Last week I took a crazily- minute work assignment in Iceland. Seriously, last minute- like get my flight itinerary Monday morning and leave Monday afternoon last minute. I didn’t really mind though because I couldn’t pass up a chance to revisit one of my favorite countries, the place where this travel blog was basically born. Even if it was g:ing to be below freezing all week.
Last time I visited Iceland was June 2009, a glorious time of year where wildflowers blanketed everything and the sun never set. This time around was, well, pretty different. Iceland was covered in snow, the sun only peaked out for 10 hours a day and it was pretty damn cold. Even so, Iceland’s innate beauty shone through.
I’ll be writing a bit more about my experiences (especially about IcelandAir’s buddy program which I got to test drive), but first up here are some pictures from my short trip:
Disclosure: I visited Iceland on assignment for another publication and my trip was paid for by Iceland Air. All opinions are my own.
This summer I was in Iceland but I didn’t like situation, there was average temperature 11C and to being there was not pleasant at all!
You took amazing pictures!
It´s incredible how beautiful this island is 🙂
You really inspired me.
Yours,
Lifelovinglydia
The cold wouldn’t bother me if I was surrounded by Icelandic scenery! Volcanoes, steam pools, geysers, lava paths, anything you can name! I NEED to visit this country when my finances allow me to do so! It looks absolutely incredible!
I Will visit in Iceland in this summer, i like Blue Lagoon and Reykjavik’s main cathedra so i will sure would like to go there.
I’ve been wanting to visit Iceland although I wouldn’t think I would be ready to go during winter though. The way the snow blankets everything seems surreal! I can only imagine how cold it must be. Are the tourist attractions like the geyser, national park and the blue lagoon easily accessible and near the capital? How’s the local cuisine?
Yeah all of those things can be easily reached via bus as day trips or half day trips from Reykjavik. If you want to explore further into the countryside I would recommend summer over winter for driving.
Icelandic cuisine…. doesn’t really do much for me. It’s pretty heavy on the fish and meat and light on everything else. I had some great ice cream and chocolate there though!
Fantastic photos from Iceland ! Beautiful in the winter time !
Thank you Stephanie !
That last photo!! There’s something very poetic about snow and clouds and sea and a longboat 🙂
Beautiful set of photos. I’ve been meaning to go back to Iceland. Went about 6 years ago. My one lasting memory is being in the blue lagoon for 6 hours and realising when I came out that my skin had never been so soft 🙂
How’d you find it driving around in winter? Especially to Þingvellir National Park, since it’s a bit off Highway 1/the Ring Road.
I didn’t drive, I had someone driving me around. The roads did seem a bit icy but if you have experience driving in the winter in the US . You will definitely want 4 wheel drive at minimum.
I also visited Iceland in the summer, so it’s fun seeing these winter Iceland pictures. I want to go back!!