My Unforgettable Icelandic Adventure!
We recently spent a few nights in the charming country of Iceland. A country filled with wonderful geographical features such as waterfalls, glaciers and volcanoes. We stayed in Reykjavik which was a great base from which to explore. Here are some things we enjoyed doing whilst there that I would really recommend for anyone visiting the island.
Try the local cuisine
We stayed in Reykjavik where there are lots of lovely restaurants to try. As we stayed right in the center on Ingolfur Square they were within easy walking distance as well.
On our first night, we visited the Saetta Svinio Gastropub, a quirky restaurant where we tried the tasting menu. We tried local delicacies such as puffin, horse tartar, and lamb. There was plenty on offer for everyone from the brave culinary explorer to those just after something hearty and warm.
On our second night we visited the Posthus Food Hall & Bar which had a range of options to pick and choose from such as Mexican, Indian, Japanese and Icelandic. It's also great for those wanting to try any local beers, spirits and fun mocktails. It’s a great option if you’re looking for anything specific and has won lots of food awards in Iceland. No matter what sort of food you’re after, Reykjavik will have you covered and we found the service everywhere to be top notch.
Exploration
There are plenty of places to explore in Iceland as the country is home to many mountains, lakes and waterfalls. If you’re looking for exciting landscapes and plenty of memories to take home with you then the golden circle is for you. There are many sights to catch, whether by tour or on your own time in a rented car. We chose the latter as we could take more control of our time and fit in extra stops along the way. Driving in Iceland is a lot easier than we expected, as they drive on the right side of the road and the speed limits are slower than we are used to. A lot of the roads are quiet and whilst there was a lot of driving, there is lots to see on the way and it became very relaxing. We bumped into a lot of organised tours at the main spots on the way from private drivers to coaches and these also looked like great options! We spent a day following the golden circle which was enough time to see everything and fit in a few walks and hot chocolate breaks along the way. Our favourite stops were Thingveilier national park, Geysir and Kerio crater and the waterfalls. Bruarfoss, Gullfoss and Urrioafoss are not to be missed either!
Another day trip to make is along the south coast to the town of Vik to see the famous black beaches, the views here were beautiful and the waves were huge, this was my favourite part of the trip and I highly recommend making the journey to down here to the most southern part of the island. Whilst nearby you can also make the trek to visit the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck and the Skogafoss waterfall.
My favourite waterfall out of the many that we got to see was the Seljalandsfoss. You’ll definitely need your waterproofs for this one as we got soaked! This waterfall was huge and there’s a path you can take to go behind it which was exhilarating, just be careful as it is slippery and uneven.
There is so much wildlife to be found in Iceland such as puffins, whales and many more so be sure to pack some binoculars and take in as much as you can. There are lots of boat tours from Reykjavik to spot whales and if we had more time this is definitely something we would have loved to do.
After all the excitement and long days driving we spent our last day exploring Reykjavik for a break and to take time to relax. We went to Sky Lagoon which sits on a cliff just outside of Reykjavik but there are many different hot springs and spas you can try. The hot springs were lovely to spend time in and the views were amazing. At Sky Lagoon they have a spa journey called the Skjol ritual which is based off Icelandic traditional treatments such as saunas, salt rubs and crowberry juice shots. It was a relaxing ritual and allowed me and my partner to recharge our batteries after a packed few days. I would love to come back here and explore the island further one day.
