We recently spent 1 week in Iceland and it was by far one of the best, most amazing places we have ever been to. The land of fire and ice - we've never been anywhere like it before. We're already talking about when we can go back again! From hunting the northern lights and exploring the south coast, the completing the Golden Circle - here's our trip report of our 1 week in Iceland and what we got up to.
Day 1
Our flight was at 12:30pm from Gatwick, getting us to Iceland for 3:30pm. We flew with Icelandair who are by far one of the best flight operators we've flown with. We had ample leg room (normal seats), which is always an issue for 6'2" Oli. They also had a documentary on Iceland which was really interesting! You can also book tours and excursions during your flight.
Car hire - Blue Car Rental
Before we could get going into the city we needed to pick up our hire car. We booked a few months in advance from Blue Car Rental. We did our research and looked into lots of different companies and they seemed really reputable. They met us at the airport, took us to their shop (just a few minutes from Keflavik) and we were in our car and on our way in minutes. We had a Kia Cee'd, with snow tyres and it was about £200 for the whole week. Overall wwe would really recommend Blue Car Rental if you're thinking of hiring a car. All the main insurances were included (some places were adding these on as extra costs) and the staff were super helpful and friendly.
Hotel
We stayed at Hotel Ódinsvé in Reykjavik. The location is spot on, throughout our week we were minutes from shops and restaurants, and literally around the corner from Hallgrímskirkja Church.
Our room was on the ground floor and we were worried about neighbours and street noise, but we never heard a thing and had great nights sleep every night. Breakfast was also included, served in the attached bar 'Snaps'. Staff were always more than helpful and very polite. The only issue we thought we might come across was parking, but there was more than enough street parking directly outside the hotel and a small car park right outside too. It was about 125ISK per hour (like 50p), free after 6pm till 9am and free all day Sundays. The machines also accepted our UK cards!
Northern Lights tour
One of the many great things about visiting Iceland in November? Good chances of seeing the Northern Lights. And we couldn't wait! Before I rave about how good the company was I will point out we didn't see the lights on this night (that comes later!).
We booked with Time Tours who picked us up from our hotel about 8:30pm/9:00pm and drove 1 hour outside of Reykjavik. On the way, Runi, our guide, spoke to us about the lights, why they happen, the strongest rating he's ever seen was (a 6/9), what rating the lights were that night (3/9) and what typically a '3' looks like (a good way to manage our expectations). We arrived in a beautiful spot and we all waited in silence for a sighting of the lights. While we waited, Runi used the opportunity to help everyone set up their cameras and get some test shots.
We waited 45 minutes, before Runi loaded us back on the coach in search again. This is where I really rate Runi and Time Tours. Runi did not stop chasing them - calling friends, checking whether reports, loading his aurora apps and pulling over to take long exposure shots of the sky to see what direction the clouds were heading in. We stayed out until 1 am, and somewhere around Thingvellir National Park we saw them...but masked behind clouds. It was the closest we had come to them and it was gutting that the weather intervened. Runi dropped us back off at our hotel at 2am and we organised another trip with him Tuesday night free of charge.
Day 2
Bed at 2:30am. Alarm at 6:30am! But it was worth it, as this was the day we were seeing our friends! They moved out to Iceland in February and we couldn't wait to catch up. Our friend, Adam, picked us up from the hotel at 7am, we hopped in his Rav4 named Ralph, and headed off on an adventure to Vik.
One of the weirdest things to get used to in the winter are the super dark mornings, with the sun not rising much before 9am. We made great time on our drive though and arrived in Vik around 9:30am. It was super foggy and the sea looked rough, so we headed straight down to the beach for an explore.
We spent an hour or so exploring the beach and it's hidden caves. I genuinely felt like I was in a black and white film - the beach and volcanic rocks are so dark and black, the only contrast is that of the white sea and white sky. There was something very mesmerising about seeing life in black and white.
After our time on the beach, we had a quick explore around Vik itself, before moving on to Reynisfjara beach. From here we had a great view of Reynisdrangar. The story is that these are trolls, who one night were trying to lure ships into shore to crash on the rocks. However, the trolls forgot about daybreak and turned to stone when the light touched them.
We didn't stay on the beach too long as we were much more unprotected than we were on Vik and the wind was icy cold and battling hard against us. From here, we headed a little further back up the way we came to Dyrhólaey, the Southern most point in Iceland. Here we were like big kids, scrambling over the rocks, exploring and watching the mammoth waves crash up on the rocks.
