Meggan's Iceland Road Trip - Mountains, Waterfalls and a Chipped Windshield, oh my!

Tune in as Meggan recaps her two-week Iceland road trip, including how to save money in Iceland, things to do, places to stay and her experience with their car rental!

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Meggan: 0:00

Hey everyone and welcome back to the travel mug podcast. I am Meggan joined as always by Jenn. How are you today, Jenn?

Jenn: 0:07

I am doing well, but I'm hot. We are in a heat warning.

Meggan: 0:13

We are indeed. It is warm here in Halifax as well. So I think honestly, like a lot of the planet. So

Jenn: 0:23

Yeah. For sure.

Meggan: 0:24

indeed. So let's talk about something a little bit cooler.

Jenn: 0:27

Yes. Let's do

Meggan: 0:29

Alright, so today's episode is a recap of my most recent trip to Iceland, and there is a lot to unpack, so to speak. Please know for any listeners that any place pronunciations in this episode will likely be wrong or off, and I do apologize in advance. But if you hear of a place during the episode you'd like to hear more about, please do DM us on social media. We can talk a bit more about it and I can provide like spelling details of these places if you wish to know more and to look them up.

Jenn: 0:58

Yes. I'll try to make sure that they're right in the podcast transcript as well. If you're watching on the YouTubes, you'll be able to see the transcript, so hopefully we'll get there.

Meggan: 1:08

Excellent!

Jenn: 1:09

Yeah. All right. Well, Meggan, let's start at the very beginning, which is a very good place to start with your flights. What airline did you fly with and how did it go?

Meggan: 1:22

So yeah, flights. We flew with Air Canada and overall everything went very smoothly. I would say the only not great trend that I noticed was actually on our first leg, Halifax to Toronto. It did feel very much like people sort of were every person for themselves on that leg of the trip, for some reason. So when it came to boarding, carry on luggage, and also deplaning in Toronto, some people were actually late for their connection. And I'll explain why in a moment. And they were needing to get off faster. And so many people who were not late for their connections stood up anyway, and And just kind of stood in the aisle waiting for their turn to exit when everybody heard the multiple announcements of, okay, if you're not in a rush, please stay seated. So that was kind of unfortunate. And a lot of the reason that we were late leaving Halifax was because people are bringing far too much carry on luggage. They're not wanting to check it, and then they're having to check it anyway in the end because there's simply no space. And this actually just ends up taking 30 to 45 minutes longer. So I think really don't bring as much carry on. There's not as much trouble with luggage and airlines themselves need to sort of figure out how to prevent these kinds of delays. And really it comes down to as well as a little bit of selfishness, I think on people's part. Not wanting their own trip to be delayed, yet not thinking in general how their carry on could actually delay the whole flight anyway.

Jenn: 3:04

Right, yeah, that's definitely not an ideal situation, and, yeah, I feel like fixing the airline industry could be an entire episode, but yeah, it's rough out there.

Meggan: 3:15

It is, it is. So we did fly Halifax, Toronto, Reykjavik and landed in Iceland on time. Like the Toronto Reykjavik connection was fine. On our way home we flew Reykjavik. Montreal and then Halifax, things also went smoothly there, except everyone seemed to be sick. So we did both end up ill once we got home, me only mildly, and Peter ended up with a bad cold, but kind of the price of flying these days, if you're not, if you're not masking and maybe that doesn't even help, I mean, it could happen. So that's that, that is air airline travel. Thanks to a dear friend, we were able to use Air Canada Maple Leaf lounges in Halifax, Toronto, and Montreal. And honestly, I don't know how I will ever go back. It is amazing. Like, you envision it being nice. But if you can do it, you must do it. I highly recommend. Because it really turns out just to be a calmer space.

Jenn: 4:12

yeah.

Meggan: 4:13

You can get away from the larger crowds of people and the atmosphere is just nicer. Plus there's free food, alcohol and other beverages. So yeah, and I would say if I had to rate them Toronto was the biggest, of course, the international lounge. Montreal had the best food, which was domestic. And Halifax was quaint and small and I found them all to be surprisingly busy. I don't know why we felt maybe it would be exclusive. But it really wasn't, it was quite busy. And apparently in Toronto, my friend told me that if you fly business class, I believe you actually have a whole separate lounge for that where you sit down at a table and you're served a three course meal.

Jenn: 4:56

my gosh, well that's fancy pants.

Meggan: 4:59

I know, I may never know about it, but it's nice to hear about it, I

Jenn: 5:02

Yeah, I was worried that it was going to be amazing because like, how do you go back to flying with all of the other people sitting in the airport? Oh no.

Meggan: 5:15

It's going to be rough going forward, that's all I can say. And these special passes also included priority check in, boarding, and priority luggage. So our luggage actually came out first, and for anyone Who has ever landed in Halifax, you know, bless their hearts. It does take what feels like a few days for the belt start after your flight. So that honestly was a huge perk. And the priority boarding was okay. Wasn't the biggest deal, but we don't put our stuff in the overhead bins. And I think priority boarding really benefits people who are paranoid about getting their stuff in the overhead bins.

Jenn: 5:52

That's fair.

Meggan: 5:53

Yeah, but overall, we were really grateful for the experience of the lounges. But yeah, it has ruined us.

Jenn: 6:00

Yeah. Totally fair. All right. So, you've landed in Iceland, you rented a car for this two week vacation, so who did you rent from? What was your experience like renting the car and how, how much was gas in Iceland? I'm curious.

Meggan: 6:18

Yes. Let's, let's unpack all that. So for our rental, we used Sixt. So S I X T we took a shuttle from the Reykjavik airport to the car rental location. It was about a two minute drive. We were the first drop off. They didn't end up having the kind of car we reserved. So we did get a bit of an upgrade to a bit of a larger car. It was nice. It was what they call a Corolla cross and it was a hybrid. Not plug in though. So gas and electric and it was nice. It did the trick. I do want to mention though, on the subject of gasoline it is, Extremely expensive. It was last time, but of course the price has gone up as it has gone up everywhere. And this trip, it was about 3 and 24 cents a liter throughout Iceland, which is pretty much, I'd say double per liter what we're paying right now in Canada. I think right now, as we record, it's 1. 74. So 3. 24 is quite a difference. We did exclusively use the gas station brand Orkan. They seem to have the most competitive price, but they're all fairly similar. If you're in a bind and for our American listeners per gallon, just to spell this out, it was nearly 9 American a gallon.

