Hello,
It's been a year since I visited Iceland, and I must say I'm missing this trip now more than ever. It's number one on my list of the most beautiful places i've been so far, because it really is just stunning, and unlike anywhere i've ever been before. It's also one of the friendliest countries i've been to, you can ask anyone in the street for help and ninety percent of the time, they'll make your day! If you're travelling on your own, no matter what age or gender you are, you'll feel very safe here.
As it's coming closer to winter, and most people seem to book flights to go around this time, I thought it was the perfect timing to share my experience with you, and give a little advice if you're planning your trip, or simply to inspire you to go and explore for yourself!
First things first, you'll need to book your flights. If you're only in Iceland for a few days, I'd recommend getting the earliest possible so you can get the most out of the day. We got some cheap flights with WOW Air, from Gatwick to Keflavik airport, which is the closest airport to fly into from Reykjavik (the city, where the party's at) arriving at around 2pm. If, like me, you've never heard of this airline before and you're a tiny bit nervous flying with one you're not familiar with, then Easyjet also offer cheap flights to Iceland. (and if you've somehow never heard of Easyjet... mate, can't help you there) The flight is around two to three hours (perfect for a nap, which is what I live for) so not long at all if you're a nervous flyer!
Also...a little tip if you're ever travelling to America, WOW Air, actually have stop over flights that give you enough time to hop to the Blue Lagoon on your way for a very cheap price!
Onto accommodation... We stayed at the Loft Hostel which you can book here on Hostel World. It wasn't the cheapest hostel we could've booked but the location is perfect! It's based in the city centre and about a ten minutes walk from the harbour. They have mixed or same-sex dorms available as well as private rooms which are half the price of a hotel in the city. Overall a great stay! (10/10 would recommend)
As it's coming closer to winter, and most people seem to book flights to go around this time, I thought it was the perfect timing to share my experience with you, and give a little advice if you're planning your trip, or simply to inspire you to go and explore for yourself!
Flights & Accommodation
First things first, you'll need to book your flights. If you're only in Iceland for a few days, I'd recommend getting the earliest possible so you can get the most out of the day. We got some cheap flights with WOW Air, from Gatwick to Keflavik airport, which is the closest airport to fly into from Reykjavik (the city, where the party's at) arriving at around 2pm. If, like me, you've never heard of this airline before and you're a tiny bit nervous flying with one you're not familiar with, then Easyjet also offer cheap flights to Iceland. (and if you've somehow never heard of Easyjet... mate, can't help you there) The flight is around two to three hours (perfect for a nap, which is what I live for) so not long at all if you're a nervous flyer!
Also...a little tip if you're ever travelling to America, WOW Air, actually have stop over flights that give you enough time to hop to the Blue Lagoon on your way for a very cheap price!
Onto accommodation... We stayed at the Loft Hostel which you can book here on Hostel World. It wasn't the cheapest hostel we could've booked but the location is perfect! It's based in the city centre and about a ten minutes walk from the harbour. They have mixed or same-sex dorms available as well as private rooms which are half the price of a hotel in the city. Overall a great stay! (10/10 would recommend)
Itinerary & Bookings
Day One.
Bookings & Exploring Reykjavik
Once you've arrived and are ready to leave the airport, right by the exit (it's a very small airport, trust me there's probably only one way out) there's a Flybys stand which is a shuttle bus, leaving every hour, that will take you from Keflavik to Reykjavik. The city is about an hour away, however the bus actually takes you directly to your hostel (or hotel) so depending on how many drop off's there are, it may take longer. Another amazing thing about the shuttle bus is that they give you a free brochure which tells you all the information on the popular tourist attractions that are open this season, so you can decide what you're going to book while on your way! (or you can take the opportunity for another power nap, like I would.. did)
After you've settled into your accommodation, you can head into the town and visit the tourist centre's to book all of your excursions and trips! (If you click HERE, i've linked a similar brochure)
If you're staying at the Loft Hostel, If you come outside and turn right, across the street there is a great little tourist centre with hundreds of brochures, where you can book everything in one go!
