Good evening curious readers long time no posts. I return and have exciting news as you may have guessed. The second trip of the year is here already. Reykjavik, Iceland! I am more than excited to head to Iceland as its a landscape I’ve never experienced before. So this week I will be away leaving early hours of the morning on Wednesday and returning on Monday! ADVENTURE.

Accommodation – Hlemmur Square

Ell, my travel companion, booked the accommodation and found the Hlemmur Square. As put on the website the concept is combining the luxury of a hotel and up scaling the hostel accommodation all under one roof. There’s not much to say on this accommodation for now as I can only go from reviews online.

Planning

I have to say this is a highly planned trip and the first of it I’ve ever done to this extent. Using Viator.com we looked for excursions to do whilst out in Iceland and we found them. There are things to do then things + things and all combinations you can think of for many locations. Where this originally looked great it came to our attention that some of the excursions were unavailable at different dates of the year whereas another combination of the same trip would be available.
After what felt like hours of searching and four booked trips later it was without a doubt exciting but the website NEEDS a way to type in the dates and see what’s available during that time. And if they already have it and I couldn’t find it then that’s my own fault.

The Itinerary

Day One:
Flying to Iceland & Blue Lagoon

Flight departure at 7:30am and arrival hours later the first thing that, as I mentioned before in a previous post, that we felt was easiest to do right off the bat was The Blue Lagoon. SPA TIME. Simple as that jumping off the flight then into the oasis of relaxation. You’ve seen the pictures so I don’t need to go any further with that. It spe
aks for itself.
After the session at The Blue Lagoon we will head to the hostel and check out the accommodation and local area.

Over the past couple weeks I have kept an eye on the Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights and we MAY fingers crossed have hopes of witnessing it during this evening! Fingers crossed.

Day Two:
Day Trip from  Reykjavik: Hiking and Hot Springs Adventure in Reykjadalur and Hveragerdi.

So day two brings us on our first day trip. This is a 7 hour trip of some leisurely hiking and the hot springs. Lets just take a moment to appreciate that these are natural geothermal pools from the volcanic fields. SO MUCH SCENERY TO TAKE IN.

Guided through this area learning about the Reykjadalur Valley in the Mt Hengill volcanic range. I mean come on… volcanoes. The guide will teach us about Iceland’s past and underground volcanic systems during the hike and then also allow us the opportunity to dip into the hot springs.

Day Three:
Snorkelling between tectonic plates North Atlantic and European in Thingvellir National park.

Over the past few weeks I’ve become slightly obsessed with water related activities and you’ll see why in a future post. After researching the trip to Iceland this is an activity that stuck out and I felt like needed to be done. Although here’s the thing… I’ve never snorkelled before. Or at least not what I can remember from childhood holidays so this is definitely an experience to be had now! and of course who can say they have snorkelled between the continents of North America and Europe!
This will be a four hour overall experience but the snorkelling session itself only lasts approximately 40 minutes. The crystal clear waters allowing visibility of about 82 feet. Fear not I aim to get some footage on my GoPro Session and stills to show you after the trip.

Day Four:
South Island tour Waterfalls, Volcanoes and Glaciers. 

Lets just take a moment to appreciate the fact that Iceland offers an incredible landscape that has Waterfalls, Volcanoes and Glaciers. Just wow, what a world.

This will be around an 11 hour day with an expert guide exploring some of the natural wonders of Iceland. We will be visiting the waterfalls at Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss – must remember to pack waterproofs – then also be able to see the black beaches and basalt cliffs at Reynisfjara. Then continuing the day hiking through the foothills of Eyjafjallajökull and Hekla volcanoes then move onto the Sólheimajökull glacier which is dated to around 700 years! INCREDIBLE. What a day to be had with all this I may run out of space on my SD cards.

Day Five:
Golden Circle Tour and Secret Lagoon visit

Now approaching the last day of the trip we have a golden circle tour in the most relaxing way. Revisiting the Thingvellir National Park and exploring the Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir hot springs. Something I have seen friends do and was recommended as seeing the erupting Geysir in Strokkur in Haukadalur geothermal area.
So as you see we start the trip with a spa visit and hot springs and now ending the trip on high with hot springs again. I just like the idea of relaxing in the most beautiful scenic landscapes I will see this year.

Day Six:
Free Morning then Fly home.

With the departure of Ell that morning I leave later in the day -mainly due to cheaper flights – so I have a free day to explore or revisit whatever I want in Reykjavik such as exploring the area around The Sun Voyager a sculpture built as an ode to the sun by Jón Gunnar Árnason.

Thank you for taking time again to either revisit the blog or if you are new then welcome and feel free to check out my other posts such as what I am up to this year: “THIS GUY IS GOING EVERYWHERE”. I welcome ANY and EVERY recommendations for my travels so if you have been to or want to go to Iceland’s then let me know! I love reading your thoughts. Till the next time readers. See you on the other side.

Just want to give credit to viator and www.sushi-suzuki.com for the photographs as these are not my own but allow visual aid for the written text.