Iceland
October 2016
6 Days
Since the financial crisis of 2008, Iceland focused on tourism to help recover and they did an excellent job. In the mid-2010s it seemed everyone was going to Iceland, so we jumped on the bandwagon. The boom in tourism was clear as new hotels were being built and the airport was definitely not set up to handle the number of passengers traveling through.
Our visit was unfortunately timed as it poured rain for 4 of the 6 days we were there, but we made the most of it. We spent most of our time in the Golden Circle, a touristic driving route from Reykjavík covering a number of popular tourist attractions. Driving outside of the capital Reykjavík feels like being on another planet with the volcanic landscape and if we returned one day I would definitely try to explore more of the country.
Contents
Daily Itinerary
Arrive in to Reykjavík and explore the city center
Visit Skógafoss and walk behind it for a different view
Walk the black sand beaches in Vík and climb the iconic basalt columns
Hike off the main road to the naturally heated Seljavallalaug Pool
Have one of the best seafood meals ever at MESSINN
Visit the recognizable Hallgrímskirkja
See the erupting hotspring Strokkur
Chase the biggest waterfall (by volume) in Europe at Gulfoss
Take in the natural landscape of Iceland at the ION Adventure Hotel
Snowmobile on the glacier Langjökull
Take a dip in the Blue Lagoon
Try an Icelandic hot dog
Flights
Icelandair Economy ORD-RKV-AMS-ORD: Cash roundtrip with free stopover
Hotels
Canopy by Hilton Reykjavik City Centre: 180,000 Hilton points for 3 nights
▸ An upscale Hilton brand hotel centrally located in the city centre with some of the nicest staff we've encountered and the best smoked salmon I've ever had at breakfast.
ION Adventure Hotel: 60,000 SPG points for 3 nights (now part of Marriott)
▸ A unique hotel off the beaten path offering various experiences using the hotel as a base. With clear weather, the hope is that you can see the Northern Lights from your room.
Food (With Beli Ranking)
Messin (9.1) - Seafood restaurant we happened to walk into and loved it so much we went twice during our trip (and I ordered the Arctic Char twice).
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (3.7) - Famous chain of hot dog stands first opened in 1937. Served with ketchup, sweet mustard, remoulade, and crispy onions. I stand by Chicago dogs so this just didn't do it for me.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Reykjavík
On our first day, as we arrived early in the morning, we had to wait to check in to our hotel so we found a spot for coffee and breakfast and walked around the city center a bit. The capital city of Reykjavík only has a population a bit over 100,000 and I thought it had a feel like a slightly larger ski town such as Vail. There are great restaurants and coffee shops all over, as much shopping as you could need, and Reykjavík is also known worldwide for it's nightlife.
I would highly recommend to at least spend a day in the city center. When we visited in 2016, the Canopy by Hilton hotel had only been open a couple of months. The hotel was centrally located, had very kind and helpful staff, and we even rode the elevator with Willem Dafoe!
Reykavík - Iceland 2016
Hallgrímskirkja
Constructed started in 1945, making Hallgrímskirkja a fairly modern church compared to other chuches in Europe. It's the tallest building in Reykjavík and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Iceland.
Hallgrímskirkja - Iceland 2016
Day 2
Skógafoss
If you are going to spend any longer than 1 day in Iceland, I highly recommend that you rent a car. You can hire tour buses, but it is very easy to drive in Iceland (at least on the main roads). I would, however, recommend getting a decent size car. We had a very tiny car and with strong winds, it often was difficult to control on the narrow winding roads.
The Golden Circle is a great full day trip where you can see many of the most popular sights. If you want a more leisurely trip, you could split it into 2 days as well. We didn't drive the Golden Circle at once but rather split it up over our trip. On our first full day, we drove East along the southern coast of Iceland, but then continued out of the Golden Circle, making our first stop at Skógafoss.
Skógafoss - Iceland 2016
While the waterfall itself is quite impressive, what's especially cool about Skógafoss is that you can walk behind it.
Skógafoss - Iceland 2016
Vík
About a 2.5 hour drive from Reykjavík is the town of Vík, most famous for Reynisfjara, the black sand beach resulting from the island's volcanic activity. This is also where you'll find the famous basalt columns as well as Reynisdrangar, basalt sea stacks which legend says originated when two trolls tried to drag a three-masted ship to land unsuccessfully.
