Magical Iceland

October half term saw us take the really short flight to Reykjavik from Edinburgh – it’s only a couple of hours away and I can’t believe I have never been before! It is on so many people’s bucket list but it has a reputation for being expensive which puts a lot of people off – see my tips at the bottom on how to save money!

Tourism boomed in Iceland in the last 15 years with low cost airlines (and the national carrier, Icelandair) bringing over 2million visitors a year. It’s a relatively short distance from the USA, so there are lots of American as well as European visitors, and the attractions are many – it’s one of the Earth’s most volcanically active areas, giving us mountainous landscapes, black lava fields, black sand beaches, geothermal pools and geysers all topped off by stunning glaciers and even the Northern Lights in winter and 24 hours sunlight in summer.

October was a great time to travel – it was cold, much colder than Scotland! And windy, but we came prepared with hats, gloves, walking boots and thermals. We were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights a few times over the week we were there, and it was amazing. The best place to view them was from the plane home!

I was actually taken aback by the scale of the country – a lot of people never make it far from Reykjavik, but the whole country is 500km east to west and 300km north to south. With a population of approx. 375,000 – there is plenty of wide open spaces!

Reykjavik is a buzzing capital city – world renowned for culture, arts and natural beauty. I loved the many bakeries with their cinnamon buns, fresh kaffi (coffee) and candle lit tables. In the afternoon, look out for one of the many happy hours in bars and hotels where you can sample the local beers for a fraction of the normal prices. We loved the famous hot dogs straight from the street stalls too, perfect after a brilliant whale watching trip.

After our 3 nights in the capital, we picked up our hire car and headed round the “Golden Circle” which combines Þingvellir where you can see the crack in the 2 tectonic plates; Geysir hot springs; and Gullfoss waterfall. It’s a total round trip of 250km from Reykjavik, so a lot of driving. There are many day trips including snowmobiling on the glacier, which I highly recommend!

We continued along the South Coast which was all about glaciers, waterfalls, black sand beaches, glacier lagoons and icebergs! Walking behind waterfalls, kayaking between icebergs, going on glacier hikes, driving through vast lava fields, visiting ice caves, and strolling along black sand beaches – you don’t want to miss out on this stunning area.

Here are my top tips on how to save money on your trip!

Book your accommodation and flights as a package – you’ll pay upfront in GBP, so no worries over the exchange rate, as well as being 100% financially protected.

Book as far in advance as possible – we booked 10 months prior – you get the best availability, best prices and then pay it all off in advance, so you only need your spending money when you travel.

Never buy bottled water in Iceland – the water is gorgeous! Every restaurant and bar has bottles of tap water available for your table, free of charge.

Happy Hour! Alcohol is taxed heavily in Iceland so take advantage of the reduced prices – usually 4pm – 8pm every day.

I’d love to help you with your plans, so do get in touch!