Iceland has been on my bucket list for years. When I think of Iceland, here are the things that come to mind:

• A magical kingdom of elves, trolls, and fairytale beings
• Aurora, the light of happiness
• A land of ice and fire
• Lord of the Rings (I know the main film location is New Zealand, but somehow I feel there is some connection between the two)
• Fresh air, and pure water
• Icelandic, the official language of Iceland, which looks pretty complicated to pronounce

“This is it. This is the place where I can get as close as possible to mother nature (while there is still sight of other human beings). This place is special.” I thought. For this reason, I always wanted to do the proper planning before making a trip to Iceland.  But then I ended up procrastinating, afraid I didn’t have enough preparation to make that one perfect trip. Until one simple text from a girlfriend one day in late October, I found myself finally booking a 4-day trip to Iceland!

 

Top Things to do/see in Iceland

• Blue Lagoon

Arguably the number one spot for most first timers landing in Iceland, Blue Lagoon should be on your must do list. Despite the criticism that it is pricey, touristy, crowded and is not a natural hot spring, all of which are true statements by the way, people are still flooding into the milky blue seawater pool as there is nothing like it elsewhere. Going to the Blue Lagoon is an awesome experience to have. Bathing in the mineral rich (silica and sulfur) water in the middle of an immense lava field while beautifying skin with the natural mud or sipping a drink in the soothingly warm water, life is great.

 

• Reykjavík

I cannot deny that the name for this lovely capital and the most visited city of Iceland gives me much trouble with its pronunciation. “So where are you heading for vacation?” a coworker asked. “um…Re…Re…err forget it, here is where I am going,” me giving up on my pronunciation attempt and pointing at my phone.

At a first glance, Reykjavík is very different than many whirlwind capital cities. There are hardly any tall buildings around the city center. Instead it looks like small lego block clusters of colorful wooden houses with glassy windows and the city is hugged by the surrounding ocean and snow mountain range. Although lacking in size, Reykjavík is nonetheless charming and full of character. If you have the time to stroll around the streets and check out one of the lively cafes, shops, graffiti walls, and museums, you will surely fall in love with the trendiness and beating energy of this city.

 

 

 

• Golden Circle

Before going to the Golden Circle, I thought that meant the spot where the water shoots to the sky (that is actually the geyser). After all, most of the images showing up was the geyser when I googled “Golden Circle Iceland”. So hopefully you won’t make the same mistake as I did. The Golden Circle is in fact a driving trail that belongs to the much bigger loop of Ring Road of Iceland.

This smaller route will take you to three of the most popular attractions:

(1) Þingvellir (Thingvellir), a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site where the very first parliament in the world was established and where the dramatic landscape of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates can be seen.

(2) Gullfoss, a magnificent waterfall by the Hvita river.

(3) Geysir, the Great Geyser that erupts only a few time a day now, but the nearby Strokkur still erupts pretty actively.

 

• Northern Lights

Northern light chasing is a fascinating thing that unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to witness in person.  It is like playing a lottery and you don’t know when you’ll hit the jackpot.  The best location to see the norther lights is away from the city, free of light pollution. The best time to see them is from September to April and the sky needs to be clear for a better chance to spot them. If watching the norther lights is a must on your list, I would recommend to stay longer (1-2 weeks at least) and to the north direction.

• Jökulsárlón Lagoon

Southwest from Reykjavík (about 5 hours drive) lays the unforgettable Jökulsárlón glacier lake lagoon. If the Blue Lagoon is a man-made “wow”, then Jökulsárlón Lagoon is a nature “wow”. The lagoon is actually relatively young. The melting glaciers from the Vatnajökull glacier (Europe’s largest glacier) started to flow downward towards the Atlantic Ocean since 1934 resulting in the formation of a specular glacier lake with enormous chunks of icebergs. The glacier lake has gradually been expanding every year. Climb up the nearby small hill to see the thousand years old ice sculptures and listen to the sound of ice crash, or take a peaceful stroll at the Diamond Beach where smaller crystal icebergs are scattered around the shore.

 

• Glacier Walk and Ice Cave Tour

Glacier trekking and ice caving are highly recommended while you are in Iceland. If you want to be closer to mother nature and get that breathtaking view, you should do it.

Svínafellsjökull (the Pig Mountain Glacier) at Skaftafell, is a beautiful outlet glacier of the Vatnajökull glacier and is perfect for glacier trekking. The view of the glacier is breathtaking with a backdrop of snow mountains and volcanoes. It was filmed in the popular movie Batman Begins and TV show Game of Thrones.

• Waterfalls

Iceland is abundant with waterfall landscapes. “Foss” is the Icelandic word for waterfall. Most waterfalls are formed due to glacier melting.  Having been to a few fosses myself, I am truly impressed by these natural beauties as each one has a unique character on its own. The ones that are well known include: 

South – 

• Gullfoss (the Golden waterfall)
• Seljalandsfoss
• Gljúfrafoss
• Skógafoss
• Svartifloss 
• Morsárfoss (tallest waterfall in Iceland since 2011)

North – 

• Dettifoss
• Goðafoss (the waterfall of the Gods)

West – Glymur

Personally, I really like Seljalandsfoss a lot. It is arguably the most incredible waterfall in Iceland. Walking up the path that leads you behind the waterfall, the view is spectacular with the serene green fields, blue sky and the misty water curtain hanging down from above the cave.

• Vík í Mýrdal

The village of Vík lies on the southernmost tip of Iceland with beautiful coastlines. The small village has fewer than 200 residents and is surrounded by the Hjörleifshöfði, Pétursey, and Hafursey mountains, and faces wide open to the majestic Atlantic Ocean. It is famous for its Black Sand Beach (Reynisfjara), arguably the most impressive non-tropical black sand beach in Iceland. Driving past the iconic little red roofed church that sits on the top of the hill, you will immediately notice that you’ve reached in region of Vík and the beach is not far from the village. Walking on the black pebble stones ashore, you can hear the ferocious wave resulting from the pounding of seawater against the magnificent Reynisdrangar.

• Puffin Watching

These adorable creatures are mostly found in the Arctic and the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Iceland is home to a large population of Atlantic puffins.  One fun fact is while Iceland has little over 300,000 people population wise, it has about 8-10 million of Atlantic puffins. So chances are it is much easier to spot a puffin than a person in Iceland (just joking). The Atlantic puffins have bright orange colored beak and black and white camouflaged coat.  June – August are the best months to go on a puffin tour and see the birdlife in real time.

• Whale Watching

• Volcano Tour