Reykjavik City Break

5 days touring using the city as a base

Recommended days	4
Budget	££
Difficulty	Easy

This Reykjavik city break was a long time ago and in those days I wasn’t good at note taking! This was one of those holidays where you wish you’d looked at the small print! We booked everything through VJV and didn’t realise quite how late the flight was.

We landed in Reykjavik and after the UK the first thing we noticed was how clean it was. We got to the Radisson and unpacked and it was 3.30AM before we got to bed! I’m certainly not used to that! The city itself is pretty dull, if you’re coming here you need a few days and you need to travel to the surrounding areas.

Golden Circle Tour

We set our alarms for 7 because we’d masochistically booked a Golden Circle tour for our first morning. Breakfast had a very fishy theme so I didn’t indulge too much and we were all ready for the minibus at 10AM. Luckily there weren’t many of us on the tour so we had lots of room.

First stop was an obligatory wool factory but prices were so steep I couldn’t even afford a pair of socks! I’m sure it was lovely but damned pricey.

Golden Circle Tour: Thingvelier

The weather didn’t look good as we headed to Thingvelier but the roads were almost empty. We walked around the site of the Viking parliament and then through the chasms caused by the fault lines where the American and European tectonic plates meet.

A river meanders through and the whole area is very swampy, like the Dead Marshes from LotR. It was amazing how clear the water was though – the pools by the bridge are about 12m deep and completely clear. Being glacial probably helps.

Golden Circle Tour: Gulfoss Falls

The weather cleared up while we were in the coffee shop and stayed bright and clear, although very cold, as we walked down the path to Gulfoss Falls. As soon as we got out of the minibus the noise of the falls was impressive and the falls themselves spectacular.

The volume of spray was incredible but we couldn’t walk around as much as I’d have liked as Deb’s back was causing her pain. On the plus side, I was having to clean the camera lens constantly from the spray and didn’t have a coat so if we had walked to the bottom it might not have turned out well!

This was a nice walk from the minibus but also the first time I felt cold this break. I’m not sure if it was water spray or the exposed walk but it really did feel bitter and I even bought another fleece to double layer. The expense still mortifies me now!

Golden Circle Tour: Geysirs

After a break stop at Faxi Falls we continued on to see the geysirs. These were entertaining to try and photograph! The smell of the sulphur wasn’t ideal but the water had a gorgeous turquoise tint to it.

Our final stop was the Kerid Crater, a huge volcanic crater that is now half filled with water. The nearby church at Skalholt was memorable for the very strange mosaics and stained glass windows.

Southern Island Tour

We got back to the hotel and after a shower and dinner collapsed into our very welcome beds. The next morning we were up before 7 again and on the minibus by 8. We had the same guide (Pieter) and the same group of people with us as we drove to Hrotsvellur.

We walked through the village, looking at the pretty wooden houses with their corrugated coverings to protect against the weather. The black sand beach was deserted as no sane person was out of their beds yet.

We had a brief stop to view Mount Hekla volcano before our visit to the glacier at Solheimajohull. It was a long walk to the glacier and we didn’t go too far because of Deb’s back pain but we watched a mountain rescue crew practising on the ice. The passages made by the water were interesting to see and the ice was incredibly dirty, particularly at the edges.

Southern Island Tour: Dyrholey Beach

After our lunch stop we arrived at Dyrholey beach. This was another black sand beach but had hexagonal basalt columns like Giant’s Causeway. It was actually amazingly peaceful and the waves gently lapping at the black sand were almost surreal.

We paused near Vik for some photos, our guide was into photography too which was excellent. The scenery was spectacular and we had blue skies too!

Southern Island Tour: Solheimajokull Glacier

Not in order but here’s Sólheimajökull glacier. This was a relatively easy walk from where we parked although you had to be careful with your footing. We visited in September so there wasn’t much snow so that’s a lesson for next time.

Southern Island Tour: Skogafoss Waterfall

As our guide was a photographer we’d actually done the tour in reverse order so the light would be better for the spectacular Skógafoss waterfall. I am so pleased with that decision as the waterfall was just amazing with the light filtering through the spray. It was quite beautiful to walk to as well, a huge waterfall and beautiful weather to admire it in!

