Iceland

Iceland was definitely a trip that I wanted to take because I had seen so many other people posting about it, but more importantly there were airfare deals popping up left and right. Iceland Air and WOW airlines are probably the two carriers that I noticed the best deals from and they fly out of most major hubs in the northeast. Both offer basic economy cabin round trip from Boston or JFK for roughly $250 if you search the right dates (EDIT - WOW Airlines closed operations and stranded passengers as of March 28th, 2019, so they are no longer an option). As a Delta platinum medallion member, I let my airline loyalty get in the way of a good deal, but Delta was fairly competitive out of JFK and we were able to secure round trip economy comfort for ~$400 a person. My suggestion for savvy travelers would be to jump on the cheap flight deals and not worry so much about "airline status" unless you're going to to be making multiple long haul flights a year. Scott's Cheap Flights and The Points Guy are my favorite websites to visit when I start planning a trip, although I think google flights is useful for picking specific times of year to travel if you already know what cities you want to go to.

With that said, I already had a trip to NYC planned, so adding a quick 5 day, 4 night trip to Iceland over Memorial weekend was an easy sell. If you're planning on seeing the northern lights, I would not suggest the spring and summer months because Iceland is so far north that you never get full darkness. Best months for the northern lights are November to February, but those are also the coldest months and there are common road closures, especially if you are trying to visit the eastern side of the country and the glacier national park.

Our flight left JFK at 9 PM and landed at KEF at 6AM the next day (there is a four hour time difference so really we landed at 2AM home time but I had planned jam packed days so we hit the ground running).

Probably the biggest tourist trap is the Blue Lagoon. Conveniently located on the way from the airport into downtown Reykjavik this is an ideal stop and is definitely relaxing and beautiful. I scheduled a 10 AM reservation and we could have gotten away with starting at 9 but I was unsure how long it would take to get off the plane, get our rental car and get over to the lagoon. Either way, arriving early wasn't a bad thing as there was plenty of time to grab a drink and settle in. I booked the premium package, but I think the comfort package would have been more than enough. The premium package gave bathers a robe and slippers to wear to walk around the lagoon or facility, which were nice but not necessary and then a glass of sparkling wine with lunch. Iceland is a VERY expensive country to visit, so the glass of wine by itself was 15 USD, so if you are planning on having a drink it may be worth getting the premium package. All bathers get one mud mask and one drink, but the premium package also gave an algae mask. If you're looking to save money then I would say this is probably something you could skip and visit smaller, less touristy hot springs in other parts of the country (Secret Lagoon is a good alternative).

After a couple hours of exploring the lagoon, standing under waterfalls, getting mud masks and showering off we had a lunch reservation at the attached Lava Restaurant.

As a first meal in Iceland, it was amazing. I also think this meal set me up to want soup at almost every restaurant we visited. We of course had our sparkling wine, and bread with salted butter (volcanic salt!) and then I had the Langoustine soup (seafood soup with bits of lobster and crab) and he had the arctic char. Since Iceland is a small island, most meals were seafood or lamb as any other meats would be imported and it was more fun to try to eat local.

From here we drove to Reykjavik and checked into our hostel which was centrally located and allowed us to walk to almost everything in town. Our next stop was the Icelandic Phallogical Museum, because I was just insanely curious how there could be an entire museum dedicated to penises. Avert your eyes for the next few pictures if the male genitalia disturbs you.

The museum had a collection of hundreds of different animals (including one human that donated his in death). They also included sculptures, artwork, clothing and trinkets to take home if you were so compelled. It was about 10 USD to visit and worth a quick trip in.

​We received a recommendation for happy hour at Kaldi Bar. In fact, everyone we spoke to before traveling recommended finding happy hours (which fortunately would go from 4PM to 9PM in some locations) in order to cut down on alcohol costs. Since alcohol is so highly regulated by the country it was hard to find drinks for under 15-20 USD unless you purchased during happy hour and could get half off. Kaldi Bar was a great find and a craft brewery where you could get a dark, a light and a blonde on draft.

For dinner I made reservations for everywhere we ate in advance because I was working off recommendations, but also because most places only have a few tables and there was a long wait for people without reservations. Our first night we ate at Old Iceland and it was so good. I know this is going to get repetitive because I think every single meal I had in Iceland was incredible, but this was authentic Icelandic fare and delicious drinks to pair it with.

Since we clearly hadn't indulged enough on our first day, we went to the Lebowski Bar after dinner to get a couple of night cap White Russians. The hardest part about traveling here at the end of May was the daylight. We stayed out until close to midnight and it still felt like hour earlier because it never got dark.

