Iceland and London in 1 Week | Route and Itinerary
So, my friends and I decided to take a trip. We knew that we were all pretty broke at the time, but we knew traveling together was important, so we made it a priority. We chose January, because winter is a time when life gets hard and the world is a little duller. Also, we discovered that January had some great flight deals, so we decided to go for it.
We booked a $360 (including our carry-on bags) round-trip flight from Boston, USA to Reykjavik, Iceland. This was a great flight for a week-long trip to a magical destination. Keep in mind, Iceland in January has only 5 hours of daylight, and you know I like a challenge, so we were going to pack in the sights to our short daylight hours. Not to mention this is a WOW Air flight, which is a budget airline, so our flight got delayed 5 hours before leaving.
At this point, it didn’t even matter, because we were all so excited – not to mention this meant that our flight would arrive around 11am rather than 6am into Reykjavik, which is an easier time for staying awake after being jet-lagged and on a plane overnight.
DAY 1: REYKJAVIK
So, when we got to the Keflavik airport, we were initially blown away by the mountain ranges we were seeing flying in to the country. We went into the airport, and it was pristine. The whole place has a very modern theme that makes you feel like you are in another world, with open windows, single-stall bathrooms, and the pink Wow Air flight attendant uniforms everywhere.
So we grabbed some food, hopped on a shuttle, and went to get our rental car at Sixt. Sixt is my favorite car rental place, because they make the typically confusing process of renting a car in a new country feel easier, and their prices are almost always the best. Then, we hit the road in our tiny little car.
It was so intriguing to hear the GPS say the Icleandic names for the streets. They are mostly comprised of at least 10 letters and are impossible for our American accents to comprehend. Since it was already around lunch time, we decided to find our Airbnb and explore Reykjavik for the day.
We checked in and then drove to Hallgrimskirkja, the beautiful church located in the center of the city. We explored the church, walked along the streets, and went to the Sun Voyager statue. After that, we went and watched the sunset from Seltjarnarnes along the coast near Reykjavik. Since it was winter, the daylight hours are short, and the nights are long. Sunrise is around 11am, while sunset is around 4pm.
We ended up just driving around the city for a little bit after sunset just to see the interesting little shops and homes dispersed everywhere, and we went back into the city to warm up and get a little food. Everything is expensive to eat, so we just ended up getting coffees, crepes, and sandwiches at a hip little place called Cafe Babalu. We went to the grocery store after dinner to pick up snacks and lunches for the week, and bedtime came early after that, with us going to bed no later than 7pm.
DAY 2: SNAEFELLSNES PENINSULA
We started the next day by 8am. This gave us time to make some quick breakfast toast and cereal before hitting the road and driving all the way to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula (in my opinion, the most beautiful day trip from Reykjavik). Keep in mind that we only have around 5 hours of daylight, so we were driving in the dark for the around 2 and a half to 3 hour drive north to the peninsula.
The sun was trying to come up during this, so we got some cool shots of the mountains and stars at around 9am, which is a strange feeling. We drove under the ocean through the Hvalfjordur Tunnel, and we jammed to some tunnel songs for the over 3 and a half mile drive under the ocean.
When we finally arrived on the eastern side of the peninsula, we had a plan to just drive around the circle of the peninsula. While the whole drive was beautiful and snowy, our first stop was at the Raudfeldsgja Gorge, pictured below. Plus, when you simply go down the road a little bit, you can stand on snow-covered lava fields.
After that, we went to Arnarstapi, and I could not stop smiling at the hue of the ocean, the rocky cliffs and natural bridge, and the rough waves crashing along the coast. There is something about the snow mixed with the ocean that made this place my favorite stop along the way.
Then we drove through Snaefellsjokull National Park, which has many sights, including the Skalasnagaviti Lighthouse – a bright orange lighthouse on the coast that reminded me of home, go Vols.
We kept driving and driving around this peninsula, stopping probably every 10 minutes to take a picture of some new landscape or tiny town.
