Travel Diaries: Iceland Adventures

March 12, 2018

Travel Diaries: Iceland Adventures

I know I recently posted about my favorite trip so far but I think it's fair to have multiple favorites because they might not really be comparable. That's how I feel about my trip to Iceland with two of my best friends. It was so different to any other trip I'd been on and it was the first trip of the new year so it was special in a different way!

Last summer two of my crazy friends randomly suggested we go to Iceland together. It was on a whim and one of my friends didn't even have a passport at that point so I never thought it would surmount to anything. But like I said, when you have friends worth keeping you find ways to connect and stay in contact and this was their way of telling me they were there to support me, all the way to bringing me back to Bristol for my second semester! I am so grateful for friendships like these and it made the trip even more fun being with some amazing friends!

We embarked just 2 days after the holidays were over so it was a bit of a quick turn around. I had just gotten my wisdom teeth out a week before and it was the first day I was cleared to fly, which was good because I would've gone regardless. Saying bye to the friends and family I was leaving at home was hard but it was made easier by going with two good pals of mine. For one of my friends this was her first time traveling out of the country so it was an exciting experience for us all. I definitely got the most pictures out of it than any other trip I'd been on thanks to my friends affinity for capturing every moment perfectly (on iPhone, GoPro, or DSLR even though I couldn't get mine to work).

The first day we got to Iceland super early in the morning but that didn't matter because there were only 4 hours of daylight anyway so most of our days were dark. We planned to see all there was of Reykjavik on the first day, the second day would be an entire guided day tour of the Southern Coast, the the third day would be to relax and do anything we missed the first day, and the last day was for the Blue Lagoon and our flight to England.

We started the day by watching the sun rise from the top of Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral. Then we went on to see all the main sights of Reykjavik on a free guided walking tour of the city. We were so cold and tired from jet lag we had to bow out in the middle of the tour. We saw the Herpa Concert Hall and the Sun Voyager and were pretty much content with how much of Reykjavik we saw in the short amount of time we were there. We didn't want to do much else because you had to pay for a lot of things and NOTHING is cheap in Iceland. We once walked into a grocery store to see if buying food there to make would be cheaper than eating out and a loaf of bread was $8. Everyone who had gone before had told us just how expensive it was but we didn't believe them until we'd spend hours walking around looking for the cheapest food to eat.

One of the best parts of the trip was the guided day trip to the South Coast of Iceland. Of course, another Viator tour that I was immensely pleased with. We were able to see glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls, and black sand beaches. It was an incredible experience. I would say you have to go on some kind of trip around either the south coast or the golden circle when in Iceland. The natural beauty is so incredible! We got plenty of pictures so show for it and the bus journeys between places weren't that long.

On the final day in Iceland we headed to the Blue Lagoon bright and early in the morning. If you are going to Iceland it is recommended that you do the Blue Lagoon either first or last because it is really close to Keflavik Airport. We booked our tickets for 9am so that we could hopefully get a glimpse of the sunrise if we stayed long enough and hoping it wouldn't be too crowded. While we didn't get to view the sunrise because of awful weather, and while it was still very crowded, we had an unforgettable experience. Don't forget to bring a waterproof camera to capture the experience and a towel because they will NOT let you back into the dressing rooms if you're wet. Don't worry about flip flops or about changing in the locker rooms though, they are very nice and clean and make you feel as if you're in a spa.

Iceland was an incredible experience. Perfect for the outdoorsy person that likes getting out of cities when they travel. I definitely want to go back sometime during summer because there is so much more to do and see (although maybe when I have a job a can better afford it). I know a few people planning trips to Iceland in the near future so hopefully this is helpful to all of you and gets you pumped for your upcoming trip!