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KIRKJUFELL, SNÆFELLSNES PENINSULA, ICELAND.
DON'T MISS:
The Golden Circle
Jökulsárlón and Skógafoss
Snaefellsnes Mount Kirkjufell
View of Lake Kleifarvatn
and the famous Blue Lagoon
HOW LONG IS NEEDED:
We had 5 nights 4 and half days
it was jam packed and full on, but do able
We covered the Golden Circle, took a drive up to Snaefellsnes to see mount kirkjufell, an evening in the city of Reykjavik, a Tour to Jökulsárlón, (which included Vik black sand beach, Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls), the Blue Lagoon, a drive around the Reykjanes Peninsula, and an afternoon in the city of Reykjavik.
THE WEATHER AND WHAT TO PACK:
When we went the temperature was on average between -7 and -11 but some days with the wind chill it was -17.
We had clear blue sunny days the whole time we were there. Whereas the week before they had snow storms.
(the locals kept saying to us that we were really lucky to have such wonderful weather).
Our coldest and most windy day was up at Gulffoss on the Golden circle.
It was so cold I thought my eyebrows we're going to fall off! I am however notoriously known for being cold.
Phone batteries were not lasting long in the cold,
when they got to 30% they just turned off until connected to a charger - so pack portable charging devices!
I was so grateful for my crampons! Sometimes it was more a confidence thing than actually needing them. But I'd definitely recommend them if you're exploring out of the city.
For a full list of what Dave and I wore for one -11ËšC day click here
IS IT AS EXPENSIVE AS THEY SAY?:
Yes, – but you can work around it.
Dave spent £15 on takeaway coffees (That was for 4!)
And a standard tub of Philadelphia is usually about £1 something in the UK, but it was £3.80 in Iceland.
We didn't eat out purposefully to avoid the expense. Instead we booked accommodation with a kitchen and took our own food and made pack lunches for the days we were out. This was also because we're both vegetarian so we didn't really want to be spending a fortune on things like cheese and falafel sandwiches everyday.
(you're allowed to take up to 3kg of food as long as it's not raw eggs, raw meat, or milk) so we packed coffee, cereal bars, porridge, supernoodles and tortellini pasta and sauces, and then just bought the essentials like pizza, bread, milk and jam to make sandwiches for most days we were out.
WHERE WE STAYED
We booked through Air BnB and stayed at a place called 'Cozy little yellow house' if it's still listed there's a link here. It was perefect for us, walking distance to the small airport which was a popular pick up destination for tour companies such as Grayline, shops in walking distance, and plenty of bus stops near by. But most importantly it had a kitchen so we could cook to save money on eating out.
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS:
I think it's fair to say that the northern lights are one of the main reasons most people travel to Iceland in the winter, and it is said that the best months to see them are between November and March, and I was told when there after the hours of 10pm (but don't quote me on this).
Did we see them: Yes – We went 28th January and was lucky enough to see them on two consecutive nights
Did we get any photos:
Yes – We managed to take some photos on our google pixel phones using the night mode setting, there is terrible camera shake - but I didn't go prepared with a tripod etc and it was far too cold (-11º) to have the phone out for ages trying lots of different settings. You can check out what we managed to get in the gallery section. Also – I'd like to point out here that they look better / more vibrant in photos than they do to the naked eye.
Best place to see them:
Best place to see them would be a little out of the city so to avoid light pollution. We went to Seltjarnarnes 10mins out of Reykjavik city centre, quite a popular spot, there was about 30 other people there.
There is an app called ‘Aurora’ which I would highly recommend. It notifies you if there’s a good chance of seeing the lights – and it works on your location, cloud cover and strength.
THE GOLDEN CIRCLE:
The main attractions of the golden circle is the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, and the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur and the Kerið volcanic crater.
There are other things on the route - like some hidden hot pools, the town of Hveragerði, Skálholt cathedral, and the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plants but we didn't stop at these.
