When WOW Air started their crazy flight deals from Boston to Reykjavik, I didn’t hesitate. Knowing I would already be in Boston for my brother’s college graduation, it seemed like a simple choice to take the entire week off and spend the first part of the week in Iceland. The flight from Boston to Reykjavik is actually shorter than the flight from San Diego to Boston!
We left Boston around 7am and landed in Iceland around 4am. We were about an hour drive to Reykjavik where we had a hotel waiting for us. Many of the hotels are used to these early arrivals so you can pay a lower rate and check in bright and early.
Where to Stay: We stayed at a hotel called Room With a View. It was a pretty simple hotel but had what we needed and was in a great location.
What to Do: Since we were only in Iceland for a few days we made Reykjavik our home base and did day trips from there.
Wander around Reykjavik. After we woke from our redeye/jetlagged naps we found some lunch and Icelandic beers and then wandered around the city, checking out the windy waterfront, the church Hallgrimskirkja for some great views of the city, and popping into shops full of Icelandic goodies.
South Coast Tour – We booked this through IG Tours – it was an all day tour of, you guessed it, the south coast. We stopped at Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss waterfalls, Reynisfjara black sandy beach, the village of Vik (don’t get too excited about what you’ll be eating for lunch here) and Myrdalsjokull, Iceland’s fourth largest glacier. You also have the option to do a glacier hike or snowmobile tour as a combination tour but we did not.
Snorkel Silfra & The Golden Circle Tour – We booked this tour through Local Iceland Tours/isango!. While the entire trip was one highlight after another, this was definitely one of our favorite activities. We put on ridiculous dry suits and wandered down to the Silfra Fissure in Thingvellir National Park and hopped in the water. You snorkel through some of the clearest water in the world, in between two tectonic plates – in 32-degree water! Where else are you going to do something like this? The water was SO BLUE. After snorkeling, we made our way to the Geysir geothermal region and Gullfoss waterfall – also pretty cool sights to check out!
Blue Lagoon – while it’s definitely a tourist hot spot, it seems like a trip to Iceland isn’t complete without a visit to the Blue Lagoon. It’s much closer to the airport than to Reykjavik so you’ll definitely want to try and schedule your time there on your way to or from the airport. We spent about an hour there on our way to the airport and it was really quite amazing. You can book add-on massages but we just enjoyed relaxing in the steamy water.
If you have more than just a few days or are looking for some other activities than the ones we did, check out Follow Me Away’s 15 Best Tours in Iceland for more recommendations!
Our days were so long and full of activity that the only other thing left to do was EAT!
Where to Eat:
Grillmarkadurinn – A trendy restaurant located right off the main drag. A warm and cozy ambiance, and like many restaurants in Iceland, they featured a lot of seafood, but had a great selection of meat as well.
Fiskfelagid – another trendy restaurant close by, we sat down in the basement level at a bar area and had our fill of delicious seafood recipes.
Bakari Sandholt Reykjavik – This bakery was located down the street from our hotel and was our daily morning stop for breakfast and coffee. If you’re all set with breakfast, I highly recommend stopping in here for a treat later in the afternoon!
While we were only there for a few days, I’ve heard great things about driving the Ring Road, so if you have the time it’s definitely worth considering!
