Is three days enough in Iceland? Absolutely not. I remember looking confused when someone asked me if I was going to Iceland for 2 weeks, and now I understand why. There is so much to do there and 3 days does not even scratch the surface. It’s a nice amount of time to get a flavour of the country, but I feel that at least 7 days are needed to get the full Icelandic experience. Nevertheless, I am going to share how I spent 3 days in days in Iceland.
Day 1- Reykjavik
Rainbow Street
After checking into my accommodation, the first thing I did was head to the famous rainbow street! I saw a few of these in Reykjavik during my stay. It’s in a very central location next to “Laugavegur Street” which is where all the souvenir shops and restaurants are located. At the end of this rainbow street, you will find the Hallgrimskirkja cathedral which can be seen in this photo. I never visited it because I’ve been to soooo many churches in Europe that I just didn’t feel interested. Plus it was -8 degrees outside on this day! I can just imagine how cold it would have felt at the top.
Höfði Lighthouse
This is a really cool lighthouse! As you can see in my photo above, the background is just beautiful. It is very windy in this area so I couldn’t stay too long, but it’s definitely worth a visit. It’s the perfect spot for a photo!
The Sun Voyager
This is a really cool statue located within walking distance of Höfði Lighthouse. The statue reminds me of a Viking ship.
Svarta Kaffið
After almost freezing to death by the harbour, I felt like having some hot food to warm up. Svarta Kaffið is a nice cosy restaurant that serves soup in a bread bowl. They had 2 soups available and you can get free refills if you want to try both. I opted for a creamy meat soup, which reminded me of Hungarian Ghoulash. It was very tasty! I didn’t finish the bread because it was so crusty. I am also not the tidiest eater so the crumbs were everywhere (…oops).
Northern Lights Tour
During the night I booked this northern lights tour. They picked us up at around 9pm and we drove around to a few locations to look for the northern lights. We didn’t have any luck so they started to drive us back at around 1am…until a girl on the bus spotted them out of the window near the end of our journey in Reykjavik! It was so funny because she just screamed “guys I can see the lights!” so the driver stopped on the side of the road and we all ran off the bus like a pack of animals. It was very cloudy (as you can see from the photo) so they weren’t shining bright. But I did get to see some green light in the sky. It was magical 🙂
Day 2- The Golden Circle Route
One of Iceland’s most popular tourist routes is the Golden Circle, as it shows some of the most beautiful natural attractions in the country. This route is quite popular for people who spend 3 days in Iceland, and includes Thingvellir National Park, Geysir Geothermal Area, and Gullfoss Waterfall.
Thingvellir National Park
The photos I captured in this area don’t do it justice. The snow is so pretty! There is a waterfall in here but I didn’t get to see it because I felt unsafe walking down the icy path that led to it. The path was sloped “downwards” and I didn’t want to risk breaking any bones from slipping on ice. The toilets in this National Park are nice because the windows behind the sinks show you views of snowy mountains.
Geysir Geothermal Area
This is probably one of the most fascinating natural attractions that I have visited. The area is full of hot springs, geysirs, and bubbling mud pots. The most popular attraction in this area is the Strokkur geyser, which is pictured above. It erupts every 5-10 minutes, which causes a huge splash of boiling water to shoot up around 30 metres high.
This is the view from the top of Gulfoss Waterfall. The atmosphere here was just pure bliss. It was amazing to watch the water flow down into the Hvítá River. This area was also definitely the coldest place during my whole trip…-15 degrees Celsius! everyone who I spoke to agreed that the weather was bone chilling in this region, but I honestly don’t regret it. I would like to come back and do this route during the summer, as I’ve heard it’s equally as stunning but with a bright green grass landscape instead of snow.
Our tour guide for the day was kind and made an extra stop to see the horses. He also gave us some horse food to feed them! This was definitely one of the highlights of my day and I honestly didn’t want to leave the horses :(.
101 Reykjavik Street Food
After a 2 hour drive back to Reykjavik, I went back to my accommodation to warm up, and then headed out to dinner. This time I tried a traditional Icelandic dish called Plokkfiskur. It is mashed fish, with potatoes, and béchamel sauce. As a seafood lover, I really enjoyed this, and it honestly tasted a lot better than it looks. This dish is served with 2 slices of Hverabrauð. Icelandic rye bread is top tier, because it has a very sweet under-taste.
Day 3- Sky Lagoon
Sandholt
I’m generally not a breakfast person at home, but when I travel, I will eat breakfast to try the local food. So I went to Sandholt which is a popular cafe in Reykjavic. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to be so full. The queue for a table was 30 minutes, despite getting there at 9am. It was worth the wait though, because the Swiss mocha and poppy seed cinnamon bun were delicious. It was also probably one of the few times in my life that I would find it acceptable to pay around £15 for a pastry and coffee (yes…Iceland is very expensive)
Sky Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon has been closed on and off over the winter period because of Volcano eruptions. It happens to be a popular tourist attraction for visitors to Iceland. I wanted to book it but many Icelandic locals warned me online that it wasn’t a good idea. So I decided to visit the Sky Lagoon instead which is a newer Lagoon, and accessible by public transport.
I had already prebooked this for 12pm. I got there at 11.30am but there was barely any queue so they let me in. The water really wasn’t that hot (or maybe it just felt that way because of the minus temperatures outside). They have a bar in the water with a limit of 3 drinks per person, which is perfect because I wasn’t looking for a boozy bathtub. I thought it would be too cold for a bikini, so I opted for a leopard print swimsuit of course ;).