Jenn: 7:33

That's wild. That's so expensive

Meggan: 7:35

know is so expensive. And we did book our rental in early September, 2023. for June 2024. It cost us just under a thousand for the full two weeks, and we did not take their insurance. So that's the cost without the insurance. More to come on that later. So simply, that was the amount for the car rental.

Jenn: 7:56

Gotcha. That seems reasonable to me. For weeks. Yeah. Okay. I don't rent a lot of cars, but it sounds

Meggan: 8:02

It wasn't bad. It bad at all. No.

Jenn: 8:05

Alright. You've landed. You've got your wheels. Where did you go? What did you see? I'm very excited to hear about this.

Meggan: 8:13

Yeah, so our first as soon as we got the car rental and we got sort of, like, situated in the car We had a bunch of places just south of the airport that we wanted to see that we didn't get to see last time. So there were some smaller sights to see, such as a really cool lighthouse. I'll never forget the feeling of when we got out of the car there. It was our first stop out of the airport. And just the feeling that washed over me, like I said, I cannot simply believe that we're back here. Like, it's probably the place I was the most excited, which sounds But it was the first stop. And I thought, wow, I can't believe that this is happening. So I'll always remember that. And a really cool footnote to that is when we took off to leave from Reykjavik at the end of the trip, Peter was filming it out the window. And the last thing we saw was the same lighthouse.

Jenn: 9:02

Oh, I love that.

Meggan: 9:03

I know, I know. I know. And it was a really cool footnote on the way out for sure. So during the little trip there from the South, we saw a really awesome hot spring bubbling out of the earth as well. All of these things are located on Google Maps. They're really easy if people want to go check out south of the airport. Everything is listed on there as a site to see so you can definitely find it really easily. We then headed to our first stop. I do want to note because of the volcano, although we didn't get to see it and it wasn't really active while we were there, you cannot go along the road when we were there in June 2024 to get to our next stop. So we actually had to double back.

Jenn: 9:44

Oh, no.

Meggan: 9:45

Yeah, so had to double back, almost drive like by Reykjavik, and then circle around to our destination. So it was additional kilometers on the car, which didn't matter, but it actually was extra time than if we had been able to go south. So our first stop was the Black Beach Guesthouse for one night, and it was in Þorlákshöfn. So the check in was 2 p. m. A lot of the reason we booked it was because of that. We knew that we would be tired, so we did easily check in there. It was self serve. There was no check in desk. We got a code in advance. We would let ourselves in, and we did sleep for a few hours, and then we did a long uh, And what I'm going to call very hard trek into a free geothermal river. So there's no cost there except the parking, which was about $9. And we were there probably, I'm going to say three, three and a half hours. So the walk in was very hilly. I'm going to, I work out a lot, like I'm not unfit, but I was also very exhausted. So I think that played a part of it. Plus I ran into a Swedish woman on one of our little stops on the walk and I was like, oh, how was it? Because she was on her way out. And she's like, yeah, we didn't go the whole way. She's like, we got halfway and we asked someone how much further. And they're like, oh, about this much further. And she's like, we thought we were almost there. She's we didn't bother. And I'm like, oh my God, how much further is this? So I think she like toyed with my mind, not meaning to. But once we got there, it was like a really cool experience. There was like a little changing place. It was just, you know, it wasn't private. So you had to sort of let it all hang out if to change, which I didn't need to. But literally it was a geothermal river that people were just, you know, sitting in. Some people brought music and beer. We just, you know, found a more quiet spot. And we just literally sat in this geothermal river, which was just a cool experience. You can't find many places. The walk out of there. I, of course, being me slightly twisted my ankle and my knee hurt. But that's a me problem. Like, don't worry about You'll be fine. Peter had no trouble with this hike. He is a runner. But I think his body is a little less delicate than mine as well. So he felt great. So, I mean, those are the tale of two different people. The road in itself, very well done. Like it's very well defined. It's not even a path. It's actually a road. But there is loose gravel, so you do have to be very careful in places, especially coming down those hills that you don't fall. I'm surprised I didn't. And it's called Reykjadalur Thermal Bathing Pools. Jenn will put that definitely in the transcript so that you can see it, because it's worth visiting. I mean, it's free and it's really, really cool.

Jenn: 12:39

It sounds amazing. I would like sit in a geothermal pool right now.

Meggan: 12:44

Right, exactly. am very warm, but I mean, I still would be very cold.

Jenn: 12:48

Yeah.

Meggan: 12:50

The next morning we got up quite early, which was painful. And we headed about an hour and a half to the Westman Islands ferry terminal. So the Westman Islands are just south of Iceland, still part of the country of course. I think there's five or six islands, but only one is inhabited. The ferry cost us $160 Canadian return for two passengers and the car. It was very well organized. There was no confusion about where to go. It was very simple to do. Highly recommend. So while we were there, and the ferry ride over only took about 40 minutes.

Jenn: 13:26

Oh, that's not bad.

Meggan: 13:27

Nope, not bad at all. Some really great views. We went by other little islands that were very scenic. It was actually a really cool ferry ride. We did explore the island, of course, while we were there. Has some amazing history, including a volcano that erupted in 1973. And that was the, the worrying part about that volcano is that it was just spontaneous. No one saw it coming.

Jenn: 13:51

Oh, that's comforting. Love that.

Meggan: 13:54

Yeah. So our hope was let's enjoy it and hopefully we get off of this place,

Jenn: 13:58

Yeah.

