Thong and I have planned to go to Iceland for a couple of years now. We finally got everything all set and flew from Newark, New Jersey to Keflavik, Iceland by Iceland Air. Business class on Iceland Air is quite nice. I love the thin but extremely warm and light comforter. The food was really good and the seat reclined quite far so we both had a good nap before landing in Keflavik. When flying on European ailines, you can bid to upgrade to business class and usually you’ll know 24 hours ahead of your flight if you get the upgrade.
One quick word about the European budget airlines like: Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Vueling. The tickets are really cheap. You are only allowed one carry-on and one personal item (purse, backpack, computer bag). Some airlines don’t allow carry-on without pay. You do have to pay to pick your seat. The european carry-on is much smaller than the carry-on allowed on the US airlines. The maximum height is 19 inch vs 22 inch. The maximum weight is 10 kg or 22 lbs. I am a very good packer. I can pack as many things as needed in the 19-in carry-on. But I max out on the weight way before the space in the carry-on. One thing around it is for me to pack my husband’s carry-on and minimize his stuff so I can have half his carry-on for my stuff!
The bus from the airport to downtown Reykjavik took about 45 minutes. Ticket can be purchased one-way or round-trip, online before your trip, or even on the bus that day. There is wi-fi on the bus and USB port on the seat to charge your phone. It was raining and very windy the day we arrived. The wind was so strong, we could feel it rattling the bus side to side. The airport bus stopped at the BSI bus terminal. It would take about 15-20 minutes to walk to our hotel but not in the rain or with the wind. We took a taxi. My phone fell out of my jacket without my knowledge and when we checked in, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Thong called my phone and the taxi driver answered and agreed to bring it back to the hotel after his next ride. I was so thankful otherwise I would have no pictures for this blog!
We stayed at the CenterHotel Laugavegur in a very central location in downtown Reykjavik. This hotel is brand new, at a great location with excellent service and a great breakfast buffet. One drawback is the light in the room was so dark, we had to turn on the flash light on the phone to find anything. After checking in, we decided to take the day to walk all over Reykjavik, taking in the sights and sampling the foods . It would have been much nicer if it did not rain and the wind was not so strong. But it was fun.
We were in Iceland for 4 days. We signed up for 3 day tours. It was raining and windy and cloudy all 4 days. We did not plan to do a Northern Lights tour. On the second tour, a few people on our bus had signed up for the Northern Lights tour that day. The next day, we ran into them again and they did get to see the Northern Lights with pictures to prove. Oh well, we’ll have to go to Greenland or Finland or Norway next time to see the Northern Lights. The older tour guides did not really think well of the Northern Lights chase! But that was the first question everyone asked about when we told them we went to Iceland! There are quite a few of other things to see in Iceland too, as you will read in my next posts
