There was a twist with this trip, however! I called my Mother in Law, asked for her passport number, and bought her a ticket too. The best part is that it was a complete surprise. I didn't tell her where we were headed, but rather provided her with the climate and number of days to prepare for - and also told her to pack her swimsuit! She didn't know where Iceland was, but once she discovered where we were headed she was excited and ready to go!
We arrived in Iceland at about 5:30 am on Monday, excited to get our first day of tours started. The first thing I noticed was how modern, clean, and bright the Keflavik airport was. We stopped to grab a coffee to go and everyone was incredibly friendly. Most people speak English, so communication was no problem. It didn't take long for our bags to arrive, so as soon as we scooped them up we headed to the Grayline bus ticket window to buy a seat into town to our hotel - this ticket window will be visible on the ground floor once baggage is collected - it's a small airport, so you won't miss it. Keflavik is about 45 minute drive to Reykjavik, and cabs here are pricey, so this is the way to go. Most likely there will be a bus waiting or on it's way (which wait just outside the doors of the airport by the ticket window), and we waited only about ten minutes until we were headed to the city. The cost was about $15 per person, compared to a $60-ish cab fare. The buses are new and comfortable. The biggest perk for us is that we were taken right to our hotel - not to a bus stop. The larger commuter buses will, however, drop you off at the Grayline terminal in Reykjavik where you will then jump onto a smaller van - the city streets in Reykjavik are very narrow, so you need a smaller vehicle to get right to your hotel.
We arrived at our hotel, the CenterHotel Thingholt, around 7:15 and, although our room wasn't quite ready, the concierge held our bags while we changed (it was FREEZING outside!) and then ate breakfast. The hotel was very modern (all of Iceland seems to be!), with local artwork and interesting lighting. We enjoyed a pretty decent breakfast spread and coffee and relaxed until 10:00 when our first tour guide arrived to escort us around the Golden Circle for the day. I would highly recommend this hotel, or any of the other CenterHotel locations which we saw during our walks around the city. Try not to stay on the harbor, as you cannot access everything by foot.
Next, we headed to Gullfoss, one of Europe's largest waterfalls. On the way we stopped to pet a few of the famous Icelandic horses grazing in a farmer's field. I requested this stop (as I saw recommended on TripAdvisor) otherwise your guide may not mention it. But, I wanted to see these ponies! These horses are incredibly unique - built for the cold weather and strong. They were brought over during the Viking Age (800s) initially to help with farming of course, but are also a staple of the Icelandic diet. :( The horses are one of the most pure horse breeds in the world, because it is illegal to import or export horses into Iceland. People also ride these horses, as they have two unique gaits in addition to the usual walk, trot, and canter, and are supposedly so steady and smooth that one could hold a full beer and not spill a drop! (Or so we were told - we did not actually ride although this is a great option during the warmer months and readily available everywhere). I had brought a bunch of sugar cubes from breakfast and these ponies eagerly gobbled up the treats. They were incredibly soft!
On the ride to the Secret Lagoon we stopped at a scenic point, but for the life of me cannot recall the name! There were gorgeous volcanic rocks with a river of sulferic water, blue to the eye.
The next day we slept in just a bit to recover from the five hour time difference, and then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before our noon tour of Reykjavik. When I travel I love to take either food or a walking tour to discover the city I am visiting. It is essential to book the tour through a small local company to get a true local experience. I knew I found the perfect fit when I discovered a blog called I Heart Reykjavik. Audur truly loves Iceland, and was born and raised in Reykjavik. Her blog was helpful in planning other areas of the trip as well, it's definitely worth a look.
This was the only tour that I actually paid for before arrival. The others allowed you to reserve a space and then to pay while on the tour (I used my credit card for each tour), but I did book online and pay in advance for this one as there is a maximum for the number of people on the tour and I didn't want to miss out. The tour itself was only 5500 kroner, which is about $40, and was well worth the cost due to the enthusiasm and knowledge of Audur, the owner and guide.
Our tour began at Hallgrimskirkja, a Lutheran church in the heart of the city. The church itself was modeled based on the basalt columns found throughout the country. The church was only about a ten minute walk from the hotel, and extremely easy to find as it is one of the tallest buildings (if not the tallest) in the city. We gathered with about ten other travelers and got started on our two hour tour exploring the streets of Reykjavik. One of the highlights for me were the details provided about local artists in the capital city, and many of their displays can be found on buildings throughout Reykjavik. The street art ranges wildly but is all extremely unique. It seems that Icelanders love their art in almost any form, and along our tour we also saw quite a few random pieces in people's backyards or painted on their walls. You can even find tiny little mice painted on the staircases here and there if you look closely!
After our tour Diann headed out to do a bit of shopping at the local haunts Audur pointed out, which included a co-op ran by women who make the famous Icelandic wool sweaters, (make sure to shop local!) while I unfortunately had to make my way to the doctor's office. I knew I had a sinus issue building before the trip but by this point it was excruciating and they barely sell ANY drugs over the counter. I had purchased some nasal spray and headache tablets but they weren't helping at all, so I paid my $80 USD (healthcare is free for Icelanders) to see a doctor and get an antibiotic. I will say, their system was pretty organized and I was in and out rather quickly. So, $100 bucks later I had my meds. I took a long dip in the hotel spa (which was extremely nice I must say!) after popping the first antibiotic and was relieved when I got out to feel that my extreme sinus headache was finally starting to wane.
