10 days Iceland Itinerary during winter
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Hello everyone!
Iceland has become such popular destination to travel in 2017. So I thought I share with you guys our itinerary when I was visiting Iceland last year in March. I Also made a video of this trip highlighting all the best spots to visits . Click here for the video. We spent a total of 10 days staying at 5 different accommodations. We rented an SUV and explored the island on our own.
DAY 1 : Reykjavik City
7 hours flight from Seattle, we arrive in Iceland early morning at 6am. We picked up our rental car (a little trouble in the rental car. They don't accept cash so be sure to have credit cards ready) and then headed to the city to explore. First stop was the Church. Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran parish church in the capital city. This is the largest church in Iceland and one of their best known landmark. The church is designed to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.
Checked in at our VRBO (vacation rental by owner) Our home away from home had the best view of Iceland's harbor. It couldn't get any better than this
Later on that evening, we visited the Harpa Concert Hall. We didn't watch any concerts but only explored and admired the steel framework clad with geometric shaped glass panels of different colors.
DAY 2: Blue Lagoon
We spent the whole day in Blue Lagoon started at 9am. We reserved the Blue Lagoon Luxury experience which consist of your own private bathroom, a grand private entrance to the lagoon, bathrobe and slippers, blue lagoon spa package and food such as fruits, chocolate and drinks. It was the best experience ever. The luxury package is only for 3 hours max and cost about ISK 26.5 about $232 per person.
lunch at the Lava Restaurant. Our luxury package includes a free champagne at the restaurant. They call it the Lava restaurant because it is built into a lava cliff with gorgeous views over the lagoon.
Day 3: Exploring more of Reykjavik city
We did a lot of our souvenir shopping on this day. We walked around the city, visited a few cafes, and ate a hotdog in the most popular hotdog stand in the world.
We continue our drive and headed to The DC-3 Plane wreck. You will need a 4 wheel drive to access this place because the road is not paved. Just currently locals banned access to vehicles driving on the beach. So please be careful and follow the rules. A bit of history, this plane is the U.S Navy Douglas Super DC-3 that was force to land Solheimasandur's black sand Beach after experiencing some severe icing. Luckily all crew members survive the crash. Now it has become a photography dream location.
Iceland has become such popular destination to travel in 2017. So I thought I share with you guys our itinerary when I was visiting Iceland last year in March. I Also made a video of this trip highlighting all the best spots to visits . Click here for the video. We spent a total of 10 days staying at 5 different accommodations. We rented an SUV and explored the island on our own.
DAY 1 : Reykjavik City
7 hours flight from Seattle, we arrive in Iceland early morning at 6am. We picked up our rental car (a little trouble in the rental car. They don't accept cash so be sure to have credit cards ready) and then headed to the city to explore. First stop was the Church. Hallgrimskirkja is a Lutheran parish church in the capital city. This is the largest church in Iceland and one of their best known landmark. The church is designed to resemble the basalt lava flows of Iceland's landscape.
Lunch at Loki cafe. This cafe is located across the church. This cafe serves Iceland's traditional homemade dishes such meat soup and bread. The food was so delicious. My husband had the shark meat. A very different taste from the norm. He wanted to try it because shark meat is one of Iceland's delicassy. Their rye bread was so good along with the Ice cream. Check for the reviews here on TripAdvisor.
Grocery Shopping at Bonus. This grocery store is the cheapest grocery store in all of Iceland. It is very expensive to eat out in Iceland and when traveling in the country, there isn't a lot of restaurants so buying groceries is definitely a must when visiting this place.
Later on that evening, we visited the Harpa Concert Hall. We didn't watch any concerts but only explored and admired the steel framework clad with geometric shaped glass panels of different colors.
We spent the whole day in Blue Lagoon started at 9am. We reserved the Blue Lagoon Luxury experience which consist of your own private bathroom, a grand private entrance to the lagoon, bathrobe and slippers, blue lagoon spa package and food such as fruits, chocolate and drinks. It was the best experience ever. The luxury package is only for 3 hours max and cost about ISK 26.5 about $232 per person.
lunch at the Lava Restaurant. Our luxury package includes a free champagne at the restaurant. They call it the Lava restaurant because it is built into a lava cliff with gorgeous views over the lagoon.