We found navigating the Golden Circle really easy due to having a car – and the roads were pretty clear as it’s a tourist and bus route. We popped each destination into google maps and off we went. (Google maps was great – bar one occasion south at the Reykajanes it said ‘turn left’ and there was no road due to snow haha)
Alternatively Grayline do a golden circle tour, and I think it may be on bus routes. But the cost soon adds up per person,
(our car hire was apx £150 for a Hyundai i20 where a Grayline tour is £43pp so x that by 4 = £175 – and at least you can use the car for other trips)
For more on the Golden Circle jump to DAY 2 of our day by day blog.
HIRING A CAR
I was really nervous about driving in Iceland due to the weather and road conditions.
Also, I wanted Dave to be able to relax, as he tends to do all the driving anyway.
So we compromised and hired a standard car (not a 4x4) and booked a tour for the furthest away sights.
The car hire came to apx £150 for the full time we were there - including insurance. We picked it up from the airport (which was 24hours service) had it for the full week and dropped it back off at the airport - which meant we didn't have to pay for any transfers to and from the airport, or to the blue lagoon.
Don't worry
this isn't us!
DRIVING CONDITIONS
Obviously this depends on the weather at the time of your trip, but for us, if we were just staying local (so City and the Golden circle) - a standard car (we had a Hyundia i20) would be fine if you're a sensible driver. They have snow tyres on, and Dave was doing 3point turns in 10inches of snow with no problems whatsoever, you just have to take it steady and be sensible in places. We only hit problems when we ventured further afield - eg to north to Snaefellsnes to see Mount Kirkjufell or south to the Reykajanes or Jokulsarlon. We saw Tour busses that had skidded off roads, upside down cars, and I wont lie, there were times where I literally shed a tear because I was so scared and thought we might die. Even Dave was shook up at some points, and we had to abandon one trip because it just didn't feel or look safe. At one point Google maps told us to turn left, but there was no road due to snow.
We were so glad we'd booked a tour for the 5hour trip to Jokulsarlon and that we didn't have to drive. The bus driver also told us that 65% of road accidents in Iceland are caused by tourists!
So if you do hire a car in the winter seasons - be careful!
And if you plan on doing more than just the Golden Circle, I advise on getting a 4x4 or doing some tours instead.
Click here
to see some photos of the roads during our visit to Iceland.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: We packed a car phone holder for using the maps, and a scraper. A scraper was included in the car - however plan in time to de ice/snow the car after collection. we had about 7inches worth of snow to get through before we could leave the airport car park!
OTHER TOP TIPS:
If you're hiring a car and the weather is bad (and you want to do more than the golden circle) – splurge and hire a 4x4
Book a place that has facilities to cook and pack your own food
Pre book your tours and the Blue lagoon to save money
Download the Aurora app
Pack Aloe Vera for hands and face after a cold day
Contact lenses are better than glasses as the glasses constantly steam up
WHAT I’D DO IF I WENT BACK
A Lava cave tour
Re visit the Reykajanes
– we couldn’t access a lot due to snow
Go in the summer so I can see the lava fields and purple flowers and waterfalls in full force
Visit the secret thermal hot pools and beaches
Go to Reynisfjara, near Vik to see the rock formations
Travel to the north and north east of the island
*more to be added – there’s lots to do and see
Below is our day by day story of our time in Iceland. It is written mainly for us, as a memory, but also with the hopes that it may inspire and help fellow like minded adventurers to see what we saw, or put other anxious/nervous travellers minds at ease as they'll know a little more about what to expect from each destination
(after all, I'm always panicking/planing for the fact I always need the toilet everywhere we go!)
(And apologies If I've spelt any names wrong – I proper struggled in Iceland to remember and pronounce any of the places – as I'm sure I've mentioned,
It was a Dyslexic persons nightmare!)
There are photo highlights throughout, alternatively, click HERE for the full gallery
MANCHESTER TO KEFLAVÍK
(with a stop at Edinburgh!)
