Hey!
So, if you follow me on Instagram or just know me in real life then you'll probably know that I've recently been to Iceland with my friend Laura. I had such an amazing time and thought it would be a great thing to post about; telling you what I did and also how I survived in Iceland (an insanely expensive country) on a budget! The best thing about going with Laura is that we are so alike and also both love to Instagram so it wasn't uncommon for us to stand and take more than one picture of the same thing to get the 'perfect shot'.
I have some pictures that I didn't include in this on my Instagram which you can check out here.
We flew out on the 2nd May and came back on the 6th. It was a very last minute, slightly unplanned trip like Laura found cheap flights and was like "come to Iceland with me" and I was like "why not?". It turned out to be the best decision I have ever made in my life because it was just so amazing!
We stayed at Loft Hostel, this being my second hostel experience (although it was my first international and dorm one) and it was such a lovely place to stay. It was super cosy and you just felt like you were at home, the staff were all polite and helpful. It was pretty much in the middle of the city so there were many restaurants, coffee shops and attractions within walking distance.
We had a visit to Dunkin Donuts everyday, a cup of coffee was around 459kr, which is roughly around £3.35 which isn't actually that bad for Iceland. Something that Iceland doesn't have is a McDonalds or Starbucks, two things that are universally known as being everywhere so finding a Dunkin Donuts was the greatest discovery.
Our first day was spent just walking around getting to know where places were and finding a cheap (well Icelandic version of cheap) supermarket. We found a supermarket called Bonus, which I would say is their version of Lidl or Aldi, although it wasn't insanely cheap it was the cheapest we found.
We actually only had proper dinners two out of the four days we were there; on the Tuesday we had a pot noodle because we were so worn out from travelling, Wednesday we went to Lebowski Bar, you could get a burger, fries and drink for 2150kr which is roughly around £16 which is great! Thursday we just had a (rather large) slice of Pizza when we went to the Kriglan mall. We went to The Hard Rock Cafe on the Friday, which was rather pricey but it was our last night and we thought we'd treat ourselves and go for a meal with two of the girls we met in the hostel.
Our second day was spent on a whole day tour of The Golden Circle, Kerid Volcanic Crater and Blue Lagoon. We pre booked this and it was super pricey but so worth it. It was around £114 + £50 for the Blue Lagoon ticket. It did include a tour bus and tour guide (who was really nice and really made the day enjoyable). There are a few pictures of this day below:
Seeing Strokkur erupt was probably the best part of this day (maybe even the trip) because it is just so fascinating to watch hot water explode from the ground. We were stood pretty close and were advised that being downwind of it erupting wasn't a good idea. The wind changed just as it erupted, and any normal person (like many who were there) would run when they see this crazy amount of water heading straight to them...but not I, I stood there watching it until it was too late and I was drenched head to toe. After the initial shock of "I am soaked, my phone is soaked" (I did buy a waterproof case but hadn't put it on yet) it was just hilarious and Laura caught the whole thing on video, luckily the iPhone 7 being water resistant worked in my favour!
Blue Lagoon
A big part of going to Iceland was going to the Blue Lagoon, and it is definitely something everybody needs to do! It is just so beautiful and relaxing and as Laura said "the most perfect bath temperature". We did sort of break the rules as you are meant to shower without your swimsuit before getting in, but there wasn't a lot of privacy and I'm not one for getting naked in front of strangers (or even people I know) so we just showered in our swimsuits. I find the first picture so funny because I'm not wearing my glasses or contacts so I just have this weird squinting face happening as I cannot see.
As someone who cannot draw to save her life, I can really appreciate graffiti/street art. The streets of Reykjavik are plastered in some amazing art, it's insane how talented some people are. The next four pictures are my favourites I came across:
We spent Thursday and Friday walking around sightseeing. If you know me then you'll know I'm not much of a walker but during these days we managed to get our step count to 13,000-17,000 which is crazy. Luckily the weather was pretty nice during these days so it made walking around a lot easier and it was perfect for picture taking. We saw Esja Mountain, a view of the city from the Perlan viewing deck and the Nautholsvik Geothermal Beach.
I hope you enjoyed this post and will come back for my next one! You should definitely plan on visiting Reykjavik, it is super expensive but as long as you do your research and save up money you should be fine!