Day 3: Exploring more of Reykjavik city
We did a lot of our souvenir shopping on this day. We walked around the city, visited a few cafes, and ate a hotdog in the most popular hotdog stand in the world.
The Sun Voyager is one of Iceland's popular landmark. This steel sculpture resembles the Viking long ship.
Ate at the most popular hotdog in the world. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur the cheapest meal in Iceland. Bill Clinton once ate here while he was visiting Iceland for UNICEF conference.
DAY 4: Drive to Southwestern Iceland
The Golden Circle is where you will find the most attracted spots in Iceland. Since we were not in a rush, we took our time leaving our VRBO, went to Bonus again for groceries and head to Uthlid Skyggnisskogur to check in our cabin for another 3 days. On our way there, we caught a really bad winter storm. It was so scary! We were driving less than 25 miles per hour. Worst experience but luckily, we were okay and did not get stuck. Along the way, there were some Icelandic long hair horses hanging out on the side of the road. So cute! I couldn't help myself but pulled over and took some photos of these gorgeous horses.
DAY 5: Golden Circle
Our first stop was the Geysir (a periodically spouting hot springs) These Geysir spouts every 7 minutes. standing and waiting for this to erupt in cold weather is totally worth it.
Our next stop was the Gulfoss. It is the biggest waterfall in all of Europe and the iconic waterfall of Iceland. The most popular tourist attraction.
Later on that afternoon, we headed to the Secret Lagoon. This Lagoon is another geothermal pools. Back in 1909, this pool is used for swimming lessons. Theres a lot of tiny Geysir around the area.
Back in our cabin and was getting ready to bed, until my Aurora app notified me that the northern lights were 90% visible. Jump right outside of our cabin and it was right above us.
DAY 6: Snorkeling between the two tectonic plates
Pingvellir park is the only place in the world where you can dive or snorkel between the Eurasian plate and North American plate. The water is near freezing and you will need a dry suit to do so.
DAY 7: South Iceland
We checked out from our cabin and headed to South Iceland. It was about 3 hours drive until we reached the spot we wanted to see. The first was Seljalandsfoss the unique thing about this waterfall is that you can walk behind it into a small cave. During winter it is not recommend to walk behind the falls due to slippery.
3 miles from Seljalandsfoss is another waterfall Skogafoss. We also hike up the stairs to see the top view of the falls
We continue our drive and headed to The DC-3 Plane wreck. You will need a 4 wheel drive to access this place because the road is not paved. Just currently locals banned access to vehicles driving on the beach. So please be careful and follow the rules. A bit of history, this plane is the U.S Navy Douglas Super DC-3 that was force to land Solheimasandur's black sand Beach after experiencing some severe icing. Luckily all crew members survive the crash. Now it has become a photography dream location.
DAY 8: Farm House Lodge, Vik, Seljavallalaug
The Farm House lodge is a guest house. Its one big house with many rooms. Everyone shares bathroom and kitchen. This one is special because it made us feel like home. The good thing is that they provide free breakfast every morning.
Vik: Black Sand Beach
This beach is not recommended for swimming. The current is very strong, so be careful and follow the warning signs. There have been numerous tourist who has drowned here and died.
Seljavallalaug was built in 1923. It is 25 meters long and 10 meters wide and the largest pool of Iceland until 1936
Checked in to our cabin for two nights in Jokulsarson and saw the Northern Lights again
DAY 9: Ice Cave Adventures
We booked a tour with Glacier Adventures and got to explore the ice caves.
DAY 10: Drive back to Reykjavik City
On our way back to the city, we stopped by Kerid (a volcanic crater). This was also our last attraction in Iceland before flying out the next day.
I hope you guys enjoyed this itenerary . Iceland is a true beauty. It made me have that feeling where I was in a different time. "A land before time" there are so many natural unspoiled beauty that have yet to be discovered.
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