(MONDAY 28TH JANUARY 2019)
Because I can be quite an anxious person at times, I always like to plan ahead and be prepared, however I made a rookie mistake this trip and we forgot to weigh the suitcases before we got to the airport! All we had the case was the 3kg allowance of food, coats, walking boots and a few other little bits... so we weren't too worried, as surely that can't come up to 15kg.. can it? yes, YES it can!
19kg to be exact!! Luckily it was one of those 'do it yourself' machines, so as Dave and I stood there discussing whether to abandon some luggage or just pay the £60 fee (we could of added a whole other 15kg case allowance for £55 if we'd of done it at the time of booking!) the machine timed out and crashed... so on a different machine... we put the suitcase on horizontally and voila ! 15.6kg - NO CHARGE!!!! We were so happy!!
The rest of the check in and boarding went smoothly, weirdly enough it's one of my favourite things about holidays.. Once through those doors I'm strangely calm and at peace.
Because I didn't pre book seat allocations we were seated at the front of the plane, (I prefer the back so this made me a little nervous). However shortly after take off there was a strange announcement over the comms asking for passengers not to consume their own alcohol as it's an illegal offence and we could see all the air stewardesses grouping together, whispering.. We were quite close so could just about make out what was happening and there was a drunk, aggressive passenger on board at the back of the plane! So much so that we ended up having to turn the plane around and land in Edinbrough so the police could come and remove him.
We were grounded for about 2 hours whilst the police took statements from all involved.. which luckily for us didn't implicate any of our plans, as the car rental garage was open 24hours and the Air BnB host was very understanding and accommodating after we told him the news.
We got to Keflavik Airport for about 8pm and collected the hire car – which took us about 20mins to un burry it from all the snow they'd had!! and we then made our way off the cosy little yellow house!
I feel like we got a right winner with this accommodation.. it was absolutely perfect for us and for our stay, and in comparison to some of the others we'd looked at - well priced too!
The hosts were so nice and helpful. on the run up to the trip, they offered recommendations for things to do and see, spoke to us about what weather had been forecast and generally seemed to share in our excitement of the trip.
The house it's self is gorgeous! Warm, bright, welcoming, and with everything we needed to cook\make quick meals to avoid the expense of eating out. A big wardrobe for storage for cases, coats etc. TV, surround sound, Netflix, blue tooth speakers, hot water on tap! (a little smelly due to the sulphur!) The internet was a little intermittent\slow a couple of days, but we didn't go to sit and use the internet so this didn't bother us too much. The location was about 10 mins drive from city centre, 5 min walk from domestic airport (which is a popular tour pick up stop for grayline tours etc) and a shop in walking distance that was open till late also. It was perfect!
We unpacked, and headed to the shop to buy essentials for the next days trip and then went to bed! Shattered but excited!
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GOLDEN CIRCLE
(TUESDAY 29TH JANUARY 2019)
We got up a little later than we had originally planed due to the delayed arrival the night before. But still managed to get on the road just before sunrise (which was about 10.30am for us – also, FYI it's 'light' before the sunrise you can still get out and do things, as I thought it would be a lot darker than it was ) all wrapped up like little burritos ready for our first day out in the cold.
And cold it was, I (stupidly) left our water bottles in the car over night and they had frozen by morning! and stayed frozen all day!
We'd also made a coffee flask to take with us for the day, which was a great idea in principle, however it didn't keep it's heat for long which we should of predicted really with it being minus temperatures..
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TOP TIP:
Don't leave your water in the car when it's below minus degrees!
STOP 1 of our Golden circle tour was the:
Þingvellir/Thingvellir National Park
It was very easy to find, (we just popped it into Google maps and off we went. ) there was plenty of 'ploughed' parking spaces, there were toilets and a cafe also. One thing to note about this stop is that you have to pay for parking. They scan your numberplate upon arrival and then you have to find a pay station. They are located either in the toilet block, or in the visitors centre, and they accept credit cards.
