Eat, Sleep, See, Do: Iceland

We chose to drive the ring road in February… When deciding on dates, my friend Kristen and I were way more focused on getting to Iceland as soon as possible than we were on the weather. Being 22 and fearless (read: dumb), we had no problem driving around a foreign, arctic country in the middle of winter. Honestly, it wasn’t until we got back and people started asking “you did what?!” instead of “how was it?” that we realized how crazy road-tripping Iceland in February was.

Seeing the landscape in winter was worth braving the wind all week.

Planning our trip was super overwhelming. There is so much information out there telling you how to have the perfect Icelandic adventure. When you’re reading 12 different blog posts, each saying that they have the perfect ring road itinerary, it can be a lot.

Honestly, we kind of gave up on the planning after day 5 and just figured it out as we went… This worked out well for us though, and we had the trip of a lifetime.

Eat:

A gas station hot dog. It sounds questionable, but apparently the locals eat them often. I don’t eat hot dogs at home, so I was skeptical, but I ordered mine with all the toppings and didn’t hate it.

It’s worth taking a trip to Iceland just to eat tomato soup at the Fridheimar greenhouse.

At Fridheimar greenhouse. This restaurant requires a reservation, which can be done by email just a couple of days in advance. We got to eat in the same greenhouse where the food is grown, and explored the whole place afterwards. All the food is based around their tomatoes that are grown year-round. This was probably the best meal I ate in Iceland… I would take a trip just to eat here again.

Fermented shark. Just kidding, don’t even smell this unless you hate yourself. A local offered us some and while I didn’t taste it, I still have regrets just from the scent. I also don’t recommend trying their Brennivin liquor. The same guy actually got us to take shots of that, I’ve never tried something worse.

Sleep:

Hvammstangi Cottages. These were in a tiny town right off the ring road and were probably the best place we stayed. They sent us a code for the cottage door, since they are so isolated that there is no main office on site. This made them a great place to see the northern lights. We walked right out of our cottage and there they were, dancing right over head.

The coziest living room.

Einarsstadir Homestay. This was our first night in Iceland and a great way to start the trip. The house was very clean and welcoming and there were tons of cool books about Iceland to flip through. We spent a lot of our time there chatting with the man who lived there and he recommended tons of great things for us to do which was much appreciated, since we didn’t have the most detailed itinerary.

Kex hostel. This is known as THE backpackers hostel in Reykjavik, so we had to check it out. It had a super cool setup with awesome bookshelves and a restaurant right downstairs. We didn’t stay here long enough to do any of their activities, but it was perfect for our trip.

See:

 

Thank God I got decent pictures to make the walk almost worth it…

Solheimasandur plane crash.
Getting to and from the wreck was miserable, but the photos and experience made it worthwhile. It is a 2.5 mile walk to the site with literally no scenery along the way, but at the end you get this view. Making the walk in winter was ridiculous because it takes about an hour and the wind was FIERCE. To make the walk even worse we went early in the morning to catch the sunrise behind the plane. This led to a great photo, but also a frozen tourist… Do it for the ‘gram though, right?

Imagine what this would look like on a sunny day.

The view from Hallgrimskirkja Church. Our time in Reykjavik was very rainy, but nothing could ruin the view from the church. The tower provides a 360 degree view of the city and beyond. Even though it was a dreary day, seeing the colors of Reykjavik from above made it a worthwhile stop.

This was the view from our hostel.

Kirkjufell Mountain. This beautiful mountain is supposedly the most photographed mountain in Iceland, and I believe it. We were lucky and stumbled upon this view without even really planning to see it. Watching the northern lights over this mountain was magical. I don’t care how cheesy that sounds, I might even say it was life changing.

Do:

I touched two tectonic plates during one winter snorkeling tour!

Snorkel with dive.is. This was the highlight of my trip. We were there in winter, so they gave us dry suits to keep us warm in the water. The snorkeling trip takes you through Silfra where you swim between the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia. Our guide Eleonora was amazing and at the end we got hot chocolate and cookies. Whats not to love?

The path leading to the Blue Lagoon.

Go to the Blue Lagoon. Yes it is expensive and no it isn’t as ~authentic~ as other hot springs are, but it is also the most incredible spa experience in a great location. We were in the water for about an hour and a half and came out feeling relaxed and looking ten years younger.

We went to so many beautiful small towns like this that we couldn’t have seen without our own car.

Rent a car. Gas is crazy expensive, so filling the tank is no fun, but taxis from the airport cost almost $200 so you’ll save money in the long run. We drove the ring road, so we obviously needed a car, but even if you’re staying close to Reykjavik I think its worthwhile.

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