So a couple of weeks ago on my birthday my partner announced that my present was a surprise trip to an undisclosed location. When we arrived at the airport last Thursday night I still had no idea where we were headed; an exciting adventure for someone who travels as much as I do. I thought maybe we were traveling to New York or perhaps even Montreal, the last thing I considered was a long weekend in Iceland.
As I later learned, Icelandair offers a number of great package deals for a weekend away. Add to that the fact Iceland is less than five hours from the East Coast and you have a winning combination.
My first impressions of Iceland are all positive. The city of Reykjavik is what I expected, a decidedly maritime capital with a tinge of salt air filling one’s nostrils. It’s winter so it’s mostly dark, but that hasn’t put a damper on our spirits. There is so much to do and see that it’s been hard finding the time to do it all.
I will write about all of our adventures, but for now here are some photos of our Iceland adventure.
That is quite a birthday present. Love the photos!
Wow! Images are incredible! Have a great long weekend – what a great present!
Nice surprise! Look forward to reading about the adventure…
Great photos, Matt. And kudos to LoperSpouse on a great birthday surprise!
Wow! What a great birthday present! Incredible photos. We’ve wanted to take advantage of some of the IcelandAir deals, but haven’t yet. This is motivation! Thanks!
What an incredible birthday present – can your partner perhaps suggest something similar to my husband? And amazing photos!
Nice one – you guys may be lucky and see the Northern Lights too, how great would that be? I’ve always wanted to visit Iceland after hearing so many good things from friends. How is the price level there now, has it become more affordable since the financial crisis? Hope the people there are moving forward, they have plenty to offer tourists in any case.
Didn’t get to see the Lights, too much cloud cover sadly. And no, not really that much more affordable. Getting there isn’t an issue, it’s in country that’s the issue.
Looks like you saw a few of things I did, when I was there in April! Isn’t it lovely? But what the heck is going on with that person in the rock tub thing? tell me more about that! hahaha :)
He was enjoying a nice warm tub. :) I was wondering how many people would notice him. he was very friendly for being mostly naked with a tour group surrounding him.
What an awesome birthday present! I love surprise trips and Iceland would have never entered my imagination. As I mentioned on Twitter I thought it was much further away from the East Coast. Love these photos and can’t wait to read more.
it’s definitely easy to reach and Icelandair has done an amazing job partnering with hotels of all kinds and tour companies to put together easy and fun long weekend packages. It’s how we made it there.
Thanks everyone! It really was a great surprise and present. I never would’ve guessed we were flying to Iceland. Still processing everything, but really enjoyed my time there.
Your photos are so amazing and make me want to visit Iceland myself! The waterfall is my favorite one.
Thanks Nina!
Excellent nature photography. Iceland is such an easy place to be, isn’t it…
Thank you and that’s an excellent way to put it. Yes, definitely an easy place to visit. Fell in love and can’t wait to return.
Incidentally looking at things from the point of view of being based in Europe, Icelandair run a really good and aggressive ad campaign as being the shortest (in terms of distance) route to the US – i.e. Oslo or wherever via Reykjavik to New York. You get a free stopover in the capital too and they are usually the cheapest ticket. It’s nice creative thinking, although reports are that Economy is a little basic (i.e. bring your own food and drinks a la budget short-hop airlines)
They do the same thing here with travel to Europe with a stopover included. We liked how well they packaged everything but you’re right about Icelandair. Buying our food was a little annoying on an international flight.
Lovely photos! Can wait to see/hear more. This is getting me pumped for my trip there next month!
Really excited for your trip, it’s a marvelous country.
I love Iceland. Your photos look amazing, sorry you didn’t get to see the northern lights. I guess you’ll have to visit again. Is that hot spring bath a secret location or do you mind sharing where it is located?
Not sure that I could tell you actually. I wasn’t driving and it was just a place where we stopped. it was on the tail end of the bay around Reykjavik though.
Thats what I thought. If its part of a tour the location is usually a secret. I was thinking of doing the Goecco tour before since they have a secret natural hot bath, but it’s secret location
No it’s not a secret, I just don’t know how to describe where it is
The pictures are simply breathtaking…so beautiful and inspiring…