I didn't really know what I expected from The National Park, as I hadn't researched it prior to going. All I knew was that it was a place where you can clearly see the rift between the two tectonic plates that it sits upon (the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.) However, due to the amount of snow we had, I wasn't really sure where I was supposed to be looking, so we just enjoyed it for what it was, a gorgeous snowy national park, that was well sign posted with some lovely walk options, (some shorter than others, and again due to the amount of snow we decided to miss out the longer walk across the back), but we did the others, and the short walk to Oxararfoss waterfall was definitely worth it!
Then, upon my return and googling more about the tectonic plates, I do believe that we did walk between the the edge of the North-American plate as according to guide to Iceland
this is called the Almannagjá gorge it and ends with a charming waterfall called Oxaráfoss! (and we saw the waterfall!) I would however like to go back in the summer to see them up close, and to try scuba diving tour they have also.
One of the things that did amaze me at this place was the attire of the other tourists. Bearing in mind there was more than 6 inches of snow and ice at -11Ëšc people were wearing Uggs, Converse, wellies (accompanied with a blazer and no wools/thermals/coat), joggers, long jeans and we even saw a guy with no socks on!!! And I was cold in my thermals and coat until I got walking! (for a full list of what we wore on a standard -11Ëšc day click here)
In total I think we spent apx 2 and a half hours at the National Park, and that was just following the the walks, and a quick look inside the visitor centre. It would be easy to spend longer there if you wanted to explore/learn more about the history, do the longer walk and also get some food, but we were nervous about the daylight hours as there was a lot we wanted to cover in one day.
STOP 2:
The geysers - Geysir
and Strokkur
Even though I was expecting it, it still made me jump. I wouldn't say I was disappointed here, because I wasn't - but I had imagined them bigger and bluer!
This was again easy to find, and park, and there were again toilets and a gift shop, cafe. Inside the gift shop building there was also a small video screen with information about the geysirs and why they do what he do which I found interesting - it's a shame this wasn't made bigger/there was more 'sciency' info there.
We spent apx 30mins here, and saw two 'eruptions'.
For lunch we took pack lunches with us everyday as with it being so expensive to eat out there we thought this was a good way to cut some costs (and it was!) but we're also both vegetarian so we didn't really want to be paying out our arses just for a cheese sand-which everyday!
STOP 3: Gulfoss
This was Dave's favourite of the Golden Circle stops. It was so big and fierce! But also astonishing as to how all that abundnce of moving water had managed to freeze, and stay frozen! I also really enjoyed Gulfoss, but the wind was so strong and so cold (google said real feel with the wind chill was -17Ëšc) that I thought my eyebrows were going to fall off!
STOP 4: Kerið crater
This was surprisingly my favourite of the stops. I say surprisingly because we were going to skip this stop due the amount of snow, and I'm so glad we didn't because WE STOOD ON THE FROZEN LAKE AT THE BOTTOM!! Right in the middle! This proper surprised me as I'm such a wuss with these things, but we saw some people down there from the top, and then some others heading down, so we followed. It wasn't an easy climb down as the steps were all iced over.. the people in front of us decided to sledge down on their bottoms.. we just walked in the fresh snow to the side of the steps for the most part.... taking bg sliding strides (like when I climbed down off Mount Ngarhoe in New Zealand) when we got tot the bottom the amount of snow that had settled there was incredible.. it was so deep it covered a typical wooden park bench! The climb back up was a little tricky, as the snow just gave way under your feet, but a nice American man helped across to a more stable part and I was fine after that.
This was the only stop on the Golden Circle where I didn't see any toilets... there was just a little hut where you paid for admission to get in to see the crater. This is another site we'd love to go back and see without snow.
By the time we'd got to the crater it was just starting to get dark (17:00hrs) but we had enough light to get some nice photos, and a nice sunset.
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OTHER BITS FROM THE DAY/LATER THAT EVENING
After the crater we headed off to Selfoss as I'd googled a waterfall there I wanted to see. When we got there it became clear that Selfoss waterfall, is not in Selfoss. Selfoss is just a very small little town. With no waterfalls. So don't make the same mistake I did!
