Travel Stories - My Trip To Iceland
My trip to Iceland
The trip was amazing! I had high expectations, and people were telling me that there was no way Iceland could be as good as i thought it would be. They thought i would be disappointed. They were wrong! It was even better than i thought!
Monday:
We landed at 6:30am, so we were very tired. I am a tall guy, so i prefer an emergency exit seat, but we got to the airport in Toronto too late to get one. So i didn't really sleep that night. However, your arrangements made things easy, even for me in my sleepy state. We found the driver as soon as we cleared customs. He was a very nice man who was pleasant to talk with, and he told us some interesting stuff about Iceland and it's history on the drive to Reykjavik. He had everything we needed with him, including the guide package with the maps and the phone. Thank you for setting that up. The Hotel Reykjavik was great. We had just enough time to eat breakfast before the tour bus came to take us on a glacier hike on Myrdalsjokull. That was amazing! Though Laura and I slept on the bus ride there and back. We were exhausted so we didn't see any of the city that night.
Tuesday:
We got our rental car in the morning, and followed a tour bus to Thingvellir. We went snorkelling in the lake there, which was awesome, though really cold on the face! We had thermal suits and wetsuits covering our entire bodies, except for the face. Afterwards we walked around Thingvellir up and down the trails. It is beautiful there. Then we drove to Geysir and watched Strokkur erupt several times while walking around the area. From there we drove to Gullfoss. I was amazed by it! I've seen Niagara Falls a few times, but i thought Gullfoss was way better! Then we drove to Seljalandsfoss to walk behind it. It was getting pretty dark by the time we got there though. We went to the hotel after that, i think it was called Hotel Skogar? The breakfast was good. Every hotel we stayed in had a great breakfast.
Wednesday:
We checked out Skogafoss for a long time in the morning. We hiked up to the top and then followed the trail back along the river for a few kilometers. It was awesome. From there we drove to the rock that has the arch through the base of it. I don't recall the name but it was near Vik. Then we drove to Svartifoss and walked to the base of the falls. I really liked the basaltic columns, they were awesome. Then we drove to Jokulsarlon Glacier lake. We got there just in time to catch the last boat tour out on the water just after 6pm. From there it was on to Hotel Hofn, which was a great hotel.
Thursday:
We drove a lot. We started early in the morning and took the longer route along the coast. It was beautiful to see all the fjords. We stopped at the bubbling mud pits just outside of Lake Myvatn. I thought they were amazing, Laura didn't like the smell. Then we walked around Dimmuborgir for a while. I was shocked by the lava pillars. After that we hiked up the nearby volcano crater. I think it was called hervfjall, but i'm not positive. It was really windy and cold at the top. The sun was almost down as well, so we climbed back down and went to our hotel in Reykjahlid. It was nice, but the windows had no curtains. Fortunately we were getting up early so the sun didn't bother us.
Friday:
We drove on to Husavik to get there for our whale watching tour at noon. However, the wind was really bad, so they cancelled the boat trip. We waited there all day hoping the wind would die down. The boat tours kept cancelling all their trips. It gave us a chance to just stop, read, and soak up the day. Finally at 5pm the wind was slow enough for the boats to go out. So we went on the tour and saw a few whales. It was great, but chilly. We didn't get one of the suits people wear to stay warm and dry. But it was still amazing. After that we drove to Godafoss. It was getting pretty dark, but I still thought the falls were amazing. From there it was on to Akureyri. I don't remember the name of the hotel, but it was at the base of the stairs to the beautiful church. We spent some time walking around the streets of Akureyri, soaking up the night life. The hotel was excellent, and had the best breakfast out of all of the hotels we stayed in.
Saturday:
We drove from Akureyri to Reykjavik, taking the route that went underground. We didn't make any detours to sightsee because we were trying to get back in time to return the car. We didn't make it in time and had to park the car on a side street and leave the keys with the staff at Hotel Reykjavik. Thank you for your help with sorting out the rental car afterwards when they couldn't find it. I hope everything turned out alright. We went to see the Pearl, which had a great view and interesting architecture. It seemed like a popular spot because it was crowded. We walked around the city that night and bought some souvenirs for everyone back home.
Sunday:
We took a bus tour to the Blue Lagoon. First the tour bus took us around the Reykjanes Pennisula. It was cool to see golf courses cut out of volcanic rock. We stopped at the 'bridge over two continents' which i really liked. We also stopped at the coast nearby an old lighthouse, and in a fishing village. From there it was on to the Blue Lagoon. We spent over two hours in the water. It was so relaxing and awesome. Someone stole my towel, but the staff kindly lent me one without charging me. From there it was on to the airport. I forgot to ask the check in counter if i could have an emergency exit seat, but they had given me one anyway, which was very thoughtful of them.
Overall, the food was expensive like we were warned, but that was ok because all the hotels had a great complimentary breakfast. We also bought a jar of peanut butter and some bread, so we at sandwiches every day for lunch. So really dinner was the only expensive meal of the day, which was fine. The people in Iceland are all fantastic! I did not meet a single person who would not help us with directions or any questions we had. Everyone was really friendly. I was amazed at how many people spoke english so fluently. I wished i could speak Icelandic as a sign of respect for the people i spoke with, and the country i was visiting.
I had a great time and i've been recommending the trip to everyone, thanks again
Sid Harkema.
