How to get to Iceland from London? Where to eat and go in Iceland? What's good and bad about touring?
I've always been fascinated by Iceland's isolated, maverick state on the world map. I felt like I was on another planet watching the videos and seeing the photos. It's time to see Iceland if that's how you feel. British Airways offered the most efficient way for me to travel to a place I hadn't been to before and couldn't even pronounce the name of the capital city in such a short time. Flight tickets, tours, transfers, and accommodations were all included in the package I bought. In case you've never been to Iceland and only have 3-4 days to spare, I have to explain this plan to you in depth because I was very satisfied and left with unforgettable memories. Despite the cancellation of one of my tours, my mood was not affected. You can read the details below, but let me first explain how I obtained a visa from London first.
Applying for a visa to Iceland: VFS Global
You're going to Iceland, that's awesome! Have you got a Schengen visa? Since Schengen visas let you enter here, you'll need to apply to VFS Global if you live in London. Having trouble finding an appointment If you've determined your departure dates, you'll first need to fill out the application form on VFS Global. If possible, you should try to find an opening on their website in the morning and evening. It usually says "not available", but it can show availability at certain times.
Once you get your appointment, you should start the paperwork right away. It's just like applying for a visa in Turkey. It's classic paperwork like a bank statement, employment certificate, payroll, flight and accommodation details to prove your travel dates. Fees are payable at the appointment. You also have to pay VFS Global an extra 36 pounds. Moreover, we got into the meeting two hours after our appointment time since they also mediate from other countries. That's how it is.
I got my visa in five days. Just like my previous tourist visas, I thought it would take six months or a year...but no! They gave me a one-week visa! I was happy because it wasn't rejected, even though it was the shortest visa I've ever received. Obviously, my dream of seeing other European countries fell through.
Flight, accommodation, tour, and transfer info
My flight ticket, hotel, tour and transfer were all arranged very quickly through British Airways, I made all the payments before the visa interview and brought these documents. Even if I had been rejected, I'd have been able to get most of the money back.
The dates of my trip were 13-16 October. Iceland's best prices are in September, October, and November. Tourists like to come in the summer months so "the weather's not too cold, let's travel before it freezes", so everything's packed. I don't like crowded holidays, I'd be miserable. That city belongs to me more when there are fewer people. It's very likely you'll see the northern lights if you go during these months! It's okay to be cold. The freezing cold of winter hasn't even started yet.
Here's where I made all my reservations. It'll send you to the flight ticket page if you don't choose the flight + hotel option. Automatically assigns a flight and offers hotel options based on the dates you pick. Once you've picked the hotel, you can add the tours you want to your package by clicking "Add experience". One tour per day was Northern Lights, Golden Circle, and Whale Watching.
Transfers and flights
It was 4:30 when we left the house, and our flight was at 7:45 from Heathrow. Because parking fees are so high, we wentwith Uber. As Heathrow is the UK's biggest and busiest airport, it's easy to get there by public transport. Piccadilly Line will take you directly there.
On the plane, they're giving out chips and water. I'm sure this upset you a little, so eat breakfast before you leave. I'll have a nice suggestion when you get there for lunch.
As soon as our plane landed, we left Keflavik airport and boarded the orange Grayline transfer vehicles right at the exit after about three hours of travel. We've already paid for the transfer via British Airways. Make sure you print out the confirmation documents that were sent to your e-mail confirming the payment. Basically, they control them. It took us about 40 minutes to get to Reykjavik Terminal. There's one more stop before the terminal, but you don't get off there. You take the shuttle to the hotel from the terminal. At the Grandi Hotel, where we stayed, bus stop 15 was the number. After just five minutes on the shuttle, we got off at the 15th bus stop. It's also in Old Harbor. A five-minute walk got us to our hotel.
Accomodation
I left the accommodation up to chance. Since the Grandi by Center Hotels is in the center and the reviews were good, I picked it. It's a 4-star hotel, but I didn't need a super luxurious hotel since I'd be out all day. I'm glad it happened. I was really impressed with our hotel.❤️
Breakfast was great. Even though the rooms are a bit small (I think it's okay), the decoration is very sweet, and it's a clean, new hotel. The hotel also has a stylish restaurant where you can have dinner. We asked reception to confirm all transfers by calling the relevant number. (The number can be found in the confirmation e-mail you received. Do not skip the confirmation part).
We had to check out early on the way back, they even give out coffee and croissants for early departures. They don't have to do this, but it's nice. In other words, it's a way to say we're thinking of you even when you're gone. From our room, we had the dream Reykjavik view. Also, we were very lucky to stay on the top floor.
After we checked into the hotel, we changed our clothes. It was five degrees on the first day, but it felt much colder because of the wind. It was obvious this wind would cause us trouble in the days to come! I'll get to that later. In terms of clothing, I was prepared. I wore thermal underwear, thickest coats, waterproof boots, and double socks. Dressing is a separate activity anyway, you're dressing for minutes and taking it off is a different ceremony. If you're going shopping for Iceland clothes, here are some recommendations:
Touchscreen gloves are a must. I hate putting on and taking off gloves in this cold weather. I bought these gloves and they've saved my life. The phone screen was comfortable to use.
There's a high risk of getting wet on tours like Golden Circle. In addition to being windproof, these trousers are also warm. I wore them over tights and never felt cold.
My hiking boots were lightweight and waterproof. Even after walking for hours, it was comfortable.
Lastly, ultra-light vests become your best friend. In addition to being very comfortable, they take up very little space and keep you incredibly warm. I use it all winter.
Don't forget that they use European sockets. You should take an EU converter if you're coming from the UK. You can buy one at the airport.
We've never used cash in Iceland. All payments can be made with a credit card. These are the little notes I have in my head.
