Should I go to Iceland on my own?

[FuckingFreezing]

Absolutely love solo travelling and I really want to do as many destinations as I can over the next decade (my 40s).

I'm thinking of going in February. Is it safe for a woman alone, I'm presuming yes? Is three nights enough? Any recommendations? I know it's expensive there.

PS - I love cold weather 🥶

We went to Reykavik for 5 nights in November. 8t felt like a very safe city.

Yes! Just go!

It’s supposedly the safest place on earth.

3 days for Reykjavik sounds ok.
I’d go alone.

Its on my list !

I did Iceland last Feb as a Solo traveller. I did 4 nights/5 days. I did it with Newmarket Holidays on a B&B basis. You could pick the trips you wanted to do (Blue Lagoon was off due to volcano) I did the City tour of Reykjavik, Golden Circle (around 200 miles) and the Southern Beaches (around 110 miles). Unless you are going to drive you will need to join a organised tour. I saw what I wanted - expensive though - Cheese toasty and coffee was £24!

When I read the title my mind went to the supermarket first😂😂

Yes absolutely!

We did a couple of minibus tours and on both of them there were a number of solo females, of all ages and from all over the world. Everyone chatted to each other and it was very relaxed. The tours are all day (8 - 6) so by the time you get back to Rejkavic there is just time to eat and then early to bed for the next day. I think the coach trips might feel a bit more “lonely” compared to the minibus tours.
There are a couple of food courts on the Main Street and again you would feel safe there.
I think 4 days would be enough. One day to see round the town and then maybe 3 tours.

Iceland is very safe, the crime rate is one of the lowest in the world.

Three nights would be enough to get an overview of Reykjavik and decide whether or not you like it but nothing more, if you do like it, you'll have barely scratched the surface of Reykjavik let alone the country. We went for 4 nights and came away with a long list of things we wanted to do.

In a short trip in winter, I'd plan for a northern lights tour (book this for your first or second night as if you don't see them, most companies will let you have another trip for free).

Also get a city pass and visit a lot of museums (good if the weather is really awful) and go swimming in the heated outdoor pools if you're feeling brave.

Then just wander around Reykjavik. I liked the pond, the nearby park and the relief map of the country in the City Hall next to the pond.

We found eating out at lunchtime in coffee shops cheaper and better quality than chain coffee shops in the UK. Restaurants were 50/100% more expensive than mid range places in UK cities especially if you had steak, wine or fish.

If I went on my own I'd probably eat out at lunchtime and self cater for breakfast and dinner.

I'd be in 2 minds about the golden circle tour in February as daylight is quite short so I don't know if you'd see it all properly.

They have really good webcams just to see a bit of the country

https://livefromiceland.is/multiview/

Other tip if you drink alcohol is to buy it at arrivals on the way in, as that's the least expensive and most readily available, otherwise its not sold in supermarkets only government off licences which have limited opening hours.

If allowed I shall probably bring food with me. A loaf of bread and sandwich fillings, crisps etc. I'm not a tight arse but I'm not fucking paying £25 for cheese on toast!

I'm not sure I'd recommend whale watching, we did that in September, the weather was quite good, but it was freezing even though we were well wrapped up. I can't imagine how cold it would be in winter.

Yes I'd say it felt safe when I went. It'll be cold in feb though, it's a cold like I've never felt in the uk so be prepared but enjoy 😁😁

We have done the golden circle in February and it was great.
There are some great threads already on here about what to do in Iceland. Worth a search.

We absolutely love Iceland and have been a few times. I would totally avoid the Blue Lagoon - fake tourist trap. There are some lovely hot pools that are actually natural and not full of tourists.
Good chance of Northern Lights.

We found the cold was fine - just layer up. Especially base layers and merino socks.

Yes I think very safe! The booze is expensive but I didn't find eating out that bad. Much like the UK really and plenty of the more budget options.

I went with my daughter but you could definitely go solo. Lots of people chatting on the tourbuses and lots to see.

We went in November and it really wasn't that cold. Around freezing.

I love cold weather, I did NYC in February it was crispy and perfect 👌 I'll bang on the Superdry and be snug as a bug in a rug. Nothing better than fresh air on your cheeks!

A couple of times we paid about £20-25 for coffee shop lunch (filled bagel, donut and coffee) for two and it was fresh and really good quality, like I said, cheaper than somewhere like Costa.

Supermarkets were about 50/100% more than UK, so expensive but not too terrible or worth taking things with you.

You could also get things like hot dogs or pizza slices fairly reasonably. I didn't see anything as bad as £25 cheese on toast. Even when we had dinner out- main meal and a couple of pints each, it was around £80-100 for 2, similar in UK usually costs us £50/60.

The bottle of cava I bought at airport duty free was £12.

The only stupidly priced thing I nearly bought and didn't when i saw the price was a salt gift set for £60 .

It's very safe but no, 3 nights is nowhere near enough and February is a bad choice.

been twice. I’m desperate to live there!

Why do you say that? I know you live there so are very experienced! My favourite visit was in February.

There's a winter light festival in the first weekend in February so it would be worth going for that if you can.

https://reykjavik.is/en/winter-lights-festival

DS 18 years old and I went 2 years ago and commented how many solo travellers there were on the trips. I would go hotel incl breakfast. They're very big on soup for lunch which was reasonably priced. As a PP said there are food halls and also noodle type places on the main street. It's only super expensive for restaurant dining and alcohol. We went swimming in the public pools/hot tubs and it was cheaper than the council leisure centre where we live.

Not because of the cold. It's not that cold. It's just a stormy time of year with a lot of snow/rain and strong winds which may seriously limit how much you can see.

There is soo much to see in Iceland and I honestly wouldn't bother coming just to hang around in Rvk.

I mean, not that the weather's nice right now in July... but at least you can drive out of the city with no problems.

I went on my own 40 years ago and had a great time, never felt unsafe. It was one of the best holidays I have had

Any recommendations? Thank you

Yes very safe no issues there. We went in February and I wouldn't go back at that time of year, days were very short and the wind and snow was hard going, nearly took me off my feet several times. Our flight was delayed by a day as the airport closed and the hotel staff weren't surprised at all! Also don't hire a car in the winter, there were abandoned hire cars everywhere and loads of roads close due to snow amounts, stick to organised tours, the small ones with off road vehicles and a local driver are best and very friendly. We went up a glacier for the day and that was as an amazing experience!