After many posts about my trip to Iceland last winter, I decided to wrap it up with a list of all of my favourites. This was really hard to make because there are very few things that I didn’t like. If you want a list of places to see, I’d suggest referring back to my itinerary post which will be more comprehensive or to all my other posts about this beautiful country.
This, however, is my little list of favourites, the things that we did that somehow stuck with me a bit more. Among these, there are more “obvious” things that I could not not mention, while there are also more random and specific experiences, which made our trip so special and unique. All of these are in no particular order and they also all are things I would recommend you to try, 100%.
The sweet rye bread at Café Loki
I’ve probably annoyed all of my friends with this bread but it’s just amazing, so hear me out because I know it sounds weird ahah. Café Loki is a traditional restaurant located in the centre of Reykjavik, with a stunning view of the capital’s main church: Hallgrímskirkja. There, they serve traditional home-made Icelandic food, so it is perfect to really taste typical Icelandic cuisine, like fermented shark and smoked lamb.
With those dishes, they also serve rúgbrauð: Icelandic rye bread. This bread is made with rye flour and was traditionally made by using empty milk cartons that the families would then bury next to a natural hot spring for it to bake over several hours thanks to the geothermal heat. This long baking process creates somewhat of a sweet flavour, creating a delicious bread, which is now usually recreated by adding some syrup. I don’t know how they make it at Café Loki, but it is so good that they actually made an ice cream out of it!
P.S.: if you are interested in the traditional way of baking bread, you should visit a geothermal bakery at the Laugarvatn Fontana spa!
Seeing the Northern Lights
Well, it would have been impossible not to mention this specific bucket-list experience. Seeing the Northern Lights was probably the highlight of this trip. Nothing can guarantee you that you will actually see them, and that’s probably why they are so famous, but I can also assure you that the country itself is so beautiful that, in the end, you’ll still go back home with your head and heart full of amazing memories – regardless of whether you saw the aurora.
Visiting an ice cave
We visited the so-called “Crystal Ice Cave” in the Vatnajökull glacier, the biggest glacier in Europe, and it was nothing short of stunning. You enter in this amazing turquoise cave made of the purest of ice, and you realise just how beautiful (and fragile) our world is. We also booked a tour for this experience as you cannot visit ice caves by yourselves, and it was extremely interesting!
The Sólheimasandur plane wreck
In the early 70s, a US plane crashed on an Icelandic black-sand beach in the South of the island. Everyone in the plane survived, but the plane wreck still remains, and you can go see it after somewhat of a long hike. It is a bit of a tricky path in winter as it is essentially a huge layer of ice and snow, and it can be inaccessible, but it was doable at the beginning of March – though crampons would have helped greatly! If you go, make also sure to not stray away from the marked path as it is very easy to get lost!
The plane wreck, lying on the black sand, with the crashing waves of the sea in the distance is probably one of the most epic things you have ever seen. You instantly feel like you are on a different planet or in a science fiction movie, and for this feeling alone it was absolutely one of my favourite things I did in Iceland – and probably one of the most unique!
The waterfalls
The Icelandic waterfalls will instantly take your breath away and have you standing in awe at how big, large and powerful they are. From the most famous ones like Skogafoss or the “Golden Falls”, I’d say that they are all worth a visit, and it is really hard to choose the most beautiful waterfall as they were all absolutely stunning. If I had to choose though, I’d maybe say that Gljúfrabúi and Kvernufoss were my favourites, probably because there were less crowds around and they are a bit hidden, which makes the experience truly unique.
The Hrunalaug hotspring
This natural pool near a pretty little hut is a lesser-known stop along the Golden Circle, the famous road that takes you to see some of Iceland’s most famous sights. It is basically a little pool of natural hot water, located in the middle of the countryside with nothing around.
We got there in the afternoon, the weather was quite terrible and there was no one around. We walked by a cute little path and saw in front of us this beautiful little hut, with two pools adjacent to it, and steam coming out of them. There was only one person there, and it just seemed like the most peaceful place to relax and take in all of Iceland’s beauty. How I wish we had taken our swimsuits!
Black sand beaches
Formed when small volcanic rocks slowly get eroded by water, the Icelandic black sand transforms a regular beach into an epic and awesome landscape, something straight out of a fantasy novel. If the weather is cloudy, it almost gets better as you just feel like you entered an epic black-and-white movie. They are also stunning with blue skies, but the feeling you get looking at them is very different!
There are many black sand beaches in Iceland, and here are some of my favourites, along the South coast:
- Stokksnes (see main picture of this post), with rolling dunes and a stunning view on the Vestrahorn mountain. It is located in the South East of Iceland near Höfn, and it is truly a unique sight. You have to pay a fee to get in – though with the ticket you can also visit the lighthouse and the Viking Village nearby. If you are staying at the Viking Café guesthouse, like we did, the ticket is included!
- Reynisfjara with its huge basalt stacks is a world-famous black sand beach located next to Vík. The crashing waves nearby make it even more epic!
- The so-called Diamond beach is probably the most famous one, with chunks of crystal-blue glacier perfectly contrasting the black sand.
The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa located in the south west of the island, not too far from Reykjavik. It is probably one of Iceland’s most popular attractions so it is far from being an off-the-beaten-path type of place. Its water rich in silica and sulphur has amazing properties, but it’s probably the icy blue water that will surprise you the most.
We got there in the early afternoon and wandered about in the many pools, taking advantage of the saunas and steam baths you can find there, taking a refreshing mocktail at the bar and treating ourselves to the free mud mask you are given with your ticket. It was such a relaxing experience, though maybe we were lucky because it wasn’t too crowded!
