Iceland

Reykjavik | Lava Tunnel | South Shore | Golden Circle | Northern Lights | Itinerary | Budget

I’ve now been to Iceland two separate times – once in March and once in December. Both times have been equally enjoyable and equally interesting, but were definitely completely different experiences. I love Iceland, and definitely think it’s worth the hype. In each section, I’ll outline both of my experiences and note any differences between my two trips. My first trip was a 2 day solo trip (as a part of a longer trip) that cost $940, and my second trip was for 4 days and cost $1,100 per person.

Overview

Transportation:
When you fly into the KEF (Keflavik) Airport, it is about a 45-60 minute journey into Reykjavik. The airport itself is small, but nice and clean. The bathrooms are very large, which I found to be perfect for changing into warmer clothing than I was willing to sit in on the 7+ hour flight from Seattle and back. After getting through customs, you can exit the airport where you will find a small parking lot – to the right there will be buses where you can get a transfer to Reykjavik (which is what I did), and straight ahead there are shuttles to the rental car lots. In my opinion (unless you are renting a car), the best and easiest way to travel from the KEF airport to downtown Reyjavik is through the FlyBus shuttle. It’s expensive (about $50 rountrip per person), but is honestly the most affordable option there is. You can buy your tickets ahead of time online, and the drop off and pick up is automatically at BSI Terminal. From there you can pay for additional drop offs at your hotel or guest house for an extra ~$10 per person. There are also other companies you can use that will drop of you off at different locations around Reykjavik – including Gray Line Iceland. Unfortunately, all of the shuttle companies will drop you off on the outskirts of Reykjavik so if you are adverse to walking or taking a public bus – keep this in mind.

After getting to the BSI terminal, my husband and I walked to our hotel and for the rest of our trip took the public bus and walked. The public bus in Iceland is expensive (~$4.50 per person for a 1.25 hour period), but we found it to be safe and clean. The buses even have wifi if you need to find a place to connect. The public bus system only takes exact cash when on the bus, but you can download the Strætó app where you can pay for bus tickets and plan your trips. I found this to be the most accurate and reliable way to plan our bus trips, as Google Maps sometimes was outdated. Click here to get the Strætó App on Android, and click here to get the Strætó app on iOS

Cost:
While this might be a well known fact, it is still worth saying that Iceland is pricey. As mentioned above, a bus ticket runs around ~$4.50 USD, transport to the airport and back is around ~$45, and food will hit you at around ~$20 for even the cheapest of entrees. Come prepared for this. My husband and I brought some snacks (we brought RX bars) with us so we weren’t wasting money on buying snacks to eat between meals. Because of this, every day we ended up skipping breakfast and eating only snacks until we had lunch.

While things were expensive, every location I went to took credit cards, as well as cash. In addition to this, ATMs were available throughout the city and in gas stations along the main routes.

Safety:
Iceland was the first place I ever traveled to on my own, and I highly recommend it as a location for anyone who might be concerned about their safety. Iceland is consistently ranked the safest place in the world.

Language: Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY speaks English in Iceland. This would be one of the easiest non-English countries to travel to if you are nervous about other languages.

Reykjavik

We ended up spending more time in Reykjavik than I had originally planned on due to some cancelled tours (more info on that later), but mostly stuck around the main shopping streak and area around Harpa. Harpa is the main event hall in Reykjavik where they hold lots of local concerts and other events. We ate all of our main meals in this area, and didn’t do too much beyond eating and wandering the streets.

Lava Tunnel Tour:
The first thing we did when we arrived in Iceland was head off to a tour of the Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel, which is about 30 minutes outside of Reykjavik. We booked a tour through Viator, and it cost us $89 per person. This tour included transportation from the BSI terminal to the tunnel and back, as well as the tour itself. The tour was about 3 hours long, and was a great way to burn some time while we were waiting to check in to our hotel in the afternoon. We were there in December, and the tunnel was chilly and slippery, so make sure to bundle up and bring good footwear. We saw someone on our tour in sneakers and a light jacket and she was freezing! While I wouldn’t call this tour a “can’t miss” while in Iceland, it was interesting and informative and was a wonderful way to burn a few hours.

Note: there are several tours through different providers (Viator, GetYourGuide, RE, Gray Line), and they all will be the exact same tour of the lava tunnel, as they only have one company authorized to do the tours of the actual tunnel. The only difference between the tours is who drives you to the location. We booked through Viator, and the shuttle was through RE (Rekyjavik Excursions).

