I'm back from Iceland, and it's truly the prettiest place I've ever seen. With that said, here's what I did and some tips. We got our tickets through Thrifty Traveler for SUPER cheap. It was a Delta flight, and we found out everything in Iceland is SO expensive. I don't even want to tell you how much our rental car was. It was obviously important to get. We got a rental from Europcar and got full coverage which everyone recommended. AND a rock flew up and chipped the window, so I'm glad we did. To give you an idea of price....to fill our small SUV it was $80. A "happy hour" beer was $9. The list goes on and on.
I wore a sweatshirt and leggings most days. I also wore a rain jacket every day. People asked if I needed boots, and I didn't. First of all, we didn't hike so tennis shoes were fine. Also, it is summer there. OH! I was also told to get alcohol at the airport as soon as you arrive at the Duty Free because it's way cheaper, so we did.
As soon as we landed, we went to the blue lagoon. I know it's a tourist trap, but it is SO worth it! I loved it so much. Make sure you make a reservation though!
We then drove to get groceries because our first stop was on the west side of the country in a remote area. We shopped at a place called Bonus in Reykjavik. We also stopped and got the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my life. Get them. If you go, get them. I'm not ashamed to say I consumed probably one every day from this place (Braud & Co.).
So we drove to this little place, and it truly was a piece of heaven. It was SO cute and in the middle of fields with mountains all around. Click here for the Airbnb link.
Sheep are EVERYWHERE! They outnumber humans. You usually see them in 3s because the moms usually have 2 or 3 at a time. CUTE! So these little cuties were on the road guiding us in.
I discovered Icelandic horses aren't scared of people. They don't have predators there, so they are curious and will let you pet them. There were a bunch by our place so we took a lot of photos with them!
We were pretty much lazy at this spot with the exception of one trip we took about 30 minutes away to a natural geothermal pool. It was WAY different than the blue lagoon. It had the nice sulfur smell and green stuff floating around. Plus, it was the size of a hot tub. We also stopped to get this picture. See my Instagram for the funny story that goes along with it. @falenkdwb
After 2 glorious nights here, we headed to Vik. This was about a 4-hour trip. SO we checked out sites along the way. The first stop was the waterfall you can walk behind, Seljalandsfoss. AND we saw a rainbow! FYI-I recommend this comprehensive guide I found online. Click here.
The next stop was another waterfall. This one was Skogafoss. We didn't even see it at first, but there were 2 rainbows!!!
Once we got to Vik, we checked into the Volcano hotel which was super nice and included breakfast. They recommended a few things. First, we went to the red roof church, and I got pictures with the Lupines! They're so pretty, and they were almost done for the season.
Then, we went to Dyrholaey. It's a cliff with a lighthouse. AND TBH we crossed the rope and went out on the cliff area. We weren't supposed to.
The next day, we went to Hjorleifshofoi. It's this SUPER awesome cave on the beach.
We also went to the basalt columns called Halsanefshellir. That is where Dragon Glass is for you Game of Thrones fans!
We went to the black sand beach as well for Puffin spotting. We found them, but they were up on a mountain. Like stupid idiots, we climbed. Jake got closer and got this pic. Me...I slid down on my butt and stained my pants and feared for my life the entire time. They are so small and cute and curious!
Three restaurants were recommended to us in Vik. We liked them in this order: 1. Sudur Vik 2. The Soup Company and 3. Halldorskaffi. We went back to Reykjavik for our final 2 nights. I even had a hot coffee. I only really got coffee at Reykjavik Roasters because it was by Braud & co., and they had iced drinks. This was their Mokka though...which had a huge dollop of whipped cream! YUM!
We checked out the church.
AND the final full day, we visited a few stops on the Golden Circle route. We visited the tomato restaurant that everyone goes to first. First of all, you pay for the cool experience. It is super expensive, and we barely ate any food. We should have just done a beer and the unlimited soup. That's my recommendation for you...or just go take some pics. It's called Fridheimar.
Next, we went to Haukadalur Geysers.
Then, we visited Gulfoss. We didn't do the other stops because they honestly didn't interest us.
With that said, we did stop at this little farm on the way back. You get ice cream from the cows on the farm, and you can see them through the window which was hilarious! AND I met Beth who listens to our show. She had done a bike ride across the country, and she was SO sweet! It was called Dalur Farm.
Side note, we did have the hot dog, and it was great. We also had Reykjavik Chips which were good. AND we had awesome pizza at Hverfisgata 12 in Reykjavik. My favorite store was Hrim. On our ride back home, we saw this on the side of the road. How amazing is this? I can't even explain.
Thank you SO much for reading my blog, and I hope this helps a bit if you're planning a trip. SAVE SOME MONEY! haha!