Iceland Travel Tips

After an excellent night’s sleep, we enjoyed an extensive and delicious breakfast at Hotel 360, said goodbye to our hosts, and headed out for the Golden Circle and a long day of driving and sight-seeing.  We drove first to Thingvellir National Park, followed by Gullfoss Waterfall, then the Geysir.  Our next stop after the geysir was Frioheimar which is a hydroponic tomato farm.  I mistakenly booked a lunch reservation for the wrong day, so they couldn’t accommodate us for lunch, but said we could sit in the bar, have a drink and enjoy some tomato soup in a bread bowl.

DO NOT MISS A STOP AT FRIOHEIMAR FOR TOMATO SOUP IN A BREAD BOWL!  It was magnificent and just what we were craving.

However, on our way there, we decided to stop “at just one more waterfall” and found ourselves at an off-the-beaten-path river and waterfall called Faxi.  We were the only ones there and it was spectacular!!  And this is where that bottle of wine from Duty Free came in handy!  We grabbed our wine, bought some snacks from the little café on the river, and sat and watched the Faxi waterfall in solitude.

There is a salmon ladder on the river there for viewing, but the salmon were not running during May so we did not see any.  One other party showed up while we were there, but this was the magic of Iceland – waterfalls when pretty much no one else is around.  We finally pulled into Frioheimar just before they were closing, but we were able to savor their tomato soup and walk around the farm a bit

Hotel and Dinner

After our soup at the tomato farm, we had about a 2-hour drive to Hella and our next hotel, Hotel Ranga.  I admit I was obsessed with Hotel Ranga ever since The Real Housewives of Orange County stayed there. After visiting, all I can say is that it’s a very lovely, with great people, comfortable beds, but a bit quirky. My husband splurged a bit for a suite, which had a unique revolving seating area feature!  It reminded me of a ride at Disneyland – the floor would rotate and on one side, it was a dining table and on the other side, it was a sofa and chairs. And there was also a huge stone bath tub right in the middle of the room made out of river rock to go with the neon lights in several different colors in the bathroom - just quirky!

We should have made a reservation for dinner at the hotel restaurant as there is nowhere else to eat around there, but the restaurant was able to accommodate us for a 9:00 pm reservation.  To pass the time until dinner, we enjoyed a lovely walk around the property, opened our complimentary bottle of “welcome” wine on the benches by the Ranga River and watched dusk overcome southern Iceland.  It was breathtaking and another instance where I failed to make a dinner reservation, but it turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences we had.

Dinner at the Hotel Ranga was incredible and worth the wait for a reservation!  We had the opportunity to try puffin, whale and other Icelandic dishes.  The cod in Iceland is very light and delicate and is nothing like the Atlantic cod we have in the United States. Be sure to check out the bar stools in the bar before you walk into the restaurant! Although the property had some unusual features, I would say that this stay was a “must” tip for traveling to Iceland in the South.

 

The next morning, we had a 45 minute drive to the port city of Landeyjahofn.  We had booked tickets on the Herjolfur ferry to the island of Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.

The island is home to the largest population of nesting puffins in the summer, as well as an active volcano that last erupted in 1974 spewing lava into the town and causing a full evacuation. After disembarking the ferry, we had reservations at Ribsafari for a rib boat tour which was a short walk to another part of the harbor.  We were excited to check out the rugged coastline and caves up close and personal, as well as to view the jagged cliffs where the puffins were. It was super fun and adventurous too.

We popped in for a late lunch at Gott Restaurant (make reservations in advance if you can) and later walked up the hill to the volcano museum https://www.eldheimar.is for a fascinating exhibit on the 1974 eruption.  We meandered through the beautifully kept town cemetery and ending up at The Brother’s Brewery https://tbb.is/ for a couple of beers in town before catching the last ferry back to the mainland and continuing our drive south to the town of Vik.

And then this happened...one of the coolest things about Iceland in the summer…..

Back on the mainland at 9:00 pm, we jumped in our jeep for the drive south to Vik for the night.  On the road south, there are waterfalls everywhere, including the must-see Seljalandsfoss (made famous in a Justin Bieber music video) where you can walk behind the falls, calling to mind the old Disney Jungle Cruise joke, “Look everyone, it’s the back side of water!”

