Why Iceland?
This past year, it seems like everyone we know has either been to Iceland or is planning to go.
Mr. Jo’s employer, American Airlines, started flying direct from DFW to Reykjafik in June of 2018. In addition, WOW Airlines and Icelandair, the two Iceland-based airlines, have been selling ridiculously cheap fares to this beautiful Nordic island country in the North Atlantic. Anyway, we and our group of Asian friends love a good deal, so we jumped on the bandwagon and coordinated a ten person trip to Iceland!
Decisions, Decisions
Aside from the cheap airfare, there were lots of other reasons why we wanted to visit Iceland. First of all, it’s been on my bucket list to see the aurora borealis (northern lights) for forever. Also, we heard so much about the beautiful waterfalls, amazing scenery, cute Icelandic horses, and of course, the heavenly Blue Lagoon.
Even though Iceland is smaller than the state of Kentucky, there is a ton to see! We didn’t want to be away from the kiddos for too long, so we planned a five night stay. You definitely can’t see everything Iceland has to offer in that amount of time, so we decided not to drive around the entire Ring Road (Route 1). In case you didn’t know, the Ring Road is an 828 mile road that runs along the outermost part of the island. It connects Icleand’s major cities and attractions.
Instead, we traveled the Golden Circle beginning at Reykjavik and then drove east along the southern part of the island.
Iceland Travel Itinerary
Tuesday, October 16
- 8:25 PM Depart DFW on American Airlines
Wednesday, October 17
- 10 AM – 12 PM
- large geothermal spa
- book ahead for time slot (pre-booking required)
- $66, 75, 85, or 94 depending on time slot for basic ticket
- $94, 103, 113, or 122 for premium ticket
- open 8 AM – 9 PM
- admission includes 1 free drink and 1 free mask
- both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available in the spa
- I got the green smoothie which was delicious!
- self-applied masks in the spa
- free access to steam bath, steam sauna
- spa and accommodations available for charge
- we rented one of their bigger lockers for 550 ISK which fit our 2 standard suitcases plus carry-ons (smaller lockers are free)
- showers, shower gel, hair conditioner, hair dryers supplied
- bring waterproof phone pouch for pictures!\
- 1 – 2 PM Costco
- bought groceries and ate lunch
- everything costs about 2x compared to US
- 2 – 3 PM Reykjavik Airbnb
- 3 – 4 PM Hallgrímskirkja (Lutheran Church)
- walkable from our Airbnb
- tallest structure in Iceland
- 4 – 5:30 PM Icelandic Phallological Museum (Penis Museum)
- also walkable
- totally unexpected but super fascinating! It contains preserved penises from many different animals, including those of humans!
- 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Sun Voyager Sculpture
- again, walkable
- 8 PM Reservations at Grill Marka Durinn
- we tried horse, puffin, whale steak
- fish was delicious
- service was very slow
- 10:30 PM Walk/drive back to Airbnb
- 11 PM – Board Games
- Secret Hitler was a big hit
- Organ Attack also super fun
Thursday, October 18 (Golden Circle)
- 7:30 AM Wake-up
- breakfast at Airbnb
- 8:20 AM Drive to snorkeling place
- 9:30 AM Snorkeling in Silfra Fissure
- Iceland Adventure Tours offers a 10 am or 2 pm tour $134/person, includes pics, $10 nat’l park fee, $5 parking
- DIVE.IS offers a 9:30 am or 1 pm tour $154/person, $29 for pics, $10 nat’l park fee, $5 parking
- coldest part was getting changed into the dry suits because it was cold and rainy that day
- your body is not actually cold while in the water but your face and hands are
- suit is buoyant so you can’t sink
- 2 of our friends who weren’t strong swimmers had to be pulled in at the end
- wear 2 pairs socks and wool thermals (but you’ll still be ok if you don’t have these)
- complimentary chocolate biscuit cookies and hot chocolate afterwards
- 11:30 AM drive to Thingvellir National Park
- The Bloody Gate from Game of Thrones
- where Sansa and Little Flower walked to the Eerie
- also where the Hound almost got killed by Brianne of Tarth
- short walk to a nice waterfall
- The Bloody Gate from Game of Thrones
- 1:00 PM lunch at Lindin
- 30 min drive from The Bloody Gate
- nice lunch of reindeer burgers with light crispy french fries and veggie with coconut milk soup
- 3:00 PM Great Geysir & Strokkur Geysir
- geysir erupts every 4-5 min
- 4:00 PM Gullfoss Waterfall
- 5:00 PM Settled in at Golden Circle cabin (Airbnb)
- 7:00 PM Dinner at Tryggvaskali
- delicious cod with chorizo
- 9:00 PM 2nd Dinner at Pylsuvagninn
- famous hot dog stand
- had a hot dog with cool ranch doritos and garlic sauce – pretty heavy but most of our friends liked it
- 9:30 PM Grocery store run
- HomeBlest digestive cookies with chocolate
- Icelandic yogurt
- njie pudding (high protein, low carb – really good!)
- 10:00 PM Airbnb
- More board games
Friday, October 19 (Ring Road)
- 10:00 AM Wake up
- breakfast at Airbnb
- 11:30 AM 1 hr 13 min drive (96 km)
- 12:45 PM Seljalandsfoss & Gljufrabui waterfalls
- a short walk to Seljalandsfoss waterfall
- option for an easy climb up some rocks to see the waterfall from behind
- another short walk to the Gljufrabui waterfalls
- hop across a few stepping stones to see this “hidden” waterfall
- be sure to wear waterproof clothes and shoes because you’re sure to get at least a little wet!
