Part 3: Touring the Land of Fire and Ice

Places to visit in Reykjavik

As part of our trip to Iceland, we spent one day on an extensive tour around Reykjavik. I hope that my readers get a flavor of this fascinating country in this account.

After reading many reviews, I chose a company called Nicetravel in Reykjavik that everybody online was raving about.

Our driver was a jovial man in his late 30s called Eddie. He had a flowing beard and looked like he spent all his time outdoors. Picture stereotypical depictions of Vikings but in modern clothing — and you have Eddie. He greeted us boisterously and warmly. We were the first ones to be picked up in a comfortable minibus for about 15 people.

The bus had wifi, large windows with curtains, AC, and seatbelts, which are mandatory in Iceland. We drove around various streets and neighborhoods in the city for the next 25 minutes, picking passengers up from hotels across the city. This was a wonderful way to just slink back and take in the local sites. An elderly lady walking her dog. Icelandic children in a schoolyard.

People we would most certainly never, ever, see again, but whose daily lives carry on while tourists come and go.

What’s the tour?

Straight up — the tour can seem expensive. It is $212 per person. But hear me out! Iceland is known for its steep prices, but not all tours are this expensive. You do have to do your research.

We picked this particular tour because:

✅ It included pretty much everything there is to see around Reykjavik

✅ It included entry tickets to two coveted attractions

✅ It’s a small group tour

✅ It was really, really, well-rated

Here are some of the main sights we visited in order:

• Thingvellir National Park
• Laugarvatn
• Gullfoss
• Geysir
• Kerid Crater (entry ticket included)
• Blue Lagoon (entry ticket included — watch out for a dedicated post later)

As I progress in this post, I’ll touch on these sites briefly.

Eddie drove our minibus adeptly while narrating histories and contemporary facts seamlessly in English. Get this — he’s actually Italian, but moved to Iceland many years ago and worked in the fishing industry in Northern Iceland. He’d only been speaking English for 6 years. He said he preferred the tranquility of Iceland compared to Italy and was probably going to live in Iceland for the rest of his life!

His knowledge base was exemplary — covering Viking history and intricacies of seismic activity, as was his sense of humor:

“I love to talk and you’re going to get sick of my voice — I wanted to let you know in the beginning. I have earphones to block me out but they cost…”

Or

“Who has children under 20? Sorry, you will not be able to order alcohol at Blue Lagoon, but I hear the apple juice is really good there.”

By the way, the legal drinking age in Iceland is 20.

The sights

Here’s a brief synopsis and image of each of the areas we traveled to:

Thingvellir National Park is an area of outstanding natural beauty and where the Icelandic Parliament met between 930 and 1798. There are stunning viewing areas from where you can apparently see lots of mountains and volcanoes. I say ‘apparently’ because it was cloudy when we visited. But you still got a sense of natural grandeur hiding among the clouds.

Laugarvatn was where we stopped briefly, where billowing steam and cold air fought for dominance. A very geothermally-active area, Eddie showed us hot bubbling water and two mounds of earth where bread was being baked in the ground! Iceland is famous for its rye bread, and it’s quite common for rye dough to be placed under hot ground for 24 hours where it undergoes a tasty transformation. I loved this part of the tour!! Perhaps on a future trip, I may be able to see the bread being retrieved and eaten fresh with Icelandic butter immediately. Imagine that earthy, volcanic aroma coupled with melting butter.

Gullfoss Waterfalls is a sight to behold. Its grandeur can only be appreciated in person. The gate to get closer to it was recently opened as someone had slid on the ice and had broken their leg! The pathway seemed safer when we visited as most of the ice had melted. I was happy to gaze at it from a safe distance due to my fear of heights (and slipping)!

Most of us have heard of the world-famous hot spring, Geysir, which is famous for shooting up to heights of more than 100m. It doesn’t anymore, sadly, after recent seismic activity. On the same site and just a short walk away is its more active sibling, Strokkur. While smaller, it’s a stable performer and did not hesitate to bring out squeals of delight and adults and children alike. Other nameless hot springs simmered quietly in the background, but I was relishing their warmth given the cold day.

As Eddie drove us from site to site, I couldn’t help enjoying the stark scenery of dark, volcanic rocks against the partly cloudy sky. It was almost a moonscape and given the sparse population, driving on the smooth and traffic-free highways made the experience even sweeter.

The adjective ‘stunning’ doesn’t really do justice to the Kerid Crater. Teal-colored water against red rock looked spectacular, even with gray up above. You can opt to walk around it on the rim of the crater or down below.

The tour ended with a visit to the Blue Lagoon. Our tour included an entry ticket, towel service, and a drink (Eddie was just joking about the alcohol) and allowed us to soak in for 2 hours. This experience warrants its own post. Watch this space.

Eddie dropped us off in front of our hotel at 7:10 pm. We were the first ones to be picked up and the last ones to be dropped off. It gave us a chance to talk to Eddie properly and thank him profusely for his hard work and commend him for his fluency in English and humor. It’s not customary to tip in Iceland, but we felt that Eddie deserved every cent. Tipping to show your appreciation for someone’s hard work is always something I recommend, especially in countries where people don’t expect it.

Closing thoughts

While this was an expensive tour, it was thoroughly worth it. I certainly recommend doing research on sites like Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Viator to find something that suits you best. If you just want to spend one day at the Blue Lagoon, or do fewer sights well, I’m sure you can find something. But I won’t lie — Iceland is expensive.

Time to buckle down and start saving again!

Iceland’s geography is a revelation. If you’re looking for a special destination which you will always remember and talk about, I highly recommend that you consider it.

If you have visited, what tours do you recommend? Maybe you had a cheaper and better experience than us? Perhaps it wasn’t great? I want to hear from you all. I always reply back.