We assumed we would stop and visit the falls during the daytime, but why?  It was still light at 10:30 pm and no one was there!  Especially no tour buses!  So we pulled over and had the place to ourselves!  Pro Iceland Travel Tip: If you’re a night owl, and it’s summer in Iceland, you can visit most sights without the throngs of tour buses and people. It was glorious!

In the small town of Vik in Southern Iceland, we pulled into Hotel Kria close to midnight.

There are two top hotels in Vik, Hotel Kria and Hotel Myrdal.  We stayed in Kria on our way through and planned to stay in Myrdal on the way back.  In hindsight, we should have stayed in Hotel Kria both times as it was a superior hotel in comparison. Pro Iceland Travel Tip:  Shop your hotel reservations directly with the hotel's site, comparing their rates with the rates offered by the large travel sites. We found deals BOTH ways to get the best price.  We even called the hotel and made reservations over the phone in some instances, especially when a website said they were completely booked - they were not.

In the morning, we had a lovely breakfast in the hotel and then looked out the back windows of the dining room to see the old school bus that is also a coffee house.  We had seen this school bus on numerous TikTok videos by influencers and wanted to check it out.  I guess we had been “influenced!”

It was so cute and the baristas inside were so friendly and nice. We grabbed delicious cappuccinos and lattes “to go” and drove out to the famous black sand beach and the rocky coastline of southern Iceland

On the way, we first stopped at Fjadrargljufur Canyon which is an absolute must-see and worth the time!  The spectacular canyon, covered in moss, was breathtaking, unexpected, overwhelming and magnificent.  It is a short and easy hike up to the top of the cliffs to look down between the boulders to the rushing river below.  It is like nothing I’ve ever seen before and the picture I took of the green mossy cliffs, blue skies, white caps on the river and grey rocks is my screen saver to this day.  Prepare to be overwhelmed by the natural beauty.

Next was the Black Sand Diamond Beach where icebergs from the Jokulsarlon glacier break apart and float out from the lagoon to the sea.  It is mesmerizing to stand and watch the icebergs float down with the current, get top-heavy and sometimes flip over, until they nest on the black sand beach or continue their float out to the Atlantic. If you’ve never touched a glacial iceberg before, this is your chance!

Across the highway is the parking lot for an up close and personal view of the Jokulsarlon Glacier via the lagoon full of icebergs. The lagoon is a famous location for photo shoots and you will often see models and crews posing for photographers, which is fun to watch.  Just walking around the lagoon gives you a great view of the glistening blue icebergs, but the boat ride is way better!  The small zodiac boats can get super close to the icebergs, but you definitely need a reservation for those.  We decided last minute to take the 60 minute amphibian boat tour and booked a tour right before lunch.  Be sure to bring some cash to tip your tour guides!

For lunch, plan to visit the famous food trucks stationed in the parking lot.  Seriously, the Nailed It Fish and Chips truck serves some of the best food that we had in Iceland! It has multiple Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Awards and was seriously delicious!

Hotel and Dinner

We stayed at pretty much the only hotel in the area, Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. This is a 4-star hotel near Skaftafell with clean, comfortable rooms and a great gourmet restaurant inside.  Be sure to make a reservation for a late dinner!  We did not make a reservation but lucked out and they were able to seat us at 9:00 pm.  The timing was actually perfect because we ate late at the Glacier Lagoon and stopped at a random roadside waterfall for some wine and cheese Happy Hour on our way to the hotel. (By the way….these spontaneous waterfall stops were some of the most memorable parts of our trip.  Again, this is where the wine that you purchase at Duty Free upon landing at the airport comes in so very handy!).

The restaurant and hotel was bustling because the tour buses also use this hotel as one of their stops.  At the restaurant, we also discovered that Icelandic cod is nothing like the Atlantic cod that we have in the U.S.  It is light, white, moist and delicate and a favorite fish.  The hotel restaurant was excellent and the hotel bar was just as great!

