Where do I even start with Iceland? It was the best, despite having horrible weather and almost no sun. This trip was my 30th birthday present from my mom and she came with me! First, I chose Iceland in February because it's (still) on my bucket list to see the Northern Lights. The temps weren't much colder than the northeast, but lucky us, we were there between terrible snow/wind storms.
Iceland is such an easy trip from the east coast - our flight was less than 5 hours. We flew WOWAir, which is great if you don't need any frills, luggage, or water. I priced everything out and it still ended up being a bit more affordable than Icelandair. I'm not sure my mom would fly it again, but I didn't mind!
I spent months researching this trip, and knowing we only had about 4 days, I wanted to schedule everything in advance. I'm so glad I did because I read the tips about visiting the Blue Lagoon as early as possible in the morning and got us a coveted time slot. If I knew how awesome it would be, I would have booked another visit on our way home! Yes it's that awesome (and touristy). The water was warm but the air was frigid, and that took away from our enjoyment a little bit. It was too cold to explore as much as I would have liked, but SO worth it.
I won't go through everything we did but we made sure to see the highlights: Golden Circle, South Coast to Vik, a glacier hike, Icelandic horses, and plenty of waterfalls. Next time I would rent a car and explore more off the beaten path, but I am so glad we didn't do that this time. We heard horror stories of car doors being blown off in the wind! It was nice to have friendly guides to do the driving. They also knew insider secrets such as the best times to be in and out before big tour buses arrived.
A lot of people say not to keep your home-base in Reykjavik, but we liked it. The city was so cute and walkable - we liked exploring for dinner, but we definitely covered the whole city a couple times. It's small! There was so much new construction going up, I can't wait to see what it looks like next time. If you have questions about the tours we took, transportation, or just want some tips - reach out!
I cannot WAIT to go back to Iceland. It seems like a country that you can visit a handful of times and still not see and experience everything. I also still have to see those darn northern lights.
