4 november 2006 in reykjavík, iceland
The one thing you CAN'T leave Iceland without doing is a trip
to the Blue Lagoon geothermal
spa. It is really close to the airport, so is a nice afternoon drive (about
40 minutes) from Reykjavík. We will be having brunch there the morning
after the wedding, so bring your suit if you haven't made it into the
lagoon before Sunday. The locals and tourists alike frequent the Lagoon
all throughout the year, so you may want to visit more than once. Massages
and spa treatments can be booked online in advance.
Another nice day trip is a visit to the original geyser (the
only word derived from Icelandic that is used in the English language)
and the surrounding park area, including Gullfoss,
Europe's most powerful waterfall. This site is about 2 hours (driving)
from Reykjavík,
and tour
groups leave
from the hotels all the time. It is also a nice drive if you have a car,
but the roads can be a little rough so bring Dramamine if you are prone
to motion sickness.
A really fun thing to do, if you like horses, is to take a little riding
tour on an Icelandic horse.
They are super small, and actually have one more gait than all the other
horses of the world. A very nice facility is Íshestar
Riding Tours. You can get add-ons via Iceland Air if you build your
own packages, and this is the company they use. It's fun even if you've
never ridden a horse before.
There are also whale and bird watching tours, which leave from lots of places near Reykjavík.
Finally, one thing we hope to organize is a fun trek out to the glacier in monster
jeeps to snowmobile. More on that later...
Keflavík (airport) to Reykjavík city centre: 32 miles
Reykjavík to Blue Lagoon: 32 miles
Blue Lagoon to Keflavík: 17 miles
Reykjavík to Selfoss (Geysír and Gulfoss): 78 miles