Just wanted to come back and thank everyone for their advice after our trip last week! We had a fantastic time and we were so glad we rented a car and did the golden circle ourselves. It was super easy as everyone said and thankfully we had no bad weather.
Tips for others… we rented with blue car rental at the airport which were v quick to pick up and drop back and had no problems whatsoever. Rented a jeep as we were saving on the tour we dropped so that was nice to drive around in. Car already had winter tires as did many others on the road (we could hear them).
We booked a northern lights tour through Iceland Everywhere(?) on tripadvisor as we felt we needed the expertise to find them in the middle of the night! Had read to book it on the first night in case it is cancelled and it was due to cloud cover but we managed to re-schedule for the second night. They picked us up from outside our airbnb on a minibus and we were really lucky to get a great show that night! The guide said the lights we saw only happen about once or twice a month. It was as you can imagine FREEZING though, so wear everything and the thickest socks you can… cant believe we didn’t put our thermals on! Was worth it thankfully!
The golden tour we left at 11am as our teens love a lie in and just put each destination in the sat nav (I had downloaded google maps but was surprised there was decent signal everywhere). First Thingveller National Park where we walked to a waterfall that’s been used in Game of thrones (sorry cant remember the name!). Then drove to see Strokkur Geyser which was fab to see in action! Then onto Gullfoss Waterfall which was absolutely stunning and a lot bigger than in photos. Then on the way back we also stopped at Kerid Crater which my husband wasn’t that impressed with, but I liked it!
Third day we spent the day in Reykjavik itself which was nice but I dont feel like we saw the best things there… maybe should have gone to a museum! We made the expensive mistake of going to ‘Flight over Iceland’ which is a virtual reality type ride (a bit like Soarin in Disney) and none of us were impressed and it cost a small fortune!! The famous church was very pretty in the day and lit up at night though and we had a wander round the shops.
Last day we booked the Sky Lagoon which is on the edge of Reykjavik so only a 12 minute drive from us. We wasn’t going to do a lagoon due to the naked showering issues and my 12 year old dd would hate that! But this one had private changing rooms with a private shower you could pay extra for and, compared to the price of the Blue Lagoon, it wasn’t that bad at all. Me and dd paid for the private rooms and husband and 2 teen ds went to the normal ones. They said the normal ones were good though and all the showers were private and had doors on them so you get lots of privacy anyway! The private ones did feel very posh though 😅 and we loved it.
The Sky Lagoon itself was a lot bigger than we thought it would be and very beautifully done. It’s obviously manmade but the pipes contain the natural waters (well that’s what I read!). It even has a swim up bar although alcoholic drinks are limited to 3 per adult which is good as it stops groups going crazy. It is aged 12 and above as well so thankfully as dd has just turned 12 we could go. It does have an adult vibe… very classy feel although you do get quite a few instagram types taking LOTS of photos! 😬
We were unsure about booking the 7 step ritual they offer and even our 12 year old was allowed to do it so we did in the end. SO glad we did, it was fantastic! You start with a cold plunge pool which sounds horrific (I couldnt breathe at first!) but its quite funny as well and a good challenge 😅. The most beautiful sauna, overlooking the sea, I have ever been in and then cold mist room, body scrub you do yourself, steam room and shower then back in the lagoon. Even the teen ds liked it!
I haven’t been to other lagoons to compare but I highly recommend that one anyway!
So there’s my mammoth review of our trip! I absolutely LOVED Iceland… we all did… it really is like no other place on earth and I’m so glad we went. All of us agreed the Northern Lights were the highlight for us and something we will never forget.