By now it was dark, so we googled a supermarket near by to get food for the evening and we stumbled upon an Iceland in Iceland! so obviously we went there! We bought pizza and garlic bread, and dave wanted beer, but Iceland supermarkets are not allowed to sell beer stronger than 2.25% you have to go to a liquor store which I never realised and Dave was very disappointed about (he went beer-less for the whole until the 2nd to last day where he got one in the Blue Lagoon).
We drove past lots of beautiful fluffy horses (and I don't usually like horses) but I wanted to stop so we could take some photos, but unfortunately the road conditions were just not safe to. Although, you do see tourists just stop and pull up on the side of the road, and sometimes just in the middle of . the road to stop and get out and take pictures. It was just so dangerous we didn't want to be those people. Next time horsies! Next time!
Speaking of bad driving conditions, this was the first (and not the last) time of the holiday that I nearly shit myself as a massive clump of snow fell off from somewhere and smashed into out windscreen - proper shock me up!
Dave quickly made the connection of how sulphur smells like egg! And he wished he'd packed his slippers!
SNÆFELLSNES AND MOUNT KIRKJUFELL
(WEDNESDAY 30TH JANUARY 2019)
I've wanted to go to Iceland for as long as I can remember, mainly for the Northern lights, but also for the mountains. And the mountain that always caught my eye on photographs was 'Mount Kirk Jafuffle' up at 'Seffleness' (these were their nick names as Iceland is a dyslexic persons worst nightmare!).
We set off early again and watched the sun rise on the drive. It was so beautiful.. tranquil almost.. a very distinctive pink and blue sky with sparkling snow like a cross between glitter and fairy lights underneath.
I thought the amount of snow they'd had was going to stop us as it was 2 and half hour drive away from where we were staying, and the further we got from Reykjavik, the more icey and dangerous the roads became.
But we made it!
Thought we were going to die about 3 times!!
But we made it!
We did skid at a roundabout – and I shit myself
We did have a lot of snow drifts – and I shit myself
Even shed a single tear at one point as it was white out for what felt like a life time!
We saw various stranded vehicles and even one car completely upside down..
And Dave resembled a WhiteWalker from Game of Thrones after filling up the petrol tank during a blizzard!
It was definitely worth the drive though. Such an iconic mountain to see. Check out ALL the photos here .
AN EVENING IN REYKJAVIK
After seeing Mount Kirk Jafuffle we were going to continue up and round and drive past/through the national park, but due to the road conditions we didn't want to risk it and decided to go back the same way we came. This meant we got back a lot sooner than anticipated and so spent the evening in the City of Reykjavik.
We didn't eat or drink in the city, as I said before we were trying to not spend too much unnecessary money. Instead we did the usual touristy bits and saw the Hallgrimskirkja church n dusk and night, the sun voyager and watched the Harpa concert hall windows dance and did some gift shopping.
JÖKULSÁRLÓN DAY TOUR
(THURSDAY 31ST JANUARY 2019)
Jökulsárlón is approximately a 5 hour drive away from Reykjavík and due to being un sure of what the driving conditions were going to be we decided to book a tour.
We used a company called Grayline
as they had really good reviews and they covered everything I wanted to see.
It was a long day – we got picked up 7.30am and got dropped back off at 11pm.
The little mini bus picked us up from a designated stop near to our accommodation which you arrange at the time of booking, and took us to the main Grayline depot. There was a little gift shop there and toilets, and we boarded our bus with massive snow tyres!
I was disappointed to see that there was no toilet on the coach, which instantly made me anxious as just thinking about needing the toilet makes me need it! But there were regular toilet stops throughout the day!
Our Driver and Tour guide were fantastic! and because I can be a bit of a loser I like to sit on the front seats close to the guide so you can hear and ask questions easily, but also TopTip! you can get some amazing views out the front window!
Due to the early start and late sunrises over in Iceland, the moon was still out and Roman, our Guide pointed out to us that you could see Venus and Jupitor either side which is a rare site.
It was an apx 2.5-3 hour drive until the first stop, which was literally just a toilet/coffee/breakfast break and then we were back on the road.