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Food Tour:
After checking into our hotel and taking a short nap, we took a bus to downtown Reykjavik and met at Harpa for our food tour. The food tour was highly rated online, so although it was more pricey than I would normally pay for something like a food tour, we decided to do it and OH MY GOODNESS am I glad we did. It was incredible, and definitely a highlight of our trip. We booked the tour through Viator, and it was $115 per person and included 5 restaurants and 7 courses that lasted about 3 hours. Each and everything we tried was fantastic! Here is a high level overview:

1. Messinn: We had an incredble arctic char almonds and honey glaze, as well as a traditional Icelandic Fish Mash on Rye Bread. I don’t eat seafood, but I really enjoyed everything here! We would go back here for the char again.
2. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur: This is a famous hot dog stand that has been around since the 1930s. We each got a hot dog, and no one should miss trying this when they are in Iceland. The hot dogs are made with lamb, and have 4 unique toppings: raw onions, crispy onions, sweet ketchup, sweet mustard and a remoulade. I highly recommend you get one with everything, or ” eina með öllu.” Each hot dog costs 470 ISK ($3.85 USD) and if you want this as a meal, you definitely need two.
3. Íslenski barinn: This is a local pub style restaurant that is a favorite of locals. Here we had a small bowl of traditional Icelandic meat stew (made with lamb), bread, and a drink. My husband and I got the traditional Christmas soda, which was an equal mix of Malt and Appelsin (an Icelandic orange drink similar to Fanta). The rest of the group had a glass of Icelandic beer. In addition to this, we had the opportunity to try fish jerky dipped in butter (not my favorite – it mostly tasted like cardboard), and fermented shark! The fermented shark was not a great taste (tasted like a very very stinky cheese, but sour?), but it was a fun experience to try and unique to Iceland. Even though it isn’t the most tasty thing in the world, definitely try a bit if you have a chance!
4. Café Loki: This restaurant is in a beautiful location right by the main church in Iceland (Hallgrimskirkja), and has a great upstairs space that you can sit at to get a good view. At this location, we got a small piece of rye bread with smoked lamb, a smal piece of bread with smoked trout and cottage cheese, and a scoop of rye bread ice cream with rhubarb sauce and whipped cream. I could take or leave the breads, but the ice cream was to dye for! We would definitely go back for more of the ice cream. Rye bread in Iceland is a staple, and is sweeter than it is elsewhere, so it works beautifully in the ice cream.
5. Sjávargrillið: This restaurant is run by an award winning Icelandic chef, and has a great atmosphere for a nice night out. We had a chocolate lava cake for dessert, which came with caramel, popcorn, and ice cream. This was a full sized dessert, which on its own would run you $20 USD (2490 ISK).

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Other Sights:
– Hallgrimskirkja is the main church in Reykjavik. It is designed to reflect the geysir in Iceland, as well as the basalt rocks that can be seen at the black sand beaches. It is a beautiful, yet simply designed church, and you can go to the top of the tower via an elevator for 1000ISK per person (~$10 USD). I recommend doing this, as it offers the best view of Reykjavik you can get in the area.
– The Sun Voyager is a statue that is designed after a viking ship, located on the ocean. It’s a quick stop to take a few photos, but its a beautiful walk there and back.
– Harpa Concert Hall is the main concert hall in Reykjavik and has beautiful architecture inside and out. I recommend going inside to look around even if you don’t have an event to see. The exterior is lit up at night by a beautiful light show that mimics the Northern Lights.
– Visit the main shopping street, which runs down Laugavegur. On this street there are lots of cute shops to explore. I also recommend walking up Skólavörðustígur to Hallgrimskirkja. The street has lots of shops with local art.
– Lake Tjörnin is a small lake in the middle of the city, and is worth a quick stroll around to see the swans and look at the small church.
– Brauð & Co. is not as much of a thing to do, as it is a thing to eat. Head over to this small bakery for some amazing pastries while you’re up by Hallgrimskirkja.

Golden Circle

On my second trip to Iceland with my husband, we had a bit more time so I wanted to do a Golden Circle day tour. The Golden Circle is probably the most popular day trip that people do in Iceland, and I am glad we did it. For our trip we booked a package through IcelandAir because the cost was comparable to booking separately, and the package included a Golden Circle tour. This tour was done through Reykjavik Excursions (the Golden Circle & Friðheimar tour), and we had a good experience with them. We went to the bus terminal and our tour started at 9am. The first stop was the green house, where you got to see some beautiful Icelandic ponies, explore the greenhouse itself, and ate some AMAZING tomato soup. We underestimated how good the soup would be, and honestly it was one of the more affordable meals we had in Iceland. We only got 1 to share, and we wish we had started with the food first and ate more (and we don’t even like tomatoes).  