**TIP - Booking the Blue Lagoon**
I have a few tips here for you actually.....
1. I know that's the main reason you're going to Iceland, so to avoid disappointment, book online in advance! We made the mistake of not booking online, but luckily got the last remaining spots for the day. At the tourist centre, make sure you remember to book a taxi or bus to the Lagoon though!
2. Get the earliest available spot! I think it opens at 8am, so you'll have to be up at five or six in the morning to get your bus ride there. (I know you're thinking i'm mad, 5am is still valuable sleeping time but, stay with me) The reason for getting the earliest is because theres no time limit to how long you can be there. You can make a day of it, and pay the same price as everyone else arriving later. (you won't come out a raisin at the end of it as theres plenty more to do there which doesn't involve shrivelling up in the Lagoon) Also, its great for photos when its empty.
3. Book the Lagoon for the day you arrive or the day you leave for the airport!
The reason for this is because it'a closer to Keflavik airport than it is to the city, saving you a lot of time and money. Theres an option when you book your bus to go back to the city or to the airport which makes it very easy! Don't worry about your luggage, they've got lockers for you.
**TIP - Booking the Northern Lights trip**
My advice is to book your trip to see the Northern Lights for the first evening you're there as most companies will take you again for free if you don't see them the first time.
You might end up going every night you're there but it is so worth it.
After we got everything booked and picked up our tickets, we explored the city, and walked down to the harbour, where the beautiful Harpa, concert hall is. There's a lot of lovely shops and places to eat around the harbour, as well as museums. After getting some chips, we headed back to the hostel as we had an early rise the next morning!
Day Two.
Icelandic horse riding & exploring Reykjavik
As we were on a budget, we decided to go with a fairly cheap horse riding excursion, which took up a lot of the day. Now if you've got a bigger budget you could swap this with a glacier walk, or using the snow-mobiles which both look incredible! There's plenty to choose from.
In the afternoon of our second day, we took into town to explore new places. There's a great chip shop on the way to the cathedral (great for a budget! This and a few cereal bars is actually all we ate on the entire trip, we were very poor).
Now, we did have the Northern Lights trip booked, however, due to the weather conditions it was postponed to day three, so we carried on towards the cathedral, which is a hidden gem! (it's not hidden, we just weren't familiar with it) For a very small price, you can go to the top and look at the incredible views of Reykjavik!
(apologies for my awful photos of the cathedral, It's just too big to fit it in one photo.... plus my hands were cold because i'm a twat who didn't pack any gloves)
Day Three.
The Golden Circle & The Northern Lights
So, day three we got up nice and early to go on a tour of the Golden Circle, famous in Iceland for the sights and geysir's (they are like natural mini volcanos... to be honest i'm not sure what it is, but it looks incredible). One day you have to do this trip as it doesn't cost a lot, and it will take up your whole day as theres so many incredible sights along the way, including the Gulfoss Waterfall. This is once of Iceland's most popular attractions, and you'll know exactly why when you go! However, if you're more into quiet places, and like finding hidden gems like me, there's another waterfall near the Golden Circle that you can stop off at (i'm sure if you ask your bus driver to stop off he/she will) It's called the Faxi Waterfall and I'm so glad we came across it!
If you're a fan of Game Of Thrones, then you'll know that some scenes are filmed in Iceland, and you can actually book a separate tour for these, or you can see a lot of them around the Golden Circle. (i personally don't watch it.. to gory for me, so I couldn't tell you which points are in the series, sorry)
So after 8 hours of climbing, taking photos and napping every time we got back into the van, we were exhausted, so we headed back to our hostel for a rest, and a snack, before we were off to spot the Northern Lights. (oh by the way, if you're wondering why i'm not telling you about any restaurants or cafés in Iceland, it's because as I mentioned before, it's all very expensive, and on a budget, food can take up a lot of money that you could spend on experiences).