Cafe Loki
It was 4.30pm when I got back to the city centre so I decided to grab some food. The picture above shows some more Icelandic food. I tried trout on rye bread, smoked lamb on rye bread, mashed fish on rye bread, Harðfiskur (dried fish) eaten with butter, and fermented shark with a shot of Brennivín. Many people back home were disgusted when I told them I wanted to try shark (haha!) but it honestly was not as bad as I expected. Yes, there is a weird ammonia taste after around 10 seconds, but it goes away with the shot of Brennivín.
…and this is how I spent 3 days in Iceland. I am itching to go back there already. I want to visit a volcano, go snowmobiling, and visit Diamond Beach. Also…it would be good to see the northern lights shining a bit brighter next time!
What a cool trip to Iceland and I definitley have Iceland on my bucket list as I would love to see it in person! Great pictures!
Thank you for sharing Iceland’s stunning beauty and delicious food. It looks like you really enjoyed your trip to Iceland. I wish I can visit there one day.
You’re welcome. I hope you get to visit some day 🙂
Sounds like you had a wonderful time there in Iceland and such a detailed post. Would love to visit there someday with the family.
This is such an in-depth guide for Iceland! I have always wanted to visit Iceland.
Glad you found it useful 🙂
I dream of witnessing the mesmerizing dance of the northern lights in Iceland, painting the night sky with vibrant colors. The thought of standing under this natural wonder fills me with awe and excitement, making it a top destination on my travel bucket list… And now the horses, mustn’t forget the horses!
The lights were not very strong when I was there…so I will go back and do exactly what you described above 🙂 hope you get to experience them too.
this post is so timely for i was just starting to explore the idea for a trip to Iceland sometime this year.. bookmarking it as i continue to research
book that flight! 🙂
Iceland is so beautiful. I like that it looks so serene and peaceful. The food looks yummy as well.
It definitely felt like a peaceful place 🙂
I wish that I had the time and money to visit Iceland. It looks like a beautiful place to visit. I’m hoping to take a regular vacation this summer or next.
I hope you get to visit Iceland some day <3
Wow, this seems like a dream come true! Seeing the Northern lights is on my bucket list, and all the other things you saw look really cool as well!
It kind of was a dream come true. I have been wanting to visit for 10 years and finally did it! Hopefully you will get to see the northern lights soon.
Iceland is truly a magical place. For me, still somewhere over that rainbow. But I’ll go there once and discover that beautiful piece of Earth’s treasure!
Thank you! This post shows there’s so much more to Iceland than just Reykjavik! Great photos too!
You have done a lot of cool things in 3 days! I visited Iceland in 2016 for a week, but still dream to return one day to explore more!
I loved visiting Iceland, but missed Cafe Loki. On my list for the next time I’m there! Great tips.
Thanks 🙂
Iceland has been on my bucket list for such a long time! This was inspiring read, especially the part about spotting the Northern lights and running out to see! Really hope I can take your advice and spend at least a week there one day!
Glad you enjoyed reading this article, and I hope you get to visit Iceland some day 🙂
Iceland has been on my list for quite some time. Your article makes me want to go now and explore.
It’s definitely worth it. I hope you do visit 🙂
Soooo helpful since I want to go to Iceland next winter to chase the northern lights! Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re welcome 🙂
Iceland seems fun but also freezing
What month were you visiting? Would you return in the summer?
Yes it is freezing in the winter, but they have the heating on full blast everywhere too 🙂 I went last month in February, and would definitely return during the summer when it’s green.
I went to Iceland in the “summer” but reading this wonder if it would have been better to go in the winter!
I’ve heard that both seasons are equally as beautiful…but the snow definitely adds a magical touch 🙂
I always love reading posts about Iceland to see other travelers’ experiences. I’m so glad you got to see the northern lights. They are gorgeous! Also, loved all of your food experiences. You did a lot in three days!
Yes, managed to do a lot but still want to go back 🙁 theres so much to do in Iceland.
The horses were adorable and the scenery terrific.
Definitely was 🙂
Nicely written. Enjoyed reading this post. I’d be sad to leave the horses too, they were so cute, and now I really need to find some soup in bread bowl. This is a perfect itinerary. Also, the next time I’m somewhere and there a bunch of inebriated people in a pool, I’m calling it a boozy bathtub.
Thank you 🙂 and the bread bowl soup is such a cool dish! I ate one in Poland too, so it must be in other countries as well.
That sounds like a great trip! We visited in August, but things looked quite different (green vs snow). It looks like it is worth a visit in winter too.
Thats cool…I would like to see it during “green season” too 🙂
What a wonderful guide! I would love to go there one day…
Thank you, and I hope you get to experience Iceland some day 🙂
While I am not typically one who loves traveling in cold weather, I would visit Iceland just to see the Northern Lights.
That weather is so worth it in Iceland 🙂
I want to visit so much but I also HATE the cold and it’s kept it from being top priority on the list haha
It’s warmer in the summer so that could be an option 🙂
Iceland and seeing the northern lights is seriously on my bucket list! My husband and I typically take short trips so I’m glad it looks like we could accomplish a lot in 3 days!
Yes you can definitely accomplish a lot in 3 days if you plan it 🙂
I totally agree! You do the best to see as much as you can with the time you have. There is so much to see in Iceland. It is also so expensive, it is hard to stay for a long time. I was there for just three days as well. I basically only had enough time for Reykjavik and the Dynjandi waterfall.
Yes it is so expensive :-/ It’s the kind of trip that takes a lot of financial planning if you want to stay for a while.
I’ve been to Iceland and loved it. I spent one week doing the entire ring road – a lot of driving but we saw all the highlights. Enjoyed reading your post!
I would love to do the ring road next time. Glad that you got to see all the highlights 🙂