Iceland seems to be the latest must-visit A-list destination, with celebs such as power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce showing off the Icelandic back drops for their Instagram posts and even being the location of Justin Bieber’s I’ll Show You music video, Iceland is inundated with picturesque attractions.
Toni and I, checked out some of the main spots everyone bangs on about, including the celeb-go-to destinations, read below the spots we recommend.
The Golden Circle
For me, the golden circle was the most beautiful part of Iceland. Even simply driving through there and parking up to play in the snow, is enough. The snow goes for miles and miles, decorated with Icelandic ponies and beautiful mountains. The stop offs, for this tour are the Thingvellir National Park and the Geysir Geothermal Area, which we visited, but the weather was really bad the day we went, so everything was closed.
The South Coast
The South Coast is home to the Reynisfjara black sand beach, some of the most famous waterfalls such as the one above, Seljalandsfoss, and the plane (below). This is a good day trip and a must-see.
The Plane
Although this spot is one of the main tourist attractions, I think this is very overrated. Having banned cars from driving to the plane, tourists have to embark on a journey that mimics scenes from The Revenant film (I AM NOT JOKING)! Depending on what direction the wind is blowing, you will be pushed speedily towards to plane which will take you around 30 minutes, where you will then see the overrated crashed plane… It is just a crashed plane… not a big plane or a really beautiful one… just a standard crashed plane… and although you can get some decent Instagram pics, being able to say you stood on the plane that Justin Bieber shot his music video on and happily tag the travel bloggers have-to-go-to-location, the walk to return to the car – makes it question your whole entire existence…
“Is this what my life has come to?”
“Am I obsessed with social media to such an extent that I would put my mental state and body through such a traumatic experience?”
“Why would I do this?”
Honestly… at one point, I had lost Toni, didn’t see another human being in sight and contemplated about ringing the emergency services. Out there, it is every man for themselves. The walk back lasts about an hour and a half, as you are walking against the wind. I was whipped by wind, hit by stones and for that reason, I would tell everyone to give this location a miss.
The Northern Lights
We were lucky to see the northern lights, as this time of year isn’t the most guaranteed time to see them. In order to see them, you need to come out of the city centre. Luckily for us, we stayed outside of Reykjavik where it was dark, allowing us to see the faint greens in the sky. The lights and their patterns change so quickly, so we were thankful to catch them.
Reykjavik
Reykjavik is Iceland’s capital and largest city, offering loads of coffee shops, restaurants and tourist gift shops. Pricing here is quite expensive, so a day trip in the city centre is more than enough.
Things to consider before booking your trip to Iceland
- Transport. We rented a car which is really the only way to get around Iceland as taxis are triple what we pay for Ubers in London and public transport is pretty scarce. You will appreciate the warmth and if your car comes with free wifi, even better!
- Time of Year. We visited Iceland at the end of November and already the days were short. With sunrise around 11.30am, and sunset around 3.45pm – it makes the time you can spend sightseeing very short. I recommend going at the end of October/beginning of November as you are guaranteed to still have snow but have longer days to explore more.
- Places to Eat. For those of you interested in the best places to eat, we have you covered! Check out our Foodie’s guide to Iceland here.
Words : @TheRubyMaeMoore
