Elona the Explorer

Iceland

Iceland

Amazon has some really cheap prices on things that were ESSENTIAL during my trip. Check some of them out below – all the pictures on this thread were taken on the DXO One – one of my favorite toys. It’s comparable to a professional camera, but it connects through an iphone. 

[Hopefully] by now you are asking yourself the how, what, where, when, and why. How do I get there? What is that? Where is that? When can I go? and Why am I not there yet?

Follow me Iceland – only five hours away from NYC, on a direct flight. You can go there for just three days. It is the perfect weekend getaway. So I encourage you to, please, do what I did: take a friday off and book your flight to Iceland for a weekend. Now, let’s get down to business.

I hate to start this thread with a generic Blue Lagoon photo – but there’s a reason why it’s the first thing to show up on an “Iceland” google search. It is a one of a kind sight – one of many that I found during my trip.
The water in the geothermal pool begins its way up from 2,000 meters below earth’s surface, where freshwater and seawater combine at extremely high temperatures. It boasts itself a warm 38°C, making it a comfortable and pleasing dip in 38°F weather. The water is actually white, and its blueish color comes from the way the sunlight reflects upon it, and the steam around it. Hence, you see some different hues in the pictures above. 
I stayed at the Blue Lagoon Clinic – a five star hotel that is home to the Blue Lagoon itself. The amenities were actually quite simple and different than the typical five star treatment you’d expect. But what made it a good choice, was its exclusive access to the private lagoon. Much like the large one open to the public, but with way less people.
The water is not damaging to hair, per say. But it really, really dries it out. Because I didn’t use conditioner prior to taking a dip, I could not control my hair afterwards at all (even after putting  a ton of conditioner in). Just something to keep in mind. The silica, algae, and  minerals also inject a very distinct smell into the air and skin products such as shampoo and soap. You will be able to tell this smell apart in many areas in Iceland!

Iceland formed after a volcanic eruption – lava formation can be seen all over the country. This is the view from my room!

The roads in Iceland are super easy to understand. I rented a car there using Thrifty – they gave me the best deal for a 4-wheel drive SUV compared to every other company. My Ford Edge was like my baby – as I spent hours driving it every day. With that said, make sure you rent a SUV (more suitable for the weather roads, especially in the winter) – you will spend a lot of time driving and stopping, so make your drive worthwhile. Meaning, make sure your seats can warm your behind – and pay the extra 10 Euro’s for GPS.

Important to note that the most expensive thing in Iceland is gas – at $7 a gallon, it is an important expense to factor in your otherwise affordable trip. (Consider renting a Diesel car to save on gas). 

The solid blue line is Route 1, also known as the Ring Road – you can take it all around Iceland. We were staying in Keflavik – on the first day we drove to Vik, from Vik to Reykjavik and from Reykjavik to Keflavik. On our second day we drove from Keflavik to [right about] Hofn – and back. Don’t be discouraged by these long routes. Having a car and driving on your own time there is really, really worth it.
If there is any place in the world to road trip, it is definitely Iceland. Although I typically don’t find long car rides enjoyable, I loved every minute of it in Iceland – even when I was tired and my eyes were shutting down and I couldn’t feel my legs (side effects of exploring) – it was just so freaking BEAUTIFUL … EVERYWHERE I LOOKED!
Beware of the one car bridges – but don’t be scared. The sign will look like the one above – slow down and look ahead to make sure no one else is driving. Yes, it is a bridge where only one car can pass #OnlyInIceland
We didn’t see many cars on the highway (the main highway, must I emphasize that only has two lanes). An occasional bus, and a few cars that were right on the speed limit: 90 KM per hour.
We made many, many stops along our route to Vik, which is about 2.5 hours away from our hotel. Iceland is home to some stunning waterfalls, which were on the way. The photos above are from Seljalandsfoss, our first stop about an hour and forty minutes away from our hotel.
Amazon has some really cheap prices on things that were ESSENTIAL during my trip. Check some of them out below – all the pictures on this thread were taken on the DXO One – one of my favorite toys. It’s comparable to a professional camera, but it connects through an iphone. 

[Hopefully] by now you are asking yourself the how, what, where, when, and why. How do I get there? What is that? Where is that? When can I go? and Why am I not there yet?

Follow me Iceland – only five hours away from NYC, on a direct flight. You can go there for just three days. It is the perfect weekend getaway. So I encourage you to, please, do what I did: take a friday off and book your flight to Iceland for a weekend. Now, let’s get down to business.

I hate to start this thread with a generic Blue Lagoon photo – but there’s a reason why it’s the first thing to show up on an “Iceland” google search. It is a one of a kind sight – one of many that I found during my trip.
The water in the geothermal pool begins its way up from 2,000 meters below earth’s surface, where freshwater and seawater combine at extremely high temperatures. It boasts itself a warm 38°C, making it a comfortable and pleasing dip in 38°F weather. The water is actually white, and its blueish color comes from the way the sunlight reflects upon it, and the steam around it. Hence, you see some different hues in the pictures above. 
I stayed at the Blue Lagoon Clinic – a five star hotel that is home to the Blue Lagoon itself. The amenities were actually quite simple and different than the typical five star treatment you’d expect. But what made it a good choice, was its exclusive access to the private lagoon. Much like the large one open to the public, but with way less people.
The water is not damaging to hair, per say. But it really, really dries it out. Because I didn’t use conditioner prior to taking a dip, I could not control my hair afterwards at all (even after putting  a ton of conditioner in). Just something to keep in mind. The silica, algae, and  minerals also inject a very distinct smell into the air and skin products such as shampoo and soap. You will be able to tell this smell apart in many areas in Iceland!

Iceland formed after a volcanic eruption – lava formation can be seen all over the country. This is the view from my room!

The roads in Iceland are super easy to understand. I rented a car there using Thrifty – they gave me the best deal for a 4-wheel drive SUV compared to every other company. My Ford Edge was like my baby – as I spent hours driving it every day. With that said, make sure you rent a SUV (more suitable for the weather roads, especially in the winter) – you will spend a lot of time driving and stopping, so make your drive worthwhile. Meaning, make sure your seats can warm your behind – and pay the extra 10 Euro’s for GPS.

Important to note that the most expensive thing in Iceland is gas – at $7 a gallon, it is an important expense to factor in your otherwise affordable trip. (Consider renting a Diesel car to save on gas). 

The solid blue line is Route 1, also known as the Ring Road – you can take it all around Iceland. We were staying in Keflavik – on the first day we drove to Vik, from Vik to Reykjavik and from Reykjavik to Keflavik. On our second day we drove from Keflavik to [right about] Hofn – and back. Don’t be discouraged by these long routes. Having a car and driving on your own time there is really, really worth it.
If there is any place in the world to road trip, it is definitely Iceland. Although I typically don’t find long car rides enjoyable, I loved every minute of it in Iceland – even when I was tired and my eyes were shutting down and I couldn’t feel my legs (side effects of exploring) – it was just so freaking BEAUTIFUL … EVERYWHERE I LOOKED!
Beware of the one car bridges – but don’t be scared. The sign will look like the one above – slow down and look ahead to make sure no one else is driving. Yes, it is a bridge where only one car can pass #OnlyInIceland
We didn’t see many cars on the highway (the main highway, must I emphasize that only has two lanes). An occasional bus, and a few cars that were right on the speed limit: 90 KM per hour.
We made many, many stops along our route to Vik, which is about 2.5 hours away from our hotel. Iceland is home to some stunning waterfalls, which were on the way. The photos above are from Seljalandsfoss, our first stop about an hour and forty minutes away from our hotel.
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