Regarding food, as Dave and I are vegetarian, and we knew how expensive things were over there so we decided to pack sandwiches and snacks for the trip. But there were plenty of shops, and cafes around if you did want to buy.
STOP 1:
Skógafoss
On route to Skógafoss,
(the first propper stop) we drove past Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano that erupted in 2010 causing major disruption to airlines all across Western Europe due to an ash cloud. Our guide and driver told us a good way to remember and pronounce the name of this volcano - and it's the "I forgot my yogurt" volcano!!
Once at Skógafoss had about 30-40mins here for photos. Skógafoss is one of those waterfalls that is on everyones list if you're visiting Iceland as it is one of the biggest waterfalls and it is absolutely stunning! It was just apx a 5 min walk from the car par down to the base, past a little hut that had toilets in. You can climb the stairs to get a view from the top, but unfortunately again for us due to the snow and ice we wouldn't of had time to make it to the top, and back down again and so were advised not to.
STOP 2:
Vík
The next stop was Vik, and we had ample time here for a walk along the black sands beach, a mosey round the shops and for lunch either in the cafe or on the park benches outside overlooking the sea. Unfortunately we didn't get to see / go to Reynisfjara, near Vik to see the rock formations, but we did get to walk on a black sand beach! Even with the amount of snow!
BONUS STOP:
Skeiðará Bridge
After Vik and because we were making good time, we stopped at the Skeiðará bridge.This was a 2,890 ft bridge that was damaged when volcano Grímsvötn on Vatnajökull erupted, resulting in a glacier flood. Luckily, no one was hurt. Olly the driver also took us the sceni route round one of the mountains as again, we were on good time so he thought he'd treat us.
Every now again, Roman the Guide would point out a mountain to us also and tell us it was used in filming some scenes of Game of Thrones, which I liked, as the offer GoT tours, so I felt like I was getting more for my money and I can now say - I seen the wall! I see the wall! (well part of it)
STOP 3:
Jökulsárlón
Next was the famous Jökulsárlón. There are two sides to Jökulsárlón, and as you enter over a bridge, the guide looks out and decides which side you spend the majority of our time due to the tides (eg which one has the most glass ice cubes). We again had plenty of time here to explore and use the facilities. Dave and I took a walk along the top ridge to get a view down over the shore and then embarked into deep snow off track to make our way back down the shore line.
STOP 4:
Seljalandsfoss
Seljalandsfoss was on route back home and this was the only disappointment for me for me on the tour, as it was dark by the time we arrived and even though it is lit up at night, you couldn't really see a lot. We couldn't walk behind it due to the ice, and poor visibility. So if you do want to see this waterfall in all it's glory - I'd suggest doing so on a different tour (Grayline do tours of just the waterfalls and Vik - no Jökulsárlón).
BONUS STOP:
The Northern Lights
On the route back there was a lot of talk between Olly the driver and Roman the Guide about if the northern lights were going to come out and dance for us that evening, as the predictor level was in the mediums. But as the Northern lights were not included in this tour we'd be viewing it through the windows of a bus on route back to the city. Or so we thought! All of a sudden Olly the driver pulled over into a famers land, and told us all to get off the bus and have and behold! the sky was lit up green! it was so exciting and so magical!! It wasn't the best location due to light pollution from the farmers house and the road – but their are strict rules for the drivers where they cannot stop unless it is safe to do so, so Olly had been driving keeping his eyes peeled for us for somewhere we could stop safely to get out and see the wonder that is the Northern lights, and we were all so so grateful!! Especially as this is not part of the tour!! We had a bout 20-30 mins here just all in awe looking at the sky and trying to get photos before we had to then get back on the bus to make our way back to the city.
OVERALL
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this tour to someone wanting to see Jökulsárlón, and the other sites. It was a little disappointing we didn't get to see Skógafoss from the top, or the rock formations at Vik, or Seljalandsfoss in all it's full glory – but that was the weathers fault more than anything. And there was no way we'd of got there on our own if we'd of driven. Talking to the coach driver, Olly, he said that 65% of road accident in Iceland are tourists not knowing how to drive in the conditions so we're glad we booked a tour.
