I know it’s really popular for people to travel somewhere tropical in the winter, but what about going somewhere cold? That’s what prompted my trip to Iceland earlier this year. You can visit Iceland year round, but I wanted to experience it in its true form – COLD! And although I didn’t get there at the peak of cold, I’m still happy I went when I did. 

I went to Iceland with my mom at the very end of February/beginning of March. The weather (although chilly like I had hoped) was not great, but I think it was just more so bad luck than anything. It was either rainy or overcast most days, except for a few pokes of sun and the day we did our glacier hike. The time of year we went is also apparently great for northern lights, but because of the weather, we did not have the opportunity to see them. I unfortunately had the same problem in Finland. 

Iceland was really fun and I’d highly recommend it for anyone interested in seeing a lot of nature and having an active vacation! 

Day 1: Blue Lagoon and Reykjavik

I flew from San Francisco to Newark a few days early because my mom lives in NJ. This was easier and cheaper than the other option, which was the airline taking me to Denmark first for a layover and then to Iceland. 

We took a red-eye together from Newark and arrived in Reykjavik at 6am. The Blue Lagoon is closer to the airport than it is to Reykjavik, so we made that our first stop. We had a 9am reservation and getting there early after an overnight flight was really nice!

If you’re not planning to rent a car, there’s a shuttle from the airport you can take to the Blue Lagoon. Because we were renting a car for the latter part of our trip, it was actually cheaper to just rent the car for an additional few days and drive ourselves to the Blue Lagoon than to take the shuttle. It didn’t seem super difficult to park in Reykjavik, but we parked once and did not move until we left Reykjavik. Our hotel recommended parking around the Hallgrimskirkja (famous church) parking lot because it was free. 

The Blue Lagoon was a really fun stop. The pool is definitely man-made at this point (the bottom is concrete, but made to feel natural), but obviously filters in the water from the lagoon. I thought I’d get bored sort of quickly, but it’s so relaxing that it was nice to just float around and chat with my mom. Included with the regular admission is a silica face mask and a drink from the bar, which can be a few things. We got the juices and they were really delicious. My only gripe was that the locker rooms could have been a little better maintained and larger. They were sort of crowded and it wasn’t even that crowded. 

After the morning at the Blue Lagoon, we checked into our hotel. We stayed at Hotel Leifur Eiriksson. It was a cute hotel with a good breakfast. I was excited to try Icelandic Skyr (yogurt)! We walked around Reykjavik to get a feel for the city. It’s super walkable and very cute. There are a bunch of shops, bars, and restaurants. 

We ate Bastard Brew & Food for dinner. I got a burger, it was SO good! 

Day 2: Explore Reykjavik

We took our second day to walk around Reykjavik. We went to the National Museum of Iceland, The Settlement Exhibition, the Icelandic Punk Museum, the top of the Hallgrimskirkja and the Kolaportið Flea Market. 

I would recommend the museums to get a sense of the history and culture of Iceland. The Punk Museum is very tiny and was more of a kitschy thing to do.

We stopped at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur to get Icelandic hot dogs for lunch. What makes Icelandic hot dogs unique is that they’re mostly made of lamb. Lamb is super popular in Iceland, so you’ll have plenty of chances to try it. Lamb can be hit or miss for a lot of folks. For me it’s OK, but not something I would actively seek out to eat. I didn’t think that the hot dogs had a very strong lamb flavor though, so I would recommend trying them. 

We got local fish and chips for dinner at Reykjavik Fish Restaurant and ice cream at Sæta húsið for dessert. Despite it being cold, ice cream is very popular in Iceland!

Day 3: Golden Circle Tour

On day three, we took a small group tour of the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is a popular sight-seeing route that includes Thingvellir National Park, geothermal pools, Geysir, and the Gullfoss Waterfall. We went with this tour because it included the Kerid Crater, which some others did not. It was great! Our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. We felt like we had enough time at each stop and although the weather was not great, we had enough time to see everything on the tour. 

If you wanted to, I think you could definitely do this tour yourself. The next day we did the South Coast Tour ourselves on the way to Vik. It is nice though to do tours sometimes because you often learn a lot more about what you are seeing as well as the culture of the country. 

We decided to switch up the cuisine a bit and try Fuku Mama at the Pósthús Food Hall & Bar. 

Day 4: South Coast Self Tour and Drive to Vik

Since we were expanding our trip outside of Reykjavik, we decided to see the South Coast stops ourselves on the drive to Vik. We just put the stops into Google maps and it brought us to the correct spots. 

Eyjafjallajökull Volcano – you can see it from a distance on a clear day. In 2010, this volcano erupted and shut down European air traffic for a few days.

Skógafoss Waterfall – you can climb the stairs to see the waterfall from the top. There are also many hiking trails at the top as well. There is a cute restaurant called Skogafoss Bistro Bar here where I tried Kjötsúpa (Icelandic lamb soup) for lunch.

Dyrhólaey – a lighthouse atop a bunch of cliffs. Amazing views of the ocean and black sand beach. 

Reynisfjara – black sand beach. We decided to skip this stop since the Airbnb we were staying at was on the beach (and we had seen it from afar already). 

Vik is an incredibly small town, but there are things to do! We had a reservation for the Icelandic Lava Show, which I would highly recommend. (They also do it in Reykjavik if you don’t make it to Vik.) You learn a lot about volcanoes and even get to see a demonstration of real lava. Very cool! 

