What's not to love?

I could go on and on about Iceland, probably to the point of boring you to tears. And that's exactly what I am going to do! HA! It was honestly one of the best short breaks I have ever been on and I definitely recommend it to everyone. I will be going through everything that I feel needs a mention and also what our experience of each was like.

So if you'd like to find out all about Iceland, read on!

The Flight

We flew from Manchester airport on an early 07:10 flight. This would have been great had it not have been for another 20 or so flights at that time in the morning. The airport was absolute BEDLAM. People wandering around, not knowing where to go. Over an hour queue through to the security scanners. People forgetting to empty liquids out of bags and causing further disruption at the end of security. We were actually final called for our flight, not personally by name, but there were about a third of our plane's passengers all stuck through security. Pleased to say though, once that part was over and we were in our seats, the rest of our journey was incredible.

The people

I was going to write this blog as a kind of diary of our holiday but decided it is probably more interesting to just write our views on everything there instead. I mean, you don't really want to know what time we had breakfast and how far we walked around the harbour.

Ok, I'll start with the local people. Our experience of them was heart-warming. They are so friendly and can't help you enough. We were unsure how many locals would be English speaking and you'll be surprised to know, they almost all speak fluent English. We passed school children out walking with their teachers, around 6 to 10 years old I'd say and they were all speaking in English, too! I think from a young age, they are taught to be bi-lingual which is just fantastic.

Cleanliness

Iceland is SO CLEAN! The street cleaners are out regularly in the early mornings before it gets light and bins are emptied regularly, too. The shops are all pristine, outside and inside. Our hotel, Hotel Odinsve, was perfect. It's location was right in the centre of Rekyjavik, close to the main shops, a small supermarket, the harbour, bus stops for excursions and lots of restaurants and bars. It was also about a 2 minute walk from one of the tourist attractions called HALLGRÍMSKIRKJA CHURCH. An amazing Icelandic church that is an eyewatering 244ft tall!

Eco friendly

Iceland is very Eco-friendly. They have electric charging points everywhere for cars and many of the cars are electric. Iceland is the only western country that produces all its electricity from emission-free and sustainable natural resources in the form of geothermal and hydro power. Icelanders are very conscious of the environment, climate change and sustainability in general. Iceland has set ambitious goals and action plans to fight climate change and aims for 55% cuts in carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality no later than 2040. We saw many shops using recycled packaging for food and drinks.

Excursions

There are some lovely excursions you can choose to do in Iceland but we just chose the 2 most appealing ones for us during our 5 days there. The first on my list was the BLUE LAGOON. Now if you haven't heard of the Blue Lagoon, you must have been living in a cave I think. I had been reading all about it online (some nice things, some horror stories!) but I knew for sure that I definitely wanted to pay it a visit.

The lagoon is quite close to Keflavik airport so around an hour's journey from Reykjavik. We booked to get there for 9 as there are different time slots you can arrive. We had to catch an early coach (like 7:30) but it was fine, we wanted to get there early before there were lots of people around.

Ok, here's a funny story - and I have asked his permission if I can share this with you :-) Before arriving in Iceland, we had been reading online about what to expect at the Blue Lagoon. We had read really positive things, however a couple of blogs we read had mentioned that it is compulsory to shower NAKED. We also read some that said although the mens and womens showers were separate, they were communal so you would have to shower naked in front of others. Luckily, I found a more up to date blog that said some privacy cubicles had been installed so if you're not a fan of getting your goo goos and tah tahs out in front of random strangers, you're good!

When we actually got there and Ross and I separated into the mens and womens changing areas, I noticed it was soooo up to date. Very modern, electronic lockers operated by your own personal wristband, changing cubicles with doors as well as communal and the showers, almost every one, had a privacy door on it. We had also read online to be aware that many people walk around naked in the changing areas. No problem, each to their own, it just wouldn't be us.

They do ask you to shower naked, but you can walk to the shower cubicle, close the door, pull down your swimwear and wash and pull back up before leaving to the pool area. I mean, nobody would actually know if you had respected their request as you're in a shower cubicle on your own but I wanted to respect that so did. Nobody saw me, we're all good.

I then walked out to the pool area under cover before going out to the main lagoon. I saw Ross already there, looking like something had happened. We went through to the lagoon (OMG, pure bliss by the way) and he starts laughing. When I asked him what's so funny, he says that he took his time getting ready for the shower because all the other men were and he wasn't sure about what to do about the naked thing.