THE BLUE LAGOON & REYKJANES
(FRIDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2019)
PART 1 – THE BLUE LAGOON:
The Blue Lagoon is another of those places that is a must if you're visiting Iceland. A few friends of mine had suggested other less popular natural thermal pools that are dotted around the country due to it's popularity but I wanted to experience the 'real deal' the one you see in all the photos.
Because of it's popularity, it is a must to book online prior to your trip. Especially if there's a specific date you've planned to attend due to other trip commitments. I looked around to see if there were any deals, or cheaper places to buy tickets from, as it is expensive! But everything I found said that it's just the main site to book off or with a tour.. if anyone knows of any money saving tips for the Blue lagoon - please do share as I'd love to go back one day!
I booked through here
and we booked the standard 'comfort' ticket which included entrance to the Blue Lagoon, use of towel, a Silica mud mask and one drink of your choice (yes this did include beer!).
When selecting your time, think abut what else you have planned for that day, as once you are in there is no time limit – you can stay for as long as you want (I read the average person stays there for about 4hours) but the cost from 8am till 6pm is £75 and then the price starts to drop. I was torn between the morning slot - to see the sunrise, and then stay all day if we decided to, or the evening slot, as I was a little apprehensive as to how enjoyable it was going to be due to the crowds, Dave doesn't really enjoy swimming or spas etc and I thought if we're lucky we may get to see the Northern Lights!
In the end we opted for the morning slot, as we were planning a trip out hunting for the lights anyway that evening.
When you arrive, you 'check in' and get given rubber wrist bands which are your locker keys and your 'money bands'. This works a little like a tab, you pay at the end when you 'check out' (you get one drink free).
The changing rooms are a little bit like a maze! (there's more than one floor!) but there are plenty of staff on hand to help if need. Your locker key wrist band works on any locker, you just pick one and then when it shuts, you have about 20seconds to pop your key on a sensor and it claims it as yours. Just don't close your locker at the exact same time as someone else hooked up to the same section!
Before entering the water you have to shower (there are signs that say no cosy! But there’s little individual cubicles) and it is advised that you lather your hair with the supplied conditioner as the Silica in the water makes your hair VERY dry!
The waters at the lagoon didn't fade, or damage my hair at all really (my hair is very good at keeping it’s colour). I had it up for a bit, and down for a bit. (There’s a lady I follow on Instagram who went and she has bright yellow hair – so I wasn’t too worried about having it down) and I didn’t leave a red trail behind me as far as I'm aware!
If you are concerned however, I saw people in the lagoon with swimming caps, shower caps and even wooly hats on, so don't worry about doing what feels right for you.
TopTip!
for fellow dyed hair people – I take my own black hair towel with me to places like this incase the colours ran as it usually does and everywhere always supply white towels!
When leaving the changing rooms, you'll see an area to leave your towel - there are more outside too. I was a little bit paranoid/anxious that I was going to lose my towel, or someone else would take it/use it and it wouldn't be clean, but the changing room ladies just give you a new towel upon entering the changing rooms again if you need one (I got told off for not drying off before going to my locker).
Next to the towel area there is a big door which takes you outside. This way you will walk outside on snow and ice and enter the pool through some steps. This was liberating as it was apx -7 degrees entering a 30 degree heated pool - not going to lie I squealed, and ran and it hurt my feet!
So, if you fancy a calmer, more elegant approach, look left of the changing rooms, and there’s some steps leading into the water, which takes you down gradually so you’re in the water and used to it before going outside.
When you are outside, there is no where to store your phone/camera – I had my phone in a little waterproof pouch and popped it back in the locker after a few photos.
The Lagoon was a lot bigger than I'd imagined and due to the steam you couldn't really see too far ahead of you – which was ace as it made it feel a lot quieter, and more secluded than it actually was. Dave found a map, and we went off to explore and find the bar, steam rooms and the face mask place.