Meggan: 13:59

Yeah, no troubles. Thankfully there's a beautiful golf course there. There's a really cool rock formation called elephant rock where it actually looks like a giant elephant. It was really neat. We saw puffins. There's a really great place to view puffins there. And of course, June, July, August, the perfect time to see puffins And fledglings as well. And we ended our night there at a brewery called Brothers Brewing. We had a really great time. We didn't expect the town to have so much in it there actually. And so we were quite surprised and it was a really great atmosphere, a lot of locals. So that was really fun as well. You can certainly take the ferry without a car as a walk on, but you're probably going to see a little less of the island if you only have a day if you're on foot, because it is about six to seven kilometers in length as well. So just keep that in mind if you are a walk on, but it's certainly possible. And as far as the volcano, you can actually climb up that as well. Peter did partial of it, but my knee, of course, was still hurting. So I didn't, but that was really interesting as well. And all the activities, of course, besides food and the brewing there, were free.

Jenn: 15:08

Nice.

Meggan: 15:09

Exactly. So, next up came heading further south and a little bit east. So our next location the place we stayed was called the Potato Storage. It literally was used to store potatoes back in the day. A family purchased it and they redid it and there's actually five dwellings there now where you can stay and the family that runs it lives right on site. They leave you completely alone but if you need something, they're there. And it was beautiful. The floors were heated. Everything had like a cabiny feel, but it wasn't, it was perfect. I, I really loved it there. And it was in a place called Svinafell. And on our way there though, because we had quite a drive from the ferry terminal. To the potato storage. We were able to see some waterfalls. We went to Glacier Lagoon. We went to Diamond Beach, which we missed last time, which is literally chunks of the glacier break off. And for some reason, a lot of them end up on this beach and it ends up looking like this diamonds that are are dotting it and I accidentally missed it last time. So I was pleased to go there we also went to the viewpoint for the endless black beach Which you could see on one side of the viewpoint And then the other side was the black sand beach that of course is famous near Vik as well. Overall, that day the weather was quite rainy especially at Diamond Beach and Lagoon. It was pouring. I was really glad we'd seen Glacier Lagoon before, so that we didn't have to stay and have our visit ruined. So that was a bit of a relief, but I mean, in Iceland, you just Do what you got to do.

Jenn: 16:49

Yeah, for sure.

Meggan: 16:51

So anyway, once we got to the potato storage, we checked in, we toured the property, which had horses and there was a nearby beautiful, like, purple blue lupine field. When we were there last time, we were too early for the height of the lupines,

Jenn: 17:07

Right. Mm.

Meggan: 17:09

year they were a smidge early. So we got to see them in all of their glory, and running through this lupine field was a glacier stream.

Jenn: 17:19

Beautiful.

Meggan: 17:20

I know, it like, it was like out of a complete dream. Iceland is a dream anyway, but even raining on this walk a little bit, we had our raincoats on, it didn't matter, but the rain there doesn't seem to matter when you're surrounded by something that is just completely breathtaking.

Jenn: 17:37

Yeah, for sure. Oh my gosh. I can't wait see those pictures!

Meggan: 17:41

the next day we visited the edge of the glacier itself, which was completely breathtaking. We also went to the national park because I wanted to see the waterfall Svartifoss. That was a bit of how do they say shitshow? Because we got there, we paid for the parking, which was $10, and it was good for the whole day. So without reading the signs, we took off, We don't ever do this, but we're like, the people are going this way, so we'll go this way. So we follow the people hoping to see Svartifoss. The land, however, is very flat. We're like, well, to see a waterfall, you should really be going uphill probably.

Jenn: 18:20

Probably. No!

Meggan: 18:24

reality. So we walk and we walk and we walk and we're walking and we're like, okay, well, what we're seeing in the distance is actually the same glacier like we just spent an hour at. So there was a, a worker cleaning up the grounds and we're like, is this the way to the waterfall? She's like, no, she's like, you're going to have to walk 30 minutes back to where you just walked from. Oh yeah, yeah, And then we are going to have to walk through the campground and up the hill. And I'm like, okay. So I was, my tummy was rumbling. We had sandwiches in our bags. We're like, let's go eat lunch, regroup. Later in the day, we came back. We're like, okay, we'll do Svartifoss now. We've, we've regrouped. So we head up the hill. And again, I'm talking up, up, up. It wasn't as far as the geothermal river. It was far enough though. So we get to Svartifoss. There's a sign. There's construction. You can't get down to the waterfall. Oh yeah, and I'm just like, you know what, this is hilarious, but I'm also very angry. don't care about this waterfall anymore. I just want to leave here. But I'm going to get some pictures because I have, I have made this trek. Several times it like. So we took pictures and Peter's like, Smile like you mean it!

Jenn: 19:42

No, I will not!

Meggan: 19:45

I'm smiling but I think my teeth are gritted. Don't get me wrong, It was lovely, I'm glad I did it, but I didn't get as close as I want to, but Check, check, I guess it's off the list. I don't know what else to say.

Jenn: 19:59

Yeah, I, no.

Meggan: 20:01

Oh, anyway, stuff happens. Not everything goes as planned.

Jenn: 20:05

It truly, truly doesn't.

Meggan: 20:07

No. So we stayed there two nights. We had a lovely stay. So everything so far up to this point has been one night, one night. two nights. So we get up from the potato storage on our last morning and we're heading further east and a tiny bit north. So we're going to a place called Vallanes. And to get there we actually had to go over, of course, some classic Iceland dirt roads. We get to the section of road where it says You know, you're heading onto a dirt road it's not monitored, blah, blah, blah, and we're both like, oh my god, we didn't know there was going to be a dirt road. But cars are whizzing by us going on it, we're like, okay, well this is the way we have to go, like, we need follow the road. Surprisingly though, because the roads are quite good when they're dirt roads, but there were quite a few potholes, we drove fairly slowly. Other people drove as if the road was paved.

Jenn: 21:01

Oh, no.

Meggan: 21:02

I don't know if they were locals, but bless their heart. But that was until we came and it wasn't recent, but we came across a vehicle that had to have been abandoned. It was like a Honda CRV or something and it's axles broke. Yeah.

Jenn: 21:15

Oh, that's bad. Yikes. Yeah.

