[Road trip in Iceland] Day 1: Blue Lagoon, Bridge between two continents & Car rental

That’s it, in spite of the difficulties linked to the bankruptcy of our airline company Wow Air, we were able to be refunded one out of two tickets (procedure in progress) and to buy back (more expensive of course) other tickets to Iceland. Here we go for 14 days of roadtrip !!!!

Part 1: Travel Diary Part
2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Flight Paris => Frankfurt => Reykjavik

Wake up very very early in the morning at 4 am to take the first plane at 7:40 am. The trip lasts almost 6 hours in total, with a stopover in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. You really have to be motivated to come here. I didn’t sleep well on the plane, my bones are screaming “ow” all over the place. I’m very happy to have arrived. First observation/relief: it’s not that cold. 1°C, certainly, but our clothes are holding up. At the same time, there is no wind today so everything is fine.

Itinerary Day 1

To access this map on Google Maps, click here

Car Rental

We booked a 4×4 about 2 and a half months ago. Arrived on the spot, we realize that we had given them the time of arrival at 2 pm (by indicating our flight number Wow air), but now that we changed tickets, we arrived 1 hour earlier.

No problem, when we see that nobody comes to pick us up, we call the rental agency on the phone (with Free, communication to the EU is included in the package) – who picks us up 10 minutes later at the airport.

The employee of the agency brings us to the office, and there we see a hundred, but a hundred super clean cars, ready to be rented. In summer, it must be the factory! It took us only 15 minutes to sign the papers and to recover our 4×4. The inventory of fixtures was already made, we were told to take the photos of the damages not reported on the paper and to show them when we return the car.

It has a very easy to recognize color (mustard green). Because of many things bought for Iceland (and a kitchen box rented for the occasion), we have to add an extra suitcase, and we are delighted to have a huge trunk.

Bonus Supermarket

First stop: the Bonus discount supermarket, where tourists do their shopping before leaving on a roadtrip. Icelanders go there too, not only tourists. I took pictures of some products so that you can see the prices. Basically, when it doesn’t contain meat, the products are 50% more expensive than in France. When there is meat, it’s another story. For example: a prepared dish costs around 8€.

Not wanting to cook too much, we bought Chinese instant noodles, cauliflower (just to have some vegetables), bananas, eggs, water, Nutella and bread. 35€ in total for at least 6 meals. This discount supermarket can be found all over Iceland so there is no point in buying everything at once.

Bridge between two continents

The second stop is this bridge spanning two continents (type brú milli heimsálfa on Google Maps). That’s right, because Iceland is located on two tectonic plates. There are places in Iceland where you can go from the European continent to the American continent in a few seconds. And this place is one of them. The plates keep moving so the gap you see there will widen a few centimeters every year.

Nothing grows here

What strikes me is that there are very few trees here. The snow is melting and you can see “fields” of moss as far as the eye can see. One really wonders how the houses are still standing, protected by nothing at all, with such a wind.

Blue Lagoon

Last stop and it is the most relaxing: Blue Lagoon, a spa resort. It is so well known that everyone thinks of it as soon as we mention Iceland. It is on all the advertisements, at the airport. As it is very close to the airport, there are even free shuttles to go there, and the tourists go there at the beginning or at the end of their stay in Iceland. There are lockers for large suitcases if needed (about 7€/case).

As you approach Blue Lagoon, you can see the geothermal power plant right next to it – easy to recognize thanks to its steam columns.

The water is drawn from 2000m – it is very very hot, and is used to provide heating & hot water to the houses. This power station then discharges water into an artificial lagoon – part of which is transformed into a spa.

you can see a piece of this lagoon on the road

view on the lagoon from the Blue Lagoon café

Usually, you have to book the day before, but with the loss of tourists due to the bankruptcy of the airline company Wow Air, we were able to come the same day, at 4pm (you can see the availability on their website). The entrance fee is 87€. It will cost less if you come in the evening, but hey, if you don’t see the blue of the lagoon in the evening, it’s a bit of a pity.

The blue color of the lagoon is related to the presence of silica. It is a milky blue, therefore not transparent – that’s why we are asked to remove our jewelry (because if we lose it, good luck to find it – and contact with this water makes silver jewelry all black).

In order not to pollute the water, we are asked to wash ourselves – naked – first, then put on the swimsuit. The towel is provided (one towel only, so reserve it for the end). Between the changing rooms and the lagoon, there are only 5 meters but as it is 1 degree, it was a bit hard. But once in the water (between 36°C and 40°C), we are so happy.

A drink is provided in the entrance ticket, so there is a bar where you can get your drink (and drink while you swim). Then there is a silica mask bar, where we are given a handful of silica to spread on our face. Anyway, this water looks really good for the skin because my skin is very soft afterwards.

The depth of the lagoon varies from place to place, but it is between 80cm and 150cm approximately. There are many lifeguards and they are equipped with an iPad to take pictures – on demand – of tourists. Just ask, and the photos will then be sent free of charge by e-mail via WeTransfer. Many tourists come with their smartphone and bathe with it. But I think it’s better not to do that, because there are in addition to the hammam/sauna rooms, it would be a shame not to be able to enjoy them.

My verdict: clearly, I find it very expensive for what it is, but it feels so good to swim in such warm water, outdoors… especially after a long flight. Honestly, just a few snowflakes are missing ahahah 😀

Our guesthouse

It is while walking towards our guesthouse that the rain how to fall. Tonight, we sleep at Route 1 Guesthouse (Booking link) in the suburbs of Reykjavík, in Hafnarfjörður, the capital of the elves. Yes, Icelanders really believe in elves, we don’t joke about it.

There is nobody to welcome us but we had received the instructions by e-mail, we open the door with a code, the key of the room is in the kitchen, the breakfast is already in the fridge. The room is really well heated and clean. There is even a washbasin. The bathroom is collective but it is super clean. We cook quickly (Chinese noodles with cauliflower and eggs) then sleep. In short, I recommend, it costs 65€, much cheaper than if you stay in the capital

To read the rest of our adventure, it’s here

Part 2: Practical Tips

Today, we drove 90 km. Time spent in the car: 1h30

Budget

Transport : 355€/one way flight – bought in disaster (
1 week in advance), one hold luggage included at Lufthansa (Paris => Frankfurt => Reykjavík
)
Car rental : 1050€ for 2 weeks (insurance included) – I will do a separate article on this subject
Blue Lagoon: 87€/person – entry, towel provided, silica mask, one drink included
Bonus Shopping: 35€
Hotel : Route 1 Guesthouse (link Booking) – one double room with shared bathroom, 65€

[Road trip in Iceland] Day 1: Blue Lagoon, Bridge between two continents & Car rental