Coldest Trip: Iceland
- LoAroundTheGlobo
- Feb 2, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 7
January 2019
Seven girls, one vehicle, five days, five nights, and countless shenanigans. The trip started as a reunion between just three of us, but quickly grew and I couldn't be happier that it did. I had a couple of college friends (Sarah and Taylor) and a few of my childhood friends (Jess, Olivia, and Schyler) plus Dominique (Schyler's friend from London) all interested in visiting Iceland during the island's coldest time of year.
Planning for this trip was fun but challenging because in the wintertime, Iceland only has about six hours of daylight, so our itinerary had to be tailored to that. We knew that renting a vehicle was a 'must', so, upon arrival at Reykjavik airport after a redeye flight, we we hopped in our rental and went to the Blue Lagoon before the sun even rose, posting up there in the spooky, steamy waters until it did. This was smart to go there pre-sunrise because as it got later in the morning, more tourists flooded in and some of the magic was lost. While there, we obviously took advantage of the free drinks and face-masks made of local potions that are included in your ticket fare.
Afterwards, we drove the Golden Circle, a route fairly central to the island with multiple "pull off" stops that can take about three hours total. The main sights along this Golden Circle are Gullfoss Waterfall, a spattering of angry geysers, and Thingvellir National Park. And these views are golden indeed; they're all absolutely stunning and bizarre and powerful and awe-inspiring. They're all free, as well, so you just park your vehicle along the road or in a small parking lot at each stop, hop out, and revel in the beauty.
When darkness fell, we grabbed sandwiches and some groceries from a store close to our Rekyjavik Airbnb and finally checked into our apartment for the evening. With some folks buddied up in queen/king beds and others in bunk beds, we all got a good night sleep and awoke the next morning ready to conquer the day.
We spent the next day exploring Reykjavik, the capital city. There's about 300,000 people who live in Iceland, and 2/3 of those reside in Reykjavik. Maybe you've heard that Iceland is "cheap to get to, but expensive once you're there," which is partially true, but it's not as expensive there as you'd expect. Our day of meandering along the port, to the city's cornerstone museum, and along its brutalist but colorful streets included coffees, beers, grub, and museum tickets that were all pretty reasonably priced, which was the cherry on top of being able to walk most of the downtown area, seeing all of the touristy hot spots, in just a day.
That evening, we pre-gamed and played games at our apartment before heading out for dinner and a night of dancing. We landed at a small, and fairly empty bar, where we did shots with the bartender, and swayed along to the DJ's electronic playlist. People headed back to our place in various groups, and we passed out for the night.
We spent the next day driving along the South rim (a road along the south side of the island), seven of us crammed into our passenger van, trekking across snow and ice in many instances, and taking in the other-worldly sites of this fascinating place. As we headed towards Djupivogar and Hofn on the southwest side of the island, where we were set to stay for a night, the drive took 9 hours total one-way, but we essentially just pulled off whenever we saw signs, points of interest on our maps, or Icelandic horses near fences; we'd park in small gravel lots, hop out, bundle up, and bound up frosted walking trails toward whatever adventure awaited us. We'd read online that this was the best way to explore Iceland, and I'm happy to confirm that it is 100% true.
During this bumbling road trip along the south rim, we saw waterfalls, black sand beaches, glaciers, iceburg lagoons, and some of the most bizarre landscapes I have ever seen in my life. Once we made it out to Hofn, we checked into our Airbnb there that resembled a concrete block and was situated in a small but isolated community in an already very remote town on a fairly desolate island; we were slightly creeped out to say the least, but put stock in the fact that Iceland has an impressively low crime rate. We played games and drank wine and ate snacks and enjoyed charades before snuggling up together in a few beds and crashing out for the night.
We had another long day of driving ahead of us, back to Reykjavik for our final night; I, who drove the entire time, carefully traversed the rural country roads that nearly disappeared into the expansive lands as snow fell, cloaking the expansive fields and rolling hills, as some folks napped while others read and some jammed out .
The strange topography and the low number of tourists make you feel like you're in a post-apocalyptic zombieland of sorts. I really can't capture how eerily desolate it was sometimes. We'd see lush green waterfall coves, then go one hour and see wintry tundra. But in the meantime, we played car games, caught up, and searched for wildlife including horses, mountain goats, and caribou. The days were short, and the nights were long - literally - but we made the most of our time in this beautiful place, by hiking at every opportunity, staying warm with thermos Baileys, and laughing until our stomachs hurt.
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To Do or Not To Do?
Definitely do. And soon, if possible. Our flights were cheap, but I don't think it's going to stay like that for long. Iceland is making a name for itself purely because people visit and fall in love. It's soon to become a top tourist destination. It's an outdoorsy place, though, so be sure you're up for lots of walking, climbing, and getting dirty. Also, unless you have the world's strongest bladder, just be aware that bathrooms (and civilization in general for that matter) are hard to come by on certain stretches of the coastal road.
Definitely rent a vehicle because it's cheaper in the long run and provides you more flexibility to explore the island. We were thankful we did because we could off-road wherever we wanted. Definitely enjoy the nightlife in Reykjavik, too, cause we sure did. There's local pubs, drag queen clubs, whatever, and they're all fun and safe. It's a remarkably intriguing place, and has a lot to offer its visitors.
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