How to Spend a Long Weekend in Iceland
From some East Coast cities, you can get to Reykjavik in less time than it would take you to get to L.A.
I knew I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday Somewhere Else.
I love traveling (obviously) and, I wanted to memorialize the milestone and ring in a new decade in a place I had never been before. The one teeny issue with my plan was the infant baby. Our third daughter would be 13 months old, and I didn’t want to leave her and her two sisters (ages 2 and 6 then) for too long. So in short, something inspiring and exhilarating, but also close. Iceland checked all the boxes.
Since our trip five years ago, which was highly memorable and at the risk of sounding cheesy, totally life-affirming, I’ve been back three more times and keep finding more things to love about the Land of Fire and Ice. When people ask me for ideas on long weekend trips, I always mention Iceland. A few reasons why:
1. It’s closer than you think.
Direct flights from Newark take about five hours, and Boston even less. We took a Wednesday night red eye and arrived around 7 a.m., giving us a full Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before heading back Sunday morning.
2. It really feels far away.
As you descend at Keflavik airport, the rocky volcano fields look like what I imagine the moon does, but with more green moss. The country is filled with dramatic landscapes — waterfalls, geothermal hot springs, black sand beaches, glaciers — that make you feel like you’re not only in another country, but in a whole other world.
3. There’s something for everyone.
No matter how adventurous you are (or for some of us, aren’t) you’ll find activities well-suited. You love scenic hikes, or gearing up with crampons to pick your way across a glacier? You can do both here. But there’s also culture (art galleries, museums, a music hall), wellness (spas, a robust and serious bathing culture) and a solid food scene. And it’s easy to experience it in just a few days.
Below, I’m sharing some ideas for how to spend a long weekend in Iceland, from geothermal hot springs to Icelandic hot dogs.
PS: If you’ve been lately, tell us something you loved in the comments!
PPS: I wrote an Iceland packing list for Fortune a few years ago, here.
Drive the Golden Circle
Rent a car for a day or two to explore the country beyond downtown Reykjavik. To get a small but unforgettable taste of Iceland’s natural wonders, drive the Golden Circle. About 150 miles, the route will take you to Geysir, which shoots boiling water into the air every 8-10 minutes, Gullfoss waterfall, Kerið, a vibrant-hued volcanic crater, and Thingvellir — Iceland’s first national park — where you can see þingvallavatn (Thingvallavatn), the country’s biggest natural lake, and Öxarárfoss waterfall. You can also scuba dive in the Silfra fissure, clear glacial water in a rift between the North American and Eurasian plates. (I, uh, did not do this.) Make time to stop at Efstidalur, a charming little dairy farm that sells fresh ice cream. (I totally did this.)
Soak in a geothermal lagoon
The Blue Lagoon is the most famous of the country’s geothermal spas, and I love it there (especially The Retreat, which you can access via day pass or overnight stay.) It’s sadly closed at the moment — the Reykjanes Peninsula where it’s located has been wracked with earthquakes for the last few weeks and will likely see a volcanic eruption. But keep it at the top of your list. And if you happen to be heading to Iceland soon, you can try one of the dozens of others, like the Secret Lagoon in Hvammsvegur, the country’s oldest natural pool, about 60 miles east of Reykjavik.
Soak up some culture in Reykjavik
The compact coastal city has plenty of cool cultural draws, including the National Gallery of Iceland, with a ample collection of Icelandic art, Harpa concert hall (it’s worth passing by just to see the building, which was inspired by the Northern Lights), and Hallgrímskirkja, the striking church designed to look like Iceland’s volcanic landscape. There you can take the elevator to the top for some amazing views of the city.
Also, I just talked with interior designer Sheila Bridges about her love of Iceland for Vogue, and she told me the Listval Gallery is her favorite for affordable local art.
Eat fresh Seafood, homegrown wasabi, and a hot dog
For a chilly and remote country, Iceland has a long list of culinary specialties, plus stellar bakeries and cafes, and a handful of Michelin-starred restaurants, too. Spots around the city serve dishes that include puffin, horse (~whispers~ it’s very good) and fermented shark. But I’m here for the fresh seafood like cod, salmon, and lobster, which you can also find on menus virtually everywhere. A cool thing you can add to the plentiful seafood: many local restaurants serve Icelandic Wasabi, which is grown in a high-tech greenhouse in the eastern side of the country.
My favorite baked good on earth is the cinnamon bun at Brauð & Co, and BakaBaka is also churning out excellent pastries in the morning, plus wood-fired pizzas, pasta, and natural wine at night.
On the fine dining front, Moss inside the Retreat hotel just earned its first Michelin Star earlier this year — well deserved for the plates of hand-caught diver scallops, local beets with blue cheese snow, and fresh lamb. Post-dinner petit fours are served on a hunk of black lava rock. Also, I wrote an ode to their Skyr-whipped butter because it’s perfect. I haven’t been to Ox, but I trust travel writer Nick DeRenzo, who called his recent visit “one of the most outrageous dinners” of his life. Check out his highlights for the fun play-by-play.
Stop into Omnom’s ice cream shop for the homegrown chocolate brand’s whimsical frozen treats. And you can’t leave the country without buying a hot dog. Visit the Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur shack in town, and get it with the works.
Shop on Laugavegur
You can start on Laugavegur, a main drag lined with boutiques, design shops and galleries, and fan out from there. Some of my favorite stops are retro candy shop Vínberið, Kirsuberjatréð (The Cherry Tree), a design shop stocked with home goods and gifts helmed by 10 female artists, and, don’t laugh, Bonus. The no-frills grocery store has an aisle of Icelandic edible souvenirs, including Saltverk salt (harvested in the country’s Westfjords, flavors like birch smoked and Arctic thyme), Omnom chocolate bars, and all sorts of Icelandic licorice.
My family and I spent 2 weeks in Iceland earlier this year traveling the ring road and we’re already planning a return trip next summer. This time we want to explore the West Fjords and spend more time in Reykjavik, I can’t wait!