Iceland had been at the top of my bucket list for years. Well, let’s be honest, they all are, but Icelend was in the top 5 (the new top five are New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, Portugal, and Ireland). Naturally, I threw it in as an option for a girls’ trip, very much under the assumption that the odds were low.

But, as you could probably guess by reading this, my assumptions were way off. It turns out my friends wanted to venture to the Land of Fire and Ice just as much as I did (go figure). We decided to go and booked our flights the same night (get some friends like this, the kind that make sure things happen!).

We settled on a 10-day trip at the beginning of June, and quite honestly, it couldn’t have been a better time! I’m SO excited to show you what we did and all the juicy details. I’ll do my typical Travel Diaries (I love to showcase what the trip actually looked like!), and I’ll create a Travel Guide for those of you who want to take a trip of your own.

So, without further ado, here’s my trip to Iceland Part I:

Day 1: Reykjavik and Grindavik

Contrary to popular belief, Iceland is actually pretty close to the US, it was only a 5.5-hour flight for us! So when we landed, we were hard-pressed for two things: pastries and coffee. 

After we picked up our rental car, we headed to downtown Reykjavik. Which, to be fair, is what most other cities would call, suburban. We wandered up and down the streets for a while just enjoying the quiet, the architecture, and the fresh air. 

Eventually, we found a coffee shop, Kaffibrennslan, and stopped for a while. They had a lovely little outdoor seating area in a greenhouse, so we took advantage (Sidebar: Outdoor seating, regardless of the weather, is one of my favorite things). 

Once caffeinated and (partially) fueled, we ventured out to explore and find a few key Reykjavik spots. First up: Hallgrimskirkja Church. You may not know the name, but you’ll probably know the picture!

It’s a working Evangelical Church and one of the most visited locations in Iceland. Rightfully so, it was stunning! We ventured inside but didn’t get a chance to go up the tower to see the city from above. 

We walked the streets for a while longer before stopping in the Hlemmur Food Hall – a VERY Icelandic thing for us to do. I’m not sure why, but Icelandians are obsessed with food halls, and they are popping up everywhere. 

This was one of the best decisions we made that day. Not only was the food incredible, but it allowed all of us to get different things to eat, which is key when everyone is jet-lagged!

Our Airbnb was in Grindavik, so after we ate, we headed in that direction. On the way, we decided to stop and hike one of the most famous Icelandic volcanoes, Fagradalsfjall / Langihryggur. We ended up choosing to do the green hike, which allowed you to see the eruptions from 2021, 2022, and 2023. Plus, it was only 4 km long, so it allowed us to stretch our legs and move around a bit without being obnoxious.

First, our first real taste of Iceland’s landscape was incredible. None of us could fathom the fact that we were walking on active volcanoes. 

But the things that really got us on this hike were how far the lava traveled and the fact that even months later, or, in some cases, years, there was STILL steam coming from lava that hadn’t hardened yet. If you looked closely, you can see the steam!

Once we got our first (of many!) volcano fixes, we packed back into the car and headed to our Airbnb. We dropped things off and walked to a local grocery store for dinner. We stocked up on a few of the essentials: beef sticks, bread (so much bread), chips, cheese, and candy. Only the most nutritious snacks for us. 

We munched on our less than luxurious (but equally as satisfying) Icelandic charcuterie board, then got ready for our next (and probably most anticipated) stop: the Blue Lagoon. Luckily, we had the foresight to pre-buy our tickets and do it on the day that we’d need extra self-care (although the jet lag wasn’t nearly as bad as we anticipated). 

We got the premium package, which gave us three mud masks, a drink, a bathrobe, and a glass of wine at the Lava restaurant. If you go, I HIGHLY recommend this! 

The lagoon matched, if not exceeded, our expectations… I could have floated in there for the entire day if you let me! 

Eventually (roughly 4 hours later), our exhaustion caught up to us, and the warm water practically rocked us to sleep. We headed back to our Airbnb and nearly passed out the second we got back!

Day 2: Vik

Our first stop on day 2 was for lunch, but not just any lunch, a tomato lunch. Let me explain. Iceland’s landscape is not exactly designed for agriculture so for the most part they import what they need. However, one family created a MASSIVE greenhouse (Fridheumar) that specializes in, you guessed it, tomatoes.

We took full advantage (especially after so many recommendations) and booked lunch.

I started with their endless bowl of tomato soup – they have a table set up that you help yourself to. And at the table, there were basil plants with a pair of scissors so you could indulge in all the basil your heart desires (and trust me, I did).

Next was a heirloom tomato with burrata, which I still think about regularly. And finally, I finished with a green tomato and apple pie, don’t knock it till you try it! Collectively, we also tried a tomato lager which surprisingly wasn’t bad. If you haven’t gathered yet, I highly recommend this stop!

90% of Iceland’s travel is done on one road: Ring Road. It travels around the entire country, and it’s where most of our trip stemmed from. So, we hopped back on it for our second day, and after passing some of the most incredible scenery (little did we know what we were in store for), we got to our first waterfall, Seljalandsfoss.

We could see the waterfall from the road, so I was giddy beyond belief and hopped out of the car immediately. This thing was HUGE, and we got to go BEHIND it! Note: I will say, if you venture to Iceland, be sure that you have a true waterproof raincoat AND shoes!

If this isn’t the most polite and Icelandic sign I’ve ever seen – they don’t have any ropes or barriers or anything. They just trust that people will be respectful, and for the most part, they are!

Next Up: Skógafoss Waterfall. This was my favorite waterfall by far – you could just feel the power of it the second you got out of the car! Not to mention, it was beautiful beyond belief…

Remember when I said most of Iceland’s travel is on Ring Road? Well, most of its most famous attractions are right off of the road. And when I say right off, I mean RIGHT OFF. It’s incredibly helpful! It’s also incredibly helpful when you can see several things in the same general area, which is exactly what we did here. Our next stop was the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck, which, again, you probably don’t know the name but know the photo!

I have something to say about this plane wreck. Once we got TO the wreck, I enjoyed it. However, the walk to it? Couldn’t have hated it more. In fact, at one point on the way back, we stopped to throw rocks to get some of the angst out. It’s a 4.6-mile walk there AND BACK. To be clear, the distance isn’t the problem; it only took about an hour each way. The problem was that the landscape made it feel like we weren’t making progress for about 50 minutes in each direction. My recommendation? Take the bus.

After that, we headed to our hostel in Vik for the night. The showers were calling all of our names!

Want to know what we did next? Check out Part II here!