On our walking tour Diann and I had seen a quaint little Icelandic restaurant in a blue cottage, called Laekjarbrekka, so we decided to give it a try for dinner that night. Usually I've scoped out restaurants in advance of my travel but this time around I knew we only had two or three nights out so we decided to wing it based on recommendations. In this case we are glad we did! It was only two blocks down from our hotel and had such a cozy, warm atmosphere. Although it seemed a bit fancy, people there were wearing anything from ski pants and turtlenecks to dress pants and ties. Actually, it seemed this was the norm everywhere in Iceland. I ate the Arctic Char, which was delicious.
Day Three: South Coast Tour and Northern Lights
The next day we were picked up from our hotel at about 8 to begin our South Coast adventure. For this tour I used GeoIceland, based on amazing reviews on Trip Advisor. This tour cost 12,900 kroner, so once again about $97, and was well worth every penny as it was my absolute favorite part of the trip. Our guide Thor (who was AMAZING) picked us up from the hotel, and our group of about 20 enjoyed Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls, the coastal village of Vik, the glacier Solheimajökull, and the Reynisfjara black sand beaches. If you go in the summer you will also get to see the Dyrholaey Puffin colony! An option is also to add on a Glacier Walk to the tour, but we didn't opt for that as that is an extra few hours and we had the Northern Lights tour scheduled that night.
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| Not my photo, but a great view of the waterfall from behind! |
The interesting thing about a Northern Lights tour, is that there is an incredibly in-depth, scientific prediction system which provides the probability on whether or not lights would be visible around the world, and in what location if at all. Similar to a weather report, it details the likelihood of the events. So, when you book one of these tours with a big box company (Grayline) they take everyone out on this evening tour even if the report is showing that there is a not a good chance for lights. A smaller company such as Gateway to Iceland posts on their website daily as to whether or not the tour would take place. If they do take you out but you don't see any lights, you can go the next night for free.
This tour cost 7900 kroner, so about $60 per person and lasts about four hours total, depending on what you may see. Keep in mind these tours are only available in the winter from September to mid-April.
On the tour, our guide explained in detail how the lights are made (all I remember is something about sun flares reaching earth's atmosphere, and the proper solar wind and magnetic forces) and how they travel around the poles. He has been hosting this tour for over 20 years, and was readying us to be reasonable with our expectations - many people go out every night for a week and don't see a single thing! Well, only about 30 minutes in, we see a faint glow to the left of the van (as soon as we were out of Reykjavik) and sure enough they were the first signs of the lights. The guide says that once you see the lights, you stop! Some people try to 'chase' them, but what one may see a mile away could be different than what another would see - therefore it's best to stay put. He did not disappoint! These grayish/glowy 'clouds' slowly got greener and greener, and started to make an arc overhead as they got brighter. They were very fluid, and continuously changing. We ended up having over three arcs above and around us, which does not occur often! The forecast was a 4/10 chance to see the good lights, but our guide said we got pretty much a 10/10 show! The usual color of the lights is a hazy green, but we were treated to pinks, blues, and purples which are rare. The lights are incredibly difficult to catch on film - you must have a tripod, shutter speed of over 10 seconds, and the right settings, so be prepared if this is on your agenda. Fortunately for us we had a great camerawoman on our tour who was ready. She emailed me these glorious photos, capturing what was truly a once in a lifetime experience for me. Although we froze our butt off in less than 10 degree weather, I would do it again in a second for the sights we saw. Our guide said that he can count on one hand how often the lights show that gloriously. Everyone was thrilled, and after about two hours the lights started to dim and eventually dissipated. We finished our amazing event out at about 12:30 am.
On our last day in Iceland, I had scheduled for a return trip to the airport with Grayline, with a stop at the Blue Lagoon. As I meantioned earlier in the post, Grayline offers decently priced to/from airport trips, and they also offer this stop off either on the way to Reykjavik or on the way to the airport. Although I was a bit worried about soaking in a lagoon before heading to a six hour flight, the facilities at the Blue Lagoon are modern, clean, and.... expensive! It costs 55 Euro to enter the Blue Lagoon, if you want a towel - but hey they throw in one 'free' drink. If you bring your own towel you can knock off 15 Euro. The Blue Lagoon has become so iconic Iceland that they're able to charge an arm and a leg, and people pay it! My best advice here is to book this ahead of time through Grayline. The shuttle will pick you up from your hotel, take you to the main Grayline terminal, and then you hop on the large bus to the lagoon. You can choose to then leave for the airport on three transfers offered at 12, 2, or 3 pm. Our flight out was at 3:30, so we got picked up at our hotel at 8 am and jumped on the 12 pm bus to the airport.
Unfortunately our flight was slightly delayed, but Diann and I took advantage of a little more shopping before we left Iceland. It was such a wonderful, quick trip. I was able to pack in everything I truly wanted to do in a three night stay. Unless you have the urge to self-drive the island (would take about three days), or hike a lot of terrain, I think three nights is plenty! So, go take advantage of these amazing flight deals before they're gone. I think Iceland is just now beginning to get the recognition it deserves - make sure to visit before it becomes too commercialized (which I truly hope does not happen, as it is so quaint and original!)
"Bless bless" ("goodbye in Icelandic") Iceland!
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