7 Days in Iceland.

In May 2019, we went on our first couple’s holiday abroad to Iceland. This was a trip that was really high on my bucket list and I am so happy that we went all out for this holiday. As soon as we came home I was desperate to head back to Iceland, we barely explored the island even though we crammed in as much as we physically could. So here is what I got up to:

Sunday

This was a very chilled first day, we had a really early flight landing in Iceland at 9am. It was an easy flight over from Edinburgh but was a 5am start so I was exhausted. We actually nearly missed the flight due to Edinburgh airport’s security, if you are going to fly from Edinburgh I highly recommend paying for the fast track through security, the only reason we made our flight was that it was the only flight to Iceland from Edinburgh for 3 days.

The first thing we did was to collect our hire car for the week. This was really straight forward and we were on the road by 10am. We couldn’t check in to the apartment until 3pm but decided to drive there first so I could get used to the roads since it is the wrong side for me.

Once we got there we decided to grab some food and go for a walk to see what was in the surrounding areas. We went and checked in at around 1pm as it was ready early and we just settled in and unpacked. We did a proper food shop and went for a nap before going out for another walk in bad weather to check we were warm enough with the items we had packed.

We weren’t trying to do too much on the first day as we knew we would be tired.

Monday

Hallgrímskirkja, Harpa, Seabaron

Our first proper day in Iceland. We headed for the capital Reykjavik. I really wanted to see Hallgrímskirkja Church as it is such a strange yet beautiful building. You can see this from various parts of the city as the tower is so tall. The tower was closed when we visited as they were installing a new elevator so we didn’t get to see the views over the city but it was still worth the visit.

There is something so peaceful about a church and although there were many tourists everyone was respectful and quiet.

Harpa Concert Hall

We moved on from there taking a walk down by water beside the town hall. Before heading on to the Harpa Concert Hall. Another beautiful building that just really stands out.

Seabaron

From there we headed to the harbor to try a restaurant we had heard good reviews about. Seabaron is home to Iceland’s most famous soup, Lobster. It is quite a small restaurant right beside the harbor.

We got the deal of the day which was Lobster soup served with bread and Icelandic butter alongside the catch of the day on a skewer. The catch was Tusk and we then also ordered a Cod skewer. We split this between two of us and it was more than enough food. The soup was also Gluten-Free which was great for Nick.

Tuesday

The Blue Lagoon and the Bridge Between Continents

The Blue Lagoon was on my list to do in Iceland before I had even fully looked into things to do in Iceland. This was pretty expensive but we had booked it beforehand meaning it wasn’t really coming out of our holiday money. We spent 5 hours here and we probably could have stayed longer.

We upgraded our tickets which included the complementary face mask, a face mask of our choice, a robe and flip flops along with a complimentary drink. There is a bar in the water where you can choose between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Nick chose to have a cider and I chose a smoothie since I was driving.

Upgrading the package isn’t necessary for everyone but I really enjoyed having the robe to walk around in, it made the walk to the sauna and steam room less cold. There is also a little area within the building where you can lie overlooking the pool if you want a break from the water.

Bridge Between Continents

This was something that I never really heard about when I was researching things to do in Iceland. I actually saw this in a vlog and thought it was a pretty cool thing to go and do. This is a footbridge that spans a gap between the Europe tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate.

The bridge was built as a symbol of the connection between Europe and America. You can find out more about the bridge here it includes directions to but it really isn’t far from the Blue Lagoon.

I just thought it was pretty cool that you can cross and stand in the gap between the tectonic plates.

Wednesday

Pingvellir national park, Geysir, Gullfoss

This day was probably the highlight of my whole trip. The Golden Circle is really popular and I can understand why. Pingvellir National Park was amazing to walk around, the views were insane and you are walking between tectonic plates. There’s also Öxarárfoss, the only waterfall in the park.

Geysir

From here we headed to the Geysir Hot Spring Area. This was honestly amazing to witness. Stokkur erupts roughly every 15 minutes, shooting water 30m into the air. There are many geysirs in this area and it does get really busy. You need to stick to the walkways as the water can burn you.

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Gullfoss

This was the highlight of my trip. This was a site I couldn’t believe I was seeing in real life. Gullfoss is a massive waterfall and the pictures we took don’t even do it justice. It’s something that should 100% be on your list to go and see in Iceland.

Thursday

Whale watching, the black church, Snæfellsnes National Park

Whale watching was another activity that we booked beforehand. Thankfully the weather was really good on Thursday and we could enjoy 3 hours on a boat. I did research this beforehand as I wanted to choose an ethical company. We chose to go with Special Tours and I am really glad we did. I’m going to do a whole post about why you should choose special tours if you are going to go whale watching in Iceland. We saw a humpback whale, a minke whale, dolphins, and puffins. I really enjoyed this experience and would do it again.

Búðakirkja

From there we drove to the Black Church. This was on my list of things I had to see in Iceland and I can’t explain why I wanted to see it so much but it was just something different. It is on the way to Snæfellsnes and the landscape surrounding is beautiful.

Snæfellsnes National Park

From the church, we drove on to Snæfellsnes National Park. We didn’t spend as much time as I wanted to because it was getting late and had already been a long day. It was still a really cool place to visit and I didn’t realise until after we left that there is actually a gold sand beach here which is really unusual for Iceland.

We mainly just walked around taking in the landscape before driving through and looking at the mountains, glaciers, and volcanos. It is stunning and I really want to go back and properly explore this area as we missed out on a lot.

We did get to see a big group of puffins sheltering along the cliff face.

Friday

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck

Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach is unreal. It is the most popular beach in southern Iceland and I can totally see why. It has been used as a place to film Game of Thrones and Star Wars.

The black sand combined with the sea stacks makes it such an unusual place to visit. It is a place that you have to be very careful of. The waves are really powerful and will sneak up on to the beach. There have been tourists here that have drowned.

As long as you pay attention to the signs and the waves it is completely safe and worth the visit!

Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck

The Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck was definitely a must-visit for us. This is a plane that crashed in 1973 and all of the crew survived so it’s not a ‘dark tourism’ site. It has become a tourist attraction after just being left on the beach. Where else can you explore an abandoned plane?

It is quite a walk and when we did it it was raining and windy. I wore leggings, hiking trousers, a long sleeve top, a t-shirt, a jumper, and a jacket. I then had on my hat and gloves. It is a 2-mile walk to the plane from where you can park the car and is very straightforward, however, there is no shelter, it is just barren. Due to this, we were soaked by the time we got back to the car. I would highly recommend packing a second outfit for visiting here, I even needed a fresh jacket I was that drenched.

Saturday

We had a pretty rough drive home on Friday night, so we scrapped our plans to venture too far and headed back into Reykjavik. We wandered around the town, bought some gifts and headed for food.

We went to a little vegan restaurant Glo which was unreal! I would highly recommend and for Iceland, it really wasn’t too expensive. They did gluten-free food too and it was a really nice restaurant.

We then headed back to our apartment to pack and head home! Overall Iceland was an amazing trip and I didn’t want to leave. We packed in as much as we could but there is still so much more of the island that we would love to explore.

Have you ever visited Iceland? Would you visit Iceland? Let me know in the comments!