My first, & so far only, trip to Iceland was in January of last year. I found a round trip flight from Newark to Reykjavík with WOWAir, a budget Icelandic airline, for under $200 & booked it! WOWAir went out of business a month or so after our trip, leaving travelers stranded at airports… so we got very lucky!
This was the first trip I ever fully planned myself, therefore I wouldn’t call myself an expert Iceland tour guide, but we had a great jammed pack 4-5 days so here is our itinerary:
Day 1
We flew into the Keflavik airport on a red eye, arriving early the next morning, & we immediately took a bus to the Blue Lagoon! Keflavik airport is about a 45 minute drive from the main city of Reykjavik, while the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa is located about 20 minutes from the airport, in the direction of Reykjavik. So it makes the most sense to either hit the Lagoon on your way in from the airport or on your way out to the airport. You can purchase tickets directly from their website & they have $5 luggage storage once you arrive.
We went in the beginning of our trip, which worked best for us, but I think if you are able to save this until your last day that is the smarter move. Everyone has a different experience hair-wise when it comes to the lagoon, but sometimes it can cause your hair to be very dry for a few days. So ladies just trust me, hit the Lagoon on your way home!
After the lagoon, we caught a bus into the city of Reykjavík where we checked into our shared Airbnb. We settled in then walked down to Bæjarins Bezt to try their famous Icelandic hotdogs real quick before heading to our Beer Tour with Wakeup Reykjavik. This had to be one of my favorite beer tours of all time, I can’t recommend it enough. Plenty of beer is included, great commentary by our guide Gudny, & even some snacks. Gudny taught us so much Icelandic history & trust me they have plenty of beer history.
If beer isn’t your thing, check out their Food Tour which is the #1 rated tour in all of Iceland.
After the tour, our guide pointed us in the direction of some other cool bars to check out for the night. Make sure you don’t miss out on the Cocoa Puff White Russian at Lebowski Bar!
Day 2
The next morning I left time for our hangovers to die down. Around mid-morning we headed to a new by bus stop to head to our Golden Circle & Thermal Baths Tour. I also booked this tour through Wakeup Reykjavík, however unlike the Beer or Food tour these tours are done by other tour companies but Wakeup serves as the middle man by choosing what companies they feel are best for the specific tour. I wasn’t blown away by our tour guide this day, but it didn’t really matter with views as amazing as the Golden Circle’s.
The tour took us through the famous sites of Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir hot spring area, with a final stop at the Secret Lagoon to take a dip in a natural hot spring. Altogether the tour took about 8-9 hours of our day, but was 100% worth it to see all of the beauty Iceland’s Golden Circle holds.
After returning to Reykjavík, we were set to go on a Northern Lights tour with Artic Adventures. However, due to bad weather the tour was cancelled for this night. With Northern Light tours, it is not guaranteed you will see them. With Artic Adventures, if they know for sure you won’t be seeing the Lights they will cancel the tour & either offer you another night to schedule your tour for or if you are unable to rebook they will refund you the money.
So it is in your best interest to schedule this tour for the very beginning of your trip incase you have to postpone. Unfortunately, the weather never ended up in our favor our entire 4 nights there & we did not get to see the Northern Lights, disappointing but just more reason for me to make my way back to Iceland!
Day 3
We woke up super early to catch the bus to our South Coast Iceland tour, this was my absolute favorite day of the trip. From walking behind the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, to exploring the adorable town of Vik, & then walking across the black sand beach of Reynisfjara, the day couldn’t of been any better. I was blown away by the landscape of the Sólheimajökull Icelandic Glacier & the massive Skogafoss waterfall.
This was the day Iceland became my very favorite location I have ever traveled to due to how otherworldly the land is, it literally takes your breathe away to look at. If you’re staying in Reykjavík like us, prepare for this tour to take a total of almost 11 hours of your day.
We did this tour again through Wakeup Reykjavík and I was extremely impressed with this tour’s company & guide. She was very informative & taught us not only about the sites but all about Icelandic folk tales & their Christmas, as the holidays had just passed.
Day 4
On our last full day we woke up extremely early to get our bus to our Snowmobile tour with Extreme Iceland. This was an expensive tour but it was worth splurging for to snowmobile across Iceland’s second largest glacier, Langjokull. This tour took about 7-8 hours of the day.
Once back in Reykjavík, we used our last night to explore the city with some shopping on Skólavödustígur & Laugavegur street. Then we went out for a nice fancy meal at Caurso Harbor. The food was delicious but it was definitely expensive, as are most places in Iceland.
I highly recommend buying/cooking your own food most of the trip.
Day 5
On our last morning in Iceland we walked over to the Hallgrimskirkja Church to get a great last view of the city of Reykjavík before heading to the airport for our flight.
I hope this itinerary can help you when planning your Iceland adventure when it is safe & allowed to visit again.
Some things to note are that Iceland is a very different destination each season. We visited in early January, which has only 4-5 hours of sunlight a day, unlike during their prime summer months which has about 19-20 hours of sunlight a day.
The season you are visiting is definitely a crucial factor in your planning, but you can’t go wrong with whichever time you pick to visit! Regardless of the time of year, the country of Iceland is always extraordinary beautiful.
Good luck planning your Iceland Adventure!
Accomadations: in an attempt to spend less we spent our entire trip staying at the same Airbnb in Reykjavík. It was right in the heart of the city & easily accessible to a lot of sights or bus stops. It was a shared Airbnb with several rooms for different group sizes, I highly recommend checking it out especially if on a budget. Click here to see for yourself!
