ICELAND

My trip to Iceland occurred two different times. Once in August and the other in December. Going to Iceland at these two different times were very unique. In August , Iceland is mostly daylight, so at 3 am in Iceland you will think it’s still the afternoon because the sun never fully sets. In December, Iceland is very different than in August. Iceland in December, daylight is at maximum 5 to 6 hours, so a lot of the day is spent in the dark. Both these trips were amazing and now I will show and recommend what excursions I did that I believe is the best way to visit Iceland.

My trip to Iceland in August took place from the 26th to the 30th. First day arriving, I did a excursion in Thingvellir National Park. The excursion I chose to do was called “Snorkeling in Silfra with Underwater Photos Included”. This excursion was hosted and operated by Tröll Expeditions. This excursion was exciting and very different. When swimming in the Silfra, you are in between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Being you are in between these tectonic plates, everything in the middle is all lava rock. In between the lava rock, the Silfra is formed by the melting of glaciers. This glacier water is extremely cold, so double layered equipment was required to get in. First time getting in I didn’t know what to expect. Once in, the group was instructed on how to maneuver while you floated in the slow current of the Silfra. Once in the water, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Being the Silfra is glacier water the visibility was 100 meters deep. This was a cool excursion, the visuals of rocks and Algae displayed from rocks thousand or million years old was amazing. I recommend this excursion if you don’t mind the cold and into visuals of some amazing rocks. Depending on the time you choose, the Thingvellir National Park is also a nice walk and park to see. So booking this excursion almost feels like a 2 for 1 deal. The only downfall of this excursion is the inability for hotel pickup from Reykjavik. So with that, you need to figure out transportation to and from the park.

Next day in Iceland, I visited the Perlan Museum. This museum was nice and had a lot to do. I like the rooftop of the museum, where you can see the whole city of Reykjavik. Also in the museum, there is a video of the Aurora lights also known as the northern lights. This video was cool as it showed the northern lights in different forms over various different parts of Iceland. Last part of the museum that was cool , was the mini ice cave that was built inside. Ice cave was very nice and had various animals frozen in the ice to kind of remind you of the ice age. Perlan Museum overall was a nice day. This museum can easily be done in 2 to 3 hours, so the earlier you do it, the more time you have in the rest of your day to do something else.

The next day in Iceland was a great day. The excursion I did was, “Small Group Golden Circle & Blue Lagoon (Admission Included)”. This excursion was hosted and operated by Bus Travel Iceland. This excursion was a all day trip, lasting 11 hours. This excursion included hotel pickup from Reykjavik, so transportation was not an issue. Beginning of the excursion, you get scenic route of Reykjavik before the actual excursion begins. First stop on the excursion was the “Kerid Crater”. Kerid Crater is a volcanic lake that is roughly three thousand years old. This was a nice site to see because the red lava rock mixed with the greenery was a beautiful sight.

Next stop on the excursion was a horse ranch/greenhouse restaurant called “Fridheimar Greenhouse”. Learning how Icelandic horses have five gallops instead of four like most horses in the world was very interesting. The woman jockey at the ranch gave us a demonstration of the different gallops the Icelandic horses has. After the demonstration, we was led to the greenhouse restaurant, where we ate lunch under the vines of growing tomatoes. This restaurant was very unique in the design and atmosphere it promoted while you ate.

After lunch, next stop was the “Geysir” hot springs. These hot springs was amazing for its shooting of boiling water from 65 feet to 130 feet into the air.

After leaving the Geysir, the next stop was the “Gullfoss” waterfall. Gullfoss meaning is “Golden Falls”, which most Icelandic people consider it. The waterfall consist of two levels of flowing water. First level drop is approximately 36 feet and second drop is approximately 69 feet. These two falls generate approximately 460 cubic feet of water every second. This water was a beautiful sight to see. The ability to get up close to the waterfall was absolutely amazing.

