacks of black basalt. Our tour guide told us the Norse legend that trolls were bringing a three masted ship on shore but were unable to bring it in and were frozen as day broke. There are other legends of the columns as well. We didn’t stay out on the beach long since the rain became sleet so we went to the cafe and had a snack before we left to our next stop.
This tour further highlighted the contrasts in Iceland. We left the volcanic-ally created beach and headed to the Solheimajokull Glacier a short drive away. Once we got to the parking lot and small gift shop we made a hike through the volcanic rock to see the glacier and the river it has created as it melts. The glacier was huge but its not the largest in Iceland. Some people had crampons with them to go walking on the glacier. We spent a few minutes admiring the glacier before we hiked back to go to our final stop on the tour.
We left the glacier to visit one last waterfall on the way back to Reykjavik. The Seljalandsfoss waterfall is part of the Seljalands River that flows from a glacier. The waterfall is around 200 feet tall and there is a cave behind the waterfall you can visit. This waterfall has been a clue pickup point in Amazing Race when they visited Iceland. There are a few shops where you can buy things like Icelandic Trolls and other souvenirs. After spending some time looking at the waterfall we drove the couple hours back to Reykjavik to our hotel.
Iceland Southern Coast Tours (Click Links Below):
Reykjavik Night Walk
After our South Coast tour on our final night of this short 4 day trip to Iceland we decide to take a walk from our hotel (The Hilton Reykjavik) into downtown. It was a nice walk and we felt very safe as we took the walk. We went back to the Hallgrimskirkja church and visited the shops around the area. It is a nice small downtown area with fish and other restaurants. It was a nice way to end our stay in Reykjavik.
Reykjavik Night Tour Option (Click Link Below):
The Blue Lagoon
We had and afternoon flight back to Boston (Boston has cheaper flights to Iceland than most other airports) so we wanted to use our time the best we could. Instead of using the normal airport shuttle we took a very well done Grayline tour that took us to the famous Blue Lagoon and then we could catch an airport bus to the airport. The Blue Lagoon is located in the direction of the airport on a lava field in the Reykjanes Peninsula. The ticket price includes admission into the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon will hold your bags for you for a nominal fee. At check in they give you a towel (make sure you do not lose it since there is a charge otherwise). In Iceland cleanliness is very important so before you are allowed to go to the Blue Lagoon you are required to take a shower without your swimsuit on. There are lockers you can put a few of your things in. After the shower you can take a few ways to get into the Blue Lagoon. You can walk outside or they have it where you can swim from inside so you do not have to venture outside before getting in. The water is just a nice as described and is full of silica from the Geothermal Power plant that creates the heated water you are swimming in. The water temperature stays around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We swam and even tried a silica face mask you can get for free (did not really help me too much but it was worth a try). After relaxing for about an hour we went back to take a shower before our flight, and looked at the gift shop they have and the restaurant. It was a great way to kill time before heading back to Keflavik International Airport.
Blue Lagoon Tours (Click Links Below):
Note: As of the article update in September 2024 there have been many Volcanic Eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula that have resulted in the periodic closing of the Blue Lagoon so check if it is open before going!
The Food of Iceland
While we were in Iceland we of course tried some of the local dishes. Fish is a main staple of the food in Iceland so we had fish a couple times. We also were adventurous and tried the infamous Hakarl (Fermented/Rotted Shark). In Iceland they leave a shark in a building outside to dry out for quite some time and then eat it. It at first just tastes like a fishy blue cheese but then the taste becomes a much much stronger sour taste. I guess its an acquired taste to enjoy it. WE also tried dried Haddock fish as well. It tasted like a fish jerky in a way. Donna and I also tried the local Gul and Viking Beers that were very nice. My favorite item I tryed in Iceland was Skyr. Skyr is a type of yogurt but it has a unique taste. You can get varieties of it like Sigi’s in the United States but it cannot beat the real thing in Iceland. We had it as part of our breakfast each morning.
Tips for Iceland
Iceland is a beautiful place that i highly recommend everyone try to go to at some point. It can be very expensive in Iceland so I suggest visiting during one of the shoulder months of their travel season. During the shoulder months you will fewer people there and the prices are much less for hotels. The shoulder months last from around March/April to early June and then September to October. If you go like we did in late October the winter weather does start but its not too cold and you have the chance to see the Northern Lights. The hotel cost was much cheaper. Food is expensive in Iceland so if you have an elite hotel status like we do at Hilton take advantage of the free breakfast. If you do not get a free breakfast, eat a hearty breakfast an then have a snack for lunch and then eat dinner to save money. We spent four days in Iceland but we could spend much more. We would like to try to do a Icelandair stopover one the way to Europe someday during the summer when the light hours are much longer.
If you are Interested in this trip:
Contact Donna Miller and she can help you book your dream trip today including customized trips, guided tours, cruises and much more. Her travel planning services are completely free if you book with her. Contact her at donnamiller.etfamilytravel@gmail.com to book today!
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