The trip was amazing! I had high expectations, and people were telling me that there was no way Iceland could be as good as i thought it would be. They thought i would be disappointed. They were wrong! It was even better than i thought!
Monday:
We landed at 6:30am, so we were very tired. I am a tall guy, so i prefer an emergency exit seat, but we got to the airport in Toronto too late to get one. So i didn't really sleep that night. However, your arrangements made things easy, even for me in my sleepy state. We found the driver as soon as we cleared customs. He was a very nice man who was pleasant to talk with, and he told us some interesting stuff about Iceland and it's history on the drive to Reykjavik. He had everything we needed with him, including the guide package with the maps and the phone. Thank you for setting that up. The Hotel Reykjavik was great. We had just enough time to eat breakfast before the tour bus came to take us on a glacier hike on Myrdalsjokull. That was amazing! Though Laura and I slept on the bus ride there and back. We were exhausted so we didn't see any of the city that night.
Tuesday:
We got our rental car in the morning, and followed a tour bus to Thingvellir. We went snorkelling in the lake there, which was awesome, though really cold on the face! We had thermal suits and wetsuits covering our entire bodies, except for the face. Afterwards we walked around Thingvellir up and down the trails. It is beautiful there. Then we drove to Geysir and watched Strokkur erupt several times while walking around the area. From there we drove to Gullfoss. I was amazed by it! I've seen Niagara Falls a few times, but i thought Gullfoss was way better! Then we drove to Seljalandsfoss to walk behind it. It was getting pretty dark by the time we got there though. We went to the hotel after that, i think it was called Hotel Skogar? The breakfast was good. Every hotel we stayed in had a great breakfast.
Wednesday:
We checked out Skogafoss for a long time in the morning. We hiked up to the top and then followed the trail back along the river for a few kilometers. It was awesome. From there we drove to the rock that has the arch through the base of it. I don't recall the name but it was near Vik. Then we drove to Svartifoss and walked to the base of the falls. I really liked the basaltic columns, they were awesome. Then we drove to Jokulsarlon Glacier lake. We got there just in time to catch the last boat tour out on the water just after 6pm. From there it was on to Hotel Hofn, which was a great hotel.
Thursday:
We drove a lot. We started early in the morning and took the longer route along the coast. It was beautiful to see all the fjords. We stopped at the bubbling mud pits just outside of Lake Myvatn. I thought they were amazing, Laura didn't like the smell. Then we walked around Dimmuborgir for a while. I was shocked by the lava pillars. After that we hiked up the nearby volcano crater. I think it was called hervfjall, but i'm not positive. It was really windy and cold at the top. The sun was almost down as well, so we climbed back down and went to our hotel in Reykjahlid. It was nice, but the windows had no curtains. Fortunately we were getting up early so the sun didn't bother us.
Friday:
We drove on to Husavik to get there for our whale watching tour at noon. However, the wind was really bad, so they cancelled the boat trip. We waited there all day hoping the wind would die down. The boat tours kept cancelling all their trips. It gave us a chance to just stop, read, and soak up the day. Finally at 5pm the wind was slow enough for the boats to go out. So we went on the tour and saw a few whales. It was great, but chilly. We didn't get one of the suits people wear to stay warm and dry. But it was still amazing. After that we drove to Godafoss. It was getting pretty dark, but I still thought the falls were amazing. From there it was on to Akureyri. I don't remember the name of the hotel, but it was at the base of the stairs to the beautiful church. We spent some time walking around the streets of Akureyri, soaking up the night life. The hotel was excellent, and had the best breakfast out of all of the hotels we stayed in.
Saturday:
We drove from Akureyri to Reykjavik, taking the route that went underground. We didn't make any detours to sightsee because we were trying to get back in time to return the car. We didn't make it in time and had to park the car on a side street and leave the keys with the staff at Hotel Reykjavik. Thank you for your help with sorting out the rental car afterwards when they couldn't find it. I hope everything turned out alright. We went to see the Pearl, which had a great view and interesting architecture. It seemed like a popular spot because it was crowded. We walked around the city that night and bought some souvenirs for everyone back home.
Sunday:
We took a bus tour to the Blue Lagoon. First the tour bus took us around the Reykjanes Pennisula. It was cool to see golf courses cut out of volcanic rock. We stopped at the 'bridge over two continents' which i really liked. We also stopped at the coast nearby an old lighthouse, and in a fishing village. From there it was on to the Blue Lagoon. We spent over two hours in the water. It was so relaxing and awesome. Someone stole my towel, but the staff kindly lent me one without charging me. From there it was on to the airport. I forgot to ask the check in counter if i could have an emergency exit seat, but they had given me one anyway, which was very thoughtful of them.
Overall, the food was expensive like we were warned, but that was ok because all the hotels had a great complimentary breakfast. We also bought a jar of peanut butter and some bread, so we at sandwiches every day for lunch. So really dinner was the only expensive meal of the day, which was fine. The people in Iceland are all fantastic! I did not meet a single person who would not help us with directions or any questions we had. Everyone was really friendly. I was amazed at how many people spoke english so fluently. I wished i could speak Icelandic as a sign of respect for the people i spoke with, and the country i was visiting.
I had a great time and i've been recommending the trip to everyone, thanks again
Sid Harkema.