- stopped for donuts, muffins, coffee, and hot chocolate at the pastry stand near the parking lot
- a short walk to Seljalandsfoss waterfall
- 2:00 PM 26 min (29 km) drive
- 2:30 PM – Skógafoss waterfall
- short walk to see the waterfall
- option to climb a staircase up and hike the gorge – absolutely stunning
- we spent at least an hour here
- 4:00 PM 25 min drive
- 4:30 PM Reynisfjara beach (black sand beach)
- cool rock formations that make for an interesting photo!
- beware of the sneaker waves
- Reynisjara is also the location of the East Wall in Game of Thrones
- there are puffins here between April-August
- 6:40 PM Dinner at Suder-Vik
- need reservations
- we heard the Thai food was good but the coconut curry chicken was unimpressive
- the more typical Icelandic food was better
- 7:50 PM 1 hour drive
- 8:50 PM Arrive at Arnardrangur Guest house (Airbnb)
- Board games until 2am again!
Saturday, October 20 (Ring Road)
- 9:30 AM Wake up
- 11:00 AM Drive 22 min
- 11:30 AM Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
- uphill hike to see gorge with winding river canyon and two merging waterfalls
- saw a giant rainbow!
- 12:50 Sjalfsafgreidsla gas station for lunch
- burgers, fries, hot dogs
- picked up some candy and snacks as well
- 1:40 PM 1.5 hour drive
- 3:10 PM Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon
- floating icebergs!
- 4:15 PM Diamond Beach
- black sand beach with huge ice rocks
- 6:30 PM Dinner at Systrakaffi, bar
- no reservations
- pizza, burgers, pasta were ok
- yummy pies/cakes with whipped cream!
- 8:30 PM Drive 1 hr 39 min
- 10:09 PM Back to Arnardrangur Guest house
- 10:09 PM to 12:00 AM Northern Lights!!
- used My Aurora Forecast & Alerts app to track the Northern Lights
- Northern Lights showed up better in pictures than we could see with the naked eye
Sunday, October 21 (Ring Road >> Reykjavik)
- 11:30 AM On the road again
- 12:30 PM The Soup Company for lunch
- known for their Red Lava soup but it was out
- other soups were good though
- 1:30 PM Dyrholaey Penninsula
- may see puffins here between April-August
- In Game of Thrones, this was the film site for East Watch by the Sea (where the Dragon blew down the wall)
- 3:45 PM Kerid Crater
- volcanic crater lake
- very blue with red volcanic rock & green vegetation
- short hike around crater and down to the bottom
- 4:30 PM drive
- 5:40 PM Dinner at Grandi Matholl food hall
- most affordable meal of the trip!
- also really delicious!
- wide variety of offerings: Korean, Vietnamese, seafood, lamb, wine, cocktails (try the strawberry proseco)
- 7:00 PM Back to original Reykjavik Airbnb
- we had to wait for the Airbnb to be cleaned so we went out for groceries and souvenir shopping
- 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM Board games!
Monday, October 22 (Iceland >> Home)
- 7:30 AM Wake up
- 8:15 AM Drive to airport
- stopped for gas
- returned rental car
- exchanged Icelandic Krona for dollars
- Flight back home
Iceland Travel Tips
Packing List
So, they don’t call it Iceland for no reason! In October, it is cold, windy, and rainy! We brought “water resistant” clothing, and looking back, we would have been much more comfortable with WATERPROOF clothing and shoes. I would suggest bringing:
- waterproof, thick winter coat with hood
- snow pants
- knee-high wool socks
- WATERPROOF boots
- beanie or other warm headgear
- thermal underwear
- waterproof gloves
- multiple layers
- waterproof phone pouch (for the Blue Lagoon)
Know thyself and decide how much you hate the cold before going to Iceland. I don’t think my Asian mother would have enjoyed this weather.
Car Rental Insurance
For prior trips, Mr. Jo and I have NEVER bought car rental insurance since it’s such a huge rip off. Unfortunately, we didn’t buy it for this trip either and it almost turned out to be a big mistake! Unbeknownst to us, the roads in Iceland have lots of loose gravel and small windshield cracks are very common. To Mr. Jo’s credit, he rented the car with our Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card which has no international fees. The credit card also includes car rental insurance. Thankfully, we didn’t have to pay for windshield repairs. Read about our other car rental mishap in the Cotswolds, England.
Iceland: No Cash Nation!
Shockingly, we never needed Icelandik Krona in cash form. Every single vendor we encountered accepted credit cards. It’s also not customary to tip taxi drivers or waiters. Instead, our nicer restaurant bills usually included a service charge.
On the other hand, EVERYTHING in Iceland is EXPENSIVE as F. Expect to spend at least two times what you normally would spend in the states on food, gas, souvenirs, etc. Unexpectedly, we found that at one restaurant, the veggie burger cost just as much as the lamb burger! Guess it’s hard to grow produce in a subarctic climate!
The high cost of living was a little hard for this aspiring frugalist to stomach. But, I still bought my super cute handmade wool Christmas ornaments and just tried not to think about it!
That pretty much sums up our jam-packed, super fun, five day trip to Iceland! Let me know how your trip went or if you have any questions in the comments below!
***Also a heartfelt thank you to my friends on this trip for all their efforts with planning and also letting me use their awesome pictures!***
Fantastic post, it was great to re-live the journey through your thoughts!
Thanks for the comment! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Incredible journey shared along with those breathtaking viewing photos felt so nice while reading your jouney and experiencing somewhat through your words the information shared would be of great used to the ones who would plan the trip anytime soon, will share this with my mates if they are interested in planning the trip.
Thanks for the comment! I’m glad you enjoyed it and I hope that it is helpful for your trip!