Interested in visiting Iceland? Seeing the Northern Lights was on my bucket list so when I knew there was a chance we could do that during Spring Break we had to book it. Our family of 4 convinced our friends, another family of 4 to join us on 10 days of adventure to Iceland. If you are like me you get the idea and then think now what?! So here are some helpful hints and things we liked and maybe even didn’t like so much.
We flew Iceland Air and after our experience home I would say that is your best option as you never know what the weather situation will do to flights. It happened that another family I knew was traveling same time as us and their return flight got canceled on the day the country shut down and had the hardest time with British Airways but had a great experience with Iceland Air. We had a pleasant experience — good flights, on time - no complaints. Not a complaint but just be mindful that everything is an upgrade / cost. If you want food, anything but water, it will cost you but you can plan and order for that in advance if you’d like. We flew direct from Orlando.
Our flight landed around 6:30am Iceland time which was 2:30am to our bodies time clock so in advance we had decided to book a hotel room for the previous night so we could go straight there and take a nap. I am VERY thankful that we did that. We stayed at Hotel Kvosin and it was fine — it was a bit more spacious for our family of 4 than a normal hotel room. We crashed and then woke up about 11am Iceland time in hopes of getting our bodies on the right time schedule. Worked for two of us but the other two needed another nap because we had the Northern Lights scheduled for that night at 9:30pm!
Day 1 - Friday
After our nap we bundled up and went exploring. For us Floridians and I think probably everyone we were very thankful for our under layers as they say the temp is in the 30’s but the wind is WHIPPING!! HERE I do a review of the items we purchased & brought and our thoughts! After waking we walked right outside our hotel to explore. We found Braud & Co and had delicious pastries. We also found 10-11 which is an Iceland convenience store that also has fresh made items to grab and hot sbarro pizza (otherwise known as the teens favorite spot). We walked over to the shoreline and checked out the water and Harpa Concert Hall then we went on a hunt for the rainbow road I had seen on social media. 
It was pretty easy to find — up the main road and to the right and there you have the rainbow road. On the rainbow road you can find lots of shops, eateries, snacks and places for cold weather gear if you need it. We walked up to explore the Hallgrimskirkja Churchbut it was closed that day due to mourning the loss of one of their politicians. We did stop for a snack at LOO KOO MAS for some delicious donuts — 10/ 10 experience we had the Ferrero ones and so good!
After another nap for some of us we met up with our friends and went to find food before our tour! We tried going to Bastard’s Brew but with a group of 8 it did not work out that evening. I did feel as though a group of 8 was overwhelming to them when we were popping into resturants to see if we could grab a table. We ended up at the General Public Pub which is Tapas style and honestly it was not the best experience. It cost us about $300 USD and no one really enjoyed their meals. I would probably skip this experience. We went back to our hotel, got bundled up and headed to meet our tour guide for our Northern Lights Tour. We booked through Viator and use this tour. Our tour guide was Baldwin and he was such a pleasure and so excited! He explained that even though the KP Index says you will see them it is not a guarantee and kind of a hunt to find them. We had to head out of town where the city lights were and go on a hunt. He got a hint of something right away and we stopped on the side of the road to take a look. We were all excited!
Baldwin had us load up, we took a bathroom break and he wanted to get us to another location kind of in a rush becuase he was watching a guide that told him there would be more activity soon. We parked and got out and man what an experience — it was crazy! It was like a dancing lights show. If you don’t know the lights don’t show much to your natural eye and you get the amazing green glow with the slow down of your camera. Baldwin also put up a camera and would take as many photos as you would like and then sent out a link a few days later. It was super helpful and love that there was no additional upcharge for that! While we were there we went into the bus to warm up and then everyone kept telling us to come back out and it was an amazing light show. He called it the Corona where the lights danced down from the center of the sky. There are no words to explain how magnificent it was! One of the recommendations I had heard was to book this your first day in case you didn’t see them you could go back again — we were lucky and saw them our first try. Friends of ours who got there a few days later than us never got the chance. It is a lot of luck!
DAY 2 - SATURDAY
We didn’t have any set plans or tours scheduled for this day so at dinner the previous night someone mentioned there was a penis museum and so that became the plan! Our family slept through breakfast and woke up at 10 to meet up with our friends. They had the cinnamon roll from Baka Baka And really enjoyed it. Then we ventured over to the world’s only Phallological Museum. I kind of can’t believe I am sharing this but it was educational and if you have time to kill I would recommend it. We have good memories and things to talk about that is for sure. After we had an order of their waffles and it was yummy!
After the museum we walked by the Harbor and explored that area. After exploring that area we went to get our luggage from the hotel and transfer over to our AirBNB for the week which was thankfully like 100 yards away from each other. We got settled into our apartment for the week, hit the grocery store and then rested up for the evening. For groceries our closest option was GROCERY so we went there and were able to get some snacks, breakfast items and beverages. Be prepared - don’t look at prices! We explored and then went to Padre’s Pizza for dinner and it was a 10/10 experience — hot, delicious & kind. We did sit 4 & 4 but it was a great yummy experience. I had a white pizza that came with blueberry on the side and I may think about it!
Full disclosure - our apartment was very expensive I thought and they were not the most responsive hosts. One of the bedrooms was a futon and another room did have a hole in the window -- not deal breakers but just know what you are getting into!
Day 3 - SUNDAY
Our original tour of snowmobiling and the Golden Circle got canceled the day before while we were exploring so we tried to find another adventurous option and found an ATV option. They picked us up at bus stop 1 and boy did we adventure. The original tour was canceled for a reason and there was SO MUCH SNOW coming down and sideways! While we froze off our hands, had steamy helmets and didn’t get to see much we did have fun riding! This is the tour we did — the guides were VERY nice and they provided all the stylish gear!