After the greenhouse, we went the Strokkur Geysir, which was extremely beautiful. While we were basically frozen solid walking around the Geysir area, we had lots of fun waiting for it to shoot up and catch a picture. After dethawing in the bus and driving over to the next step, we ended up at Gullfoss waterfall, which was covered in snow and was extremely beautiful. If you are going to Iceland at any time of year, but especially in the winter, please wear lots of warm layers and good shoes with grip! The ice from the waterfall (because of the mist) made it very slippery lots of the areas we were in, and some people even had crampons. I don’t think having crampons is necessary, but make sure you have good hiking shoes or boots that are waterproof and watch your step! The final stop of the tour was at Thingvellir National Park. We walked through the beautiful rocks at the park with our guide, and at the end there was a small gift shop where we waited and warmed up until our bus arrived. At this little shop we discovered our new favorite drink, Malt og Appelsin, which is a fun take on Iceland’s signature soft drink Appelsin. It’s a holiday drink (non-alcoholic) that is only available around Christmas. It’s a unique malty flavor but we both loved it and picked it up a few more times before leaving.  

South Shore

The South Shore is hands down my favorite thing in Iceland (of the small amount I’ve seen). I have a soft place in my heart for the waterfalls, so to me this one outranks the Golden Circle if I only had to pick one. On my first trip, I booked through Viator and ended up on a semi-private tour after my original bus left without me. Luckily the tour agency was able to get me on the semi-private tour after I was able to call them from a pharmacy that was nice enough to let me use their phone. On my second trip, we booked the South Shore Adventure tour through Reykjavik Excursions, but unfortunately it was extremely windy and we weren’t able to do the entire tour. The tour company still took us out and did what they could (which was two of the water falls but no Vik black sand beach) despite the wind being strong enough to blow buses off the road. We ended up getting a full refund, so it wasn’t too bad of a deal after all.  

The South Coast Tour typically involves the following: Solheimajokull (a big glacier), Vik (where the beautiful black sand beach is), Reynisfjara (the black sand beach with basalt columns), Skogafoss (a huge waterfall – foss means waterfall), and Seljalandsfoss (another waterfall). Regardless of what tour provider you pick, most will take you to these locations. I highly recommend this tour! The two waterfalls, Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss are breathtaking, and depending on the time of year and the weather you can even hike around the waterfalls. The black sand beaches in Iceland are like no other, and the contrast against the snow and icey water is incredible. Although you can’t go on the actual glacier without a special tour, you’re able get to a beautiful viewpoint nearby and it makes you feel as though you are almost on the glacier. I would do this tour everytime I’m in Iceland!  

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Northern Lights

The Northern Lights are a huge draw for many when they decide to go to Iceland. Something to keep in mind if this is why you are planning a trip there, is that there are no guarantees! Period! My first trip to Iceland, I didn’t even have two full days, and I managed to see the Northern Lights on my last night there, which was in mid-March (considered the edge of the Northern Lights season).  

On the flipside, when we went in December, which is a peak month for viewing the Northern lights due to the short amount of daylight, and we were there for 4 days, we had no luck. Go to Iceland with an open mind and cross your fingers to see them but try not to be disappointed if you don’t! There is so much to see there, and I consider seeing the lights icing on the cake. Regardless of how you choose to see the Northern Lights (the first time I went on a bus tour through Gray Line, and the second time we did a boat tour from Reykjavik Excursions) DRESS WARM. Warmer than you think you need to. SO MANY LAYERS. Both times I underestimated how freezing cold it gets in the middle of the night. If you want a chance of capturing the lights and you don’t have a DSLR camera with you, there are some apps you can download which help you manually manage your exposure so you can capture photos on your cell phone. I didn’t have the chance to test it but consider downloading one of these before you go. Once the Northern Lights show up (if they do) generally they end your tour then and head back home, so also be prepared for that. This could mean you’re there for 4 hours looking for them, or it could mean you see them in the first hour and you head home.  

Almost all tour providers for the Northern Lights will offer a guarantee – if you don’t see them, you can come back every night until you do, or on your next vacation. Because of this, I suggest going on your first night you can, and leaving your evenings open if you need return the next day to try again.  

Itinerary

I’ve included the itinerary for both my trips to Iceland – one was just a stopover and one was a separate trip, so hopefully seeing both will help you get some ideas regardless of the amount of time you’re planning to spend there!  

Budget

Flip between the two tabs to view the budgets for each of my trips. Note: My 4 day trip was for 2 people, and my 2 day trip was only for 1 person, so adjust the budgets accordingly!