We incrementally made our way back on ourselves, stopping off at different things. Our next stop was the DC3 plane crash. The plane crash was really cool and really eerie - crazy how after all these years they've just left it there. You could also walk inside the plane which was pretty cool too. As if that didn't hold your attention enough, when we turned around we also had the most beautiful view of the snowy capped glaciers.
From here we were off again, stopping off at Skogafoss waterfall, views by the foot of Eyjafjallajokull volcano and Seljalandsfoss waterfall. We couldn't get too close to Skogafoss because the ground was just too icy. It was literally like an ice rink. We had some great views though from as close as could get, and then marched up all the many steps to the top of the waterfall with some great views below us. From the top you could also just make out the top of the glacier sticking it's head above the hill in front. Some people were continuing on, probably to get a better view over the hill, but it was already coming up to 2pm and time was not on our side.
We also passed the visitor centre for Eyjafjallajokull, which had some brilliant views across the farm below the volcano and the glacier above it. Our last stop after this was Seljalandsfoss. Again, the ground was just too icy, it was impossible to get behind or too close to the waterfall, but great views nonetheless!
Then it was time for our last stop before we headed to Reykholt, where Adam and his girlfriend, Oxana, live. They both work at Friðheimar, a tomato green house and restaurant in the Golden Circle. On arrival, Ox greeted us with homemade Bloody Mary's and Adam showed us around the greenhouse and explained what they do. The three of us then sat at a table in the corner, looking at all the many tomato plants! Our view from the table is below:
Oxana gave us another concoction, which was sweeter and slightly fizzy with gin mixed in it. We also had homemade soup and bread for starter which was amazing - Heinz is now definitely ruined for me! Followed by pasta for main, with a homemade tomato puree sauce. It was all absolutely delicious and if you're doing the Golden Circle, I strongly advise you come here. The food is great and it's also a really interesting place to be.
Ox finished her shift, we stopped by their house and made our way to our last and final stop for the day, The Secret Lagoon.
Entry is dead cheap to get in and we had the hot spring to ourselves. We made the freezing cold dash down into the water, and bath water temperature greeted us. It never gets cold and never gets too hot, every now and then the ground behind the rocks rumbles and steam pours out, only to find the water around you warming up. It was also sleeting, so it was refreshing to have a cold head and shoulders only to dip back under in the steamy water. It was perfect and if we had more time on our trip we definitely would have come back here.
We must have stayed here an hour or so, before we were too prawny and decided it was time for home. Adam drove us back to Reykjavik and when we got back to our hotel we were asleep in seconds! A jam packed, but amazing first day in the city.
Day 3
We woke up feeling refreshed and grabbed some breakfast downstairs. Adam and Ox were working in the morning, but were going to spend a couple of hours in Reykjavik with us. Until then we had some time to kill and our priority for shopping was to treat ourselves to a Lopapeysa (traditional Icelandic jumper). We'd seen a few in the tourist shops and chain shops such as Ice Wear, but knew we wanted to get our jumpers from the Handknitting Association; supporting the local knitters and it was at the bottom of our hotel's road! We arrived only to be greeted by a wall of jumpers - "where do we start first??"
The jumpers are organised by size, so it's easy to filter. Then it's a case of deciding what colours, patterns and style you like best. Every jumper is slightly different and we were both in this shop about 45 minutes trying on different jumpers and comparing. We ended up with 2 beautiful jumpers which we love and a puffin blanket to snuggle up under on our sofa at home.
We then headed down towards the harbour and popped inside the Harpa Conference Centre. It's a very cool building to look at both inside and outside and as you make your way higher up within the building there are some very cool views looking over the Sun Voyager and the sea.
This timed it right to meet up with Adam and Ox. We grabbed a couple of hot chocolates before exploring the city some more. Aside from job hunting in the city, Adam and Oxana hadn't seen much more of Reykjavik than we had. We spent a couple of hours wandering the streets and taking it all in, when they needed to be on their way. It was about 3pm and the sun had come out at last, so after they left, Oli and I headed up to the top of Hallgrímskirkja for some views across the city - and the views did not disappoint.
We also popped into Fotografi, a great photography shop around the corner from our hotel. A huge range of photographs are sold, from individual prints and canvas shots, to printed books and framed photos. There were some beautiful photographs from around Iceland and we could have spent ages in there admiring them all. The shop is definitely worth a visit and is a great place to bring a little memento back from.
Day 4
We had another big day planned today (making the most of our 1 week in Iceland). We were out on the road early to Gunnuhver and Krýsuvík, a couple of geothermal locations. This drive was probably the first time when we started to get what people meant when they said felt like they were on another planet in Iceland. The earth around us was red (and stunk of eggs of course from the sulphur). It was steaming and bubbling all around us. There was signs everywhere informing the ground was at least 100C and it was all just a little bit surreal and mental to be around.
