Iceland is hands down one of my favorite places I’ve ever visited.  It was the first stop on a fantastic European vacation I took with my mom for her 60th birthday! We flew Icelandair and did the free stopover, which was such a great way to see Iceland, as well as another location in Europe.  They had comfortable plane seats with a personal tv in the seat with a decent selection of movies, music and tv; which for someone like me who can’t sleep on a plane, is of utmost importance.  (Stay tuned for more on our others stops!).

Having only 2 days in Iceland, I knew I had to plan ahead to ensure we could maximize our time there.  We stayed at Centerhotel Skjaldbreid, in downtown Reykjavik and it was the perfect location.  It is on the main street, Laugavegur, which is where many shops and restaurants are located.  It is also a less than 5 min walk to the main bus station, which is where the airport buses and tours pick up and drop off.  The hotel offered a free breakfast with a very nice spread and the most comfortable hotel mattress I’ve ever slept on.  Highly recommended.

Day 1:

Our first stop in Iceland was the amazing Blue Lagoon.  We went straight from the airport after our overnight flight.  It was a great way to rejuvenate after 5 hours in a plane and no sleep.  We booked our tickets in advance, which I would definitely recommend to avoid the long line once you arrive.  We bought the “Comfort” ticket which included a towel, a silica mud mask, an algae mask and a drink of choice from the bar.  (I’d recommend the strawberry wine!).  Give yourself a minimum of 3 hours at the lagoon.  It is so relaxing and non-stop pampering with the warm water and unlimited use of the silica masks for your face and body.  Also make sure to take advantage of their hair and skin care products in the locker room when you are finished in the lagoon.  They have a shop where they sell all of their products, however we waited to buy them at the airport on our layover back to the US, to avoid schlepping them around Europe the remainder of our trip.

From the Blue Lagoon we took the bus into downtown Reykjavik and checked into our hotel, then headed out to grab some lunch and explore the city.  For lunch, we stopped at Prikid, the oldest coffee shop in Iceland, where we had great sandwiches and a nice view of Laugavegur. Rumor has it they play traditional, live, Icelandic music in the evenings, so if you are nearby around dinner time it may be a fun place to stop.  Our next stop was Hallgrímskirkja, the beautiful church in the center of town.  You can pay a small fee and go up to the top of the church where you have amazing views of the city.

The rest of the day we spent wandering and exploring Reykjavik, which is full of cute shops and restaurants.  For dinner we went to a tiny little soup restaurant called Svarta Kaffid.  The soup in a bread bowl hit the spot after spending the afternoon out in the cold.  After dinner we decided to stop for a drink at a bar our hotel concierge recommended, Kaldi, an Icelandic Microbrewery.  We got a great little table in the back and had a cocktail to end a perfect first day in Iceland.

We considered doing the Northern Lights tour on our first night, but due to the limited sleep on the overnight flight, we were exhausted and decided to wait until the next night.  Unfortunately, this backfired on us as we were told the cloud cover would be too much to see the lights the next night; which meant that we missed our opportunity to see them.  I was extremely disappointed that we missed the lights and wish we would have gone on the first night.  My suggestion would be to go on the tour the first night of your trip.  From what I understand, if you don’t see any lights, they allow you come back the next night to try again.  This will hopefully give you the opportunity to experience the extraordinary Aurora Borealis before leaving Iceland.

Day 2:

We started day two with a great breakfast at the hotel, before heading out to do some more exploring in Reykjavik.  We checked out more of the cute shops and restaurants, before taking a walk along the water front.  The views are spectacular everywhere you look and they have many interesting sculptures and buildings to see as well.

We had the Golden Circle Express tour booked for that afternoon.  Before leaving for the tour we decided to find the world famous hot dog stand, Baejarins Beztu, which we had heard so much about before arriving.  I’d suggest having the hotel mark it on a map so you can be sure you find it, because it is tiny and very easy to miss.  Friends of mine had tried (unsuccessfully) to find it a month before, so we were on a mission to find it (Sorry Ryan and Robin!).  Thankfully we found it!  And we were sure glad we did, as it was one of the best hot dogs I have ever had.

That afternoon we headed out on the Golden Circle Express Tour.  We decided on the express tour because we had such limited time in Iceland.  It goes to all the same stops as the regular Golden Circle Tour, but with slightly less time at each location.  We were able to see everything, but having a little more time to explore at each stop would have been nice.  However, it you are short on time as we were, the express tour gets the job done.

The first stop on our tour was Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Here you can see where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are separating, and you can literally walk between the two continents.  In addition to the breathtaking views of the Icelandic landscape, it is also the site of the founding of the Icelandic Parliament in 930 A.D., where is remained until 1798.  This was the one stop that I would have like to have a bit more time to explore, which unfortunately the express tour did not allow.  But again, we were short on time and at least were able to get some great photos to document our time there.

The next stop on our tour was Gullfoss Waterfall.  Gullfoss is located on the Hvítá (White) river which is fed by Iceland´s second biggest glacier, the Langjökull.  There are two viewing platforms, one at the top looking down and another at the bottom looking up.  Take the time to view the falls from both platforms, because they both offer fantastic views.

From the waterfall we made our way to the Geysir Geothermal Area where we were able to see the geyser Strokkur.  Strokkur spouts every 5-ish minutes, shooting steaming water 60-100 feet in the air!  It is pretty incredible to see the geysers in person and felt very authentic Iceland.

The last stop on our tour was Skálholt church.  It has a long history dating back to 1056, when Christianity was made Iceland’s state religion.  At that time, the first bishop of the country was ordained and settled there.  Today people stop at Skálholt on the Golden Circle Tour to visit the new cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows.  We were also told there is a Summer Music Festival, which last about 5 weeks from July to early August.

The express tour ended around 5pm, dropping us back at the main bus terminal in Reykjavik.  We were getting hungry again by this point so we started wandering around looking for a place for dinner.  We decided on Frederiksen Ale House, which was a few minute walk from the bus stop.  It is an old fashion pub with a huge selection of beer and other drinks and a great menu with a twist on classic pub foods.

After dinner we went to a bar called Húrra, which was recommended to me by a friend who stopped in on her trip.  It is a local bar with live music, where we saw a band called Wago play.  It is very similar to my favorite bar in New York City, which for me, was the perfect location for our last stop in Reykjavik.  After leaving the bar, we slowly made our way back to the hotel, stopping along the waterfront to see if there was any chance at seeing the Northern Lights.  Unfortunately the tour company was correct, and the cloud cover was too much to see any light activity.

Although Iceland was only the first of four stops on our trip, it was an amazing two days and honestly one of my favorite places I’ve ever been.  Sooner rather than later, I plan to return to further explore Reykjavik.  I also plan to travel to the Northern part of the country and visit Akureyri, which I have heard is also a spectacular city.  Iceland should most definitely be high on your bucket list.  There is something for everyone and it is an experience you just can not find anywhere else.