In the last few years, Iceland has become the “hot” place to visit. Maybe it is the name, suggesting a very cold, remote place. Maybe, it was the stories about erupting volcanoes disrupting air travel in Europe. Maybe it was the result of a very successful marketing campaign by Icelandic Air. For whatever reason, I really wanted to travel to this distinctly different country and was pleasantly surprised to find that it is just a short 5½-hour flight from Toronto. Since we went, many friends have visited Iceland and over the last two years I have shared my email with my Iceland tips with many people. I decided it would just be easier to put my tips in my blog, so here they are:

We went to Iceland in mid-August 2014 as part of a Butterfield and Robinson hiking group. We experienced their best weather of the summer, that said, it was 17 c at the peak of one day, and the rest of the days hovered around 13 c. The day we arrived, the locals were in shorts and t-shirts and the main square was full of families enjoying the fine weather. I took one pair of shorts and one pair of capris and neither made it out of my bag. Bring clothing that layers and do not worry about fashion, as it is not a fashion mecca!! I wished that I had my light down puffy hiking jacket and I purchased a wool hat and gloves on Day 3. Bring rain gear, waterproof hiking shoes and your bathing suit.

It is an expensive place, especially in the height of tourist season. We were advised to use the bank machine at the airport for Kronos, however credit cards are accepted everywhere. We bought all of our souvenirs at the Duty Free shop at the airport on the way home. Do this, otherwise you must pay tax and then stand in line at the airport for the reimbursement. A popular souvenir is something called a “Fuzzy Stool”. We bought one and it is a functional conversation piece at our ski chalet. I purchased a lovely pair of hand-made mittens from one of the hotel gift shops. Foolishly, I did not calculate the conversion rate at point of purchase, and figured out later that I had spent $60 Canadian on these mittens.

We only had a few days in Reykjavik yet we managed to pack in many of the main attractions. We enjoyed the “On-Off” bus, which gives you a tour of the city. We walked around a lot, and visited the church called Hallgrimskirkja where we had a tremendous view of the city. We even went golfing on a beautiful course in a lava field, beside the ocean and near the airport. We used taxis to get around and quickly learned that the rates are very high in the summer.

We loved the Blue Lagoon, which is very close to the airport and could be visited on your last day, on your way to the airport. We had water massages (book ahead) that felt great after all of our hiking. The spa area is a little more private and not as busy. I was skeptical about the lagoon, yet I truly felt rejuvenated after our afternoon there. There is a very good restaurant at The Blue Lagoon, that we did not eat at, yet heard was excellent. The water in Iceland is very hard and has sulfur in it. If your hair gets dry easily, bring some product, as you will need it, especially after visiting the Blue Lagoon.
In Reykjavik, we stayed at Hotel Borg and loved the location and the decor. If you stay there, ask for a room on an upper floor and not facing the city square, as our only complaint was the night-time noise from the bar next door and the city square. There is no air conditioning and we like to sleep with our window open, however this lets in the light and noise. Bring a mask for sleeping through the midnight sun and maybe some earplugs.

We went to The Fish Market restaurant twice because it was so fantastic. We also recommend The Grill Market. Both are within walking distance to the Hotel Borg. For lunch you must go to the hotdog stand, the most popular restaurant in the country- trust me, the hotdogs are good and is the “it” thing to do. Ask the concierge for directions- it is around the corner from the main square. A local spot for lunch, which was recommended to us, is The Sea Baron, where you must have the lobster soup- delicious. If you want to have coffee with the locals, go to a rooftop coffee spot, on top of a bookstore, just steps from the Hotel Borg. Hopefully you like salmon and lamb, because they are staples on the Icelandic menu. We tried eating puffin and did not like it at all!
The main purpose of our trip was to do a lot of hiking. Our tour group was able to lead us on some amazing hikes in places we would never have found on our own. It is also pretty nice having two guides to book restaurants, introduce us to locals and keep us hydrated and well fed. We had a fabulous group of people from Canada and United States, which made for interesting conversations on the trail and around the dinner table.

We visited the Snaefellsnes Penisula and stayed at the Budir Country Hotel. Next we went to the Hotel Grimsborgir and finally the Hotel Ranga. Our tour company chose to stick to one region of Iceland, rather than spend too much time in a bus, travelling the circumference, which many people choose to do. In our travels we saw waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, lava fields and lunar-like landscapes. The hotels were all locally owned, distinctly Icelandic and very comfortable. These hotels are the some of the best in Iceland, yet they are not castles or 5 star resorts.

One of our favourite activities was an excursion to the Highlands in a super-jeep. We then took a rigorous hike up a mountain where the scenery was so spectacular, that one of the pictures Paul took and blew up looks like a painting rather than a photograph. One day we hiked up a trail beside a waterfall and had to take off our shoes at the top to wade across a chilly glacier-fed river. One of our travel-mates stumbled in the river and took an icy bath. We enjoyed a day on the Westman Islands where we hiked to the top of a volcano and made s’mores over a volcanic vent. We did not go whale watching, however others in our group did and they were disappointed. We went horseback riding on Icelandic horses and loved that experience. My favourite meal was in an Icelandic guest- house on my birthday, where we felt like we were part of the family and enjoyed a buffet of Icelandic delicacies including fermented shark.

If you haven’t guessed it already, we LOVED our trip to Iceland and plan to go back. I hope you love it too!