Visit Iceland

Oh you want to visit Iceland! What a faaaaabulous country. I know Iceland is the cool, new, hip place to go ever since Justin Bieber filmed a few music videos there but I still think it’s the most amazing place. I recommend it to everyone. Everyone is so nice and the whole county is so calm and lovely. When you visit Iceland you will notice how the landscape is constantly changing. Black sand beaches, green lush mossy fields and snow covered glaciers!

There is SO much to see and do if you are an outdoorsy person. I had the best experience in Iceland and I HELLA recommend it to EVERYONE.

Where to Eat in Iceland

There are tons of places to eat in Reykjavik, but if you are out driving around in the middle of nowhere, restaurants become scarce. My friends and I packed lunches and snacks for the long road trips just in case. You also save money this way, obviously. And Iceland ain’t cheap! We also tried to get coffee every morning at a local shop. Iceland has amazing coffee. Also, check out the famous hot dog stand!

• List of Iceland Cafes
• World famous hotdogs- Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur

What to Do in Iceland:

My biggest tip is to rent a car. Yes there is some public transportation but I honestly believe my favorite part of my entire trip was the fact that it was a combination of mini road trips. We woke up early, packed the car full of snacks and took off! We were also able to pack extra clothes and shoes because Iceland is 1. Cold and 2. Wet. All of the places listed below we accessed by car. You can always look into tours leaving from Reykjavik but I still think renting a car is the way to go!

Reykjavik, Iceland

• Blue Lagoon– an OBVIOUS must do. We did it at sunset. So we could experience daylight/ night

• Explore Reykjavik– This town is so cute and quaint. Great stores and coffeeshops
• Hallgrímskirkja– pretty neat looking church. Climb to the top for a sweet view

• Austurvöllur– Public Square/ Park
• The Harpa– Cool to check out at night. The outside changes colors
• Northern Lights tour- You could chance it (like we did) to see the Northern Lights on your own. We honestly got extremely lucky. But if you want to do an actual tour, there are a bunch in town. 
• Penis Museum– lollllllll but really. If you like peen.

South Iceland

• Seljalandsfoss– Cool waterfall you can walk behind! 
• Skógafoss– Another cool waterfall. Right off the main road

• Abandoned plane at Sólheimasandur black sand beach– It’s exactly what it sounds like. Explore the beach as well in the town of Vik

• Vik– Cute town!
• Eldhraun Lava Field– Fields and fields of moss covered lava
• Fjaðrárgljúfur – My FAV stop. So gorg. (Edit 7/16/19 – They closed this. You can no longer visit here. whomp whomp whomp).

• Skaftafell– We arrived 5 mins after the park closed. SUCH A SHAME. So plan better than us.

Golden Circle, Iceland

• Þingvellir– If you are a geology nerd, this is a must see. This is where the Eurasia and North American tectonic plates MEET. Fascinating. 
• Geysir and Strokkur Geysir – Sweet Geysirs. Just hot AF water blowing straight up into the air. Also cute gift shop/ coffeeshop here
• Gullfoss– Sick of waterfalls yet? Better not be. This one is MEGA.
• Kerid Crater– another one of my top FAVS! 

Where to Stay in Iceland:

We decided to rent an Airbnb. There were 5 of us and we were only there for a couple days. If you’re there for longer I recommend hopping around the island a bit. We didn’t have that kind of time so we made Reykjavik our home ground.

• We stayed in an Airbnb HERE. However there are cool places to stay if you aren’t a poor student studying abroad. Check out this list HERE, HERE, or HERE.

Tips for Iceland

• Everyone is SO nice. Almost everyone speaks English but the further out you go into the middle of nowhere, the less English is spoken. 
• Ranch flavored Doritos are called “Cool American” Doritos at the store. And I recommend them.
• It rains randomly at all times.
• Bring a bathing suit for the Blue Lagoon.
• Try and visit when the Northern Lights are most visible. It’s the most amazing thing in the world.  
• If you have time, do a horse farm tour. We stopped by pretending to ask for information just so we could see all the fluffy horses. Next time, deff want to do a tour.

Well, that’s all for now folks! I hope you enjoyed my Visit Iceland post! Feel free to check out my travel diary on Iceland, Ireland or Scotland! Enjoy your trip!!!