Our Northern Lights tour started at around 7pm, at the Harpa, where we were met with the friendliest tour guides. Because of the time we went, there was a sixty percent chance of seeing the lights, so we tried not to get too hyped up to see them, however we'd been lucky with the weather, having clear skies all day, so very, very luckily, we got to see them! (yassss, crossed that off my bucket list)
Sitting on a little hill with a hot chocolate, not being able to feel my toes (or hands without any gloves) while watching the sky literally dance above me like something out of a fairy tale, was one of the best moments of my life so far!
**TIP- Download the Northern Lights Apps!**
Theres a few apps you can get for the Northern Lights. If you just search it in the app store, a predictor will come up, which is so helpful and tells you the strength of the lights each night, as well as what time they will be the strongest!
Another amazing app is the 'Northern Lights Photo Taker'. If you're using your iPhone camera then without a doubt you need this! I was trying to take photos before getting it, but you couldn't see a thing! Even other people with their professional cameras weren't able to capture it. (You should've seen their faces when they realised they'd paid all of this money for an amazing camera to get shots of the lights, while I was there all smug with my £1.99 app, looking like a miracle worker, coming out with all these 10/10 Instagram worthy pics)
Here's a few pictures from day three...
Day Four.
The Blue Lagoon
Getting up on this morning was rather difficult I must say. I was shattered from watching the Northern Lights until one in the morning, however we needed to pack up, check out, and get our buts into that magical puddle.
When you arrive at the Lagoon, theres a locker room near the bus terminal where they can hold all of your luggage for free so theres no need to worry about what you're going to do with it before the airport. Then as you walk into the spa, you'll see the front desk where you pick up a wristband, with different colours, depending on which package you got. I believe theres four different ones to choose from, but we opted for the least expensive which came with towels, free conditioner and a free natural, mud mask to put on whilst you're taking a dip.
**TIP- Use the Conditioner**
Make sure to take advantage of the conditioner they offer you in the changing rooms as the natural chemicals in the lagoon are very damaging to your hair, and without using it, your hair will feel dry and limp. Trust me, one nice picture in the lagoon isn't worth damaging your hair. Whip your hair up, slap on that conditioner and away you go.
After taking endless amounts of photos (literally freezing our tits off, standing outside in a bikini attempting to get those pics) we got ready to leave and sat in the café for a while. But if you're just not ready to leave the most beautiful spa on earth then you can also make a day of it and visit the restaurant near the gift shop. You'll have to book in advance for this one. (The restaurant is definitely for those with more spending money, and so is the gift shop! Who knew a pot of Icelandic mud could be so expensive?).
We then headed back to the airport, feeling super soft and super sleepy, and that was the end of our little trip!
Make sure you don't get too distracted in the Blue lagoon though because the busses to the airport leave every hour, sometimes later, so try not to miss your flight! (to be honest i'd happily miss my fight and live in Iceland forever).
Itinerary summary
Costs
Iceland in general is expensive and it really depends on your normal spending habits, what budget you've got etc... Here i've done my best to cut down what I spent to give you an insight, and keep in mind I did my best to do it as in-expensive as I could!
What to pack:
Clothing-
3 x thermal vests, 3 x jumpers, 2 x jeans (I took one pair of dungarees for extra warmth)
2 x thermal leggings
1 x wooly hat, 1 x scarf, 1 x GLOVES (I forgot mine, but thanks Mary for giving me one of yours, luv u)
2 x thick socks, underwear, pyjamas
1 x good pair of trainers (you may need hiking boots for some activities)
Other-
Passport!
CEREAL BARS - You'll thank me!
Go Pro / any other travel camera.
Toiletries (travel size, make sure they are under 100 ml for the plane)
So, I think that's about it! I hope I've persuaded you to go and covered anything you wanted to know about Iceland. If you have any other questions feel free to message or email me!
Happy travels!
Lots of Love,
Kate xx
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