Iceland

One of our trips to Europe included an 8 hour layover in Iceland. Everyone was super excited and wanted to leave the airport and explore. I could not guarantee anything so we just played it by ear. Luckily Keflavik airport was quite small and easy to leave the airport. We went to a restaurant to try Hákarl, a traditional Icelandic dish. We should have known when the waitress tried to talk us out of it! It is fermented shark and was served with Brennivin (a local schnapps) to wash it down. This did not deter us and we made a plan to go back to visit. Iceland is quite expensive so this was another camping trip with parameters in place for restaurants. We decided to drive the Classic Ring Road beginning in Reykjavik and adding in the Golden Circle. It did not disappoint. We began our trip in Reykjavik. Tip: Icelandic Street Food was a fave among us all. Even our picky eater was given pancakes and yogurt when she wouldn’t order. The owner was so friendly and went out of his way to make the girls feel at home. In addition to seeing the sites and getting some good food, we needed gas for our camp stove. We do not like to travel with the gas, so this is always a priority before we begin trips. We loved Old Reykjavik and did some shopping. Tip: I wanted an Icelandic sweater. They are expensive and even more so in town. I chose to wait to take my chances. It turned out to be the right choice. They are not cheap anywhere, but I was able to save some money by waiting until we got out of town. Our first stop after Reykjavik was Pingvellir National Park to the Silfra Fissure. Even in summer this required dry suits as the water is so cold. Even with the wetsuit, when I put my face in the water it took my breath away. . .and not just from the scenery! From there we went to Geysir, Gullfoss and Seljalandsfoss where we spent the night. This trip was definitely a hiking trip with us doing at least 5 mile hikes each day. By the time we reached Vik, the girls had dubbed this the “waterfall vacation”. We completed the classic ring road and were off to the Blue Lagoon. Our daughters really wanted to go to the Blue Lagoon. It is expensive, but that and swimming between the plates were all they asked to do. The Blue Lagoon was much fancier than I expected. You could have spa treatments and rent robes and towels. We did low budget and still had a great time. Even the base ticket got us entrance to the lagoon, a free drink and a free mud treatment. A good time was had by all.

Tip: If you go during the summer, it is the time of the midnight sun. We were prepared and had masks for sleeping, but would forget time and suddenly be on a hike at 11 pm. This can actually work to your advantage. You can see many places and not experience crowds if this is something you can work out. We were at the Blue Lagoon at 11:30 pm and it was not that crowded (at least by summer standards). This was one of our family’s favorite trips.