7 Days in Iceland

Iceland had been on my bucket list for years so I couldn't pass up the cheap flights I found in January leaving Memorial Day weekend. We figured a vacation exploring the magical outdoors in the land of ice and fire would be right up the alley of our rock loving two year old.Day 1 - Reykjavik, Oxarafoss & Geysir - The flights from Boston to Iceland are surprisingly short, so our overnight flight landed at 4am local time.  We were getting picked up by our campervan company, GO Campers, at noon so we had 8 hours to enjoy Reykjavik on 5 hours of restless airplane sleep. We set up camp in the arrival terminal to kill some time but you need a boarding pass to buy anything from the convenience store in the terminal food court. Fortunately I had packed a fair amount of snacks, including some instant coffee, so we were able to take the edge off a little. We took the Flybus into Reykjavik, stashed most of our bags in a locker at the bus terminal, and set out to sleepily explore the city. Benton has an uncannily natural ability to sniff out donuts which helped us track down some pastries that we ate in front of Hallgrimskirkja Church. If you are ever in Reykjavik go to Braud & Co to stock up on baked goods, you will not be disappointed.   We strolled down to the Sun Voyager sculpture and walk along the water while we waited for Hallgrimskirkja Church to open. You can head up to the top of the steeple for a great view of the city, but if you are visiting on Sunday make sure you check the service schedule and when the church is open to the public. We had big plans to visit The National Museum but ended up walking around the city like zombies in the rain before taking an impromptu nap at the beautifully designed tourist center with in City Hall set on a lake before heading back to the bus station. 

Day 7 - Back Roads & Heading Home - We drove the long way back from the Snaeffneses Peninsula towards Reykjavik to return our campervan and head to the airport. There is a tunnel that cuts off the bay and saves about an hour as you are driving south from Snaeffneses towards Reykjavik, but since we were up early with time to pack and cleaned the van, we took the long way. Parts of the road were under construction and it was slow going but the views were beautiful and worth the extra time. Even though six and a half days in not nearly enough time to spend exploring any country, we felt like we were able to experience so much of the beauty Iceland has to offer. We barded the plane full and ready to go home, knowing that we will definitely be back to explore more.Here are our tips for visiting Iceland on a budget and 3 reasons why a campervan is the best way to visit Iceland!