Heading to Iceland in the middle of winter I had one main objective - to see the Northern Lights! I realized this might be an impossible sight, as there are many that head to Iceland with the same goal and leave having never laid eyes on the illuminations in the sky. However, the land still beckoned to be explored and everyone I knew that had visited, vowed they would return. I can attest that the land of Iceland has so much to offer besides the phenomena of the aurora borealis. I will breakdown my trip into the areas visited, and include the incredible pictures I managed to capture.

Reykjavik

We arrived in Reykjavik early on a Tuesday morning before the sun had risen, we quickly learned that the town does not come alive until the sun makes an appearance. In late January the sun did not present itself until well after 10am, and most of the restaurants serving breakfast didn’t open until at least 9am. So we wandered the city in search of sustenance. After we filled our bellies at the Cafe Paris, we wandered the streets and ended up at the iconic church. Following a much needed afternoon nap, we ventured out to find somewhere to eat dinner. A relatively new concept in Iceland is the food hall, where several food vendors share the space, it’s like an upscale food court. We tried to two different food halls, each were unique and had a slightly different feel. The first one we tried was on the pier, Grandi Matholl, which was laid back and very casual. I got an Indian dish, while others had burgers or fish & chips. The second one we tried was Hlemmur Matholl, and seemed more upscale in the options. We ate pizza, lasagna, and pho, so there was definitely a variety of options.

The Golden Coast Tour

This tour is one of the popular tours that everyone coming to Iceland seems to take. There are a few variations, which mainly revolve around the thermal pools. I chose to do the Secret Lagoon, because it is a natural lagoon. Another popular option for the thermal soaking is the Blue Lagoon, but for me, the fact that this is not naturally created (meaning it’s geothermal runoff from a plant) deterred me from wanting to visit. Here is what you see on the Golden Coast Tour:

Reykjanes Peninsula

With our own mode of transportation and good weather, we decided to head to an area that is light on tourists. For the first few stops we didn’t see anyone else, and for most of the day we were alone. This area boosts hot springs, a lighthouse, ocean views, the bridge between the North American and Eurasia tectonic plates, and plenty to explore.

Snaefellsbaer Peninsula

Access to a car and the need to explore more of Iceland, led us to drive north and west to another national park. The iconic Kirkjufell mountain and waterfalls was our first stop, then we made our way around the circumference of the peninsula. The great thing about exploring on your own is that you can decide how long to spend at each stop, the downside is the commentary along the drive is limited to what you can remember from any reading done prior to the trip, or what you can make up on the spot, which in our case led to a fairly quite drive. This too was a remote, less visited area during the winter months. We also had fabulous weather, so we didn’t need to worry about the roads being icy or high winds.

South Coast Tour

Another popular tour in Iceland is the South Coast, this was not only evident by the fact that our tour bus was full, but also by the number of people at each stop. We were never alone at any of these stops, despite what my pictures may suggest. The tour began with waterfalls, one after another in fact, then continued to black sand beaches, a glacier lagoon, and a glacier. The south coast is a drive through lava fields and evidence of previous volcanic activity. The coastline is dramatic and hosts the filming of several popular shows and movies.

Ice Cave Tour

As an add-on to the South Coast Tour, we took a super Jeep up onto a glacier to hike through ice caves. These are not rock caves covered in ice, but formed from the water flowing through the glacier in summer and creating paths in the ice. In the fall the tour operators explore the glacier to listen for where the water is flowing, then when winter comes they determine which newly formed caves are safe for exploring. They only navigate the same path with their vehicles, careful to not destroy the surface of the glacier. The blue ice is produced by the density of the ice and the removal of the air bubbles. The black ice is from the volcanic ash being compacted into the formation of the ice. This was definitely a cool experience and every season is unique in the caves discovered.

The Northern Lights

And what we came to Iceland to see… the Aurora Borealis!! The weather was perfect for viewing the aurora the day we landed in Iceland. Our hotel recommended we take the Super Jeep option because they drive away from the light pollution of the city and off road to a hill away from others. We decided to ignore the fact that we only had a few hours of sleep after our overnight flight, and headed out on the Jeep at 8pm. At first we were skeptical of the band in the sky they were calling northern lights. After retreating to the Jeep to warm ourselves, our driver came rapping on the window begging us to come outside because the lights had turned on in full force. I cannot even begin to describe the show of green lights dancing over the sky, it was unfathomable. What is equally amazing is that we saw the lights 3 different nights.