Iceland, November 2025
A couple of friends and I decided to take advantage of an Icelandair sale and go to Iceland for the week of Thanksgiving. It’s generally an inexpensive time to travel internationally and Icelandair has a really sweet deal where you can layover in Iceland while on a trip to Europe. We scored cheap tickets and while it was out of Denver, I made a couple mistakes booking the deal that I detail it in another post. We bought our tickets and waited out the months before taking off the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
We opted for Iceland and then onto Oslo, Norway for the trip in order to see the Northern Lights. One of my friends and I had gone to Alaska to see them previously, but weather prevented it. We decided it was time to make a go of it again and used the deal to pick Oslo in case we missed it again in Iceland and could fly to Tromso to see them there.
Getting into Iceland
Getting into Iceland was fairly unremarkable. We got in, got through border check, got the car I rented, and headed to the hotel. Our friend was already there, so after a bit of trouble with Apple Maps, we found our way with Google Maps. This was the second trip in a row that I’ve had this issue, where Apple takes me to the wrong place but Google does not. Probably time for a change.
First Day
Reykjavik
After sleeping a bit, we got up and walked around Reykjavik. We walked from our hotel to downtown Reykjavik. We stopped to check out some murals and went to the Hallgrimskirkja, the famous church in Reykjavik, to see the Leif Erickson statue and get a peak inside the church. Walking around there, we found some graffiti confirming that Wu-Tang Clan is in fact international and everyone loves the Wu.
We grabbed a quick meal where I had a fish soup that was more like a pieces of fish mixed in with mashed potatoes. It wasn’t my favorite, but the dark bread it came with was superb. From there, we walked to the harbor and walked along the water’s edge back to the hotel so we could head out to the Blue Lagoon.
Blue Lagoon
Blue Lagoon is a heated pool of geothermic water from the geothermal plant near by. It’s about forty-five minutes from Reykjavik and kind of posh. We booked tickets a couple months in advance and got in just in time for our slotted arrival. We got a premium package that came with the use of a robe, a couple drinks, and a trio of facial masks to try. Our hopes were to see the starry night sky, but it was kind of ho hum and while we saw some, it wasn’t the scene we’d imagined.
The pool was awesome. I’d been previously, but going at night when it was a lot less crowded was the right choice. We had a couple beers and tried the face masks. The whole pool is warm and despite the near freezing temperatures was comfortable to be in. There are certain spots that vent in hot water which were extra nice to sit and talk by.
All the pictures and hype you see for Blue Lagoon is fairly accurate. It draws a big, international crowd of tourists, and is really quite stunning to see. It’s certainly a place I’d recommend and while it may not be an every trip stop for me, I do enjoy it.
We finished up grabbing dinner in Reykjavik at a place called Tapas Barinn. I really dug it. Like Iceland, it’s kind of pricey, but one of the better meals I’ve had in Iceland. We also tried puffin there, which was fine. After, we headed back to crash out.
Second Day
Geyser / Gulfoss
We got up fairly early to try and make it out to our hotel on the Southern Coast. We drove out predawn, so like 8 am, to get an early start. After a failed attempt to hit a grocery store, it was too early, to get food for the day, we got some coffee and pastries and headed toward Gulfoss.
On the way, is Geysir. It is a few miles before Gulfoss from Reykjavik. This was my third stop there and I’ve never really thought it was too remarkable before this trip. It was a few degrees above freezing for this trip, so the geyser’s eruption quickly turned to Geysir and moved like a cloud away from the vent. This was pretty freaking neat to see.
Gulfoss, also my third time there, has always been incredible to me. There is a great story about taking on big business and stopping it from being a hydroplant. The site though is absolutely awing. Seeing it in winter and the frozen water splashed onto the rocks surrounding it was pretty impressive. We hung out there for a bit and my friends enjoyed the falls as much as I did, but we headed out toward the hotel.
Chasing Waterfalls
On the way to our hotel, we stopped at a couple of the bigger waterfalls. The first stop, we all got out and walked around Seljalandsfoss. It is one that in better weather you can actually go behind and look out from. This time though the cold weather had the area behind it closed off. There was another falls hidden behind a rock a bit further in that people were encroaching on.
Skógafoss has a few in the same area. Only two of us got out for this one though. This stop has a series of falls from the glacial melt above it. We walked down to each of the falls and got a look of them.
After, we stopped in Vilk to fill up and grab some dinner. We wound up getting black crust pizza, which has to be one of the strangest, weird-ass gimmicks I’ve seen. It wasn’t bad though and didn’t taste like all the black, volcanic rock in the area, so that was good. We went onto the hotel from Vilk.
