Reasons to visit Iceland more than once

When I first visited Iceland back in 2011, some people thought that I was a bit crazy. Why would I go there when it is so cold, and expensive? I would say that I was one of the first few handfuls of travel bloggers to visit the island nation and honestly I have been thinking about visiting again ever since, because although pricey it was stunning. The landscapes were beautiful, the people were wonderful and the history was epic.

Now more than six years later Iceland has become almost a cliche, like some might consider visiting Paris, London or New York to also be. Pretty much every travel blogger that I know has been there and a few non-travel blogging friends as well. Especially with Wow Air and Iceland Air offering insanely cheap flights from Europe and North America combined with stop over deals it has really become quite an appealing please to visit.

Often in this industry of travel blogging people travel to add more and more countries and continents to their ever growing list. Although I once dreamed of visiting every country in the world, my ideas have now changed and I am much more of a “like a place and visit it again and again” kind of traveler then just hitting up every destination possible and only once. I realize that this will take myself much longer to see the world but it helps me appreciate the places that I find and love them even more.

Here are some of my reasons to visit Iceland more than once:

image credit Iceland Tourism

Catching the Aurora Borealis in Iceland

To finally see the aurora borealis

With all of the traveling that I have done it’s surprising to even myself that I haven’t yet seen the northern lights. When I was in Iceland before I went on a tour and attempted to go two more times while there to see them but bad luck fell on me and it was cloudy every night of my trip. When I visited the Yukon, I was there in the summer so the sun never really set enough for me to see them and aside from a quick trip to Southern Sweden I haven’t spent much time in other Nordic countries (or Russia) to see them yet.

image by Stephanie Yoder of WhyWaitToSeeTheWorld.com

A tasty meal in Reykjavik

To explore more of Iceland’s food scene

When I visited in 2011 food tours weren’t really a thing yet like they are now. While there I self guided my food tastes around Reykjavik. I tasted horrible fermented shark, I ate huge hot dogs and slices of pizza with ginormous cans of pepsi, I did a brewery tour and I think I had sushi one night too. Not really the best highlights of the Icelandic food scene I am sure. However with a quick google now in 2017 I can see that there are some tasty looking food tour options out there and I am dying to get back there to try them out.

image by Stephanie Yoder of WhyWaitToSeeTheWorld.com

Pingvellir National Park

 

To explore more of the country side

I would really like to explore more of the countryside and take more Golden Circle trips in Iceland. Previously I had taken tours that quickly showed us some beautiful sites like the Pingvellir National Park where you can walk between the continental plates of North America and Europe. But did you know that you can also go snorkelling between the plates and that it is said to be some of the most crystal clear snorkelling in the world? I would love to go back and do that. I would also love to spend more time checking out the geothermal spots in Haukadalur where you can see impressive geysers.

Hanging out in front of the Eyjafjallajokull Glacier

To explore the glaciers or whats left of themWhen I visited in 2011 I got to get up close to the Eyjafjallajokull Glacier. The same one whose volcano massively erupted in 2010 causing insane travel delays for people coming and going from Europe. I remember visiting and our tour guide saying that the glacier had drastically receded in recent years and he pointed out an area where it use to reach to. Even as I stood there next to it I could see it melting rapidly so much so that I could put my hands under its edge and drink from it. I would love to visit again to see how much it has changed now and also to explore the others and even do a glacier hike that I was too intimidated to do previously.

image credit Iceland Tourism

Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall and mount Kirkjufell on the west coast of Iceland

To rent a car and drive the Ring Road

The Golden Circle is the most popular route for tourists in Iceland because it is located close to Reykjavik and can be done quickly in a day or two. The Ring Road in Iceland however covers a large circle of road almost around the whole perimeter of the island / country. It is of course meant to have even more beautiful waterfalls and epic scenery then the Golden Circle as well. For some awesome tips on exploring the Ring Road you can check out my friend Matt, The Expert Vagabond’s post HERE.  The road covers about 800 miles and you should give yourself about a week to explore it all by camper van or by going from farm stay to farm stay rental along the way.

When will I get back to Iceland however? At the moment I am not sure, but I do know that it can’t be soon enough.

Have you been? Is it on your list to visit again? What would you want to make sure you see and do next time?

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