Meggan: 21:19

And that was right around the time that we also got caught in some snow.

Jenn: 21:24

Oh! Some nice, some nice June snow.

Meggan: 21:27

Some nice June snow. That, that was my least favorite part, but I would say it was about 20 kilometers of that. So it wasn't crazy, but it was enough for me to be done with it very shortly.

Jenn: 21:38

I would have been very stressed about that, for sure.

Meggan: 21:42

Yes, indeed. Indeed. Indeed. And I'm gonna, I tried to remain calm because last time we were in Iceland, I got very stressed on the dirt roads and we were fine. So I tried to like play it so much cooler. And I said Peter later, how did I do? He's like, Oh, I could feel the tension a bit. He's like, but you did do better. And I was like, okay, good, because we're very in tune with each other's emotions. So any tension spreads very quickly and I'm trying to like hold it together. And I actually did quite well. So I was very proud of myself.

Jenn: 22:10

Good.

Meggan: 22:11

Yes, indeed. So then once we were done all that drive, we ended up at a cabin. On Modir Jord or Jord organic farms. It was amazing, private little cabin. While we were here, we visited a fjord town, which was nearby. I'm going to say about 35 minutes away. We had to go over a snowy mountain pass. It was on the first day of summer and we were actually able to make snowballs.

Jenn: 22:37

Fun.

Meggan: 22:38

I know, I know. It was very snowy and cold up there. We got out to take some pictures and we were like literally shivering. Like it was like December here. It was wild. It was, and we didn't know it was going to be so mountainy and snowy to get to this other town. So it was quite the surprise, but also kind of a fun surprise. It wasn't snowing. So I was calm.

Jenn: 22:57

Yeah.

Meggan: 22:58

It was just snow on the ground. So that was fine. And this town was called Seydisfjordur. We'll put it in the, we'll put it in the notes. And it is very Instagram ish. It is where I saw it, but it's so lovely. There's a beautiful rainbow road that leads up to a church, and it was beautiful. I am so glad I went to see it. There were enough people not on it, so you could actually get good photos of it as well. But another surprise there is that the town just ended up being the sweetest, most quaint town that we had a coffee, we relaxed in for a bit. And this is also the town where the only ferry from outside of Iceland docks. Of course, there's cruise ships, but this ferry actually is able to bring vehicles.

Jenn: 23:45

Right.

Meggan: 23:46

And we had seen a Swiss license plate at one point and we had no idea, like, how did you get here from Switzerland?

Jenn: 23:53

Like,

Meggan: 23:54

We were so confused, but then we saw this ferry and learned about it. We're like, okay, that makes a lot more sense.

Jenn: 24:00

Yeah.

Meggan: 24:00

So in this area, we also went to the reindeer park. So there are two adult male reindeer there. They were both rescued, so they weren't taken from their families. They were actually rescued reindeer. And there's also, at this point, there was a female baby reindeer. Her herd had been chased by a dog. And she unfortunately had been left behind, so she was brought to the reindeer park, and now she has imprinted on the owner and she thinks he's her mother.

Jenn: 24:30

Oh. Okay.

Meggan: 24:32

Apparently the first 27 nights he slept at the reindeer park with her.

Jenn: 24:38

Oh my God. Oh my

Meggan: 24:40

feed her like every few hours. And apparently when we were there, June 2024, he then was now taking her home at night with him. So she did. So probably so he could sleep. But so she could also be fed through the night as well. It was so precious.

Jenn: 24:55

Oh.

Meggan: 24:56

I know, I know. And there was also some baby Arctic foxes there. So Arctic fox is the only indigenous animal. to Iceland. And unfortunately, they're also hunted. So their mother had been hunted. The babies were brought to the park and they were going to be raised and taken care of there. So we were able to see them. They were a little, they were adorable, but they were feisty. But if my mother had just been Bambi'd, mom'd, killed, I wouldn't. I say, Yeah. So the reindeer park in total cost us $28 Canadian. And then after that we visited Vok Bath. So V O K. It's actually a series of geothermal pools that extend out onto a lake. Each bath gets warmer. And I think there were four or five of them. We spent a few hours there. We had a few drinks and overall the cost of two towels, drinks, and admission was around $200 Canadian, which sounds like a lot, and not that it isn't, but it's actually cheaper than some other spots as well. So just keep that in mind when you go. And we walked in, and they do take walk ins, so we didn't have to make a reservation. However, Their, their spiel is, yes, this is the price, please pay, and then we'll explain how it works.

Jenn: 26:10

Oh. Oh, okay.

Meggan: 26:13

So we'll tell you how it works after we've got your money. I'm sure you could make them reverse it, but it was an interesting sales tactic to have you already hooked in, but we did enjoy our time there. Lovely scenery. We don't regret it, but just keep in mind it was about $200 for two people. So that was two nights at the cabin as well. And then we headed further north near Akureyri, which is the second largest city slash town in Iceland. We'd been there before and we'd stayed this time, not in the city, but on the opposite side of the fjord at Sunnuhlid Houses. So this was a quick one night stop. We didn't have a ton of things planned, which You know, we're partway through the trip at this point. We kind of need a little bit of downtime. So we did go into Akureyri to go to the grocery store. We got some stuff for supper. We got a little bit of wine and cheese. We had a huge bay window there that overlooked the fjords. Some horses, boats were coming in and out. So we kind of just like played some music, drank some wine, and it was kind of what we needed at that point. And then the next day we got up, Checked out at checkout time around 11, and then we spent some time strolling around Akureyri. It was raining, so it wasn't as great of a stroll as it could have been, but we did visit a cafe where we had been on our last visit. We ended up getting a street hot dog from a vendor, and then we hit the road. So it was raining, we made the most of it. Again, that's kind of what you do. So that was just a more one night stay in an area we'd already been. And then we headed further north. So this would be, the next stop is our furthest north place, and it was called Brimnes Cabins that we stayed at, and it was Ólafsfjörður is the place that we stayed. Probably not, but that's That's what I'm going to call it. Now in this area, one of the main reasons for going is we did have thoughts of taking a ferry to Grimsey, which is where you can actually visit the Arctic Circle marker. You can stay on Grimsey. The only thing about that, though, is the ferry may not go if the weather is terrible.

