roonee Days three and four of my solo female adventure in Iceland were jam packed. After booking a last minute spot on a Golden Circle tour with Reykjavik Direct, I filled up at the hotel breakfast, and then headed straight to the bus stop. I was wearing as many layers as possible as I knew it would be a chilly day!
The Golden Circle tour was magnificent, and I wrote all about the stops here if you want to know more. I had been rebooked on to a Northern Lights tour for the evening, but I received an email half way through the day telling me that the tour had been cancelled due to unfavourable weather. This was really disappointing as it was my last chance to see if I could catch a glimpse of the lights on this trip, but I ended up having such a wonderful time on the Golden Circle tour that I didn’t really mind.
Following the tour, I was dropped off at the bottom of Reykjavik city and slowly mooched my way up the city’s hill towards my hotel. Walking up the main shopping street is a joy, as you are faced with a constant view of the Cathedral, the Hallgrímskirkja. Hallgrímskirkja is magnificent at all times thanks to its sheer size and striking architecture, but at night it’s a whole new kind of wonderful. Lights are projected onto the building, which not only makes it stunningly beautiful, but also a fantastic way point, especially when your hotel is directly opposite!
As I approached my hotel, I stopped by a corner shop where I probably spent half and hour browsing all the exciting things lining the shelves. While definitely not for everyone, I absolutely love exploring foreign grocery stores and can spend hours examining all the things we don’t get at home. Despite my browsing, I didn’t come away with much because of the prices: everything is at least twice as much as it is in the UK, so it’s a bit of a shock to the system (and the bank account).
The following day I flew home, and had organised a transfer to the airport via the Blue Lagoon. Getting there was straight forward enough, and once inside the main building, the queues were short, and the staff gave me a wristband and instructions on where I needed to go and what I needed to do!
Once changed and showered, I headed into the lagoon. This is a stop I have been intrigued by for many years and have always wondered if it was worth the hype. The moment I entered the steaming water I knew it was absolutely worth it, despite the hefty price I had paid for my ticket.
I floated around the Blue Lagoon enjoying the glorious feel of the water, and the surrounding mountain scenery. You get a free drink with every entry ticket, and the novelty of being able to get a fresh carrot juice without having to leave the comfort of the water was amazing. I enjoyed a free silica facemask next, and then continued to float around, taking great joy in finding the slightly hotter patches of the lagoon.
While there were other people around, the site didn’t feel busy, and I didn’t have to queue to get either my facemask or my drink!
After about two and a half hours I got out and got dressed back into my many layers. There was just about enough time for a cheese sandwich and a bottle of water in the café (which set me back £20!) before my bus to the airport.
My transfer went smoothly and it wasn’t long before I was sitting on the plane home scrolling through all the lovely photos I took.
On the whole, if you have a love of nature and the outdoors, I would definitely recommend a trip to Iceland! It’s worth noting that Reykjavik is a great place to use for a base, but the city itself doesn’t have the same business of other major European cities!