Soooooo, Ross being Ross, couldn't wait any longer and decided to strip down bare naked and lay his swim shorts over his arm to walk to the shower area HA HA HA! On his little walk he suddenly realised, all the other guys in there had their shorts ON and he was the only naked man wandering about. Dear, oh dear!

As for the lagoon itself, we had the best time. The water is around 38º which is so nice in the outdoor temperature. As part of the package we chose, you get the use of a towel, a free drink from the swim up bar (I had Fresita strawberry wine, was amazing) and a silica face mask from the swim up mask bar. The face mask is insane and honestly makes your skin soooo good after. I was even treated to some to bring home which I am super happy about. We stayed for around 3 hours and then got the coach back to Reykjavik. We didn't buy food there as its quite pricey so we just took snacks with us and ate them waiting for the return coach, however the cafe and restaurants look amazing online.

our Top tips for the blue lagoon

• Don't get your hair wet in the lagoon. The silica in the water completely dries out your hair, making it unmanageable. Smother plenty of the free conditioner in the showers all over your hair before you go in, just incase you get splashed.
• Take a hair mask to apply afterwards, it made such a difference to my hair and I had no dry hair problems at all.
• Take a £1 pair of Primark flip flops with you to wear in the changing rooms. They stop verruca pick ups and you can leave them where you enter the lagoon.
• Take a waterproof case for your phone. We got ours from Amazon before we went and they were honestly incredible. They cost a few quid each and we had our phones around our necks the whole time whilst in the lagoon. We then gave them cases to other visitors on the way out as we didn't need them for the rest of the trip.
• Take your own snacks. The food is pricey at the lagoon and if you're only there for a few hours, it will just tide you over until you're back at your hotel.
• Don't buy the skin products from the lagoon itself. Wait until you fly home as the airport Blue Lagoon store is tax free!

Our next excursion was whale watching. If you have known me for a very long time, you will know that my dream job growing up was to become a marine biologist. Literally years and years I obsessed over whales and dolphins, recorded documentary after documentary on TV on VHS (Ha, I'm old) and had books and posters all over my bedroom. Fascinated would be an understatement. I knew that Iceland would just be the most incredible place to see whales and dolphins in the wild.

I read many reviews online but Elding Whale Watching Tours had the best in my opinion. We arrived in Iceland on the Wednesday and I had booked whale watching for the Friday. We could not have chosen a better day! The weather was perfect. The sea was so calm, almost no waves at all and the weather was cold but I'd say mild really. We were blessed the day we went as we got to see harbour porpoises, quite a lot of them, white beaked dolphins and there was a brief encounter with a minke whale but we missed it as it was so fast.

Our tour guide said it was one of the best tours she had been on in a year with how many we saw and how close they were. I couldn't help but feel ever so slightly disappointed that we didn't see the humpbacks that were around. We decided to try again the next day as that was one of the main reasons I wanted to go. Sadly no whales again but I was happy. I love being out in the ocean, I love dolphins just as much and we saw them again. We actually ended up having 3 trips out all together as we went our last morning as well just in slight hope of seeing just 1 humpback but the weather was really starting to turn and I believe they had travelled out to sea further but we tried. I have videos of what we saw which I will upload to Facebook and Instagram.

Food and drinks

We had read lots online about food and drink being extortionately priced in Iceland so we decided to take some things with us. We opted out of paying for breakfast with our hotel as it was very pricey (around £15 each) and we aren't really breakfast people anyway. We knew we would want to wander around to look at food places so we waited until we got there to plan that. We took with us, individually wrapped croissants, graze packs, pot noodles, pancakes. We could have taken more but we covered breakfast things and easy, quick lunch or dinner a couple of days/nights.

We needn't have worried though as there are little supermarkets dotted all about that sell fresh sandwiches, wraps, pasta pots etc. To be honest though, a small wrap in a container filled with falafel and salad was about £7 or £8 - yikes! We did that twice I think for lunch and twice we had a pot noodle for our evening dinner in the hotel and then walked into the centre later in the evening and had a cone of chips from Reykjavik Chips. Lovely, quirky, little chip shop, we liked it. We got them to go and walked around the centre in the cold and dark looking in shop windows.