From here, many have the option to travel further on toward Hofn and visit the Ice Cave (in winter).  Many tips for Iceland travel will pinpoint this as a turnaround point in the South. We adopted that seven day itinerary and headed back toward Vik.  On our way back, we stopped at Svinafell Glacier which is much less visited than the Glacier Lagoon and you are able to walk right up to the icebergs on the shore. There is also a nice little café there to grab a quick snack and a beer. Continuing on, we decided to stop at the Eldraun Lava Fields which is just wonderous. The area is a protected UNESCO Heritage Site in an effort to protect the unique Icelandic moss that covers the lava rock in the fields.  Visitors are required to stay on the paths as you traverse the lava fields.  This area was unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere, and practically no one was there!  We had the wilderness to ourselves to enjoy the beauty of the geography. Now, onto Vik once again for the evening, but this time we stayed at the Hotel Vik Myrdal hotel. In hindsight, we all decided we preferred the Hotel Kria over the Vik Myrdal, as the rooms might have been a bit nicer, and the staff a bit friendlier, and the breakfast a bit better. However, one recommendation that sticks out in my memory is Strondin Pub Vik.  For exceptional fish and chips and a bustling bar and restaurant scene, this place was fun and casual – perfect after a long day driving. Our party also enjoyed amazing burgers, arctic char and seafood pasta.

And finally, onto Reykjavik for our last night in Iceland! All tips for traveling in Iceland will include some time spent in this unique city.

It was a 2.5 hour drive back to “civilization” in the bustling capital city of Iceland where most of the population of the country resides. Be sure to spend your day visiting all the colorful shops along the rainbow painted streets.  Be sure to “hopscotch” where you see a hopscotch and dance when you hear the music coming out of the clubs.  We enjoyed shopping for Icelandic chocolate, visiting Braud & Co yet again for cinnamon rolls and coffee, and checking out the cathedral Hallgrimskirkja on the hill with its amazing views of the colorful rooftops of the houses and shops below. And don’t miss the statue of Leif Ericsson, the discoverer of Iceland!

Pro Iceland Travel Tip: Make dinner reservations for when you’re in Reykyvik! There are a handful of 5 star restaurants and advance reservations are a must.  We took the advice of a friend who previously visited Iceland and made a reservation at Grillmarkuden. Icelanders eat late. As we were leaving the restaurant around 9:00 pm, it was packed!  The food and service here were top notch and I highly recommend this restaurant.

Now….where to stay in Reykyvik.  Let’s just say this was a contentious issue!  LOL!

Final Travel Tips: Hotels in Reykjavik, Iceland

We originally had reservations at the Grand Reykjavik Hotel, which is 3km from the city centre and not near any attractions you’ll want to visit in the city. My husband and his brother decided to change the reservation without consulting me so that “we could be closer to all the action.” When they toured Reykjavik on scooters prior to departing to Akureyri for heliskiing, they discovered that the Grand Reykjavik was pretty far away from the city centre, and they felt we should instead stay at the City Centre Hotel because we could walk to everything from there. All the other hotels in the heart of the city centre were booked at the time. Pro Iceland Travel Tip: Book your Reykjavik hotel early in your planning.

My advice, unless you’re up for partying ‘til dawn, don’t stay at the City Centre Hotel on the weekend!  The hotel was dirty. There was a large bird poop smeared down the outside of our window, and the bathroom needed to be cleaned. The elevator was old-school...rickety, and I slept with my clothes on.  Need I say more? Actually, I didn’t sleep – the loud music of the pubs and the drunken people wandering the streets for all hours of the morning kept us all awake…well, me anyway.

In retrospect, there are many highly rated hotels that are in and around the city centre of Reykjavik. But in the heart of the city centre, such as right on Austurstraeti (Street), plan on the atmosphere being boisterous ALL NIGHT long, especially on a Friday and Saturday night!

My husband and his brother stayed at the popular Hotel Borg (bottom right of map) before they went skiing. It was reasonably priced for the last week in May, at the time of their booking in February. When they inquired on site at the front desk (in the last week of May), the price had risen 5X! The hotel front desk also told them to expect it to be noisy there as well in a Friday night.

There is open air patio seating on the South side of the restaurants & bars in front of Vallarstraeti (street), so the grassy square and the whole area is filled with party goers! Yahoo!

 

In the morning, I was anxious to leave our hotel,  but a quick morning walk around the city centre gave us quiet and empty streets, where street cleaners were power washing the fun of the crazy antics of the previous night.  At 9:00 am when the sun shines, you will see families out with their kids in the local parks, and lots of locals visiting in the coffee stores.

We packed up and headed to the airport for our flight.

It was the trip of a lifetime, especially for the heli-skiers!