Hi! My name is Hannah, and when I was 20, I traveled to France for a summer study abroad program. It was my first big trip as an adult, and I had a blast.
My flight to France had been with my family, as we'd decided to go to the program a week early for a family vacation, but I was on my own for the flight back. I was a bit nervous to fly so far by myself — I was also pretty broke after spending all my savings on the trip.
In searching for flights, I was just trying to find the cheapest option, and I kept noticing flights that stopped in Iceland.
I'm fine with a layover, so nbd — but then I realized some of these layovers were REALLY long. Like, a whole day or two. The flights were all from either Wow Air and Iceland Air, so I did a bit of research. It turned out that both were Iceland-based airlines that offered a "stopover" program to encourage tourism to Iceland.
I had never gone to a new country by myself before, and I knew almost nothing about Iceland. But on a whim, I decided to go for it! And within a few weeks, I found myself in Iceland for 36 hours, ready to have a good time on a serious budget.
The first rule of budget travel is, of course, staying in a hostel. I used the site Hostelworld and chose a basic six-person dorm at Oddson. It looks like it's since transitioned to a hotel, but when I stayed there, I slept in a bed like this:
The hostel was located in/right outside Iceland's capital, Reykjavík, which was great because I wanted to spend one of my days just exploring the city. So that's what I did! Upon arriving, I dropped off my stuff and headed right into Reykjavík, which was a 20-minute walk.
On the way in, I passed by a bunch of cool buildings and statues. It was cold but still a nice day out, and I loved just exploring around town!
The thing that struck me first about the center of Reykjavík was that it was small. It was really cute and walkable, with a bunch of colorful shops and restaurants connected by steep streets.
A ton of stuff was in English. Also, I got the sense people there had a strong sense of humor, judging by certain signs...
And an advertisement for the Penis Museum.
I actually convinced a friend to go to the Penis Museum for me years later, and she said it was exactly what it sounded like.
One of the most famous landmarks in Reykjavík is the Lutheran church Hallgrímskirkja, so of course I had to check that out. The architecture was so interesting, and it looked really imposing and cool in the afternoon light.
You can also go up to the top and get a great view of the city. All the buildings have different-colored roofs, so it's really pretty to look down on them. The city's also right on the waterfront!
We all know half the reason to travel is the food. I wasn't in a position to be dining at 5-star restaurants, but the good news was that there were a lot of small shops and food trucks. I grabbed a chocolate whipped-cream waffle that was to die for from a little food truck in a town square.
I also had to check out the famous Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog stand, which travel guides had recommended I check out. I got mine with all the toppings, and it was pretty darn good.
And then, of course, I wanted to check out an Iceland delicacy: hákarl, or fermented shark. There was a little flea market in town, and I found some free samples there.
I remember at this point my phone died, and I used the position of the sun to get back to the hostel, lol — then charged up and grabbed a bit of pasta at the hostel while I waited for the bus to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa in volcanic rock outside the city.
It is definitely a LOT more crowded than it might seem in Instagrams, but it's so big that it wasn't hard to get an IG-worthy pic. And even with all the people, it was just so cool. They had swim-up bars and plastic to buy to cover your phone for photos.
I ran into some trouble on my way home involving the bus system, but the bus driver was very nice and let me on anyway. I had to wait a few hours outside, though, but I did get some cool pics of the sunset.
For the next day, I wanted to see the impressive natural landscape of Iceland. I didn't have much time, which was hard because a lot of the natural sites in Iceland are quite a drive away. I ended up booking a tour through this site of the Golden Circle: Thingvellir National Park, Geysir geothermal area, and Gullfoss/the Golden Falls.
I couldn't get a great video of the geyser Strokkur ~blowing off some steam~, so here's a YouTube video of it:
View this video on YouTube
My favorite of the three was probably Gullfoss waterfall. It felt like something straight out of a fantasy novel. It was HUGE, and also not super crowded. I snapped a TON of pics, though I'm only putting three here. You really can't capture it in photos, either!
Honestly, I kind of could've taken or left a lot of Thingvellir National Park, but I did think it was really cool to see the Almannagjá fault, where two of Earth's tectonic plates have separated.
When the tour was over, it was already time for me to get back to the airport. The whole trip (not counting the flight, which I had to buy anyway to get back to the US) cost me a bit over $250.
I would 1,000% do this trip again, especially if I was already taking a long flight to Europe and Asia and could utilize this stopover program. You can do it yourself through IcelandAir!
Would you ever go to Iceland by yourself? What would you be most excited to see? Let me know in the comments!
Oh, and note: This was in 2016, and obviously things may be different in a postpandemic world. However, on the booking sites for my tours and the Blue Lagoon, it looked like everything was open! But please travel responsibly at this time.