How To Spend a Long Weekend in Iceland
Why Iceland?
Well, for starters it is by far one of the most unique countries we have ever been to. It has lush greens, volcanoes, giant waterfalls, breathtaking fjords, thermal baths, glaciers, mini horses everywhere… shall we continue? Aside from what the land has to offer, we found the people to be so kind. We stayed with an older couple and the wife woke up and had coffee and chatted with us every day we were there. It was honestly quite pleasant and out of the norm for most places we’ve been.
When to Visit
First thing's first, you're going to have to make the hard to decision of when you want to visit. There's summer and its Midnight Sun, with all day sun you have even more time to spend outside getting to enjoy the landscape! Then you have winter which offers you chance to chase the illusive Northern Lights but also comes with darker days and colder weather. The shoulder season offers some of the best of both, you'll start getting to see the lush landscapes Iceland boasts once the snow has melted and you may still have a shot at the Northern Lights. The best viewing times for them are September through March. Once you've figured out the season that will give you a better idea of prices, weather and what you will need to pack.
We decided on winter because I was determined to see the Northern Lights! Would I choose winter again? Yes... BUT we're also dying to get back in nicer weather to really enjoy everything Iceland has to offer. Our first trip to Iceland was in February 2018, that week ended up being one of their snowiest! So, here's your warning now... be prepared you might not get to see everything you want if the weather isn't cooperating. The conditions never ended up being quite clear enough for us to see the Northern Lights and we came across road closures and had to pivot our plans a few times. Don't let this discourage you, if you want to go in winter DO IT. Was it the absolute perfect trip ever? No, but we still enjoyed every second of it and fell in love with this beautiful country!
Transportation
We opted to rent a car, which we highly recommend. We know it is not feasible for everyone, so most of our list can easily be done through tours. However, if you plan on visiting longer than a few days and plan to go further than we talk about in this guide then you will DEFINITELY need a car! One of the best things about renting your own car is you have the freedom to make your own schedule and pull off to the side of the road whenever you see something cool, which we did...quite frequently.
Heads up for those traveling in winter: make sure you check the forecast and roads before leaving your accommodation for the day. Unfortunately, when there is snow it is very likely that some roads may be closed.
Activities & Sights
When traveling, we find one of the best ways to get acquainted with a city is to take a walking tour. CityWalkReykjavik offers a great 2 hour free walking tour if this is something that interests you. It begins at the Parliament building and visits some larger sites like the Harpa while adding less-touristy sites to give you a more local experience.
If a guided walking tour isn't your speed we would suggest getting to know the area by giving yourself a little self-guided city tour. Walk along the harbor and see the Sun Voyager sculpture & Harpa Concert Hall, go inside to admire the amazing architecture here.
Head to the city center and check out some of the sights like the famous Rainbow Street and the Hallgrimskirkja, whether you just want to snap a few pictures or go to the top of the tower for some views of the city. If you're anything like us and like to check out local street art when visiting new places, you're in luck. Just walking around the city we found so many cool murals!
Visit the Blue or Sky Lagoon. While the Blue Lagoon is very touristy and quite pricey, it is on many Bucket Lists. There are SO MANY free options around the country BUT if you are only planning a short trip, while it is more expensive I would recommend visiting either Blue or the newer Sky Lagoon, they are much more easily accessible from the city. If this is something you are interested make sure you plan ahead, they can book up weeks in advance so make sure to buy your ticket ahead of time! We went to the Blue Lagoon at night during the week and while it was crowded for a bit of our stay it was much better than I've seen in pictures. Note that you should really try and avoid submerging your hair as it can get very dried out, I would also suggest leaving some conditioner in before entering.
Visit the Perlan Nature Museum. It offers multiple exhibits including an ICE CAVE and NORTHERN LIGHTS SHOW! This is perfect for in-between adventurers or those that won't have time for the real deal! We thought the exhibits were very well done, we learned quite a bit about Iceland's unique landscape. Once you are done checking out the exhibits make sure to head to the observation deck for a killer 360 degree view of the city! While we didn't stop in, for those looking to grab a bite there is a nice little cafe in the museum as well.
Now let's get to some of our favorite parts of this trip! We knew we wanted to see the famous black sand at some point. We took a day to drive to the southernmost town of Vik, which is about 2.5 hours from Reykjavik, with plenty of stops along the way. Keep an eye out for things like mini horses, a fun surprise to see on our way, we were able to get some really great pictures with them. Some highlights of this drive were: Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Dyrhólaey Arch and of course Reynisfjara Beach. Iceland has about 10,000 waterfalls, and each one we saw felt even better than the last. When conditions are good enough you can take a walk BEHIND the water at Seljalandsfoss. At Skógafoss you can take a walk up the set of stairs to the top for an epic view of the area, when it is super snowy these will be mostly covered so you'll be in for a climb! Reynisfjara was so much more beautiful than we expected, the pictures we saw beforehand didn't do it justice. The sand is unlike anywhere we've been, the texture is like that of the kinetic sand and the contrast of the snow on it was just so cool! At the beach you will find the basalt stacks/columns which is where you may find most of the crowds. While at the beach be very cautious of how close to the water you get, as there is no larger landmasses between Antarctica and this point the waves can have a lot of build up. When we were there in the winter the swells were crazy, wouldn't want to get pulled into that!