Day 2 - This was the beginning of driving across nearly half of the country in three days. We left early in the morning, stopping at Reykjavik Roasters for coffee and a snack for the road and we drove from Reykjavik to Vik to visit the black sand beaches. The ring road is self explanatory as it is hwy 1 that circles the entire country and is the best path to take to get anywhere as it is fully paved and flooding free.

The drive is beautiful to get to Vik, you can see snow covered mountains, waterfalls and the ocean. We drove through a couple of small towns but for the most part there is just really green and rocky land for as far as you can see. We stopped along the way at Skogafoss which you can walk all the way up to (bring waterproof clothing!) and also take the short stairway up to the top of. Rainbows are common to see and this was a nice pit stop.

From there we drove out to Dyrholavegur which is a a large arched rock formation just off off Reynisfjara Beach (black sand beaches of Vik). This was a really awesome stop for pictures and a little exploring and rock climbing

For lunch in Vik we stopped at Sudur Vik in town and it was delicious. It had a diverse menu from curry dishes to pizza and of course some local Icelandic brewery options on tap.

We took the ring road back to Selfoss but then took a detour up to Gullfoss, Geysir and Kerid Crater Park. The only one of the sites that we paid for was the Kerid Crater which was 4 ISD and definitely worth the views.

That evening was another fantastic meal in Reykjavik at Messin (we seriously did not eat anything that wasn't fantastic our whole time in Iceland, so I recommend all of these places if you're planning a trip for great food).

Day 3: Probably the coolest and most secluded thing we did was the Reykjadalur Hot Springs thermal river hike. This is a free hike and dip in natural springs, roughly an hour outside of Reykjavik. We got up early because we wanted to be the only ones there and we definitely timed it right as we didn't see anyone until our hike back. The hike took about 45 minutes from car to hot springs and was fairly easy. The first fifteen minutes are up hill and then the rest is mostly flat with amazing views. The water temperature is about 100 F and was amazing to be in this beautiful valley in the middle of nature. I think this hike/thermal spring needs to be on your list if you're visiting Iceland.

*One thing to note, if your're planning on changing in or out of your bathing suit while there, there are no bathrooms, only small dividers, so be comfortable with being naked in nature.

From here we took the ring road north and stopped at Thingvellir National park. We walked from the main road to Oxafross and the rock formations were amazingly beautiful and a gorgeous place to explore and climb.

We continued along the ring road north and arrived in Akureyri in time for dinner. Rub 23 was recommended as the best place to eat in Akureyri for a nice dinner and it was amazing and so much fun. Sushi, salted cod, cocktails, it was all so good. For a night cap we went to Einstok brewing and had a flight. Akureyri was a beautiful town with much warmer and less rainy weather than we'd experienced in Reykjavik and Vik.

Unfortunately we were short on time so we only spent the evening in Akureyri and were headed back towards Reykjavik the next day. I would highly suggest spending more time in the northern part of Iceland if you have the opportunity.

Day 4: We started early again and headed out to see Selfoss and Dettifoss which are about 2 and a half hours west of Akureyri. Again, we were the first people out so we could enjoy the waterfalls to ourselves. From the parking lot it is about a 15 minute walk to Selfoss and another 10 minutes to Dettifoss. Selfoss was the more spectacular of the two to photograph because you could walk out along the rocks and get so close to it. It seemed as though tourists at one point were able to get closer to Dettifoss but it was roped off while we were there. Both were massive and powerful and so very loud.

Driving was such a major part of the trip to Iceland. Nothing was so far that it was worth taking a flight, but everything is pretty spread out. Heading back towards Akureyri we stopped at Lake Myvatn, more specifically at the Grjotagja Cave (famous for where Jon Snow and Ygritte made love in season 3 of Game of Thrones) and the Hverfjall crater. Both were pretty touristy but worth adding to your trip. The cave is filled with a hot spring and the water gets so hot that you can't actually get in. Apparently it has been increasing in temperature by a few degrees every year, so it used to be comfortable for bathing in but is now boiling.

We did see Godafoss as well which is translated into the waterfall of the gods and is where statues of Norse gods were thrown and destroyed as Christianity infiltrated the country.

Probably the best thing that we paid for was the Bjorbodin beer spa which is located about 30 minutes north of Akureyri and is where we visited for lunch and an opportunity to bath in beer hops. The experience allows you to have a soak in an outdoor hot tub, and then relax in a tub filled with beer yeast which is supposed to be really good for your skin. Then you shower off and lounge in a quiet room. During all of this time you're allowed to drink the beer that is brewed there. It's a beer drinker's paradise. Unfortunately we had to make the 5 hour drive back to Reykjavik after this so we didn't fully indulge, but it was a great way to end the trip.