Eat and Travel: Reykjavik City Tour
It was about 6 hours until our Northern Lights Cruise. It was time to explore the city. We changed right away, left our things, and walked to the Old Harbor. There was a shabby fish restaurant in the port called Seabaron that sold lobster soup. There's also fresh bread with it. The weather was sunny, so we decided to eat outside on the pier and enjoy the snowy mountains and sea across the street. Both the view and the soup were great. On Tripadvisor, this place was so praised as a place to eat and drink in Reykjavik.There's not a strong smell to the soup. You can think of it like a mixture of creamy tomato soup and fish soup. Enjoy Iceland's seafood while you're there. Here you can find world-class fish. Because of that, fishing is the country's biggest industry.
Once we were full, we walked towards Harpa, one of the city's award-winning structures. It's a conference center and concert venue. Crystal glass covers the exterior of this place, which has an aesthetically pleasing and technically perfectdesign. Netflix shows like Sense 8 and Black Mirror were filmed here.
From here, you can get to the famous church from rainbow street. We've never taken a taxi or bus in Reykjavik. You can walk everywhere!
The 73-meter-high Hallgrímskirkja took 40 years to build. In spite of its rocket-like shape, it was inspired by Iceland's geography, volcanic mountains and glaciers. Every 15 minutes, this magnificent church rings its bells and can be seen from anywhere in town. Hallgrímur Pétursson was a famous Icelandic poet and priest in the 17th century. The church is named after him because of that.
There's a statue of Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson right outside the church. It's said he was the first European to visit North America.
There's a sculpture garden behind the church called Einar Jónsson Sculpture Garden. The garden is free, and all the sculptures are beautiful.
The city has a lot of street art. A lot of buildings have paintings in different colors and patterns. Because of the note on the work below, I think it impressed me the most. “Isn't it our job as humans to be collecting great moments? ”
If there's a food as famous as fish in Iceland, it's dumplings. The spicy dumplings are the best. One of the best bakeries in the city is Braud & Co. The cinnamon dessert (Cinnamon Roll) with coffee was great.
We had dinner at Reykjavik Fish Restaurant across the harbor. Fish & Chips here are definitely worth a try. It's also very famous in England, but it wasn't like what we had in London. It's so fresh and delicious, there's no fishy smell. One of their traditional dishes is Plokkari, a fish dish with bechamel sauce. The cream made it a little heavy, so you can order one portion for two people and have another meal with it.
I have to mention the soup restaurant we went to on the last day. Svarta Kaffid makes two kinds of soup a day. There are two options, one with meat and one with vegetarian. As the meat was a mix of lamb, beef, and pork, I chose the cream of mushroom soup. It comes in bread, so presentation is another thing. Of course, you eat your bread too. We had soup almost every meal except breakfast during our stay here. It was cheaper and tastier than other dishes. I found it interesting that Icelanders drink soup with beer.
Iceland Tours
We planned the northern lights cruise (aka Aurora Borealis) for the evening of the first day with great excitement. You sail to the ocean by ship starting at 9 pm, and it takes about 3-4 hours. Our hotel is five minutes from the port, so we didn't need a transfer vehicle. The location of our hotel also won hearts!
It was amazing to see the northern lights on the first day! Seeing the lights dance with your own eyes was amazing. Nature's best performance art. Aurora is the mythological goddess of dawn, and Boreas is the north wind. A natural phenomenon that appears in the sky after sunset in shades of green, pink, purple, and yellow. I got really nice shots with my phone. (Shots with iPhone 14 pro max) If you're going to shoot professionally, I don't know how suitable it would be to shoot on the ship because it rocks, but I think with a good tripod, you'll be fine.
We started our Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon tour at first light on the second day. It takes about 13 hours to do this tour. I'll tell you right away, it's a tiring tour, but you get to admire Iceland's nature up close.You should definitely experience it!
We got picked up half an hour before the tour started at stop 15 and dropped off at the terminal. The tour bus picked us up at the terminal. Internet is everywhere in this city, and it's mostly free. Buses have internet and USB ports for charging. We also got lots of good info about Iceland from our tour guide.
Our first stop was Thingvellir National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site east of Reykjavik. It's also where Iceland's largest lake is, right next to the world's oldest parliament. Located between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, the park has gorgeous views.
After the park, we went to Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall). Because of the cold weather, there's frost on the ground, but the view is breathtaking. You should walk very carefully here.
Then we went to Geysir, a hot spring. It's amazing to see the ground water boiling. Do not touch the water, you'll burn :) The interesting thing is that Strokkur, the spring's name, sprays out water every five minutes. It was an unforgettable experience!
TThe Blue Lagoon was the last stop on the tour, so they planned it perfectly. It was close to sunset when we got here. As a tour group, we got to enter directly, but if you're coming on your own, you'll need to make a reservation.
The Blue Lagoon is a natural area formed by geothermal water two thousand meters under the ground. Water in the lagoon is 38-40 degrees and contains nine million liters. From that icy air, entering the warm water was unbelievable.Drinks and masks are both provided in the bar section of the lagoon, which is included in the price. If you apply one of those masks to your skin, after a day, you'll look like you have a filter on. The smoothness is great :) Then we returned to the hotel with our eyes closed from the exhaustion of the tour and relief from the hot water.
Our last day was supposed to be a whale watching cruise, but it was so windy that it was cancelled. I was already waiting for the cancellation when I woke up because the ocean was very choppy and the wind was really strong. After our tour was canceled, we contacted British Airways and they refunded us. We spent the wasted day exploring the city. We tasted different flavors and bought souvenirs. I had a peaceful 72 hours. Iceland was perfect for our first time there. Until we see each other again, let's say goodbye for now.
It's not a collaboration, just my experience.
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