Jenn: 28:24

Right. Then you could get trapped out there. Ooh.

Meggan: 28:28

not be able

Jenn: 28:29

Or not be able to go. But I feel like getting trapped is worse.

Meggan: 28:32

Yes, yes. But also if you've got no place to stay that night because you're going to be supposed to be on Grimsey.

Jenn: 28:37

Yeah. Yikes.

Meggan: 28:39

That would, so we did not plan for that, and we did not book the ferry in advance. I think there would have been space, but the one day we had time to go, it was very windy. I do get seasick, and I forgot to bring something to sort of combat seasickness. And in the north, of course, when it's super windy, that means that the temperature also drops, and I think that day it would have been around one or two degrees.

Jenn: 29:02

Yeah,

Meggan: 29:03

And we would have had to walk from the ferry terminal 45 minutes.

Jenn: 29:07

Nope.

Meggan: 29:08

So we, and, and the ferry was three hours each way, so I we made,

Jenn: 29:14

made the right call. You made the, you made the right call.

Meggan: 29:17

I agree, I agree. Maybe next time, I don't know. what we did instead is we explored the area. We were there for two nights. We went to a nearby town. We found a random black sand beach. We were literally just tourists checking out the local towns and sites. It was a really quite relaxing few days. We did nap while we were there. I know that at this point in the trip, you know, they're sleepy and there's exhausted, like body exhausted. And I think just because we had done so much, we were getting that at this point, like, ooh, cry me a river, but I do know that here we were able to relax a bit more. One really cool feature, though, of this cabin was the hot tub. So 90 percent of households in Iceland do not have a hot water heater because of geothermal activity. So when we got there, we were kind of excited about the hot tub, but we were thinking, like, Canadian hot tub. So when we arrived, the hot tub was actually empty. So we were like really confused, but of course there's instructions inside and we knew there were going to be instructions. So we read the well laid out instructions, which told us to turn some dials under the bathroom sink. And then there was a dial thing we had to turn outside. And what ended up happening is we actually just filled the hot tub ourselves with geothermal heated water.

Jenn: 30:38

Right.

Meggan: 30:39

We were able to adjust the temperature from inside so it didn't get too hot. And then all it did was the water continuously ran and there was a filter that didn't allow the hot tub to overflow. So the water just ran the whole time that we were in it and then when we were done, we would just turn the nozzle back outside the other direction and it drained. It

Jenn: 31:03

Like that's, it's like an outdoor, like, bathtub, basically.

Meggan: 31:08

essentially was. So we actually got out of the hot tub cleaner than when we went into the hot tub. Like, it was wild. So it's kind of ruined me for like chemical hot tubs.

Jenn: 31:19

Yeah, because I mean, I love a hot tub, but like, even like the smell of the chemicals and like the feel of it on your skin is like not great. So yeah, like basically an outdoor bathtub. That sounds amazing.

Meggan: 31:30

It really was. We definitely got in that both days. And it was really, really enjoyable. So that was, it was a lovely area and the north was beautiful. And that was just like a really great highlight of it as well. And we were there for two nights. So after we were done in that area, we had our longest drive of the trip. So we were heading from the north. To the west, and we were going to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. There, we had been before, but we decided to stay somewhere new and explore a few different places. So we stayed at the Sodulsholt Horse Farm and Cottages for two nights. They were beautiful. They're brand new. They're on a horse farm they again had the heated floors, had a dishwasher, our first dishwasher of the trip. Peter was very excited. I'm not gonna lie. Had everything we needed. They were lovely. The weather in this area was a bit iffy. Now, I talk about iffy weather, but really in Iceland it's exactly what you expect. And you just roll with it, but we didn't have terrible weather. It's just dodgy weather more than anything else. But it really honestly didn't stop us from doing too much. We did manage to revisit Kirkjufell mountain, which we had done before. We'd stayed. nearby on our last visit. And then the rain cleared for us to walk to see the waterfall that was also there we missed last time, which was called Grundarfoss. It was literally next door to where we stayed last time. So I don't know what we were looking at, what we were doing, but we didn't see it then. But luckily we caught our mistake this time. Thank goodness, because the waterfall was lovely. But this is also where, We had a really cool experience where we were walking up the walk in probably took us 15 minutes but you could see the waterfall the whole time. So it was a straight shot. It just took that long. And as we were walking up, maybe 7 or 8 minutes in along the base of the mountain beside the waterfall, about 20 or 30 icelandic horses in this giant herd raced along the edge of the mountain. We're like, oh, that's really cool. Not really cluing together. They were going where we were going. So anywho, we're managing this walk. We're dodging puddles. We're walking around. Of course, it's been raining. So we're trying to stay as dry as possible. And we turn the corner around this electric fence. And we're both like, we do not feel that those horses have a horse professional nearby. That's not us. That's for sure. And

Jenn: 34:02

That's,

Meggan: 34:02

no. And then B, are they behind a fence? So we kept walking a little further and I'm like, well, Peter, some of them are on one side of the little water the stream and some of them on the other. And the ones on one side aren't behind a fence. So therefore, to me. Logically, none of them are behind a fence. So we walk further and we're like, holy crap, to get to the waterfall, all the 20 to 30 horses were there. So there were people behind us, so Peter's like, let's play it cool and see what these guys do. So we kind of like, linger. And then these two people walk up behind us, walk right by us, as if they're going to the movies or something. And they're just going up to these horses, and the horses then all start walking in our direction. And that's it.

Jenn: 34:47

Mm-Hmm.

Meggan: 34:49

So we're like, okay, but the girl of the couple like pets, their noses, rubs their necks. She seems comfortable. The guy kind of walks back toward us and I'm like, wow, you're so brave. And he's like, well, not really. He's like, she's just comfortable with horses. He's like, just let them smell you. And then walk on by, like, don't panic. I'm like, famous last words. So I'm like, worked up. I do love horses, but of course they're, they're beasts that are way bigger and stronger than me. And Icelandic horses are a smidge smaller than what we're used to, but they're still really big.

