September 7, 2018

iceland travel guide – part 3

*Don’t forget to read Part 1, and Part 2!

We loved using companies to book the majority of our tours, it eliminated the stress of planning out every little detail. And being picked up at the bottom of your building definitely had its perks. But for some activities we opted to do them ourselves. It gave us enough time to sit back and enjoy and not have to worry about a schedule.

The Blue Lagoon

Everyone said that while the Blue Lagoon was a little ‘touristy’, it was still well worth it. And everyone was right. This was definitely one of our most relaxing days. We lounged in the pool, drank wine, got a free silica mud mask, and basically just vegged out. While there were plenty of people there, the lagoon itself is immense so everyone is well dispersed. We bought the “Comfort” level ticket that included one free drink and I’m glad we did because afterwards the glasses of wine were upwards of $18 (A GLASS). We also used Grayline to bus us there from our hotel and back, but booked our stay at the Blue Lagoon directly through their site (it was cheapest this way).

Reykjadalur Steam Valley

This was something I had looked up before we left for Iceland because it had so many positive reviews/blog posts. We got out there by bus – if you go to any of the tourist stores, they can give you a copy of the bus schedule and tell you which ones to take. Basically you took one bus to their main bus station (around a 20 min drive), and then a second bus to this little town way outside of Reykjavík (about an hour drive). Then you walk about 3km to the trailhead, and the hike itself is 3km to this stream that runs right through the valley. We actually had many Icelandic citizens tell us while we were there that it was one of their favourite hikes, so the stakes were pretty high for me. And I was still blown away! It was so cool. Not only do you have these amazing views of the ocean and the landscape as you trek upwards through the mountains, but you get to your destination and get to relax in a natural stream that is as hot as a hot tub. You also get to see many bubbling craters full of boiling hot water (very surreal), and there were many sheep friends guiding us along as well. Although my legs were tired by the end of it, it was a very fulfilling experience.