Welcome to Ísland!

There is no place on Earth quite like Iceland. There is something other-worldly the moment you venture outside of the confides of Reykjavik. This Nordic island covers roughly 40,000 square miles and is only inhabited by 332,000 people. To say that Iceland is special is an understatement. The one thing you will hear the most by visitors to this magical land is, “It feels like you're on another planet”. By the time you have completed your own adventure in Iceland, you'll be saying the same thing. The next thing you will say is, “I can't wait to come back!”. Be sure to check out our photo gallery at the top & bottom of this page!

The landscape is immensely diverse containing everything from glaciers, hot springs, icy rivers, mountains, black-sand beaches & active volcanoes. With such a variety of sights, the country is a feast for the eyes & an absolute dream for photographers. Iceland was placed into the public consciousness with the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010. Although the eruption was relatively small, the ash plum caused major disruptions to air travel costing 7 billion dollars in revenue for the industry. What this did however was place the country on the map for traveling enthusiasts across the world.

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What to Eat?

The capitol Reykjavik, offers plenty of dining options ranging from traditional to local & exotic fare. The Icelandic cuisine centers itself around fish, dairy & lamb. You can find some of the best tasting seafood anywhere in the world. We highly recommend stopping by Icelandic Fish & Chips fishandchips.is for some amazing seafood. One of the most comical and pleasant surprises is that Reykjavik is home to their very own Dunkin Doughnuts. For anyone traveling from the US, this is welcomed sight from home. Take it from this New England native, the US could learn a thing or two from how they make their doughnuts, they are scrumptious. For coffee lovers, almost every pub and restaurant offers great lattes and coffees. Certain establishments still offer whale, shark and puffin meats on their menus. With the younger demographics coming of age, these foods are mainly geared towards tourists looking for a more exotic dining opportunity. We do not recommend propagating this and hope restaurants will move away from the practice. Just google a puffin and imagine eating one of these beautiful creatures. Our personal recommendation for dining is the Ísafold Restaurant located inside the Centerhotel Thingholt.

You can read our full review of the Ísafold Restaurant here: Ísafold Restaurant

Where to Stay?

On this trip we decided to stay at the Centerhotel Thingholt This chic and modern hotel is located right in the heart of Reykjavik. The Centerhotel Thingholt is also home to one of our favorite places to eat, the Ísafold Restaurant. We loved this hotel so much we will be staying there again on our next trip to Iceland in a few months. That is not to say there is not plenty of other accommodations available. Reykjavik has plenty of hotels from all of the major chains if you want to capitalize on your loyalty programs. As with many hotels in the area, this hotel has pick-up right outside for many of the tour/excursion companies. We found this to be extremely convenient at the end of a long day adventuring through the countryside.

You can read our full review of the Centerhotel Thingholt here: Centerhotel Thingholt

Where to Go?

Point your compass North, West, East or South from Reykjavik and go! For the true adventurer, you can rent a 4 wheel drive vehicle and create your own itinerary. I highly recommend spending some time reading up on driving in Iceland. Depending on what time of year it is, the driving conditions can be treacherous. For those that want to play things a bit safer, there are several tour companies you can team up with. There is also plenty of independent guides that can offer a more personal experience. For our last trip we used Gray Line (http://grayline.is/) and thoroughly enjoyed several of there guided, bus excursions. We can not say enough for this company as they made our trip to Iceland unforgettable.

You can read our full review of Gray Line & here: Gray Line Iceland

The traditional “Golden Circle” tour is the gold standard for any trip to Iceland. This tour includes famous Gullfoss waterfall & is not to be missed. The Gullfoss is something that words can not offer justice to and simply must be experienced. Our personal favorite is none other than the Pearl of the Central Highlands tour. The tour's culminates at the Fjallabak Nature Reserve and includes an optional 1-2 hour hike through Landmannalaugar. The hike will take you into the surrounding ranges offering amazing 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. For those thinking this is too much, an eldery couple in their 70's managed the hike with ease. The base camp offers bathrooms and a small coffee shop. There is also a public, hot springs if you wish to soak before or after your hike.

Last but not least is the South Coast & Waterfalls tour. This tour takes you along the Souther coast stopping along the iconic Seljalandsfoss & Skógafoss waterfalls and Reynisdrangar black-sand beaches. The tour is complete with a boat excursion alongside breathtaking glaciers. Although these points of interest are amazing, you will find the drive throughout the Icelandic countryside to be just as beauitful.

We hope you have enjoyed our spotlight on Iceland.

We look forward to seeing you next time on OLA Travel & Leisure's “Reviews & Recommendations”.

Happy Travels!

Timothy