Iceland 2019 - Part I with Travel Tips

Happy September, everyone!  Summer is over unofficially (even if it's not yet the September Equinox) because school has started.  BB and DD headed back to school on Tuesday.  DD started middle school this year which means the boys are in the same school once again.  For our end of summer vacation we went to Iceland.  Since coming back last week, we've been busy picking up school supplies, new clothes and shoes.

Before too much time lapses, I wanted to share some photos and a loose itinerary.  Iceland can be whatever you want from a relaxing layover to a super adventure.  We fell somewhere in the middle combining very chill days with days packed with sights.

A few things to note...

• In August, Iceland is relatively warm (mid-50s) and very comfortable.  We wore layers.

• Summer means there can be 20+ hours of light.  During our trip, the sun was rising around 5:30 or so and setting around 10PM.  We loved the amount of daylight in the summer.  Our vacation rental had a gorgeous window view overlooking the water.  On most nights I sat with a cup of tea watching the red sun melt into the ocean.  To take advantage of the weather and daylight, some of the geothermally-heated pools are open until 10.  The ice cream parlor downstairs from us was open until 11:30PM every night.  As you can imagine, the kids took advantage of the pools and the ice cream.  With a 4-hour time difference and the long days, we didn't try too hard to adjust to Iceland time.  We just let the kids stay up later than usual and wake up naturally.  This worked out well.

• Our Iceland vacation was a bit of a last minute decision.  Things book up very quickly in Iceland so we stayed in one place in Reyjavik for the entirety of our trip and did day trips.  If you want to drive the entirety of Ring Road, you will need to move and make those reservations early.

• Lots of flights get in early in the morning.  I've heard that people sleep in their cars or go to the Blue Lagoon (more on that later) to relax before being able to check in to their hotel in the afternoon.  This just did not sound appealing to me so we booked an extra night at our place which allowed us to check in right away.

• A car is essential.  There are tour operators that you can use for day trips but for maximum flexibility, a car is a good idea.  We rented a manual(!) SUV.

• Food and gas is extremely expensive.  I'm saying this as someone who just came back from London.  Just understand this and you will be ok.  Restaurants and cafes are probably around double the prices of what you would pay in the U.S. A fast casual meal for C and me cost about $65.  Grocery prices are more reasonable if you have a kitchen to prepare some of your own meals.