After our adventure we worked up an appetite and went to try the widely known Icelandic hotdog — I gotta be honest I was not a fan! It had more snap to it than I can handle! Jules tried Joe & the Juice and and she said it was good but their tuna was different than tuna salad we got at the Miami location. For dinner we went to Le Kock which was a casual burger place that was also really good — we had no problem sitting here and enjoyed - would totally go back.
Day 4 - MONDAY
Blue Lagoon was on schedule for today. We booked our regular Blue Lagoon tickets direct from their website and then our transfers separately — I checked a few options that paired them together and they were more expensive but there may be some options if you dig! I try to avoid a large bus tour whenever possible so this just worked best for us. We used this for transfers and we only booked our pickup time - on our ride there we told him what time we wanted to be picked up and he said we could let him know if that changed within a 30 minute time frame. We did 3 hours and with teenagers I think that was prefect. If you want a full overview of the Blue Lagoon Experience you can read about that HERE!
After Blue Lagoon we went to the Posthus Food Hall by our apartment and all got something different and everyone enjoyed it. Again - just don’t pay attention to the prices. Each persons meal (including the kids pizzas) were about $30 each not including a drink.
Also, it was this night we learned it is better to pick ISK currency and let your bank / credit card convert it rather than having them do it at processing. Maybe this is common knowledge but I didn’t know.
Day 5 - TUESDAY
For Tuesday we booked this tour and it was a nice experience. We did have to walk to bus stop 12 which was about 1.5 miles for us and SO WINDY but once we got there it was great! This tour had several stops and Toby was our tour guide until he brought us to another guide who did our super Jeep / Ice cave portion of the tour.
Toby and his tour were great but I was a little underwhelmed by the Jeep/ Ice Cave portion if I am being honest. I am glad that I did it but kind of expected more. We got back late this night and did pasta at the apartment!
DAY 6 - WEDNESDAY
Probably the day I looked forward to the least for this trip — Icelandic horseback riding. If you don’t know — I hate horseback riding. I had a crazy experience with a horse in Colorado and Jeremy had one after that and I just said its not for me. But, of course my kids love it. So, I decided I could suck it up and try it. Honestly it was better than I thought it would be—Icelandic Horse are different. They didn’t seem as out of control and I felt ok most of the time! So, I survived — if this is your thing I say go for it! They provided transportation and had hot drinks for you after you were done riding. They did have gear you could use but only thing offered to us was a helmet — I do wish I had used their boots as the horse area is a bit gross! We booked this tour! After horseback riding we went and changed and then headed to Bastard’s Brew for dinner — we all enjoyed our meals! I would recommend getting the pretzel as an appetizer!
Day 7 - THURSDAY
This was originally a free day for us but we booked the Golden Circle on this day to make up for our Golden Circle / Snowmobiling tour that was canceled earlier in the week. This was the same company we used for South Coast tour and while that was a smaller size but this was a large charter bus with 50 other people. To be honest it was the start of the horrid weather so it was not a great day for us — we wore our waterproof gear but it was still cold and wet and we were all kind of just done with it! We could handle the cold but pair it with wet and we wanted to quit. We don’t have any pictures but they took us to a crater, Geyser and the Golden Waterfalls. We stopped by the Geyser and had a lunch break. I just didn’t like the large 50 person bus vibe but if that is your thing you could give it a try - I don’t think I can give it an honest review due to the weather and my misery - haha! We were just done and had Sbarro pizza from 10-11 for dinner! Not a recommendation but it sufficed when we were just done. This is the the tour we booked.
Day 8 - FRIDAY
We had planned to go whale watching this day but the night before it was canceled. I tried looking for another option but it was also canceled. Later come to find out the entire city was canceled this day. It was a code yellow warning and all flights coming in and leaving were canceled. It was NUTS — the wind was whipping like nothing I have ever seen. For our Floridians we said its as like a snow hurricane which I guess is a blizzard! We decided to hit the Laundromat Cafe for Brunch and it did not disappoint. I just loved the vibe. Downstairs they did have 4 small wash machines if you needed that service but we just had a really good brunch. Highly recommend the Elvis pancakes! Not knowing what to do we opted for the Perlan Museum which we saw a lot of good reviews on and it was inside. We decided to give public transportation a try and with the weather it was not our best decision. If you are going I would recommend going to a taxi station and doing that route! When we finally found ourselves at the museum - it was packed. I guess with all the tours and flights being canceled everyone had the same idea! I read a ton of great reviews about this place and it was just OK for me — I honestly would say skip it and try one of the other museum options. When we were ready to go the customer service desk called us a taxi to get back to our apartment. There is no Uber in Iceland. The kids, Jeremy & I went back to the laundromat for dinner and was great once again! Connie & Chris went to the Icelandic Food Company and had lamb soup. It was unlimited refills and they said its as good — kind of like a beef stew!
Day 9 - Saturday
We tried to reschedule our whale watching for this morning but it was also canceled due to the conditions. Knowing the airport was closed the previous day, having to check out and not having a tour we just decided to head to the airport. In an ideal situation you would do a half day excursion this day and then head to the airport which is what I wished I had done but it all worked out in the end.
Mahjong in the airport attracted a lot of attention but passed the time!
We use this for our Airport transfers and its as a great, timely experience!
We had an amazing week making memories with our loved one and of course would always do it again but hope these tips help you if you are planning a trip!
If you want to read the full review about Blue Lagoon you can do so HERE!
If you want our packing list and things we did and didn’t love you can find that HERE!
We used Candy Turner with Turn2Travel for our excursions and lodging if you want to reach out for more help you can call or text her at 407.739.3164
As always!