Jenn: 35:23

Yeah.

Meggan: 35:24

So anyway, we just sort of stand there and, like, let them, like, walk by us. They smelled our hair, pulled on our coats, one bit my arm ever so gently. It did leave a bruise, but I'm also a peach, so I'm not holding bad feelings toward it. And then, I just had to, like, not panic, like, stand there, like, it was literally a scene from The Walking Dead where the dead people, like, would stroll by you, but you had to pretend that you weren't, like, worked up or moving, the horses were The Walking Dead, but anyway, they were, they were less smelly, I'm sure, but anyhow, it was beautiful, like, Icelandic horses, I don't know what it is about them, but they are just, gorgeous creatures. So it was one of the most magical yet terrifying experiences that I will never forget. And if we hadn't been there at that exact moment, it never would have happened. Like, you don't know.

Jenn: 36:14

Yeah. That's like the magic of travel

Meggan: 36:17

It really, really is. So anyway, the day that we left this area, which was the following day, so we had one more night there after our magical horse experience we did hike Eldborg Crater. So it was probably eight or nine minutes from where we were staying. The walk in was about 40 minutes, so the same out. And you're able to actually ascend the crater's edge. The crater was ginormous. It looks very intimidating walking up. How am I actually going to ascend this? But someone had sort of carved out makeshift stairs, so as you got closer you could see those and you realized it and it was well, well worth it. But I will say the walk in was quite rocky. It was a little bit mucky of course because it had been raining, not a huge deal. And to get up the crater, I'm going to say you have to be fairly stable on your feet because you have to have both hands available. There is a chain to help you, which I hung on to for dear life I'm going to tell you. So you must have your faculties about you. So it's just something to keep in mind if you are going to attempt it. We saw some like Fit but older ladies with like walking poles going in and I just thought this may not be for you. But anyway, I guess it's up to you to judge if you feel comfortable doing something like that

Jenn: 37:39

For sure.

Meggan: 37:40

And then finally we headed back into Reykjavik. So we were there for three nights We stayed where we stayed last time which was Nest Apartments We had sunny weather the entire time we were in the city. I know. Oh, I did also want to mention while we were in Reykjavik, we ran into my, one of my dad's best friends.

Jenn: 38:03

it's a small world.

Meggan: 38:05

I knew he was there, but like also what are the chances?

Jenn: 38:08

But when I was in Reykjavik on my honeymoon, I ran into one of my massage clients at that time in 2015. So like, I don't know, there's something about Reykjavik, I

Meggan: 38:21

Well, we're sitting on this bench and Peter's like, isn't that so and so? I'm like, it was very exciting. It was very exciting. So while we were there. We did a lot of walking. We did go to a cat cafe. We visited the area that we stayed last time. And one of our favorite cafes from last time, which is Cafe Rosenberg. I definitely recommend it. It's actually in the oldest part of the city. A lovely little cafe. We saw lots of street art based on your recommendations from your visits from previous. Because I remember saying to Peter, Jenn talks all about this street art. And he's like, I don't really remember any. I'm like, me either. But we looked and there's tons. Oh my god, I don't know, we're just idiots. But anyway, we found it this time, we're all good. We did see some kitties, which of course Reykjavik is well known for, just like street cats, but they're belonged to people. So, we saw lots of kitties. And we also visited the spot where Reagan and Gorbachev met in 1986. To, you know, have a meeting to prevent nuclear war.

Jenn: 39:22

Important spot then. Yeah.

Meggan: 39:24

It's in a very important spot. Peter actually had seen the news at that time. It was something he was really aware of from his childhood, so it was important for him to see. So that was really cool as well. The doors were open and people were kind of coming in and out. So we're like, maybe we can go in. And so we went up to the doors and guys like, I was like, Oh, okay. Fine then. We visited some parks. There's a lake in the middle of Reykjavik. Lots of birds there. We also went there. We did eat at a restaurant. I'll cover food in a moment. In Reykjavik, we chose one. But honestly, it was just meh. I don't recommend it, so I'm also not going to mention it because, you know, there's no need to downplay. It just wasn't for me. Another thing I'd like to not recommend is the newly installed Ferris wheel down by the dockside. So it is a smaller version of, like, the London Eye. It cost us $60 Canadian for two revolutions.

Jenn: 40:22

Yikes. Yeah, that, that's expensive. Is it like an outdoor, like you're sitting on a Ferris wheel seat or are you in like a pod?

Meggan: 40:31

You aren't even in a pod, it's not big enough to be in a pod, you're in a ferris wheel seat. Anyway, it was only open like a week before we got there and I, Peter was okay on it and I was like, no, let's do it! And then we get off and I was like, yeah.

Jenn: 40:47

Sorry. Yeah.

Meggan: 40:49

Another $60 down the drain. At that point it didn't matter, honestly I didn't care anymore, I'm like. Of course it cost 60. And where we spent some of our evenings as we went to the bar called Vedur, V E D U R. We went there a few times, we enjoyed it. Make sure for any bar that you wish to go to that you check out when happy hour is for beer, wine and cocktails. Oftentimes beer and wine is together, happy hour for that ends, and then it's cocktail happy hour. So you can, you know, not pay as much, which is key. Alcohol in bars is very expensive, so the culture in Iceland, much like when we were in university essentially, because same same, is to drink at home and then go out very late, so that you've already drank a lot at home, you don't need to buy too many drinks out. Or go to happy hour. Those are the two things. And I did want to mention as well during this whole trip We were there during the midnight sun there was a point during our trip where there were I think it was in the very north where the brimnes cabins were There was zero sunset, like there was no darkness. So that was amazing throughout the entire trip to sort of experience that this time. We did last time as well, but it was even more intense this time.