We finally made it to Kirkjufell, which has a view that combines a volcanic mountain and a waterfall. We even went at the perfect time, because we made some horse friends while taking in the view.
After this, we decided to stop in at a very northern city that claimed to have free Wifi (it didn’t work), called Stykkisholmur. It is a small fishing town at the tip of a small peninsula on Snaefellsnes, and it has some really great food and colorful boats. If you need gas, this is a place to eat and get gas at the same town!
We stopped in at a place called Narfeyrarstofa. We walked in and could immediately tell it was a nice place, as the design was cozy yet classy. They brought us out a glass jar for water and a wooden tray of bread, butter, and seasonings that were house-made. Amazing food, quality experience that I would highly recommend. They have great seafood and burgers, and the staff were friendly.
We drove home that night content and excited for the rest of trip, and like always, it was already dark outside. We got back, and we wanted to make the most of our last night staying within walking distance of downtown Reykjavik. We also love a good drink, so we headed out to a gastropub called Saeta Svinid. We each ordered unique drinks, and I decided to get a flight of Icelandic beers to get a taste for their beer culture.
It did not disappoint, and we spent the rest of the night talking, listening to people sing karaoke in the basement, and enjoying the nightlife of Reykjavik.
DAY 3: SOUTHERN COAST
The next day, we packed up our bags and headed on the road to the Southern Coast. We had only one day to see it all, so off we went. Our first stop of the day was at a gas station to grab some light food for lunch. After that, we went straight to the first waterfall, Seljalandsfoss, All of the following stops were extremely crowded, but they were fun nonetheless. The waterfalls were so powerful that they were spraying us with water in the freezing cold air.
If you go to Iceland in January, make sure you pack the appropriate clothing. Our next stop was Eyjafjallajokull, a famous volcano that last erupted in 2010.
Then we went to Skogafoss, my personal favorite “foss.” As you walk up to it, there is a stream that leads there, and there are fields surrounding it, as well as walkway that goes up over it. Take note, the most magnificent view is from right in front of it. Walking up to this waterfall, you are essentially walking into an open cove that seems to just capture you.
The picture from Skogafoss below really captures the essence of its immense beauty – a feeling that we are such a small part of this beautiful world. That was truly a moment where my restless heart was satisfied – in feeling that joy and beauty are so much greater than anxiety and fear.
After this, we were feeling pretty excited, and we decided to trek up, in our car, a poorly paved road up at Dyrholaey. It was so steep, but we finally made it. When we got out of the car, it was so windy, we could barely walk. It made for some great views and great memories.
Our final stop was Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach near Vik. Keep in mind, there is some kind of snow/hail storm starting to brew. The crowds are lessening due to the weather, but we were trekking on to see just this one last thing. We sat in the car waiting for almost 20 minutes, so tired from being in the cold and walking around the whole day, but we just decided to go for it.
We literally bolted from our car to the beach, with the hail smacking us in the face. We quickly took in the dreary black sand beach view, which allowed us to see the world in black and white for a moment. We climbed on the basalt columns, and we went back to the car before heading back to our new Airbnb that night in Selfoss. We sang our hearts out in the car, and we crashed right after taking warm showers and snacking on gas station food.
DAYS 4 & 5: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
This is where the story gets interesting. We found that there were cheap flights from Reykjavik to London for $80 round-trip. We then found that it would literally be cheaper to keep our Airbnb booked for that night than it would be to bring our bags on our flight. So, we left the majority of our stuff in our Airbnb the next morning, and we drove to the airport to fly to London.
Once we turned in our car, check in for our flight, and got to London, it was already early evening. Thankfully, we have a lot of friends in London and the surrounding areas. Our friend who lives in London actually came with someone to pick us up, and we then got dropped off to go and ride the London Underground for the first time!
We rode all the way to our hostel for the night. We had a small room right near St. Paul’s Cathedral. We dropped off our bags, and then we headed out for our walking tour of the city.
We did everything we could in that short amount of time, including seeing a Double Decker red bus, the London Eye, Big Ben (which was under construction), a classic telephone booth, the bridge from Harry Potter, Trafalgar Square, M&M World, and Chinatown.
