Jul 15

Jul 15 24 hours in Reykjavik

My husband and I had plans to go to England to visit some friends while they were there for a wedding. When looking at flights, I found that departing from Boston on Icelandair would save us so much money rather than booking a flight out of Columbus with a layover in who knows what city to get us to England. So we purchased a one way flight to Boston and booked the return trip back to Columbus from Boston separately. After that was settled we booked our round trip flight to London with a 24 hour layover inbound in Reykjavik through IcelandAir. Knowing we had quite some time to kill there we went ahead and booked tickets to the Blue Lagoon and a hotel for the night.

We arrived to Boston Wednesday morning on the 6th of June with our flight departing for Iceland that evening. We spent our time having lunch and wandering. Once our flight was ready to board we got on the plane and proceeded to get some sleep. Truth be told, I did not sleep well on the plane at all. We arrived in Reykjavik early in the morning, got some coffee and hopped on the bus to the blue lagoon!

The Blue Lagoon

Once we arrived we waited for our wristbands and proceeded to the changing rooms. They require you to wash before you enter the lagoon. We had purchased the premium package, you can find the information here. With the package you do get a robe, slippers and a towel and there is space to put these items once outside. You have the option to enter the lagoon from the outside or there is an entry from the inside. It was a rather chilly that day so we stayed in the Lagoon as much as possible. You get 2 different mud masks as well as 1 beverage with the package. We both got beers at the bar located within the Lagoon.

We remained in the lagoon for quite some time and finally found a spot where we could sit, whilst still being mostly under the water. This really helped with that chill! They do have 2 sauna rooms you can enter from the just outside the lagoon. We gave both a shot, but ultimately went back in the lagoon. Once we were ready to end our lagoon time, we went back inside to get dressed. With the package we purchased, you do get an option to go the on-site restaurant, Lava. You have a reserved table and get complimentary sparkling wine. My husband didn't want that option and they were very accommodating and brought him a beer instead. We chose to share the Grilled Beef Tenderloin. The meal was delicious and plenty enough to satisfy us!

Reykjavik

We had a pick up time to get on the bus back to Reykjavik and the ride took about 30 minutes. It took us right to the hotel, after dropping other guests off at their hotels. We checked in and got settled in our room. When looking for the hotel I made the mistake of booking one that was close to their regional airport and not the International one. Whoops! The Icelandair Hotel Reykjavic Natura was decently priced and they did offer a free shuttle to take you to city center. At the front desk they did explain that their hotel is not close to the airport which our flight the next morning was to depart from. We ended up having to book a shuttle that picked us up at 4am! After getting all of that settled we ventured out!

First stop was a place that I had really been looking forward to! Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur is the famous hot dog stand. In the reviews I had read that the people working it are rude and I can honestly say that this is true. However, the hot dog was delicious so it was worth it!

It was extremely windy and chilly so we looked for somewhere to warm up and quick! We happened upon a jazz bar and some amazing cocktails! After that we hit up one more bar and then made our way to the bus station. We ended up on the wrong bus and tried running to the correct bus, but it left us. We ended up waiting 20 minutes for the next one, so I recommend making sure you know what bus to get on so you don't freeze while waiting for the next.

We got back to the hotel around 11:30 and it was still light out! We woke up at 3:30 and it never got dark! That was such a weird sensation. The next night in London I actually had tears when it started to get dark because I missed it!

If you want to get to Europe and for cheap, IcelandAir is a great budget option! You have your layover to experience what Reykjavic has to offer and then make your way to your final destination. Easy peasy!

Let me know if you have any questions or comments!