Southern Island Tour: Seljandafoss Waterfall

The next waterfall, Seljandafoss, seemed taller and had a path so you could walk behind it. It was incredibly picturesque although very wet obviously! There were a couple walking up as we were heading down that had two kids togged out in full waterproof gear! Seljalandsfoss is a picture postcard waterfall and from behind it you can take some lovely sunset shots.

Next on the itinerary was the Folk Museum. Not somewhere I’d usually stop but actually rather interesting with an old, single storey house with a thick turf covering next to an ultra modern steel and glass building.

The guy that gave us the tour had probably been there since Erik the Red but he was incredibly knowledeable, played the dulcimer organ for us and sang folk songs. The whaling exhibits were particularly incredible – the gear the people used to go sailing in the arctic seas it’s a wonder any of them survived.

Northern Lights

We had a traditional Icelandic dinner (Chinese!) and then waited for darkness so we could try and see the Northern Lights. We were lucky enough to be able to watch them and although the pictures aren’t very good the sight was mesmerising.

Superjeep Tour

The next morning after a far too brief sleep we headed outside for the Superjeep tour. There were only 6 of us this time and the jeep felt more like a ship – very smooth but pitched and rolled so not that relaxing.

We drove into the highlands area which was incredibly desolate, looking more like the surface of Mars than earth. There was no vegetation, the terrain was utterly flat and there were huge volcanoes in the distance.

The drive to Langjoksull Glacier took quite a while but the roads were mostly decent other than a couple of little stream crossings. The ice was very difficult to walk on, very slippery and huge crevasses carved by the water. We couldn’t drive on it due to the lack of snow but the ice colours were amazing – iridescent blues and whites.

Superjeep Tour: Hranfossar Glacial Falls

After our lunch stop we continued to Hranfossar glacial falls which were a very milky white water. The water was very fast flowing and had cut a deep channel and through up lots of spray from the embedded rocks. It was incredibly pretty with the autumnal colours and alpine plants contrasting with the white of the river.

Superjeep Tour: Hranfossar Glacial Falls

Superjeep Tour: Langjoksull Glacier

The glacier was amazing, so much ice and all the residues of the environment encased within it, almost like strata. The weather wasn’t good so the photos are a bit blurry due to the rain but it was a pretty awesome experience.

Blue Lagoon

On our route back to the hotel we went via Hallfjordur and saw the abandoned WW2 bases on the opposite shore. We also saw a snow eagle, but not close enough to photograph. Back at the hotel we dumped our bags, grabbed our swimming stuff and headed off to the Blue Lagoon.

The drive there was interesting as it was through lava fields with huge pumice stones covered in moss. Apparently the moss can grow up to 2.5m deep! The place was very modern and efficient and the water was most welcome – like sitting in a hot bath, which was quite surreal as it was open air and a cold wind so my ears were cold but body toasty! Back to the hotel for 11.30 for sleep zzzzzzzzzz

Reykjavik City Tour

We’d booked a half day city tour for the next morning as we had barely seen anything of Reykjavik other than wandering around in the evenings for food. Hallgrimskirkja cathedral was impressive with a very plain and stark interior and we did the tower tour too which gave views over the low lying city. It was quite lovely until the bells started ringing!

Our next stop was a modern ‘art’ gallery. the guide was most disappointed when we all came outside after less than 5 minutes walking round! The following stop though, the sculpture gallery, made up for it. The sculptures were very evocative and even though it was mostly outdoors it was pleasant to walk around.

Our final stop on the tour was The Pearl. This is a showcase museum/cafe/gallery and we spent a while here before entering the Saga Museum. Imagine a mix between the British Museum and Madame Tussauds. We took the audio tour and spent well over an hour learning about the history and personalities of the country.

We decided not to go anywhere else in the afternoon. Deb went to sleep and I sorted the photos and we then walked around the centre of the city looking for a restaurant that didn’t serve just fish. We eventually found a nice Chinese and had a relaxed meal and a relatively early night.

Before flying back the next afternoon we had another visit to the Blue Lagoon which was a great end to a very different holiday. A Reykjavik city break is a great experience but only if you either get some tours booked or hire a car.

2004