By and large, I’m a solo traveller and I think it’s time I started emphasising that a bit more.
Back in the days when I could solo travel, I gravitated towards Iceland, Scandinavia and the Arctic, with occasional visits to places like the Baltic states and eastern Europe but you’ll find plenty of Paris and Switzerland and western Europe here too. Actually, my non-Wessex UK travels are here as well, so come with me to Scotland, London and a few other places around my own country.
I think this is a thing I’m going to try to make a regular feature – depending on how much time I spend camping in Iceland in future. Anyway, last year I talked about the campsites I stayed on and I want to do it again. Did I go round and take photos specially for… More Iceland campsites review (summer 2023 edition)
Another hot pool post! This one, though, isn’t an overpriced tourist experience, designed from the ground up to be luxurious and expensive and special. This is Seljavallalaug, Iceland’s oldest swimming pool, hidden in the mountains at the foot of Eyjafjallajökull. According to the documentary film Swimming Pool Stories, Seljavallalaug’s relatively remote location is mostly because… More Finding Seljavallalaug
The third of the three geothermal pool reviews! We’re at the tenth pool, east Iceland’s Vök Baths. Vök does have a USP, right up front and centre – Iceland’s only floating infinity pools! It’s a five or ten minute drive from Egilsstaðir, the capital and main town of the region, and it’s set on the… More Relaxing at Vök Baths
Second of three posts on the new-to-me geothermal pools/spas/experiences. Geosea is just north of Husavik, sitting on a clifftop with views across the fjord and out to sea, positioned perfectly to catch sunsets. The building itself is almost hidden from the car park, with the traditional turf roof, cut into the hillside so it doesn’t… More Visiting Geosea
I think I mentioned that part of the reason I went to Iceland this summer was to finish off the geothermal spas? Well, this is the first of those last three: the Forest Lagoon. This is one of the three that has an Icelandic name as well as an English one – Skógarböð really means… More What’s Akureyri’s Forest Lagoon like?
I’ve done Askja before. Twice, in fact. In 2013, I went in a huge black jeep and swam in Viti, the warm flooded crater. In 2016, I returned because I wanted to visit Holuhraun. It was a beautiful day but the guide didn’t mention swimming until we reached Viti and I left my swimming stuff… More A (possible last) visit to Askja
There’s one thing I’ve wanted to do in Iceland for years but somehow it’s never fitted into my itinerary. Well, thanks to my Summer in the North trip turning into Impromptu Whistlestop Tour of the Ring Road, suddenly it did fit: I went kayaking on the glacial lagoon, Jökulsárlón. We all know Jökulsárlón, Iceland’s famous… More Kayaking on the Glacial Lagoon
The first of the Iceland posts! This was originally a kind of summary of what I did, before the individual activity/location posts started. The trouble was, when I came to write the Real Itinerary post, I began to feel a lot of deju vu. It was exactly the same post as the one that was… More A summer solo female travel adventure in Iceland
We all know Iceland is an expensive place but there are ways you can save money. It’s never going to be a true “backpacking on a shoestring” destination but here are my five top tips for travelling Iceland on a (smaller) budget. Take the bus One habit of other travellers that just blows my mind… More 5 tips for saving money when travelling Iceland
This is a post that I’ve had in mind since February, when Iceland’s biggest tour operator massively dropped the ball on me. I say “biggest”. I don’t have figures to back that up but the buses are everywhere and so are the leaflets. I first went to Iceland in December 2011 when there were only… More The Rise and Fall of Tourism in Iceland