Iceland is like something out of a dream. You have to see it for yourself, but we will try our best to describe it and give you some tips along the way. Also, the language is difficult if you aren’t familiar, so please forgive if something is spelled wrong.
Note: the people are very friendly and helpful so if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.
Our first night was spent walking the streets of Reykjavík. A small (Iceland’s total population is only about 330,000), yet bustling downtown lends itself to shopping, delicious food (unless it’s fermented shark – give it a go, but we aren’t making promises), and a magical atmosphere especially when it’s snowing. You can even send a letter to Santa!
While we are proponents of exploring on your own, Iceland is a great place to hop on a guided tour. All of the tours we took were convenient, educational, and super fun. We met some great new friends too – shout out NYC and Liverpool!
Our first day we toured the south part of the island with #GreyLineIceland. They took us to visit Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls which we can’t begin to tell you the magnitude of. The black lava sand beach of Reynisfjara hardly looks real until you pick up the sand. This one was a major #bucketlist stop for us. We attempted to walk up to a glacier, but we almost got blown off of the mountain. Weather out of control!
On the way back from our day trip the bus driver informed us there was a good chance to see the Northern Lights so we were able to hop on another #GreyLineIceland bus to head out into the darkness. Our guide was absolutely amazing and hilarious having us do a Northern Lights dance on the way to the national park where we stopped to wait. We waited about 1 1/2 hours for the sky to open up in another #bucketlist moment. Green bands started dancing across the sky like nothing you can even describe and everyone was running and cheering with delight! More photos to come in the photo journal tab.
The second day we hopped on a small bus with Nice Tours to hit up the Golden Circle. Walking through the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates at the Thingvellir National Park was nothing short of awesome – one foot in North America one in Europe. Gulfoss waterfall is incredible with multiple levels and plummets off into the depths of the earth through a 32 meter crevice. Walking around the top of the 6,000 year old Kerid volcanic crater is surreal and is a once in a lifetime experience. Strokkur Geyser erupts every 5-10 minutes and if you’re lucky there will be Vikings to sing thanks to the earth. An extra stop at Faxi waterfall and feeding Icelandic horses on the side of the road was a really nice treat. Thanks to our guide for these extras.
We finished our day at the Blue Lagoon – a must if you are in Iceland. It’s definitely a tourist mecca, but well worth it. Something about drinking a cold Icelandic beer in a natural hot spring brings so much joy. We suggest going in the middle of the day on a weekday to avoid massive crowds and better photo ops.
Only disappointment was not getting to go whale watching due to weather. Iceland reports the weather more than the news because it changes in a moments notice. Next time for sure!
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Enjoy the ride,
Justin and Lindsay
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