Last weekend I went to… Iceland!! What a wonderful time. If you have a long weekend to spare or have some time on your way to Europe, I would highly recommend visiting Reykjavik and the surrounding areas.
If you’re looking to travel, there’s a few reasons I think Iceland should be on top of your list:
1) It’s beautiful. Unlike anywhere else I’ve been. Straight up natural beauty, and tons of it
2) You can get a full experience in just a few days. Of course you can spend a lot more time and explore way more of the country, but 4 days is pretty sufficient to see and experience parts of what make Iceland a great destination
3) It’s not that far. From NYC, the flight is about 5h 35m going there and 6 hours going back.
4) Flights are relatively inexpensive. My round trip flight with Icelandair? Only $337.
Overall, a really cool and unique experience :)
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After a lot of pre-research and recommendations from Reykjavik locals, I’ve come up with a pretty legit (at least I think so!) itinerary so if you’re looking to go, let me know and I’ll send it to you.
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But for this blog, I want to highlight one of my favorite parts of the trip- The Golden Circle.
You can take a tour to do this, but I recommend renting a car for this experience. Living in NYC, I haven’t owned a car in years, and I drive an average of 5 times a year (whenever I’m home in NJ), but I managed to do it… so you probably can too :) FYI, they drive on the right side just like in the U.S.—only difference, no turns on red lights. See below for our awesome and trusty car UG!!
1) Thingvellir National Park (Actually spelled - Þingvellir, that special "p" has the "th" sound)
2) Öxarárfoss Waterfall
3) Laugarvatn Fontana
A spa with geothermal baths and steam saunas overlooking a nearby lake. A really great midpoint during the journey to kick back and relax.
4) Strokkur Geyser
5) Gulfoss Waterfall
These sites were all so beautiful, but I think my favorite thing was actually the drive from place to place. Cruising along the single road through mountainside was absolutely amazing. It was one of those experiences where I was just completely mesmerized by what I was seeing. Literally felt like I was on the path to something magical.