We drove to Krýsuvík, an hour up the road, which has walkways between the bubbling pots, so you can walk amongst everything. As we arrived it also started to snow pretty heavily and the drive around the whole area looked so dramatic.
We spent a good amount of time exploring and playing in the snow until we needed to be at our next stop; a place called Hólmasel to go dog sledding!
Dog Sledding
This was something we toyyed with for ages. We knew there wasn't going to be a great deal of snow at the end of November and that we wouldn't be on proper sleds as it would be taking place on dry land. In the end we decided we're only here once, let's do it! And I'm so glad we did - what a fun afternoon!
On arrival we got to meet some of their 6 month old huskey puppies, who were all adorable and loved being the centre of attention. We made a fuss of them and got to know them before we were put into our groups and got comfortable inside the trolley. We met our host and suddenly we were off!! The dogs went charging off at a crazy speed and we all had to hold on for dear life over all the bumps and hills! It was brilliant fun and our guide told us about each of the dogs in our pack. Half way through we got to spend some time with the dogs, have cuddles and stop for photos:
The trip lasted 2 hours and it was an experience we'll never forget. All the dogs are such softies and have such big characters! Once back in Reykjavik it was dinner time so we headed out to Restaurant 73. We had a burger each and they were delicious! I had found my love for Reyka & Coke by this point, while Oli found a number of craft beers. After a hectic few days it was great to enjoy dinner and sink a few drinks, catching up on our trip so far.
Day 5
Time to rack up more miles on our little hire car as today we were doing the Golden Circle! Our first stop was Thingvellir and on the way we couldn't stop staring at the beautiful scenery around us. The drive was spectacular, but Thingvellir National Park was even better.
The park looked so pristine and peaceful in the snow. We were lucky that we arrived early (about 10am), because shortly after we arrived loads of tour buses turned up (Grayline in particular, who we saw everywhere!) Getting there early meant we stayed ahead of them at every stop on the Golden Circle.
We spent a good hour or so exploring the park and playing in the snow like the big kids we are. We also passed Silfra, which is a fissure in between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates where you can go scuba diving in the crystal clear waters.
We hopped back in the car and made our way to our second stop - Geysir. I was far more impressed with Strokkur, which erupted every 5 minutes, than I thought I would be. The novelty didn't wear off after the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time we watched it.
Just behind Strokkur is a large hill and we decided to explore the area and see what was at the top. The walk to the top was tricky, as everything had iced over, so getting to the top was a bit of a balancing act. However, when we got to the top, we had the most beautiful views of a snowy topped mountain, the valley and a few homes below it. The photo just doesn't do it justice, but it was stunning.
Back in the car and headed for the last stop on the Golden Circle Tour - Gullfoss. The waterfalls were really impressive, but the only downside to going in the winter is that most of the walkways were closed off because of the ice, however we still got some really great views.
This is usually the last official stop on the Golden Circle, however as mentioned previously, you can stop off along the way at Friðheimar for some tomato soup. There's also a working dairy farm which you can visit for some ice cream.
However two other stops you can also include in your self-drive Golden Circle tour are Faxi waterfall and Kerið Crater. The waterfalls are at the bottom of restaurant drive, and also because they're not a main stop on the Golden Circle, they're also pretty quiet. When Oli and I went, we were literally the only people there. We then drove a little further up the road to visit Kerið Crater. Unlike the other sights, you need to pay to enter (only €2), however because of all the snow and ice, we couldn't walk the full perimeter of the crater and we couldn't walk down to the lake (we probably could...but didn't fancy our chances). However, it was still good to visit it. The crater has some really unusual colours.
After the drive back to Reykjavik, it was dinner time and we headed over to Mikkeller & Friends and after this we stopped off at Dillon's (a whiskey bar). They were still serving happy hour so we had a few tipples, discussing our 1 week in Iceland so far and what we had planned next! Also, on the subject of Dillon's, I really recommend this place! Great atmosphere and good, friendly people. We got to talking to some locals who were lovely. Drinks are reasonably priced and they had a good selection on the happy hour menu too which was a bonus. Definitely a good drinking spot!
Day 6
Our last full day in Iceland... boo! But we had another busy one planned - and an EPIC journey up our sleeves, which we had been discussing on and off for the best part of the week.
Before that though was a trip to the Blue Lagoon. We booked online a few weeks before and included some in-water massages which I have to say it was the best thing ever!