(You don't have to exit the pool to use the bar or face mask place and the steam rooms were just up some steps so it wasn't too traumatic getting out of the water)
There are free fresh water fountains dotted around the pool also.
We stayed in the lagoon for about 3 hours.
I believe you can leave, get dressed or if you've hired a dressing gown pop that on and have food in the cafe or restaurant and then re enter the pool. Dave and I didn't book a meal in the restaurant though so I'm not sure on the specifics. This was again because of how expensive it was and with both of us being vegetarian, we didn't want to pay out the arse for a plate of roasted vegetables!
PART 2 – SOUTHERN PENINSULA - REYKJANES
After the blue lagoon we decided to explore further south of the island and explore an area known as the 'Reykjanes Peninsula'. This area was recommended to us by our host at the Air BnB. We didn't really have a plan for this area, we just knew there we a few caves and mud pools and things that were listed on google maps so we thought we'd drive and see what we could find. On route to one of our destinations, Google maps said 'turn left' but there was no road due to the amount of snow, so we continued further up the road and tried to access it from another angle. Dave is quite a confident driver in the snow, and by this day he'd had plenty of experience in driving on the icey roads, and this day was much better conditions than that of the day we went to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula however we had to turn around and abandon our destination. It just did not feel safe to continue in our little hire car.
We managed to find out way to the Bridge between two continents (Europe and North America) which was pretty cool (even though it was literally just a bridge with an information plaque and a car park (no toilets!)) but reading about the plates and how they move further and further way from each other over the years is really fascinating – if you're into that kinda thing!
We found a small (Free) little lava cave you can go inside of which had amazing icicles hanging down! and a (Free) Geothermal Place where you can see bubbling mud pools that smell of sulphur! (I imagine this place to be more impressive when there is less snow on the ground)
All in all there was too much snow in the Reykjanes for us to drive around and explore with ease so we ended up coming home sooner than planned (plus we were both absolutely shattered from the long days and early starts)
Back at the Air BnB we settled down for a rest, had a hot chocolate and watched a few episodes of Marvels The Punisher on Netlflix preparing ourselves to leave at 10pm in hunt for the northern lights!
PART 3 – NORTHERN LIGHTS
As I've mentioned in the 'Northern Lights' section above, we went to Seltjarnarnes 10mins out of Reykjavik city centre to wait and see if they made an appearance. It was quite a popular spot, there was about 30 other people there, some set up with tripods waiting. I do regret not taking a proper camera and tripod with me, but I didn't want to be disspointed if I'd had and then not seen them, and at least with phones, it's a lot easier to pack up and drive around for a better location if needed.
We didn't have to wait long, as it was a good strong forecast for the lights that evening (level 5 on the Aurora app) although, I think they were better when we saw them the night prior which was just a level 3.
(The app ‘Aurora’ notifies you if there’s a good chance of seeing the lights – and it works on your location, cloud cover and strength so I would highly recommend downloading it for your trip)
We stayed out till about midnight watching the sky dance in green, and by then we were frozen to the bone (it was -11 this evening and we could no longer feel our fingers, and the phones kept shutting off due to the batteries freezing). We never got to see the sky in greens and purples, or like any of the photos you see from professional photographers. But what we saw was more than enough for us. (we would of stayed out longer if it wasn't as cold and we hadn't of got up at 6am that morning!).
REYKJAVIK & FLIGHT HOME
(SATURDAY 2ND FEBRUARY 2019)
We decided to spend our last morning and afternoon in Reykjavik and re visited the area we went to the night before to see the lights, and light house and then did a few last minute shopping bits in the city. We were both shattered from the weeks activities, trying to fit so much in and just wanted a bit of a chill day before returning the car and boarding the plane for our long drive home, collecting the much missed Puppa on route (who made the most adorable squeals of joy when she saw us!!)
There are lots of things we didn't get to do or see and we would both love to go back when there is less snow, so we can cover more ground and see the contrast of the calm, quite, frozen stillness in comparison to full luscious flowing waterfalls, and the various colours of the lava fields – so watch this space!
ADVENTURES ABROAD
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