Updated: May 12, 2020
Reykjavik, Iceland
by Diana Narvaez
Outstanding picturesque views. From arrival to departure, you can enjoy instagram worthy landscape. I highly recommend landing early and taking advantage of the Blue lagoon upon arriving. This is a geothermal lagoon where you can warm up while taking a bath and sipping on wine. This lagoon includes a complimentary face scrub.
You can choose to rent a car or sign up for tours. We did the latter and saved the hassles of figuring out where to go. The best tour took us through the Western peninsula of Iceland. Tons of shooting areas where Game of thrones was filmed, including the arrowhead mountain.
We also booked tours for the southern shore, which included landscape like black sand beach and diamond beach. On a moment of bravery (or stupidity), we also booked a snorkeling tour to the ridge in between the tectonic plates. One the coolest, and most coldest moments of my life. Dry suits at -2 C weather are not meant for this Florida weather girl. No regrets though. The suits make you float in the one of the clearest waters for snorkeling. Deep rifts give you the impression that you are flying.
While the views are breathtaking, the prices and overall cost of living in Iceland is also jaw dropping. Be prepared to spend a lot of money on simple meals (sandwich and drink for $17-22 dollars). A decent meal in a sit down restaurant is over $30-$40 bucks.
Lastly, the northern lights… Look at the weather report and likely book the same day. Most tours start picking up passengers at 8-830pm. Bring warm clothes!
Cool facts about Iceland: it is the safest country in the world. Approximately 2-3 murders per year. They have one jail that hosts about 160 prisoners. Police force is about 460 officers. No army. Population of 350k people with over 2 million tourists per year. Lastly, it is so safe, that they are able to leave their babies in the carriage/stroller outside while parents enjoy an inside meal.