Iceland
When you only have 36 hours in Iceland, you take the tour.
If you’re an adventure traveler looking for the best weeklong itinerary in Iceland, please move along. I don’t say it to be rude. It’s just this isn’t that. This, my friends, is a quick pass at what to do in Iceland on a stopover. Forty-eight hours or less.
When you’re working with a fixed number of vacation days, as my husband is, you have to get creative with the plan. So when I was looking at options to fly to Barcelona, IcelandAir popped up as a possibility. The first reason this looked appealing was their free stopover option. Some airlines (TAP Portugal included) offer you the option to stop in-country on your departing or return flight, free of charge. The second reason this was appealing is how evenly it broke up our first European red-eye with the kids. Five hours to Reykjavík and then four to Barcelona sure beat a flight to Newark and then nearly eight hours straight to our destination.
We chose to take our stopover on the way home from Spain, assuming the colder temps would be welcome after over a week in direct mid-summer heat.
Great reviews, a waterfront location, and their points program encouraged us to book The Edition Reykjavík. It’s a beautifully appointed hotel. Simple rooms, but that comes with the overall minimalist architecture of the country, informed by Scandinavian and Nordic design elements. We attempted to exchange money at the front desk unsuccessfully upon check-in. The staff told us there a bank in town we could do it, but they were closed that night and the following weekend day. Luckily most places took credit cards and USD, we never actually held any Icelandic Krona.
On our single full day in the country we departed early for a Golden Circle Tour. We are not generally tour people. I dislike crowds and find that focusing on places that can accommodate groups means missing out on local gems. However, given our availability and timeline, this was the best option and I’m so glad we did it.
We booked the tour on Viator. I was slightly worried about the kids being able to manage over six hours off and on a bus, but they did great. The tour guide told us a lot about the history of the island and what it’s like to live there year round. We saw breathtaking waterfalls, wild horses, craters, and geysers. We ate fresh ice cream and, of course, went to the Blue Lagoon (the highlight of the whole trip). I was in an active awe state most of the day. The landscape makes it feel like you’re on another planet. There’s nowhere in the U.S. that compares.
On our way up to the Blue Lagoon, our last stop of the day, we traveled through a newly constructed community that was a vacant ghost town. Soon after the homes were constructed, a volcano erupted, forcing the residents out of their homes. Iceland, being the country that it is, paid everyone for their homes and to leave. The dark volcanic rock covering the sides of the road was striking against the freshly painted wood—a reminder of what it means to live alongside nature.
Our remaining time was spent just wandering. Around the Old Harbour, through Rainbow Street, and up to the historic church, Hallgrímskirkja. One night we ate at the Hlemmur mathöll food hall, which was great because it allowed my children to be as picky as they wanted to be. We hit up the hot dog stand not once, but twice. I ordered mine with everything, which included fried onions, raw onions, sweet brown mustard, remoulade, and Icelandic ketchup.
We missed out on the Puffin Tour, but my son guilted me into buying him two stuffed puffins to take home. The boutiques mainly consisted of tourist-centric items, but if you’re into skincare and wool, they’ve got you covered.
If we had more time, I would have loved to spend time at a black sand beach, see the northern lights, and hike. But really, with the kids it was a good amount of time to spend exploring. Don’t let the weather detour you. Yes, it will probably be spitting rain at times, but that’s nothing a raincoat can’t solve for. Pack your hiking shoes, clean your camera’s lens, and be wowed by the pure natural beauty that Iceland has to offer.
My Top Five Tips
SAVE YOUR MONEY
Iceland is the most expensive place I’ve ever visited. Not because they want to gouge tourists, but because of how remote the island is, the need to import most goods and food, and high VAT. For perspective, a glass of wine at our hotel was $35 USD. This is not to deter you from visiting—there is no place like it—but rather to keep you from getting sticker shock upon arrival. Big note: when dining, tipping is not customary—service fees are built into your check.
BOOK FLYBUS
Don’t expect flying into Reykjavík to be like flying into any normal airport. There aren’t parking garages full of rental cards or long lines idling for passenger pickup. The best way to get into the city is to take the Flybus. Taxis driving you the 50 km can be outrageously expensive, especially if you don’t book ahead of time. Book the Flybus in advance (about $30 USD one way) and simply alert the driver to your final destination.
PREPARE FOR THE LIGHT
We arrived at our hotel after 8:00 p.m. and the sky was still bright. Between time changes and the sun not setting under well after 11:00 p.m. at this time of year, our internal clocks were whacked. Dinner service was lively at 10:00 p.m. and if you wanted to stay up ‘til the middle of the night it would be easy to. The sun rises again by 4:00 a.m. Force yourself to go to bed at a normal time and pull those room darkening shades tight.
EMBRACE BEING A TOURIST
Unless you’ve done loads of research beforehand, I wouldn’t recommend trying to navigate around the island on your own. We’re not tour people and booking a guided tour was the best decision we made.
ORDER THE HOT DOG
There’s always the kitschy thing to do—in Iceland it’s all about hot dogs. Look for the red and white stand and you’ll find Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, the most popular local chain. They’ve got the meat and the merch, if you’re dying to come home with a sweatshirt emblazoned with “hot bun under the midnight sun.”
