An Unforgettable Trip To Iceland

About Iceland

Gulfoss Waterfall

Considering the amount of snow and Ice in Iceland. Iceland isn't quite as cold as many other snowy locations. This is because there are hot lava chambers flowing beneath the earths surface. There are loads of hot springs in Iceland. Some too hot to bath in. The Icelandic population is quite small and the daylight hours in Iceland are unique. In summer you can enjoy midnight sun. Whilst in winter, 9am is still completely dark outside!

My Review Of Iceland

Let's start with the good part of my Iceland review. Thankfully
we arrived in Iceland just in time for snow. It had been quite a mild Icelandic winter, and snow only started to fall on our 2nd day in Iceland. We're not used to proper snowfall, so we wouldn't have been happy had we not witnessed a white, snowy Iceland. We stayed in Iceland for a total of four nights, and sadly didn't get to see the Aurora borealis aka northern lights, even though January is the best time of year for spotting the northern lights. You aren't guaranteed to see the Aurora borealis, so be prepared for a high possibility of not witnessing this beautiful phenomena.

The blue lagoon receives a rave review from me. It was our favourite excursion. The blue lagoon spa itself is perfectly clean, which is wonderful. Considering the amount of traffic the spa receives. We arrived at 9am and had to queue. It was still dark outside, as daylight wasn't until 11am! The blue lagoon water is nice and warm and there's a waterfall. Indoor area and outdoor cave. The whole blue lagoon is suitable for non-swimmers, as you can walk all the way across.

The warmest part of the blue lagoon was in the center, and you float on up to the bar to get your drinks and mud masks. The complimentary silica mud mask is a thick white paste. Once dried, it can feel uncomfortable. The algae mask isn't complimentary, but it's nicer than the silica face mask. It doesn't get hard and dry, so you can literally leave it on as long as you like. Lockers aren't close by, so bring some waterproof casing for your photography gadgets.

There's complimentary shower gel, conditioner and moisturizing lotion in the changing rooms, which is always a good thing. The showers don't close, so leave your towel over the door so that people know it's occupied.

My oldest son and I at the blue lagoon

It snowed and hailed at times, whilst we were in the blue lagoon. It was a weird sensory experience. Our ears grew numb, while our bodies stayed nice and warm in the milky waters. We stayed in the water for about 2 hours and the time just flew by. We all left feeling super relaxed.

The golden circle tour of Iceland was cool, but not as good as we had expected. The Geysir is no longer active. You'll be viewing the smaller stokkur, which isn't quite as impressive. You have to wait between 4-8 minutes to see it, and it shoots up out of the ground so quickly. During winter it turns to mist instantly. A lot of tours falsely advertise with pictures of the much larger, and more impressive geysir, which is no longer active. A lot of Icelandic land mass smells like eggs because of the sulphur. The mist coming up from hot spots in the ground is a unique experience in contrast to the surrounding snowfield.

On the golden circle tour, you'll also see the gulfoss waterfall. Gulfoss is an amazing waterfall. It's huge and very impressive against the snowy backdrop.

Sadly we didn't get to do a glacier tour, or visit Jokulsarlon. I recommend adding these two excursions to your itinerary if you can afford to.

Here's the bad part of my review. The daylight hours in Iceland are worse than London in winter! With only 4-5 hours of daylight. 9am is still dark outside. The price of food and transportation is absurd, and coming from London that's saying a lot! Pack some instant noodles to save your pennies. Also. Try to stay in a location where you'll need minimal transportation.
I recommend the Silica hotel for those doing the blue lagoon spa day. The Silica hotel is right next door to the blue lagoon and buses stop directly outside the silica hotel, which will take you to Reykjavik and Keflavik airport.

What Was Amazing?

Kids under 13 go free on most excursions in Iceland, which is great for families, as prices aren't at all cheap! The blue lagoon was such a wonderful and relaxing experience. The gigantic gulfoss waterfall looked super impressive amidst the snow backdrop.

Found this review of Iceland helpful?

Subscribe to www.GoneSunWhere.com for some of the best holiday destinations.