I think the pictures alone of Iceland( and no I am not talking about Iceland the supermarket ) speak
for themselves , its truly an amazingly beautiful country . If you need anymore convincing I am sure I will be able to convince you to book a ticket to this glorious country .
I haven't been on holidays for over two year but I have been on two so far this year only a month apart , a feast or a famine hey ? I love travelling even the parts people don't like about it like the long car journeys or the food on the go . But sometimes life gets in the way or the money isn't there to just book sometime away to see another country . I'm the type of person who prefers spending there money on experiences rather then material goods . I would much rather have the memories over the newest Micheal Korrs handbag . To be honest I always thought Iceland looked amazing but I didn't think I would love the country as much as I did .
The people really reminded me on the Irish because of how proud they where of there country and how friendly they where . Icelandic is the main language of the country but English is widely spoken and understood .
Accommodation
We stayed five nights in a b&b guesthouse in Keflavík a town about 40 minutes drive West of the capital Reykjavik . There was 7 rooms in total in the guesthouse , shared bathrooms & kitchen/living area . The place was very clean an homely and the owner couldn't do enough for us . There was also a fridge filled with food that you could help yourself too for breakfast . It was nice and cosy to come back to when it was cold outside .
Here is where we stayed if anyone's interested I would highly recommend it :
Click Here .
Things to Do
There is so much to do in Iceland , when I go back ( definitely going back sometime) I will still have plenty to see . We spent a day driving south to Vik a small town where the Black Sand beach is. Inbetween that journey there where loads of stops on the way like the Seljalandfoss waterfall , Gljufrabui Waterfalls , Sólheimasandur Airplane Crash site , Kerid (a crater lake) & where the Iceland Plate meets the North American Plate .
Snowmobiling
Snowmobiling was definitely the most expensive thing on the trip but it was such a great experience , we got to snowmobile over a glacier(
Mýrdalsjökull , try prenounce haha ) that covers an active volcano called
Katla . Keep in mind you have to have a drivers license to be able to drive the Snowmobiles (even though its nothing like driving a car) , if you don't you'll have to sit on with someone . We went with the company
Arcanum .
Whale Watching
Another great thing to do in Iceland is whale watching because they have a lot of whales that come in quite close to the harbour . We managed to see around seven whales on the boat trip and some of them came quite close to the boat . The cold weather might put you off going out into the even colder sea but the companies (we went with Elding) have full body suits available onboard to keep you nice & warm . Just remember to take gloves! They do nice hot chocolate with rum on board the boat and there is someone talking on a mic through the whole boat trip telling you where to look to see the whales .
Whale Watching Company :
Click Here .
Crash Landing
Over 73 years ago an American military plane crash landed supposedly due to the pilot changing over to the wrong fuel . All passsengers surprisingly all survived . You are no longer aloud to drive to the crashlanding so you have to park up and walk out to it . It doesn't look too far away but it takes 40 minutes to walk out to it then 40 minutes back on a space like land . Its also in Justin Biebers 'I'll show you' music video if any of you are Justin Bieber fans , where were told that
that music video was recorded all around the south of Iceland including the Seljalandfoss waterfall I mentioned above .
Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa and one of Iceland's biggest attractions . Be sure to book in advance because the Blue Lagoon books up fast and if you land on the day hoping to get in there is a good chance they will not be able to accomadate you because of the popularity of the pool . Theres a bar in the pool & you can also get face mask that make your skin feel lovely and soft . There is different packages for your price range we went for the 'Comfort Package' which included two mask , a drink , towels , entry to the lagoon . Its the best package to go for in my opinion because you don't get much more in the more expensive packages for what your paying for .
Blue Lagoon Booking Website :
Click Here .
Food & Drink
If you like fish then you'll be in heaven because there known for fishing . Seafood is my favourite type of food so I was one happy girl . Fish & chips here in Ireland just wouldn't be the same anymore . Every fish dish I ate over there was so nice and fresh . My favourite was a seafood risotto I got in a restaurant near Geshir . There are loads of nice restaurants and hipster coffee shops along the harbour in Reykjavik if you're looking for really good fresh sea food.
Kopar : Has and award winning chef and the food is supposed to be beautiful a little bit more on the pricey side so if your with family you could end up with and expensive bill but if your all for treating yourself to good food than go for it .
Fish Restaurant : We got food in here and it was so delicious . I got the Mix Seafood dish which had mussels ,salmon & cod in a garlic sauce. The fish was so fresh and the sauce on it was beautiful .
Oslan Oslan : A small family run restaurant in Keflavík just around the corner from where we stayed . If your counting your calories , don't bother going here . They do lovely fish and chips and other unhealthy goodness .
Stofan Cafe : The most hipster coffee shop I did ever see , lovely quirky interior & cool looking staff . Got some coffee and cake and it was a lovely cosy spot to keep warm .
MAR restaurant : Right beside the harbour , if you go on the Elding Whale watching tour you get 15% off the bill . Food was lovely , they also have a really cool bar at the front of the building .
Keflavik although it was a lovely town there isn't much nightlife , so if your hoping for some nightlife the capital Reykjavík would be your best bet .
Expense
Iceland can be expensive , there is no denying that. They have there own currency which is Icelandic Krona but they also take euro in most shops . €55 is around 11,000 krona so it can sound quite scary at times when your buying a few things and its in thousands . Its hard to calculate too on the spot if something's overpriced or cheap . The touristy things like every other country are always overpriced. I bought a small box of Icelandic chocolates in the supermarket and they cost around €4 , which is pretty steep considering they look like they're worth about €2 .
There are loads of bus tours you can take in Iceland but if you can drive renting a car to get around would work out cheaper . You will drive for miles with nothing on either side of the road except rocky ground & mountions in the distance , then a town with everyone living together . All the cars you can rent are made for the weather conditions with spikes on the wheels & they have good roads .
Shopping
They have the typical chain shops like Zara , Topshop , Next etc . They have a chain discount store called Bonus & a shops called Hackup that sells anything from make up to toys , and there's a lot of them about Iceland .
Kringlan is a nice shopping centre in Reykjavik . There are loads of souvenir shops all around the city of Reykjavik . They get more American products then we would get here in Ireland so I actually got some La Girl Cosmetics products and American sweets while in Iceland .
Weather
Its cold , but if you wrap up its fine . Things like snowmobiling and whale watching you get a full body suit to wear over your clothes to keep you extra warm .
* Fun fact : They did a study on why the crime rate was so low in Iceland and apparently it was due to the fact that in a survey they carried out Icelandic people all thought of themselves as middle class/working class , there was no divide in class .
Iceland is a photgraphers dream and it would be hard to take a bad picture of the country . Even though all these things seem great to me , I suppose its not everyone's cup of tea . If you don't like cold climates (Ireland actually felt warm when we came back) or outdoor activities , then its probably not your idea of a holiday .
So that's it for that blog post, as you can tell I had a terrible time ... joking . If I was to go back I would love to go to the North of Iceland go ice climbing , skiing , snowboarding I would also like to party in Reykjavik visit the Gullfoss waterfall , Haukadalur Geyser & see the northern lights .
Have I convinced you to book a ticket to Iceland yet?
Thanks for reading ,
Alannah x
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