On the way to Vik, there’s also an Solheimafjara, which is an abandoned plane on the beach. We passed this without realizing it and then figured we could get it on the way back, but we somehow missed it again. 

Lastly, there’s apparently a really cute cafe called Skool Beans Cafe that serves coffee and such out of an old school bus, but they were still closed for the season. 

We stayed at this Airbnb on the beach and it was SO beautiful! Very comfy and warm, too. I wish we could have stayed longer. Since we were staying at an Airbnb, we got some simple stuff for breakfast and pre-made sandwiches from the Bonus (grocery store) in town. 

We ate at the Smiðjan Brugghús brewery in town. I had a vegan burger, and we tried the beer!

Day 4: Katla Volcano Ice Cave Tour

Our fourth day was probably the most perilous! I’m being a little dramatic, but after hearing all about the dangerous and potentially live volcanoes the night before at the Lava Show, it was hard not to be mildly concerned about venturing into a volcano’s ice cave. 

This tour was really cool, but the weather made it unpleasant. First off, it was windy and rainy, so it felt like we were stranded on an arctic tundra. Although, to be fair, I’m not sure what the “normal” weather for where we were was. We wore as waterproof clothing as we could (as was instructed), but still ended up pretty wet because we had to stand outside of the cave for around 45 minutes while our guide was apparently making sure it was safe inside. We finally were able to go in and you basically need to walk along very thin planks while holding on a rope. There’s very violent rushing water below you so everything is wet, it’s very loud, and very dark. So the tour guides are yelling, it was sort of crowded and we were only able to go a little bit of the way through since the rest of it was deemed unsafe. It was rated ‘easy to moderate,’ which personally I would disagree with. My mom is almost 75 and she’s pretty active and she felt uncomfortable. 

Regardless though, it was an experience and I can’t blame time of year or weather on the guide or company, but maybe this tour should only be taken when things aren’t actively melting. Although, despite the terrible weather, apparently we got very lucky it’s not often that the glacier ice is such a vibrant blue. So while we didn’t see any northern lights, we did get to see this rare occurrence!

We grabbed sandwiches and some snacks at Bonus and went back to the Airbnb to dry off and relax. 

We went up to Vik i Myrdal Church to see some pretty views of the town and went to the restaurant, Restaurant Suður-Vík, at the bottom of the hill. We got a wild game platter that included smoked charr and caribou, and cured goose. I also went full in on the lamb and got a filet. We went pretty early here for dinner, but I would recommend making a reservation any other time.

Day 5: Drive to Hof, Diamond Beach, and Skaftafell Glacier Hike

We woke up early the next morning to drive to Hof (about two hours) so we could go on our afternoon Skaftafell Glacier Hike tour with Troll Expeditions. We were running a bit late, but decided to still go all the way down to Diamond Beach before the tour. We had about 20 minutes there. The views were really beautiful, but we did not see the giant chunks of ice on the black sand. 

The weather finally cooperated with us for the tour! This was probably my favorite activity that we did in Iceland. Our guide was really wonderful and the hike was easy to moderate. My mom definitely got a workout, but it was not beyond what she was capable of doing by any means. The views were spectacular and it was just a really surreal experience to be hiking on a glacier! 

We stayed at Adventure Hotel Hof. It is a nice hotel, but they were a little rude when we asked if we could either check in early or drop off our stuff. So we had to leave it in the car for the tour (which was fine since Iceland is very safe). We ate dinner at the hotel since Hof is even smaller than Vik! If I remember correctly, most of the restaurants are only at hotels in this area. The hotel is on really beautiful grounds and the room was nice. You do have to share a bathroom like a hostel though (which we knew going in, but agreed for one night it was OK). 

Day 6: Drive back to Reykjavik and return home

On the last day we drove back to Reykjavik, returned the rental car, and took our 5pm flight home! 

Driving in Iceland this time of year wasn’t bad. There was an hour and a half stretch about 45 minutes outside of Reykjavik where it was very dark, foggy, and mountainous. That was a fairly scary and unpleasant drive. Also, note if you want to buy gas with a credit card they probably will ask for a PIN (which we don’t really use for credit cards in the US). So either set that up before you leave or be prepared to buy gas gift cards inside with cash (or maybe you could use your card for the gift cards, I don’t remember). Although one place was requiring a PIN for my mom’s credit card and not for mine. 

My mom was a bit shocked at the prices of things (specifically food), but living in the Bay Area of the US, I did not find it that much more expensive. In fact, I felt like restaurant food was a little cheaper because you don’t have to tip. However, compared to other parts of Europe, everything was a bit more expensive (including hotels and tours). So if you’re looking for a budget trip, Iceland might not be it. BUT you absolutely don’t have to spend a crazy amount either; I felt like we did everything we wanted to and spent reasonably with the above itinerary. Also, everywhere took credit cards, so while I do usually carry local currency, we did not really need to use it. 

In terms of souvenirs, there are many to choose from. Iceland has not shied away from giving tourists what they need! Whatever you want, they will have. I got a handmade wood ornament at Hallgrimskirkja (the church), some lava salt, a few watercolor postcards that I intend to frame, and a photo coffee table book. There were a lot of different Icelandic books – specifically photography books – which I thought was a really cool souvenir. There is not really anything to get in Vik or Hof, so do your shopping in Reykjavik.