In the area you can also stop and check out the Sólheimasandur plane crash, as this is a bit time consuming due to having to hike ~45m each way we opted to skip this and save some time.
Finally, the infamous Golden Circle! The main stops will be Gullfoss, Þingvellir National Park and the Haukadalur area. Gullfoss is a large two-tiered waterfall, it really is gorgeous. Þingvellir National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site within a rift valley, you'll want to head to the visitor's center for some killer views! This area is quite literally where Iceland began, where Vikings voted to create the first democratically elected parliament...how cool?! If you're planning to dive in the Silfra Fissure you will find it here as well, we visited in dead of winter with LOTS of snow so unfortunately we'll be saving that for another time. Haukadular Valley is a geothermal area where you will find the hot spring, Geysir which isn't very active these days. Strokkur on the other hand erupts every several minutes so don't worry about missing out on any action! If you have some more time this day, about 40 minutes away you will find Kerið, an old volcanic crater that is worth checking out.
If you're not renting a car, don't worry there are several tour options for the Golden Circle and visiting the black sand beaches as well! I’ll drop my link below!
Chasing the Northern Lights
If you are planning a visit between September and March then this is probably already on your list...and if not it should be! This is going to be dependent on the weather during your stay, so while many people do get to see them, there is a chance you might not. Because it is something that so many people come to Iceland to see there is no shortage of resources for seeing them. There are options for tours, forecast websites, some hotels will do wakeup calls, etc. Again, if you're not driving there are options to sign up for Northern Lights tours. While you are exploring Reykjavik I would recommend a stop into Aurora Reykjavik, this is their Northern Lights center and it offers tours and resources for Light Chasing.
Food & Drink
The reality is, Iceland can be VERY expensive. If you're trying to travel on a budget I would recommend getting an accommodation with a kitchen and heading over to Bonus, their grocery store, and making a majority of your meals. We did a mix of grocery shopping and eating out.
When we arrived we had our first breakfast at Grai Kotturinn, the food was good but admittedly it is where it really set in that it was going to be as expensive as everyone said it was! That was the last time we really went out for breakfast. We did enjoy Reykjavik Roasters, an adorable coffee shop not far from some of the sights listed above, definitely stop in and grab a drink! We also thoroughly enjoyed Braud + Co for a quick pastry in the morning.
As it was expensive and this trip was mostly for outdoor activities, we did not spend much time drinking. We found some great beer at The Icelandic Bar, for any beer lovers. Then we decided we did want to experience the night life for one night! Much like many other European countries, the night life starts quite a bit later than in the US, so keep that in mind if you show up to a bar and it's empty. We did stop at a few bars along Laugavegur, which seemed to be where most of the bars were centered.
What kind of Iceland list would this be if we left out the famous Icelandic hot dogs? Not far from the city center you will find Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, slinging their lamb-based dogs with their variety of condiments.
What to Pack?
This will obviously be dependent on what season you are going... but regardless of that it's always good to pack layers and a waterproof or resistant layer. One thing about Iceland is the weather can be all over the place.
For layering you'll want to pack a pair or two of thermals and wool socks. For bottoms I stuck to fleece lined leggings and some hiking pants that hold up well when it's wet. For outerwear we packed our midweight jacket, rain jacket and hats & gloves. For shoes I would pack something that's is comfortable for walking and holds up in rain or snow, we opted for our Columbia snow boots that are relatively light weight, but a good pair of waterproof/resistant hiking boot would be great as well. Other than those essentials packing like you normally would is sufficient, just keep in mind you'll be doing a lot of outside activities. Don't forget to pack a swimsuit if you plan on taking a dip in any of the many many thermal baths!
Gear: Whether you plan to use your phone/camera/GoPro, I would highly suggest bringing a tripod, even if it's small, it will come in handy. If you want to capture the Northern Lights you'll want your camera source to be as still as possible.
Some extras I would consider packing:
-Daypack
-Water Bottle (seriously some of the best water you'll ever have, you'd be throwing away money if you're buying water here!)
-Packable Towel
-Charging Packs/Extra Batteries, if you're visiting in winter your electronics are going to drain their batteries faster than usual.. especially if you're spending time outside trying to capture the lights.
Lastly, don't forget to set up your phone. You'll likely want to use it for directions, socials, etc. While you can pay through your provider or buy a SIM card at the airport our go to has been eSIMs. We have been purchasing through Airalo, here you can purchase several data plans for both Local and Regional use!
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