January in Iceland

Two of my dear friends recently turned 50, and a group of us celebrated them with a weekend trip to Iceland. That sounds bananas, doesn’t it? But, as we learned, Iceland makes for a wonderful long weekend, especially if you’re flying from the east coast of the U.S. 

Our flight from Dulles to Reykjavik was only 5-6 hours, and Iceland is 5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. We flew out at around 8 pm on a Thursday night and landed in Reykjavik at around 6 am on Friday morning. We returned on Monday, leaving Reykjavik at around 4 pm and arriving at Dulles around 6 pm. We only had to take two days off from work, but the trip felt much longer because we saw so much and did so much!

We stayed at an Airbnb in the city center, and the lovely owner let us check in early. Her place was fabulous, too — three full baths, four bedrooms, a full kitchen and washer/dryer, and lots of intriguing artwork.)

We were right around the corner from some of the most beautiful street art, too!

We’d heard that everything in Iceland is expensive, and that certainly turned out to be true. But my friend had planned ahead and decided where it made sense to spend or splurge. And I’ll share those secrets with you! 

1. Don’t rent a car. We traveled in January, when the roads were lined with snow and ice, so I wouldn’t have felt comfortable driving. But the city is very walkable and extremely safe — I don’t think you’d need a car unless you wanted to explore the countryside on your own, without a tour group. 

2. Visit a local grocery store. Skip the 10/11 — stores that look like 7-11 stores in the States and are super expensive. Instead, walk to a Bonus or Kronan, where the real Icelanders shop. We had a refrigerator in our place, so we bought some fruit, cheese, milk for coffee, yogurt, and a birthday cake! In our bags from home, we brought crackers, nuts, energy bars, oatmeal, and sweets. (We had no trouble bringing dry goods into the country, but I don’t think you are allowed to transport produce, dairy, or meat into Iceland.)

We usually had breakfast and coffee in the Airbnb, grabbed something light during the day (Reykjavik has loads of delicious bakeries and famous hot dog stands), and ate dinner out. I’ll list some of my favorite places down below. 

3. Bring a water bottle. Icelanders are very proud of their water, and tap water is safe for foreigners to drink. Lots of restaurants have tap water available in a dispenser, so you can fill your water bottle and keep hydrated throughout the day. 

4. Buy all your booze in the duty-free shop at the Iceland airport when you arrive. Prices in that shop were comparable to those in the U.S., but wine, beer, and liquor are otherwise very expensive in Iceland. 

5. Consider skipping a northern lights tour and instead taking a taxi to the Grotta Island Lighthouse. We did that one night, and it cost about $55 round trip. Expensive, yes, but much cheaper than the tours. Plus, you can monitor the likelihood of seeing the northern lights (we used the MyAurora app) and jump in a cab when conditions look promising. 

The weather in Reykjavik is notoriously fickle Icelanders told us about 50 times during our trip, “If you don’t like the weather in Iceland, wait 5 minutes,” and we found that to be true   On several occasions we were walking in a driving snowstorm, and within a few minutes the snow stopped completely and the sky cleared. (Other times, though, the snow continued for hours.)

6. All that said, make sure you budget enough money to experience the wonder and beauty of the island. We visited the Sky Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon, and both were absolutely amazing. They were different from each other, too, so I recommend experiencing both even if you have limited time. 

Our friend booked us seats on a Golden Circle Tour Bus, where we visited a handful of natural wonders of Iceland. We learned that it’s much colder inland than it is in the city, but aside from the temperatures the tour was fascinating and showed us some amazing sights. My favorite was Thingvellir, which is a huge expanse of land buffeted by mountains (it’s between two tectonic plates) where the fist Icelanders met annually to decide on the laws for their new land. Those meetings eventually transitioned to downtown Reykjavik, and because of them Iceland is considered to have the oldest still-operating parliament in the world. 

We also thoroughly enjoyed the CityWalk tour, which is pay-what-you-wish. Our guide, Mo, was fabulous and gave us some good insights into the peculiarities of Icelandic culture. (Did you know that there’s a list of approved first names in Iceland? If you want to give an Icelandic child a name not on that list, you have to request permission from the official naming committee. Fascinating!) This tour was a great way to get acclimated to the city on our first day. 

7. Dress warmly. Reykjavik isn’t nearly as cold as you might think—during our trip, the temps were similar to DC’s winter weather—but we were outside a lot, and it snowed every day. Plus, much of Reykjavik is surrounded by the Atlantic, so the winter wind can be harsh. I wore jeans on top of tights and wished I’d brought waterproof pants. And my feet got very cold (despite wearing tights, ski socks, and waterproof boots), so I’d recommend insulated boots and multiple layers of socks. 

In terms of cost, here’s a quick breakdown of approximately how much I spent (in U.S. dollars):

• My flight on IcelandAir was $530 (I brought no baggage, just a personal item, but splurged on window seats facing the arctic circle in the hopes id see the northern lights from the plane)
• We stayed at the Airbnb for three nights, and my portion of the cost was about $500 — definitely a splurge!
• My dinner at Skal (glass of wine, delicious entree, and dessert) was about $55
• Coffee and a pastry was about $12-15
• Fish and chips and a local beer at Reykjavik Fish Restaurant was about $35

Speaking of money, we splurged on the Airbnb. But the location was fantastic—directly across a square from the Parliament—and the apartment was sparkling clean and spacious. We would much rather cobble together a lunch or dinner of cheese, crackers, fruit, and duty-free wine than stay someplace outside the city and splurge on every meal! 

Recommendations:

• CityWalk tour (pay-what-you-wish walking tour)
• Skal (delicious fish restaurant in a food hall, which is very common in Reykjavik; one of the best meals I’ve ever had)
• Reykjavik Fish Restaurant (amazing fish and chips and Icelandic fish stew)
• Braud & Co (coffee shop for takeaway)
• Kaffihus Vesturbaejar (we had coffee here and the cafe was lovely; the food looked delicious)
• The Handknitting Association of Iceland (if you’re going to buy a woolen souvenir, we were told that this shop sends all the proceeds to the Icelandic grandmothers who knit the sweaters and mittens for sale) 

So, would you consider a trip to Iceland in January?? Or does it still sound too cold?