Jenn: 42:09

Yeah. That's really cool. I've only, the two times I've been to Iceland have been in October. So I've had kind of the like, I'm going to say like quote unquote normal like sunrise sunset times like compared to what we're used to at that time of year. So yeah, that's really cool I would like to go in in the summer next time and and check that out. So tell us about food and drink because We love food and drinks here, but I, I've been to Iceland a lot of the times the food's really expensive and it's not been my favorite. It's more of an eat to survive situation.

Meggan: 42:50

Yeah.

Jenn: 42:50

so what, what was your take on food this visit?

Meggan: 42:54

you're exactly right. And I'm going to be really honest, and this is going to sound lame to some people, but we, in two literal weeks, only ate out four times, and two of those times were hot dogs from food trucks. So you have to, or we chose to pick and choose where we were spending our money. And like you mentioned, we love food on this podcast. I love to eat. I mean, it is one of my favorite things to do, but food, and I knew this from our last visit, not high on the list in terms of what our focus was. It's not, for me personally, a culinary destination, I don't necessarily eat, you know, whale or lamb or reindeer, and I'm in no way dissing their traditional dishes. It's just not something I gravitate toward, but if that's for you, you're going to definitely find that wherever you go and you're able to indulge. But for me personally, that's not, and for Peter as well. So almost everywhere we booked except for our first two nights had at the very least a stovetop. So, we would buy food every other day for the next few days. We ate a lot of sandwiches for lunches. The grocery store really do cater to tourists in terms of prepared food.

Jenn: 44:08

Yes.

Meggan: 44:08

Otherwise, for like suppers and stuff, we had, you know, noodles, some kind of protein. We bought a reusable grocery bag of snacks and fruit that we just sort of took with us from place to place. The two restaurants we did eat at were kind of mid. On Westman Islands I did have fish and chips. It wasn't bad. They were fine. And then another spot, which was Reykjavik, like I referred to earlier, we got two salmon burgers and three small roast potato strips. Overall, they were just okay, the salmon burger actually had like loose pieces of corn on it, which I thought was a very strange topping for a burger

Jenn: 44:45

Yep. Interesting. Yep. Haven't

Meggan: 44:47

Anyway, whatever but it was really expensive. I understand it was a salmon burger But for all of that for both of us, so two burgers six pieces of potato It was It was $80 Canadian. So I guess if you're on a budget and you want to eat out to treat yourself, I would say do your research in advance, read the reviews you know, to be sure as possible that you actually want to spend your money on that meal. Iceland does also have a huge cafe and bakery culture, which is right up my alley as well. We did go to some, I'm certainly not going to say that we didn't because I love a cafe, Do keep in mind, though, that most coffees, regardless of the mug size, some were small, some were regular, and some had refills, which was nice as well when you just get a drip coffee, but it was usually seven plus dollars for per coffee. And then the baked goods, also quite expensive, so just something to keep in mind as well, but Spend your money however you wish. I'm relaying the info. So it did make me feel good though about my weekly Starbucks at home. Seems very cheap now.

Jenn: 45:55

Yes, for sure. Yeah.

Meggan: 45:58

So to continue on with drinks. So as for alcohol, if you do partake, they do have regulated stores called Vinbudin. They have a lot of local products, especially beer, which was cool to try something local and support local. They have little flags by all of the products. You know what's

Jenn: 46:15

Nice.

Meggan: 46:17

Now, we did do that. Peter enjoyed some beer. I'm not really a beer fan. We also got some wine. Do keep in mind the store hours can be very odd or very short, such as closing at 2 p. m. some days in some places.

Jenn: 46:30

Okay, yeah.

Meggan: 46:31

So just check Google in advance so that you were not disappointed. And on Sundays, a lot of stuff is closed or open later in the day, so keep that in mind as well. I do want to mention though, most of the wine that we bought was between$20 and $30 Canadian per bottle. So honestly, nothing too crazy that we wouldn't spend the money on at home. And also the beer was around five to $10 per bottle or can. Also not crazy, especially if you buy craft beer around here.

Jenn: 46:59

Bye Right Yeah, for sure. Pretty comparable.

Meggan: 47:02

Exactly. But the interesting thing there is if you want a single of something and there's an eight pack sold in a box, you're actually able to just like rip the box open and take the one and then purchase it separately. It felt like so wrong to me.

Jenn: 47:18

Yeah.

Meggan: 47:19

I was like, if that's what we're doing, I'm good.

Jenn: 47:22

Yeah, that does. That feels so wrong. I would feel so weird doing that.

Meggan: 47:26

It was. It was very, very, very strange. Another interesting practice as well is if you are in a bar at the end of the night when the bar is closing, if you're not done your drink, everybody gets handed a plastic cup, you pour your booze in it, and they send you out the door.

Jenn: 47:41

Well, at least you get what you paid for.

Meggan: 47:43

That is very true.

Jenn: 47:46

All right, so bring us back around to the rental car because I know there was a wee Incident, and I am looking forward to hearing about this.

Meggan: 48:03

Yeah. So the rental car. Oh, for anyone who knows us, and if you don't know us, hear me when I say that we have really terrible luck with windshields. We aren't sure what we've done to irritate the glass people but here we are. So picture it, things are going fairly smoothly on this trip, but it is early on. This is until day three of driving. We are, I'm not exaggerating, one minute off of the ferry back on the mainland from the Westman Islands and boom, a rock flies off a vehicle. coming at us on the other side of the road. The road was paved and there was literally nothing that we could do, of course, to get out of the way of this rock. Of course, crack a noodle on the windshield and there was a starburst crack. So more of a chip, nothing ever cracked along the windshield. I did yell some profanity, I'm not gonna lie.

Jenn: 49:03

Yep. would have. Yeah.

Meggan: 49:05

Because even though the chances of a cracked windshield in Iceland are higher than other places due to the dirt roads, people off roading, I get it, you never think it's going to happen, but I was just wrong because it does. Do trust me, it does.

Jenn: 49:19

Yeah.