Some of the restaurants are pricey. If you're looking for a decent steak dinner, they're probably in the region of like £35 to £40 a meal. However, if you're a big drinker, Iceland may mean you have to remortgage your house before going. Alcohol is highly taxed and drinks are very expensive. Over £10 a drink. I had a small White Russian in one bar and it was around £12 and luckily found happy hour in a bar for an Aperol Spritz on a 2 for 1. Still around £15. One of our favourite, cheap and cheerful places to eat was a bar on the main street called 'Lebowskis.' They are mainly burgers and chips but the food was good for the price. Ross couldn't get enough of their 'smash burger' and said its one of the best he's ever had.

There are tons of cake/pastry shops dotted about which sell the most amazing things. The smell coming from them is just incredible and I'd say we visited quite a few haha! A couple of mornings, we went and bought a fresh pastry and walked down to the harbour eating it in the sunshine. Was just glorious and really set us up for the day with a smile.

Hotel Odinsve

We stayed in this hotel during our stay. It is a 50 room, 4* hotel right in the centre of Reykjavik. The hotel itself was just amazing. The staff were all super friendly, the walking distance to everything was perfect and it also has an attached restaurant although we didn't visit it. The room were put into was spacious and very clean. It had everything you'd need such as a seat area, bright windows with privacy curtains, kettle, tea, coffee, ironing board, iron, hairdryer, complementary shower goods, heated towel rail etc. It really was lovely and the bed! OMG - sooo comfy!

We arrived there at 1pm ish and were told check in wasn't until 3. Without a second breath, the receptionist said, I've just looked and your room is ready so we can check you in now if you'd like to? Super service, we were so happy we could put our suitcases in straight away and go exploring. They do offer luggage storage though when you arrive and depart so wouldn't have been a problem if the room wasn't quite ready.

The weather

I think we were really lucky the week we spent there. We had been watching the weather app weeks before our dates to see what was happening and oh my, it rained A LOT the weeks coming up to our trip. We were worried it would be a total washout while we were there but lucky for us, it all stopped the day before we arrived. The temperature was also mild for most of our trip. It was cold but only like UK cold. We had warm coats, hats, gloves and thermals so we were prepared and warm for the most part.

The only part that was really cold was the boat trip, whale watching. Once you're out of the harbour and out at sea, the wind is brutal and the last day we went out, it was unbearable. They do offer free overalls to wear should you wish to help with the cold temperatures but we didn't use them. We just braved it as long as we could that final day and when we were numb, we headed inside where it's all heated, seating areas with a bar serving hot and cold drinks.

We were told that even in the Summer, it never gets hot, hot. It is warm, around 20º or so and sunny. We've seen that this week there the temperature has really dropped and is now around -10º. Brrrrrrr!!!!

Scenery

The scenery in Iceland is breaktaking. And I am not just saying that, it genuinely is. I have never seen sea so rich blue, clean, calm and beautiful. The views of the harbour, particularly when the sun was out, were stunning. Out on the boat the view was probably my favourite. Seeing the snow capped mountains in the distance with the calm sea surrounding us and the sun just peeping through the clouds. It looked like something from a magazine!

The buildings are beautiful. Many still have corrugated iron roofs from poorer times in Iceland and they were painted to avoid them rusting. Some are still beautifully painted and there is a perfect amount of traditional buildings and more modern ones. There is a huge lake near the centre where many people visit and the harbour is beautiful. There are bars and restaurants right near it which were always really busy when we passed. Some streets are painted really quirky, too. Like the rainbow road that's probably one of the most Instagrammable streets. You will see many people taking photos there, all day and all night.

Things to see and do

There really is so much to see and do in Iceland. We only saw a small part of it really but we definitely want to go back and explore more. Reykjavik has plenty to see and do on it's own and the excursions you can book can take you out to see more. The shops are lovely and have things such as hand knitted jumpers and gloves made from Icelandic wool, lots of gifts, books etc. There are also lots of museums for various subjects and a ride called 'The Flyover.' We visited the Magic Ice Bar while we were there, too. It was fairly small and we only stayed 30 minutes but it was something fun to do one evening.

Excursions include beautiful lagoons to visit, the golden circle, waterfalls, ice caves, the ring road, lava tours, whale watching and so much more. We would definitely like to hire a car maybe to explore further out. I would love to go to Husavik and Akureyri which are in the North.

All I can say is it is one of our favourite places in the world and everything about it was incredible. We would definitely recommend it. We felt so safe there and after googling, we saw it is considered one of the safest countries in the whole world.

Iceland, you have our hearts and we can't wait to visit you in all your amazing beauty again, one day.