We arrived about 10am so it was relatively quiet. We checked in, got our robes and headed straight for the pool. I'm sorry to say this lead to instant disappointment. As mentioned earlier, we much preferred the Secret Lagoon. The water wasn't anywhere near as deep in the Blue Lagoon and it was luke warm (at best). We spent most of our time in the water feeling cold. The wind was icy and it was snowing pretty heavily and while the cold was welcome in the Secret Lagoon...not so much here. My recommendation would definitely be to go to the Secret Lagoon for the hot spring experience, but go to the Blue Lagoon for the in water massage!
Blue Lagoon Massages
They place you on effectively a floating yoga mat with a hot wet towel over you to keep you warm. The massages also seemed to be in a warmer part of the pool, so that helped, and they then began a lovely full body massage, starting on my feet, working up my legs, arms, shoulders and head - it was glorious! Every few minutes they grab the side of the mat and dip you back under the water, which is honestly the best sensation. You never get cold, but it's a welcome sensation. The massage lasted an hour (you can also get 30 minute massages) and then they leave you to just float around for a bit afterwards and relax. It was honestly so lovely and I can't recommend this enough. It's not cheap, but I'd say it's worth it.
After this, we headed back to the hotel feeling well and truly relaxed and grabbed an afternoon nap to refresh ourselves for our planned evening journey. We got up about 3:30pm and headed down towards the harbour to Icelandic Fish & Chips. I'm not very adventurous when it comes to fish, so I ordered Cod and Oli ordered Tusk, which was on the specials menu. I have to say, it was probably the best piece of Cod I've ever had. It was so fresh and tasty and the batter was perfect, not too thick or thin.
Northern lights hunting
By 5pm we were back at the hotel, wrapping up in our many layers, and out the hotel by 5:30pm. We had been paying close attention to the weather forecast all week, and ever since Saturday when we went out on our first night, the evenings had always been cloudy. However all week we had been seeing this (though the clear patch was much further in-land. This is the best screen shot I could find):
It was our last night from our 1 week in Iceland. We had a hire car and a massive clear patch on the other side of Iceland. Looking at the clear area, we estimated our best viewing point was the glacier lagoon (Jökulsárlón). 4 hours 30minutes away! We knew it would be exhausting, but we also knew it would be worth it. So off we went!
The second we left Reykjavik, we were in the worst snow storm I think I have ever seen. It was laying so quickly it was covering up tyre tracks in front of us, barriers and signs were also covered, which made junctions and turn off's hard to spot. We powered through and by the time we got to Selfoss we'd made it out. The roads were snowy, but we were no longer in the storm. By the time we got to Vik, we were half way and everything past this point was new territory, as we didn't go past Vik on our adventures with Adam earlier in the week.
I instantly felt like I was in a completely different part of time. Bulging volcanos, rocks and mountains, with vast glaciers on top. I felt like I was in a prehistoric time zone. Perhaps it was because it was new scenery, but it felt so different to anything else we'd seen in Iceland. It has definitely whet our thirst for coming back and driving the ring road.
We arrived about 10:30pm and parked up near the lagoon. It was a beautiful clear evening, despite all the weather we battled through, and after a few minutes (and straining my eyes) I was sure I could see a faint arc in the sky. I fiddled with some settings on the GoPro and sure enough there was something there.
We got out the car straight away and waited with baited breath. After 30 minutes of waiting something suddenly changed and they appeared before us, dancing, shimmering and moving across the sky. It was indescribable. Even more so because we had waited all week and made this mammouth drive out just to see them. We were treated to a 1.5 hour show of the lights, before the clouds came over. We made one last final dash ahead of the clouds and caught a final glimpse of them again, but we didn't want to go too far out, already aware of the huge drive back we had.
Buzzing from our evening, we made the long journey back home. We pulled over a few times for power naps, until eventually we were interrupted with snow hitting the car so hard it sounded like hail. We left the glacier lagoon at 1:30am and made it back to the hotel for 6am. We collapsed into bed, had a 3 hour nap and were back up, packed and checked out by 10am.
We were greeted to a beautiful winter wonderland, transformed by all the snow; Reykjavik looked beautiful. We grabbed lunch from Apotek and hopped back in the car for the airport, ready for our 4pm flight home. We were missing Reykjavik the second we were back in the car.
We honestly cannot wait to come back. We're itching to experience summer in Iceland and drive the ring road. Everything about our 1 week in Iceland was fantastic and writing this blog has made me miss it all over again.
See you soon Iceland - but not soon enough!
