I was supposed to be in Iceland last month. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Icelandair have been very good about changing flights for free so after being on hold for 77 minutes, I moved my flights to November and the tour companies I’d booked stuff with both have policies of refunds if you cancel more than 24 hours before the tour.
I’d like to point out that Reykjavík Excursions put this information front and centre on their website and provide a form you can fill in. However, they can take 60 days to respond and still haven’t. Grayline bury this information so you have to dig for it and then send an email but on the other hand, I had a cheery note and two credit card refund receipts in my emails within five minutes.
Since I’m not writing 4-6 blogs on what I did in Iceland in March, I’m going to fill some of the gap in my April schedule with what I planned to do.
Wednesday 18th March
Fly from London at lunchtime, land in Keflavik about 3pm and take the 4pm Grayline airport bus into Reykjavík. Get decanted into minibuses at Grayline’s office and be dropped off at Bus Stop 8, just outside Hallgrímskirkja. Walk across to my hostel and find room.
First I should go to a supermarket for food. In actual fact, I’d probably go 200 yards down the road to Sundhöllin pool first and get the food afterwards. Sundhöllin has a relatively new outdoor pool complex and it’s right there so I’d sit in the warm water until my stomach told me to get out and go to the shop. And so then I’d go shopping and go home.
Thursday 19th March
I’d probably have spent today wandering Reykjavík. Gone to the bookshop, gone to visit Esja (say hi to the volcano on the other side of the bay), checked that the city was still how I remembered it and then quite likely gone to a pool.
In the evening I had a tour booked. RE would pick me up from Hallgrímskirkja at 6pm and we’d drive to the Secret Lagoon, just off the Golden Circle. I still haven’t been there and it feels like a big item on my to-do list. Then we’d pack into the minibus and hunt for the Northern Lights. I’d return to my guesthouse about 1am, very tired and thoroughly frozen and if I’m lucky, with some disappointing photos of faint green streaks in the sky.
Friday 20th March
What I’d really like to have done on Friday is go to Krauma spa on the west coast. Without a car, there’s only one option; only one tour that will transport you there. Nicetravel do a West of Iceland day trip that includes it alongside a trip to the Barnafoss and Hraunfossar waterfalls, a glacier visit and a stop at Deildartinguhver hot spring which powers Krauma. It’s a long day but I’m very fond of the west of Iceland.
Saturday 21st March
I think I’d like to go horse riding today. I’m no good at but Iceland’s horses are used to tourists being plonked on their backs and as long as they get to nibble the scenery, they really don’t mind. In the afternoon I might return to the pool, or to one of Reykjavík’s other pools. Laugadalslaug is amazing but requires a bus. Vesturbæjarlaug is a delight but requires a bit of a walk.
At about 9pm I’d be picked up, at bus stop 8 as usual, this time by Grayline. This is a plain Northern Lights tour, liable to be cancelled if it’s cloudy. Things like the Secret Lagoon and Lights on Thursday generally carry on, because the cloud doesn’t affect the Secret Lagoon part of the evening. I wish I could change this to Friday – in fact, I could. It’s free to cancel and then I could rebook for Friday. You see, I’d be getting back around 1am again and then…
Sunday 22nd March
My flight back to London is 7.45am so I’d be on the 4am pickup bus back to the airport. No sleep with the Northern Lights tour last night. Sleep on the plane. Hope Dad picks me up from the airport because I’m too tired for a long drive home.
That’s what I hope it would have looked like. Maybe next year I’ll actually do this itinerary.