Iceland: The Basics
Where we stayed, what we did & all the food we ate!
The biggest question I keep getting about my recent trip is how much it cost. All I’ll say for now is plan ahead so you don’t worry too much about overspending in the moment (it also helps if you have a group to split costs with).
On to the fun part!
Logistically, this trip wasn’t awful and a lot of that was because my friend Micah and I planned it a few months before. We bought our tickets almost a year earlier in April, but didn’t start planning until October.
Our fab lil rental car!
Where we stayed & how we got around:
We decided to get an Airbnb since there was 4 of us and it was cheaper AND more fun than being in two hotel rooms. After a few hours of investigating we booked ours with Sif Apartments - this seems to be owned and managed by an agency. It was just a 3 minute walk from the main street, Laugavegur, which is where I spent most of my time the last time I was in Iceland so this seemed like the perfect place. The apartment was fantastic - super airy and bright like an Ikea showroom (literally everything was from Ikea - I LOVED it). It was easy to find once we arrived and all instructions from the host were easy to follow.
The next thing was getting a car. I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone going to Iceland, no matter the season. Just getting from the airport to Reykjavik downtown is super expensive (think ~$150 one way for a taxi). Not only the airport situation, but if you want to do anything outside of Reykjavik, you’ll need a car (or some pre-booked tours). We just googled airport car rentals and found a 4x4 (absolutely necessary in the winter) for around $100/person for 7 days. We did encounter an unexpected $3,000 hold on our card when we picked the car up, (perhaps because we were under 25 and driving in some pretty rough conditions) but we got all the money back.
The closest I got to seeing the Aurora Borealis in this beautifully fuzzy picture.
What we did:
Seeing as I’d been to Iceland before and knew about the basic touristy things, I wanted to see something new and exciting. There are some amazing tours in the winter that you just can’t do in the summer, so we started off by booking these. I’m going to write a separate post about on-off things that we saw based on research and random adventures, which will include, waterfalls, the famous plane wreck and more.
Just having a splashtastic time in the Blue Lagoon!
We all wanted to see the Northern Lights (my main reason for even booking my ticket), so we went ahead and booked that after some research. I booked our tour with Guide to Iceland because they offered a private group, rescheduling if the conditions weren’t great, and hot chocolate and cookies (very important obviously). It was only $45/person and they gave us a full refund since the weather was completely against us in terms of seeing the lights. Micah booked whale watching for us near Snæfellsnes Peninsula (one of the best places in the world to see orcas in the winter), but this was also unfortunately cancelled (and refunded) due to weather.
Since none of my friends had ever been, we scheduled a visit to the Blue Lagoon. You MUST make reservations in advance - they don’t take walk-ins. This is more strict in the summer, but you should do it at any time of year. In case you don’t know what the Blue Lagoon is - it’s geothermal seawater pool composed of 70% ocean water and 30% freshwater, enriched with silica, algae, and minerals. It’s also one of the 25 wonders of the world! At first glance, it feels like you’re in the middle of nowhere surrounded by snow capped peaks and the most amazing blue water - that just so happens to be the perfect temperature for swimming.
Another amazing Iceland activity - ice caving! This is one that you can only do in the winter. It was by far the most expensive thing we did, but also my favorite. Planning this part of the trip was the hardest because the meeting spot for the tour is the famous Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon (also known as Diamond Beach), which is a 5 hour drive from Reykjavik. We booked a super cute studio Airbnb near Vik since it was about 2/3 of the way there and then got to the tour in the morning. It was the coolest experience of my life and I’ll forever recommend it to everyone.
What we ate:
I can’t speak for the rest of the group, but I ate A LOT of Icelandic Skyr yogurt. It’s my absolute favorite yogurt in the world, and although it’s now sold in the US, it tastes much better in Iceland. Apart from my yogurt obsession, we tried to eat breakfast at home to save some money on food. Key word, “tried.”
My favorite breakfast spot was Sandholt. It’s a hotel that has a cafe downstairs and the pastries are baked fresh every day. They’re incredible! I’m partial to chocolate croissants and cappuccinos, so I tend to not stray from that, but the full menu looked amazing.
We went to lunch at a bunch of random places, but none of them stood out to me, so I’m going to skip ahead to dinner and drinks, In terms of dinner, my favorite place was Reykjavik Kitchen. The atmosphere wasn’t super fancy, but extremely cozy. Our waiters were friendly and offered fabulous suggestions for meals and things to do. Plus it’s right off of the main street Laugavegur. I had traditional Icelandic soup, followed by Bailey’s hot chocolate and mouth-watering chocolate cake for dessert and that alone was worth going. This place is kind of pricey, but not horrible.
Drinks! We went to a few bars but two really stood out to me. The Lebowski Bar is known for their White Russians (they have over 20 varieties) and so many of them are incredible. Check out the full menu here! We also went to a wine bar called Tíu Sopar. I tried orange wine for the first time, and I think I’m obsessed now. We also took “hot shots,” which I think are coffee, kahlua and whipped cream but I could be totally wrong.
What to pack:
Layers! Everyone recommended this to me prior to me heading there for the winter and it was super helpful. I also bought a heavy down coat that kept me SUPER cozy; just look at that hood. In addition to the coat, bring a pair of waterproof, or better yet snow, boots. These are a lifesaver when the weather is changing every 5 seconds. You never want to have cold feet and these were well worth the price (I got Sorel Tofino II boots). I also brought some thermal layers that I got for cheap from Costco (32 Heat is the brand) and leggings. Jeans absorb moisture, so if you get them wet you’re going to be freezing the rest of the day. I recommend leggings or some sort of athletic pant that is warm. My friend brought ski pants and those were perfect as well. Other than that I just layered a bunch of warm knit sweaters, hats, gloves, scarf and the like. You don’t need a lot of clothes since you’re basically just wearing your outer layers the whole time and can interchange pants/sweaters easily.
In summary, I think it’s fairly obvious that I LOVE Iceland. The people are friendly, accommodating, and helpful, while the natural beauty of the country is beyond incredible. It’s impossible to put into words how I feel when I’m in Iceland, but I know that I’ll be back a third time.
