My husband I just returned from a last minute trip to Iceland, and it was most definitely the trip of a lifetime! I have always had the Blue Lagoon on my bucket list, so when the opportunity to visit Iceland came up we immediately decided to go. Iceland is a beautiful country with an immense amount of nature to explore. I know we only scratched the surface of what Iceland has to offer, but I’m happy we were able to see and do so much in only 3 days! Below is our 3 day itinerary including travel, hotel, food, and activities.
Travel
We were super excited to find out that IcelandAir recently started offering a direct flight to Reykjavík from RDU (Raleigh, NC). This was what first got us interested in visiting Iceland. It was only a 6 hour trip on a comfortable plane with a friendly flight crew. Since it is a fairly short flight, meals are not provided but can be purchased ahead of time. On the fight home we were able to get a beautiful overhead view of Greenland (pictured below!)
If you are planning to do a lot of sightseeing while in Iceland, you will likely want to look into renting a car. We rented from Enterprise, but there were several other options available at the airport. The staff at Enterprise ensured we had a car to fit our needs while visiting and made us aware of the traffic laws that differ in Iceland vs. the US. Driving in Iceland was fairly easy and my husband got accustomed to it quickly. Since we visited in April we did not have to drive with any snow on the ground.
Hotel
During our time in Iceland, we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Reykjavík Keflavik Airport. The hotel was a short drive from the airport and the staff were able to accommodate our early check in. Since breakfast was not included and cost ~$25 USD, we decided to visit some local coffee shops and bakeries instead. Overall we enjoyed this hotel and were able to use some of our Bonvoy points for the stay!
Day 1 Overview
After a 2 hour nap at the hotel we were ready to hit the ground running for our first day in Iceland. We usually try to beat the jet lag when traveling, but we didn’t sleep much on the plane and knew we had a long day ahead of us. We dedicated our first day to exploring Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital. It was about a 40 minute drive from our hotel. Navigating parking was relatively easy. You can find information on Reykjavík’s parking zones here.
Day 1 Sightseeing
- Perlan: Our first stop was to the observation deck at Perlan. We did not visit the actual museum, but were able to visit the observation deck for about $5 USD per person. It was a beautiful view of the city and a great way to start the day.
- Hallgrimskirkja Church: After parking our car, the first stop on foot was to this stunning church downtown. It is very well known in Iceland and worth taking a few photos. You can also go inside for free and see the huge organs.
- Skólavörðustígur (Rainbow Street): Our next stop was to the iconic Rainbow Street in downtown Reykjavík. We had lunch at 101 Reykjavík Street Food after taking advantage of the photo op!
- Laugavegur Street: We then walked down the nearby Laugavegur Street, the primary shopping street in Reykjavík. It is lined with many shops, restaurants, and bars.
- Harpa Concert Hall: This is another popular spot in Reykjavik due to the gorgeous architecture. You can go inside and walk around for free. There are also a few places to eat and drink inside.
- Sun Voyager: This statue along the waterfront is another great photo opportunity that shouldn’t be missed. It was very nice and much bigger than it appeared in pictures.
- Tjörnin Lake: A large lake in the middle of downtown, this was another beautiful sight to see. By this point in our day we had been walking a lot and it started to drizzle, so we decided to take advantage of some of the many happy hours in the area prior to dinner.
Night 1
We had happy hour drinks at Skúli Craft Bar and American Bar, and followed that up by an amazing dinner at Matarkjallarinn – Food Cellar. This was our splurge dinner and it was my favorite meal of the trip! Our final activity for our day in Reykjavík was a Northern Lights Tour. We weren’t sure if we would be able to see the lights since this was the last week of the season for the tours. BUT we took a chance and we saw them! It was an unforgettable experience! The tours are held from late August to late April due to the lights not being as visible during the summer months.
Day 2 Overview
Our second day in Iceland was dedicated to The Golden Circle! If you haven’t heard of it, The Golden Circle is a term used to describe a route through Southern Iceland that contains most of the top tourist spots in the area. It coincidentally makes a nearly perfect loop. With a few hours of driving and a few hours of sightseeing, it is possible to do it all in one day. Or for a more leisurely adventure, it can be split into multiple days. Here is the order in which we saw everything leaving from our hotel near the airport.
