Iceland Travel Guide

Hey Everyone!

I recently visited Iceland for a week with my sister, brother-in-law, and boyfriend and we had a blast! It was my second time visiting Iceland and I highly recommend it. I know it sounds like a random place to visit, but it's so beautiful you honestly feel like you're on a different planet.

If you're the adventurous type and appreciate places with a lot of natural beauty, you'd love it. Disclaimer: it definitely isn't a relaxing trip so if you're looking for some R&R, I'd opt for someplace different. It's a lot of long days and early mornings but the experiences we had and sites we saw were well worth it.

Where to stay:

Both times I visited Iceland I stayed in an AirBnB and it worked fine. The first time we stayed a little outside of the capital city, Reyjavik, which I don't recommend doing because it's a little inconvenient. This time around our AirBnB was in the center of the city and walking distance from stores and restaurants which worked out perfectly.

What To Do:

We did A LOT. My sister was in charge of the itinerary and she really outdid herself, making sure each day was filled with something fun and exciting.

We saw the Golden Circle which is a popular tourist route that loops from Reykjavik to Southern Iceland and back. There are five main stopping points on the route that most people visit. There is Gulfoss waterfall, which is a huge waterfall formed during the Ice Age, the Blue Lagoon, which is a huge thermal bath and one of the wonders of the world, Geysirs, which are the erupting hot springs that bubble up and shoot water hundreds of feet into the air, a National Park, which in my opinion is not that exciting; if you wanted to skip one I'd skip the park. The fifth stop is Kerio, a volcanic crater lake.

That's Gulfoss waterfall behind me !

My favorite activity of the trip was horseback riding! We rode Icelandic horses for almost two hours around snow covered mountains. It was absolutely amazing. I've been riding horses since I was about six years old so any excuse to hop on the saddle works for me. The horses were so sweet and mild tempered I'd recommend it for anyone, even if you've never ridden before.

Our most adventurous activity was snowmobiling across Iceland's second largest glacier, which was 31 miles long. That's longer than Staten Island! (If you're not from New York that may not seem so impressive to you lol) I'll admit it was a little scary at times! It was freezing up on the glacier and the snowmobile ride was not a smooth one as the visibility was really low. However, it was such a once in a lifetime experience and felt so cool.

Another main attraction for Iceland is the Northern Lights. It's really hit or miss whether you'll be able to see them or not but after two attempts, we were able to get a glimpse! The Northern Lights look green in the night sky, but you can't seem them from the city so you have to take a bus or drive to the outskirts to try to see them.

We also went to Diamond Beach, which is filled with huge crystal rocks that look like real diamonds! Fun fact: Aerie recently shot a campaign here and the pictures are amazing. If you go on their site, you can see these large "diamond" rocks behind some of the models.

And we went ice caving. They give you a helmet and take you inside of an actual ice cave- I felt like I was under the sea lol.

What To Pack:

The city was in the low 30's but when we went to different mountains and glaciers the temperatures definitely dropped. I'd recommend bringing a lot of layers. Sometimes you're freezing and other times you want to take it all off, especially if you're moving around a lot.

If you're visiting Iceland in the winter, snow pants, waterproof boots such as Timberlands, and a heavy, waterproof jacket are an absolute must. Iceland's weather is also very unpredictable. One minute it will snow, then five minutes later it will be sunny, then ten minutes after that hail will start coming down. So, it's important to be prepared. Bring hats, thick ski gloves, neck warmers, and thick sweaters.

PSA: I wore a pair of Cole Haan boots which I definitely would not recommend for Arctic or really cold temperatures. They're more than fine for New York but they aren't very waterproof (even thought they claim to be) so my feet were absolutely freezing! Opt for Timberland or Sorrel boots instead.

What To Eat:

Icelandic people eat a lot of interesting things: whale, shark, horse, puffin. Fun fact: they're population of horses is larger than their population of people! So, get ready to try some new cuisine. I tried shark and it was delicious ! It kind of tastes like tuna. I highly recommend the restaurant "Grill Market."

Hopefully I've covered the important things but if you have any questions at all, shoot me a DM or email ! I'm always happy to help.

If you love to travel, Iceland is such a special country and so different than anywhere else I've been. You can't compare it to most other European countries like Italy or France, nor can you compare it to America. It's an entity all its own and it's definitely worth visiting.

If you don't already, follow me on Instagram @insidecarolinecloset!

Thank you so much for reading !

xo,

Caroline