Things to do on an Icelandic Adventure

🇮🇸My Icelandic Adventure 🇮🇸- 4-night stay

We landed in Iceland at 1030am and headed straight to pick up our car. The process was super easy, with the car rental office being a 2-minute walk from the terminal. We then made our way to the iconic ‘Blue Lagoon Iceland’. Named one of the 25 wonders of the world by National Geographic in 2012, the Blue Lagoon was honoured for its unique geothermal seawater. It’s quite close to the airport (around 20 mins drive) so made sense to see it on our way into Reykjavik. We booked in at 1230 which was ample time to get there. Take your swim stuff in your hand luggage and save the faff of routing in your case, so all you have to do is change and get right in!

We spent a fabulous few hours in the hot springs, it was quite cloudy and pretty cold so take a hat to keep your ears warm! They offer 3 facial masks which are done in order. It left my skin feeling incredible - highly recommended. Top tip - take conditioner with you and put it in before you go in as the water can be quite harsh on your hair. Tie it up.

Once we’d had our fill in the lagoon we headed to our table in ‘Lava’ - the food here is awesome, and the view is pretty good too. We then headed to our hotel ‘Canopy by Hilton Reykjavik City Centre in the heart of Reykjavík Centre, just down the road from the Hallgrímskirkja Church and the infamous ‘Rainbow Street’. The journey took us around 45 minutes, the roads were very quiet and easy to navigate. We paid extra for WIFI in the car, which came in handy when travelling with our teenage son and spotting must-see sights en route. The hotel didn’t offer parking, but you can download a parking app called ‘PARKA’ which is good to pay/find parking nearby. Across the road was a multi-story car park where we parked overnight.

That evening we went on the hunt for the Northern Lights with Arctic Adventures - I wanted to do this on our first night, just in case we didn’t see them. Luckily for us, we saw them as soon as we arrived off-road - and what a show they put on for us. Luck does play a huge part in seeing the northern lights, as does the weather, cloud coverage and of course the unpredictable, changing Icelandic weather. On day two, we had booked a Rib excursion to see the whales and a snowmobiling adventure, which unfortunately were cancelled due to the bad weather. It was raining and windy so we decided to head off in the car for the day and visit the South Coast. We stumbled across the most magnificent sights here and drove on impressive roads!

Our goal was to visit Seljalandsfoss Waterfall’ the iconic and most stunning natural attractions in Iceland. It’s just under a two-hour drive from Reykjavik and has a pathway that allows visitors to walk behind the cascading water, which has made it a favourite spot among photographers. TIP - take a poncho or waterproofs with you as you will get wet!

Seljalandsfoss is often paired with visits to other nearby attractions like the Skogafoss waterfall, Reynisfjara black sand beach, and the town of Vik. We shared the drive home, it was nice to see the landscape change by nightfall. We ate in Reykjavik centre and explored some of the must-see places to visit in the city.

Here are some of the landmarks and places we visited.

1. Hallgrimskirka, thé Reykjavik landmark
2. Perlan, a unique highlight
3. Harpa, eye-catcher of Reykjavík
4. Sun Voyager- Viking sculpture
5. Rainbow Street: the colourful Laugavegur
6. Lake Tjörnin & Austurvöllur Square
7. National Museum of Iceland
8. FlyOver Iceland
9 Icelandic Phallus Museum
10 Þúfa and the Old Port of Reykjavik
11 Saga Museum
12 Grotta Lighthouse
Day three we spent the day on the road again, this time we did the Golden Circle. You can drive the Golden Circle in about three hours without stopping, but we spent around 5–6 hours to see the top three attractions. If you want to add extra activities or detours, you should plan for a full day, we visited - Þingvellir National Park: A UNESCO World Heritage Site where the continental plates of Europe and North America meet, here you can snorkel between the two plates, and and the clearest water you’ve ever seen! Geothermal Area: Home to the Strokkur geyser, which erupts every 5–10 minutes. This was a great sight to see, and one of the things we wanted to see during our trip! Well worth the drive. Gullfoss Waterfall: A 105-foot waterfall in the Hvítá river canyon. A sight for sore eyes and an absolute must-see. There are a few other places to visit on this trip, but we were conscious we didn’t have enough time to see it all.

You can always extend this by seeing Kerið volcanic crater, Friðheimar: A popular destination with a restaurant that serves tomato-focused dishes, Laugarvatn: A small village where you can buy charcoal and barbecue supplies, The Secret Lagoon: Iceland‘s oldest outdoor geothermal bathing spot. It was an early night after our trip as we had a big last day on.

Day four, was our last and most epic day. We booked a sunrise Fire and Ice helicopter experience with Glacier Heli Iceland. This was the highlight of the trip for me. We saw the most breathtaking sights and landed in the middle of the highest glacier. An absolute goosebump moment which will stay with me for the rest of my life. We ventured where you can’t reach by foot. Unspoilt and pure! This two-hour trip gave us multiple landings, aerial views of Iceland and memories that we will cherish forever! Once back on the ground, we booked a boat trip to see if we could spot some whales. It was bitterly cold and were warned of rough seas (so we were not very optimistic about seeing any of these magnificent creatures).

TOP TIP- wrap up warm, wear thick socks and gloves and take anti-sickness tablets!

We DID get to see two Minki Whales 🐋 and the awesome sight of a Humpback whale. Another tick ✅ off the bucket list!

A trip to the Sky Lagoon in Iceland was very much needed to warm ourselves up. We booked to go at sunset, and I’m so glad we did! This place is a completely different experience from Blue Lagoon - people have asked me which one to do, and my honest opinion would be both! They are both amazing and both completely different. Sky Lagoon is very modern and sophisticated, and offers a unique 7-step ritual!

Seeing the hot springs after dark was something really special - and a lot quieter too! You can stay as long as you like in the lagoon, I’d recommend doing the steps first!

The 7-step ritual

* Step 1 Lagoon.

* Step 2 Cold Plunge. ...

* Step 3 Sauna. ...

* Step 4 Cool Mist. ...

* Step 5 Body Scrub. ...

* Step 6 Steam. ...

* Step 7 Shower & Back to the Lagoon.

Having had all my expectations well and truly exceeded, we had an early breakfast and headed back to the airport for our flight home. We dropped the car back off at the rental office, took less than 5 minutes, and walked over to the main terminal to check-in. Iceland is such a magical and beautiful country. I feel very lucky to have seen and experienced it all. I would like to return and maybe see it in the springtime, as I can imagine the colours of the landscapes and wildlife will be completely different.

If you are interested in planning your bucket list trip to Iceland, then please do get in touch. I’ll help you get the most out of your time there. if you are thinking of planning your Icelandic adventure, please do get in touch!