It was exhausting, but it was so exciting to see things you see on TV all the time in real life. After our tour, we grabbed dinner and headed back to the hostel to get ready for a fun night out. Surprisingly, many places closed pretty early, but we finally found a fun strip of bars that we got to bar hop from for a fun night in London.
The next day, our flight wasn’t until around 2, so we had time to eat the free English breakfast at the hostel and head out to see our last few sights.
We got to see St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, and Platform 9 and 3/4 from Harry Potter. It was amazing, as you can see from the smiles on our faces.
Sadly, we then had to say goodbye to our friends, but we were at least going back to Iceland for another day and a half
DAY 6: GOLDEN CIRCLE
Our last full day in Iceland was eventful. We were already close to the Golden Circle, having stayed in Selfoss. We got coffee, and we headed out to do our own version of the Golden Circle, snowstorm version. It has snowed so much when we were in London, but we were determined to make it work.
We started out by going to Thingvellir National Park. We saw Silfra, the place where there is a gap between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. People can snorkel there at any time of the year, and we were shocked at how many people got in in the middle of winter.
Our next stop was Oxararfoss, which was extremely crowded and we didn’t want to have to pay. So we drove up to the Oxararfoss Parking Trailhead, and we hiked a little ways down through the canyon. It so snowy, and I fell face first into the snow walking back up the trail. All in all, a great little spot in winter.
After Oxararfoss, we headed further into the Golden Circle and stopped at the cutest ice cream shop, named Efstidalur II in the middle of a winter snowstorm.
This cafe has coffee and so many ice cream flavors, and in the room, there are windows that look into the barn where the cows who make the ice cream live. It’s such a cozy joint, and it makes for a perfect stop to get a treat.
Next up, we went to Geysir. The snow had really picked up at this point, and we were struggling to maintain our body heat as we walked up to this attraction. We walked through the many little creeks that were producing sulfur-smelling steam, and we made sure to stay for at least 2 eruptions of the geysir. It really is an interesting natural phenomenon to see.
We had to add in waterfalls, so we stopped at every sign that had the word “foss” on it. They were all beautiful in the snow and ice, but the most popular one is Gulfoss. It really is huge. You can’t get very close to it, but the sound of the water was loud and proud.
Last, but definitely not least, we stopped in at the cutest eco-village, called Solheimar. All three of us on the trip met at a camp for people with disabilities, and we all work with people with disabilities in our everyday lives – we knew we had to check this place out. This village is a place where individuals in Iceland with intellectual and developmental disabilities can work and live together. They run a coffee shop that we were hoping to eat at, but it was closed on that day, unfortunately. We did get to stop in to their little store and meet a couple people. Go support this eco-village!
It was already dark, like always, so we went back into Selfoss and got one of the most delicious burgers I’ve ever had at a place called Tommi’s Burger Joint (maybe because I never eat burgers, and maybe because we were so hungry). On our last night in Iceland, we were exhausted, so we warmed up at our Airbnb, kept watch for the Northern Lights (which didn’t come out), and talked until we fell asleep.
DAY 7: REYKJAVIK & HOME
On our very last morning, we went into downtown Reykjavik for breakfast at a place called Grai Kotturinn. My friends got delicious meals, but I was holding out for the famous Icelandic hotdogs. We then walked around some more and found some souvenirs around Ingolfur Square, and I was able to get my hotdogs at one of the most recommended places, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. We drove back to drop off our rental car, extremely sad to have to leave the country that looks like its own planet.
This trip taught me to appreciate the beauty around me. It is so important that we are constantly filling our world with the beauty of natural things or new experiences. These things are what bring us out of dissatisfcation and into the gifts of wonder and awe.
This trip is where I learned that I can branch out from just going to one country. I can see as much as I want to see on a trip, it just depends what I prioritize. We made a point to make the most of our days in both Iceland and London, and we left the trip with rested hearts and satisfied souls. This is the gift of traveling.