Day 2 Sightseeing
- Brauð & Co: Our first stop was in Rekjavik for a quick coffee and cinnamon roll. This bakery is famously known for their cinnamon rolls and I can definitely see why! We actually had them two mornings in a row because they were so good.
- Þingvellir National Park: After a 45 minute drive through beautiful mountainous scenery, we made it to our first stop. This national park is worthy of spending a few hours at due to the various sights, including Lake Thingvallavatn, Þingvellir Church, and Öxarárfoss Waterfall. This park is a UNESCO World Heritage sight and is the only location in which you can see two tectonic plates (North American and Eurasian) meet. In fact, you can even snorkel between them at the Silfra Fissure. Although we didn’t snorkel, it was an amazing sight to see!
- Friðheimar: Since we had spent several hours walking through the National Park, our next stop was a neat place that I really wanted to visit for lunch! Friðheimar is a unique restaurant offering only tomato based dishes from inside their greenhouse. We weren’t able to get a reservation because they book up weeks in advance. However, you can sit at their bar and still order drinks and a limited menu. We had tomato beer, tomato soup, and bread. It was very good!
- Geysir Geothermal Area: After lunch we made our way to the Geysir Geothermal Area in Haukadalur Valley. This was truly such a cool experience! The Stokkur Geysir erupts every 5-10 minutes so we spent some time watching this majestic force of nature over and over.
- Gullfoss Falls: A short drive away from the geysirs is a huge waterfall, one of many in Iceland. Although it was very cold and windy, the rainbow over the waterfall was definitely worth it.
- Kerid Crater: Our last stop along the Golden Circle for today was to Kerid Crater, a volcanic crater lake with bright blue water. It’s a relatively short hike down to examine the bottom, but is equally as stunning from up top.
Night 2
After finishing a long day exploring Iceland’s Golden Circle, we came back to our hotel to quickly change for dinner. We decided to eat nearby our hotel since we had spent the entire day driving. We ate at The Northern Lights Inn & Max’s Restaurant. It was a quaint restaurant inside of another hotel that we considered staying at. The food was good and the staff were friendly! After dinner we wanted to continue exploring some and ended up at Cafe Petite. It was a very cool bar that we would not have found without a recommendation!
Day 3
We began our last full day in Iceland at the Fagradalsfjall volcano, only about 30 minutes from our hotel. This can also be visited as part of the Golden Circle, but we decided to dedicate another day to it. This volcano actually erupted in August of 2022, and although we did not see any lava flowing we were still able to see some of the lava rocks smoking. The hike to the volcano was fairly intense so I would definitely recommend a good pair of hiking shoes! We brought these from Adidas and they were great. After seeing the amazing views from the top, we were able to go down to the bottom of the volcano to see the recently hardened lava and steaming rocks.
Needless to say, after all of this hiking and exploring we were eager to relax. The Blue Lagoon has always been on my bucket list so I was VERY excited for this part of the trip. And it did not disappoint! It made all of my bucket list dreams come true. We bought tickets ahead of time for a 3:00 pm entrance and stayed for about 3 hours. We lucked out and had the most gorgeous sunny afternoon. While at the Blue Lagoon, we enjoyed some face masks and champagne. There is one mask and one drink included with the price of your ticket, and others can be easily purchased via your wrist band. There is also a nice cafe that we ate lunch at prior to entering the Lagoon. If you have a chance to visit the Blue Lagoon while traveling in Iceland — I highly recommend!
Night 3
Our final night in Iceland we had dinner at Fish House Bar & Grill, a restaurant near the Blue Lagoon in Grindavik. I found it prior to our trip when searching for seafood restaurants in the area. It had great reviews and we agree! We rounded off our night by spending some time driving along the coast. The neat thing about Iceland this time of year is how light it stays outside. We ended up stumbling across an area with a few shipwrecks and a lighthouse that were cool to explore. You can find them on Google Maps by searching Hópsnes Lighthouse.
Visiting Iceland was an absolute DREAM! I loved every minute of it. It’s amazing how much we were able to do it just 3 days, but it’s doable because Iceland has so much to offer! We ate, drank, explored, relaxed, and saw natural phenomenons that we may never get to see again. With it being only a 6 hour flight from NC, I highly recommend adding Iceland to your bucket list!
If you have any questions about visiting Iceland, feel free to comment them below! Or check out my Instagram and Lemon8 pages for even more Iceland inspo. Browse my other travel guides here.
