Iceland wow
Our trip was fast paced and typical of what the majority of first time visitors to Iceland do. On arrival we took the shuttle coaches to Reykjavik centre which is approx. 50 minutes, everyone is taken to the central bus terminal and then your onward journey is by minibus to your hotel. Our hotel was very central just off one of the main shopping streets leading to the central square. Every single Icelandic person we came into contact with was so friendly and helpful.
That first night we took the Northern Lights tour, again you travel on a large coach and are driven out to the countryside where there might be a possibility of seeing the lights. It is freezing! In January there is snow on the ground and the winds are vicious, but so worth it when you witness the natural phenomenon above. The tour allows for refreshment stops which are needed to warm up.
The second day we spent at the Blue Lagoon Spa for my husband’s birthday, the transfer is about an hour. We chose to hire the towels, dressing gown and flipflops and rent a locker, this can be done more cost effectively by taking your own but you will most definitely need a dressing gown as it is so cold getting from the changing room to the lagoon. The lagoon is beautiful, it’s quite surreal being in the lush warm waters and your breath is cold and the mountains are your backdrop. It’s definitely worth the visit and you can have a facemask with the natural minerals complimentary. Smoothies, Prosecco and beer can be drank whilst in the lagoon (maximum 3 alcoholic drinks!) which are charged to your account from your wristband. Top tip! Pre book into the restaurant if you want to have lunch, we missed out as we hadn’t and ate in the café instead which I was very disappointed with. Look out for the ladies taking your pictures in the lagoon, stunning image captured and emailed to you immediately and complimentary.
Staying in Reykjavik you have a choice of beautiful A La Carte restaurants, we chose the Icelandic taster menus to try the local delicacies – Puffin, Mink Whale, Horse and Fermented Shark, not recommended but something I guess I can say I’ve tried!
The final day was spent doing the Golden Circle Tour to take in the famous sights of Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall and Thingvellir, we splashed out on this trip and opted for the mountain jeep with 1 hour snowmobile experience. I’m so pleased we did, what an experience. The jeep itself was hair-raising across the snowy paths but the snowmobile through the mountains was stunning. Freezing but you are well equipped.
The trip was very tiring as we wanted to experience everything we could in a short break, when staying in Reykjavik you need to be prepared to do a lot of travelling if you are sightseeing. The Icelandics have this down to perfection, your minibus picks you up when they say it will, the coaches leave the terminal when they are scheduled to, and the queues are handled quickly. It all runs very smoothly but I wouldn’t stay in Reykjavik for the full duration if doing this trip again. I would recommend a stay close to the lagoon or up in the mountains and countryside to experience a more unique Iceland.
It’s certainly not cheap to eat and drink, prepare and take snacks on the trips and we saw most places offered happy hours in the evenings on your drinks. Our flight home was delayed due to incoming flights delayed but again this was handled efficiently and always with a smile.
January is a good month to travel for the chance to see the lights however it is a dark and wet month. We didn’t see proper daylight as there was always a dusk/dawn haze but that added to the charm for me. It wasn’t as cold as I was expecting hovering around the 0 degrees in Reykjavik, I only used my thermals for the lights tour and the mountain jeep tour. February is a good month to travel as there is more sunshine but expect it to be cold.
There’s still so much I want to see and do in Iceland, our guide told us to see and experience everything Iceland has to offer you would need 2-3 weeks! My next must do is to go back in summer and do a hike and Whale spotting, what would you do?