This was probably one of my favorite countries so far; my only wish is that i was there for more than 4 days.
The trip started out with an overnight flight from JFK to Keflavik. We arrived at 6 am and ate icelandic breakfast in the airport (skyr (yogurt), and salmon on toast) while we awaited a 9 am bus that would take us to the Blue Lagoon directly from the airport. The blue lagoon is a huge pool/hot spring at the base of a volcano, heated naturally. So even though the air was 22 degrees, the water was a solid 90. I was told by locals this place was a tourist trap, but I personally loved it and it was my favorite thing to do in iceland. There are also steam rooms and suanas there for free, and the facilities are extremely clean. We opted for the $45 deal that includes a towel and a drink. Nothing I've ever experienced was quite like champagne toasts at sunrise in the blue lagoon. It is located directly between the airport and Reykjavik and we got a deal for $20 through bustravel iceland that brings you from the airport and then picks you up later on and brings you to your hotel. Also at the blue lagoon was an area to stow our luggage for a few dollars, so it was clear they cater to people coming from or going to the airport. this is definitely something you do on your first or last day in Iceland.
As far as other excursions we did northern lights and golden circle. Golden circle (Gullfloss waterfall, the geysir, etc) is highly recommended by the Internet and locals but we weren't super impressed by it. There were alot of good photo opps but it was essentially 8 hours on a small tour bus and a lot of tourist sites covered in snow. If I had the chance, I would have spent the day on the glacier climbing and black sand beach excursion instead. The northern lights excursion was frustrating but amazing. Basically, every tour company in reykjavik gets together and they drive together to the spots where they think there's going to be activity. So a caravan of 11 tour buses filled with tourists driving around for 6 hours and randomly stopping places, including an old lighthouse, on the beach, next to a church, with 4 bathrooms. For about 700 people. That was rough. We didn't see the lights the first night, but when we went back the second night were very lucky to see them. Life changing.
We stayed at Fosshotel Baron, a very simple yet beautiful hotel right on the water with an amazing view of the mountains and water. While in Reykjavik, we wanted to hit as many of the local bars as possible. The first night out, we met some locals who showed us their favorite bars and then invited us out the next night as well. Our favorite one was Lebowski bar which was Big Lebowski themed, where they were spinning vinyl disco songs and served a good selection of beer and of course white russians, kaffibarinn which is the oldest bar in Reykjavik, and Hurrao which is a really local divey club spot with a dance floor and good music. We were advised to go there on a friday or saturday after midnight or else it will be empty, sure enough we went around midnight and it was just getting started. They were supposed to close at 4 however, they stayed open til 7. Boston bar was also a good time; they had good music, a ton of space and lots of locals too. Kex hostel was the coolest place I went to drink in terms of atmosphere and they have really good food there too. It's inside an old converted biscuit factory with some original decor and bookshelves. It was cozy, however, they close pretty early. The braised reindeer spring rolls there were amazing. When I go back to Reykjavik, I plan on staying here.
In terms of restaurants: they all seemed to be good, but DON'T go to cafe Loki for Icelandic food! It's a tourist trap with it's big letters and good location. Go to Islenka Barinn. The one on Google maps is closed and it just reopened at a different address so I'm not sure what the exact address was but it was by HARPA, and it has the best traditional food. The lamb stew and rye bread were really good. Check out burger joint (by the water, and more to-go food) and laundromat cafe for the best burgers. I think we hung out in laundromat cafe for a few hours, because it was such a interesting atmosphere. Psuedo american, hippie. Prikid for the best sandwiches. We came here on our last morning for the best, biggest brunch. Definitely try the hot dog with everything on it at Baejarins Betzu Pylser food truck, which is open til 3 am and made for very good drunken munchies. They will brag about the fact that Bill Clinton got a hotdog there once. Tapas has the most interesting cuisine- The tasting menu is the way to go since it has puffin, fermented shark, and Minke whale steak, amongst other things. Reykjavik roasters has the best coffee. The one place I wish I were able to check out was Grillmarkadurinn. Probably the fanciest restaurant in Reykjavik, and an unbeatable/intense 8 course menu. We overlooked all of this by not making reservations a few weeks in advance as we should have.
Overall it's an awesome city with a ton of street art and culture and young people. They locals we spoke to were very friendly and love Americans. Must sees in the city include: Hallgrimskirkja (pay to go up to the tower at sunset for best view), HARPA, Solfar (Sun Voyager) statue, and the Reykjavik Museum. Fun fact: there are no McDonalds in Iceland, and this museum contains the last happy meal ever served by McDonalds there in 2006. The meal is still fully intact with no mold. Ew. Hverfisgata and laugavegar are the main streets. I would recommend walk them both from baronsstigur all the way to aegisgata to get the full feel of the city. It's small and literally everything is walkable within 15 min. We didn't take public transport or cabs at all. Try a tópas shot at a bar. It's this weird vodka jager menthol licorice shot. If you like IPAs, Borg is the best and I also really liked Brewdog; Gull is the most popular beer but I thought it was terrible.
Everything there has weird hours. Most cafes have normal hours but restaurants open for lunch until 2 then close and open again at 6. There are only a few pharmacies and liquor stores and liquor has a 49% tax so beer tends to be a lot cheaper. Any liquor like bottles you may want for the trip I would definitely buy at Keflavik airport when you land because a bottle will be double the price purchased in Reykjavik. The Convenience store "1011" is one of the few things open 24 hours. That was pretty clutch on a random Thursday at 3 am because we got premade sandwiches and whatnot whereas weekdays most restaurants and bars will be closed by 1. Fri/sat bars are open til 4. Anything you buy there like souvenir or clothes has a 25%(ish) tax included in the price. So if you buy stuff there to bring home make sure they give you a tax form, you can later fill this out at the airport and get reimbursed for alot of the taxes you paid. Lastly: the hot tap/shower/sink water comes from the volcanos so it's sulfur based and smells like it... but I've never felt cleaner after a shower in my life.