The last stop of the excursion, was the “Blue Lagoon”. This world famous landmark really lives up to its name. The blue water mixed with the surrounding black lava rocks makes this unique lagoon really pop. The warmth of the water after a long day was very relaxing. Also the swim up mask bar is a great touch for those who likes to exfoliate their face while soaking in the warm water.

Overall this was a great excursion, I recommend it highly to anyone who doesn’t mind the long day and moving around to different locations.

My next trip to Iceland took place in December. I went from the 17th to the 21st. First day in Iceland, the excursion I did was “Snowmobiling On Langjökull Glacier & Bathing In The Secret Lagoon”. This excursion was hosted and operated by Skalpi ehf Mountaineers of Iceland. This excursion was a 10 hour excursion so it lasted most of the day. The excursion included hotel pickup with a huge monster truck that was needed to get on top of the glacier. Once on the glacier at the sight of snowmobiling, we were instructed to change into warmer clothes due to the decrease in temperature especially while riding the snowmobile. For my first time snowmobiling, it was definitely fun. I can compare snowmobiling to jet skiing.

After snowmobiling, we was taken to our next stop which was the “Secret Lagoon”. This lagoon was very different than the Blue Lagoon which is more popular by tourism. At this lagoon, I got more of a feel for a historic lagoon that looks like it’s been there for thousand of years. Even walking around in the lagoon, the floor was full of lava rocks. This excursion I recommend for anyone who doesn’t mind going from extreme cold to hot. I also recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind the long day since this excursion last 10 hours.

Next excursion I did was the “2 day tour – Blue Ice Cave, Jökulsarlon, Waterfalls & more”. This excursion was hosted and operated by Nicetravel. When booking, this excursion there are two options to accommodate the overnight stay. When booking, you had the option to stay in a guesthouse or the option to stay in a hotel for the night. I’m not sure why it had two options because I chose guesthouse stay, which consisted of a private room with shared bathroom. But once we got to the guesthouse all the rooms had their own bathrooms, so it felt like a hotel stay. Beginning of the excursion, we set out to the east region of Iceland where bulk of this excursion took place. First stop on the excursion was two very scenic waterfalls located in Seljalandstoss. These waterfalls were very unique in how different they look just a few 100 feet away.

Next stop on the excursion was the “Solheimajökull”. This is an outlet glacier to the icecap of Myrdalsjökull. This glacier was cool to see, as a group, we saw people who were hiking on it from a distance.

After the Solheimajökull, the next stop was “Black Beach”. Some of the roughest currents in the world, the Black Beach is unique for its black sand. Along with its black sand, behind the beach stands a huge mountain of lava rock which is approximately 300 feet in height.

Once leaving the Black Beach, we made our way mostly east. From Black Beach, we were only 45 minutes from our night stay at the guesthouse. Once in the guesthouse, we were given our rooms. After settling in, we were served dinner and left alone to walk around the premises enjoying a Icelandic night.

Day 2

Next day, we set out to visit the natural Blue Ice Cave in Vatnajökull. This Ice cave was beautiful to see. Crystal clear but still holding a hint of blue color made this cave amazing.

After the cave, we made our way to the glacier lakes which is formed by the melting of the glacier.

The melting of the glacier that forms glacier lakes, took us to our final stop on the excursion which was the “Black Diamond Beach”. Now the name will make you think the sand has real diamonds or crystals in it but what’s really on the black sand is huge ice chunks that were pushed by the ocean currents on to the shore. This was very informative and unique to see because it takes 5 years for a single ice chunk to make its way upon shore.

After “Black Diamond Beach”, we made our way back to Reykjavik. This excursion was definitely worth the money and time. I recommend everyone to try this excursion because it has something for everyone to try or like no matter what your into.

Between August and December, Iceland is a great place to visit. Small town of Reykjavik is a place anyone can enjoy. The people are nice and the weather is comfortable. I recommend Iceland to anyone who are interested in waterfalls, glaciers, snowmobiling and mostly all winter activities.