National Park
We made one final stop at a National Park, Dyrhólaey. There, we explored the area a bit and got to check out some terrific views of the ocean and of the rocky coastline during the golden hour. There are a couple points in the park that we were worth seeing, including an arch by the beach.
Northern Lights
It got dark as we drove into the area our hotel was in. The goal had been to overnight somewhere we could possibly see the Northern Lights and to be close to get up and go to Diamond Beach and Diamond Lagoon the next day. While driving in, one of my friends mentioned he thought he saw the lights, so we pulled over and tried to take some pictures. We only really confirmed they were there and decided to drive a bit further to get out of the lights from the buildings further down the road.
We drove a couple miles and pulled over on a small inlet for a field. There, I sat up my camera gear and took some pictures. Doing so, required long exposures and I just suck at sitting still. We pivoted and used the roof of the car and had some better success, but I’m still not entirely content with the results. Either way, we got see the Northern Lights and I got to take some pictures of them. Next time, will certainly haul along a tripod and get a bit better with the camera so everything isn’t an autozoom picture.
From there, we went to the hotel, checked in, and grabbed a fancy ass meal. It did not have puffin. It did have a really good salmon though.
Last Day
Diamond Beach
We woke up early and went the twenty-five miles or so to Diamond Beach. It was cold and rainy that morning and as we headed west towards the beach, the rain turned to snow. This made driving a bit less comforting, but we managed to get to the beach without incident.
I had been there previously and it remains one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. It’s a black sand beach where chunks of glacier break off from the Jökulsárlón glacier and float downsteam to the ocean. There, the chunks wash up on the beach and look like shards of diamond. Walking around while it was snowing was extra rad.
This time, there weren’t nearly as many bergs on the beach as the first time I went, but it was impressive nevertheless. What was there was pretty big. My friends took turns avoiding the waves lapping in to jump on an iceberg and take pictures as if they were riding it. We saw a lone seal in the water at the beach as well. No one rode it.
Diamond Lagoon
Right next to Diamond Beach, a bit more inland, is Diamond Lagoon. It, as you can likely imagine, is a lagoon with a bunch of icebergs from the glacier that have not yet made it to the beach. It’s really freaking impressive in the winter. There were a lot of bigger ice chunks in the lagoon and there is a walkway up to an observation section to get a view of the glacier as well.
While there, I slipped coming down from the overlook and took a spill. I banged up my elbow fairly good, but was fine overall.
Vatnajökull Glacier
We made our first stop to see a glacier after the lagoon. It’s a small hike to the glacier and Vatnajökull isn’t really accessible from where we were. That said, we were able to get near it and climb up the area around it for a good view. It was still cold and rainy.
The magnitude of the glacier was impressive. It also had a lagoon of glacier melt, but no where near as impressive as Diamond Lagoon is.
Mýrdalsjökull Glacier
From Vatnajökull, we enjoyed the drive back towards Reykjavik and stopped at a second glacier, Mýrdalsjökull, right before the onset of dusk. We walked a bit down to the glacier. The glacier melts to a stream that cuts through the scenery. Closer to the glacier, you can cross the stream and actually get onto the glacier.
There were several tour groups that had been doing glacier walks with crampons and axes and helmets coming off of the glacier. That probably should have been indicative that we should use some precaution and gear up, but we are dumb.
We got out onto the ice and took some pictures. We climbed around a bit and marveled at the enormity of things. We walked around on it and hopped from spot to spot. It was a lot of fun.
Getting out onto the glacier was a huge highlight of the trip. I think all three of us listed it as the best or second best thing on the trip. It made the trip worth it for me.
Northern Lights, Again
We had an early flight out to Oslo in the morning, so we headed to our hotel near the airport. On the way, we decided to try to see the Northern Lights again and get better pictures. It happened to be visible, so we drove a bit toward an area that was pretty dark to take pictures.
I got out and we did the car roof thing again. I got some better pictures this go around, including some that look like they’re exploding out of Reykjavik. We tried to get certain stars in some of the pictures.
Overall Thoughts
I can’t say enough good things about Iceland. It’s pricey and Icelandair isn’t the best carrier in the world, but I really dig their stopover deals. I wish they flew out of Texas, but shit, they make going to Iceland easy. The absolute best part of Iceland is the nature. I would implore anyone to go, rent a car, and just drive around the country.
It’s beautiful and unlike any other place I’ve been. Driving south near the coast, you will see rocky, volcanic terrain switch to moss-covered rocks switch to grasslands. There are spectacular things to see and do. Spending a day climbing on a glacier and getting to walk on black sand beaches that are spotted with icebergs doesn’t compare to anywhere else I have been. Again, I cannot say enough good things about Iceland. Go, it’s worth it.