Ice Ice Baby

Most people don’t think to use a 4-day weekend to hop across the Atlantic, but that’s exactly how me and my mom think. So, we decided to spend our break in Iceland, a place we heard to be a popular new travel destination.

You definitely need to rent a car if you’re going to Iceland. I recommend staying in Reykjavik, but there is so much to be seen outside of the city and a car is needed to explore. Immediately after picking up our rental car, we drove to the Blue Lagoon, a short distance from the airport. This is the best time to go, because it’s super relaxing after a flight and this is the closest you’ll be to it until you return for your flight home.

You definitely need to rent a car if you’re going to Iceland. I recommend staying in Reykjavik, but there is so much to be seen outside of the capital and a car is needed to explore. Immediately after picking up our rental car, we drove to the Blue Lagoon, a short distance from the airport. This is the best time to go, because it’s super relaxing after a flight and this is the closest you’ll be to the Blue Lagoon until you return for your flight home.

In Reykjavik, the hotels are super small and charming. We stayed in the Canopy by Hilton, which had complementary breakfast and a nice seating area. You should definitely walk around the city and check out the restaurants, bars, and shops. But be warned: things are VERY expensive. However, waffles with Nutella are always an affordable and delicious move!!

I would suggest taking a full day to drive the Golden Circle which is a popular tourist route that takes you to various natural sites. We stopped at all the major places along the route and got the chance to see some amazing natural beauty (plus some friendly, fuzzy Icelandic horses!!!)

Here's a list of the top things you shouldn't miss while driving the Golden Circle.

1. Geysers at Haukadalur: My mom’s highlight of the trip may have been watching the Strokkur Geyser erupt.

2. Gullfoss Waterfall: You can see a stunning rainbow arching over the waterfall.

3. Kerid Crater Lake: Take in the view from above, but also walk down to the bottom of the crater for a photo op on this ~lovely bench~

4. Secret Lagoon: This one was tricky to find because you can’t just put “Secret Lagoon” into your GPS, so I would suggest getting a more accurate address. We enjoyed this more than the Blue Lagoon because of the lower number of tourists and natural atmosphere.

While in Iceland, you 100% have to go on at least one hike. We chose to climb Mount Esja, which is a little outside Reykjavik and took us around 2 hours to make it almost to the top and back down. We had to head back down before the very top because of the extreme wind. FYI: Make sure not to push your limits and go further than you feel safe (especially if you’re hiking alone). Despite the wind, the climbing this mountain was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. My favorite part was getting the chance to see sheep roaming the mountain. (I made sure to take my fair share of pictures with this cute lil guys)

Our last site to see before heading home was right near the airport. We drove to the Bridge Between Continents which is a small footbridge that crosses one of the rifts between North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

I would recommend Iceland to anyone looking to relax in hot springs, see amazing natural beauty, embrace the outdoors, and cozy up in their cutest winter gear and explore Reykjavik. 4 days was a good amount of time here, but you could definitely spend longer hiking different mountains, finding various hot springs and hidden gems, and exploring even more of this country's stunning landscapes.