Reynisdrangar from Reynisfjara Beach - Iceland 2016
Seljavallalaug Pool
Not far from Vík, back toward Reykjavík, we stopped at the Seljavallalaug pool, an outdoor swimming pool heated by the geothermal springs. There is a small parking area off the main highway before a 10-15 minute walk through the beatiful but rocky Icelandic landscape.
The Hike to Seljavallalaug Pool - Iceland 2016
The pool has a couple of changing rooms and while the pool is still a bit cold, you can go near the water coming from down the mountain which is very hot!
Seljavallalaug Pool - Iceland 2016
After our first full day of chasing waterfalls, it was time to try some fresh seafood. Afterall, Iceland is an island. We just happened to walk into the cozy restaurant MESSINN and we absolutely loved it. This was by far our favorite restaurant we tried in Iceland - so much that we went twice.
Arctic Char at Messinn - Iceland 2016
Day 3
Haukadalur
On our third day, we went the opposite direction on the Golden Circle from the previous day, past Þingvellir (Thingvellir) to Haukadalur, a geothermal field. There are a number of geothermal pools here, the two largest being Geysir and Strokkur. Strokkur (shown here) erupts every 5 to 10 minutes so you don't have to worry much about missing an eruption.
Strokkur - Iceland 2016
Gullfoss
Just 10 minutes further past Haukadalur is Gulfoss, the largest volume waterfall in Europe. I think everyone eventually gets tired of looking at waterfalls, but if you are going to visit one this is probably the one you want to see. Unfortunately for us, this was when the weather started to get worse for us and it started raining heavily.
Gullfoss - Iceland 2016
Day 4
Ion Adventure Hotel
It was a bit tricky to get to the Ion Adventure hotel in the heavy rain, which is a bit off the main roads. If you look up pictures of this hotel, you will see magnificent pictures of the hotels seeming to jut out from the rockly landscape with the northern lights in the sky above.
Unfortunately for us, our experience couldn't have been farther from this because of the rain the continued for 2 straight days. I couldn't even get a picture of the hotel it was raining so hard! The hotel has a geothermal pool underneath, so we thought we might at least be able to spend some time there. Not only was it freezing, but the wind knocked over our full wine glasses.
Pool at the Ion Adventure Hotel - Iceland 2016
We had planned to visit the Reykjadalur hot spring thermal river, but unfortunately, the weather did not let up at all so we spent most of the day in the hotel. Fortunately, the hotel had a very cool bar which looked out onto the landscape.
Bar at the Ion Adventure Hotel - Iceland 2016
Day 5
Snowmobiling on Langjökull
The Ion Adventure Hotel offers many different "adventures" and since the weather was still terrible for us, we decided to book a last minute snowmobiling trip on the glacier Langjökull. This was quite a cool experience and one way to beat the rain.
Snowmobiling on Langjökull - Iceland 2016
Day 6
Blue Lagoon
On our sixth and final day, we finally got some clear skies just in time for our trip to the Blue Lagoon. While the Blue Lagoon is a very unique experience, it is definitely built for tourists. It is quite expensive to get in and you must book an entrance time in advance. Once inside, you can buy very expensive drinks at the swim up bar. Since it's near the airport, some people will visit right after landing or on their way out of Iceland.
Blue Lagoon - Iceland 2016
After the Blue Lagoon, we spent our final night back in Reykjavík. Being from Chicago, I find it very hard to believe there can be better hot dogs out there. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur is the most famous hot dog stand in Iceland serving hot dogs with onions, crispy fried onions, sweet brown mustard, and remoulade. Fun to try once. Would not try it again.
Hot Dogs at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur - Iceland 2016
Overall
Iceland was definitely a unique experience although ours was marred by some terrible weather. The attraction of the country is the unique geography so if you aren't an outdoors person, this probably isn't the best vacation spot for you. I would definitely love to return and see what the rest of the island has to offer.
It will be interesting to see how the tourism economy in Iceland will adapt considering the rapid explosion of tourism and subsequent leveling off. When we visited in 2016, the effects of the tourism explosion were clear. The airport was not nearly adequate to handle the amount of traffic, hotels were filled, and many attractions recently had capacity expansions completed. Hopefully the natural beauty of the country is not compromised by the increased number of visitors.
To see the next stop on this trip, go here to Amsterdam
Image Store