Meggan: 49:20

So it remains this chip out of the windshield that we had to stare at for almost two weeks. But right after it happened we did call our credit card insurance, which is what we were using. We used our credit card and what you have to do with our particular card is pay for your rental in full with that particular credit card. It has to belong to the driver and then you have to turn down the car rental insurance from the agency. So that's the protocol. So right away, we called the credit card company, which I'm not going to mention now because it's still sort of unfolding. I do want to say, props to me for bringing the credit card booklet that was provided when you are mailed your credit card because it had every single piece of information in there that I needed and I'm like, I'm going to tuck this in my backpack just in case. Look We'll get at you. I know. I know. So clever. And we needed it. So my God, we chatted with good old Kyle and he told us to submit a claim once we returned the car. Fine. That's what we're going to do. So over the trip, I'm sure we both sort of thought about it a bit independently. We discussed it a bit and we also tried to forget about it because what's done is done. And we had almost the entire trip ahead of us. We had to drop the car off right before our flight. We were at the rental agency by like 6: 10 a. m. for our morning flight. We get to the counter, she goes out to check the car without us. So we're standing there, ding dong, like the witch is dead, we know what's coming.

Jenn: 50:57

Yeah.

Meggan: 50:59

We've anticipated this for like 11 days. She comes back in and she's like, yeah, I see the chip in the windshield. We're like, yeah. So she does some figuring. Some calculating. She asks someone else a question, yada, yada, yada. She turns around and says, well, the cost for this, you'll have to go through your agency, because of course you turned down our insurance, like screw the knife in a little deeper, whatever. She's like, the cost of this is going to be, and what worked out to be$2 shy of $2,500 Canadian dollars.

Jenn: 51:34

Ugh, that number just makes my stomach drop.

Meggan: 51:40

know, like we nearly crapped our pants. We were in stunned silence. I'm not even going to kid you. We were because we thought it was going to be bad. But we just didn't think

Jenn: 51:50

and like, oh, like a thousand dollars. Like, I don't know. I feel like that would have been like my worst case scenario, not 2 2,500. Ugh.

Meggan: 52:00

no. So much more than the worst case scenario, which doesn't often happen.

Jenn: 52:05

No. Oh.

Meggan: 52:07

wrong. So anyway, we came home, we logged our information, everything is sent off, we're waiting to hear. Either way, it's going to be a Travel Tip Tuesday with either a positive result, yes, use your credit card, or a negative result, we recommend against it. So do stay tuned for that. For sure.

Jenn: 52:23

I can't wait. Yeah.

Meggan: 52:26

Indeed. I can't wait either because hopefully I get that money back. I don't know why.

Jenn: 52:31

Yeah, for sure. So, as we said, Iceland is expensive. The, the windshield notwithstanding. Maybe share some tips on how one might save a little bit of money during their vacation to Iceland.

Meggan: 52:49

tip would be go somewhere else other than Iceland. You know, no, I jest, I jest. It's, it's my favorite place on the planet. I am kidding. But if you are on a budget, not everyone is. Some people have funds, which is amazing. Live your life. But if you are a regular traveler, you do have a budget. Here are a few things that I would advise you give a try at the very least, but again, book whatever vacation works for you. Number one is I would say book everything in advance to get better rates. If you find lodging that you like on a booking website, say booking. com. You can always try as well to book directly with the property. It may be cheaper. It may not be. Sometimes booking. com is actually cheaper. In terms of choosing places to stay hostels, and of course, places with shared bathrooms are going to be usually less expensive. On our first trip to Iceland, we had several places with shared bathrooms. It wasn't the end of the world. If you want to save money, you're going to do the things that you need to do. We did this time choose a variety of places, both cheaper, but also we splurged a bit and stayed in some really cool places. But I have no regrets about that money that was spent, but it was really, Our lodging for this trip was probably just under $5, 000, I would say.

Jenn: 54:03

Okay.

Meggan: 54:04

Second tip is if you drink buy alcohol at the airport when you land in Iceland, you will walk right through duty free and you are allowed up to six units. So as an example, three liters of wine is four units. Although I did mention Wine is actually quite comparable in the liquor store, so I wouldn't say you need to do it if that's what you drink. But if you do drink hard liquor, because the price of that in the liquor stores run by the government is very high, even compared to high Canadian alcohol prices. So, if you do drink hard liquor, I would suggest duty free in Iceland, just as an FYI. Next tip would be if possible, rent an electric vehicle. I'm sure there are probably also a little bit more to rent. However, do your research as well on that to see what kind of prices you can get, and also to ensure that there are going to be enough charging stations along your route to make you feel comfortable. There was a lot of charging stations that I saw. I think they're a little bit further ahead on that than we are. And if you can swing it, it is going to save you so much money on gas or diesel fuel. And we did see a lot of Teslas throughout the country. Both taxis, Icelanders had them, but also you could tell people that were traveling as tourists also had them to

Jenn: 55:28

Nice.

Meggan: 55:29

another way. You could save money as well. Just going back to point number 1 is we also saw a lot of people with camper vans.

Jenn: 55:35

Hmm.

Meggan: 55:36

that is something that could also help you save money. So literally staying in campsites, staying in your van. There were a lot of campers. Do keep in mind the weather is unpredictable in Iceland, so that's something to think about if you do choose to go that route. But of course, going back to that point, I think it could also save you some cash as well.

Jenn: 55:57

Yeah, for sure.

Meggan: 55:58

Eat from the grocery stores. So bonus is most affordable. And then likely Kronan after that, I would say. Try to avoid buying from convenience or 24 seven shops, much like anywhere convenience stores definitely will charge you higher prices and eat at restaurants at your own peril, I suppose. Peril to your budget,

Jenn: 56:19

Yeah.

Meggan: 56:19

Herald to your wallet. So you can definitely do it, but just make sure you're spending your money where you have at least got enough information. You think you're going to get food that's worth it for you. Number five is there's so much nature in Iceland. See the free stuff and try to avoid tours, which hurts my little heart to say that because we talk all the time about taking local tours and supporting local. I still 100 percent believe in that, but I'm talking budgeting. Like if you are trying to save money, especially if you are a family of three or four, it's going to be much more expensive to do things on a tour. Some things you can't do without a tour,

Jenn: 56:57

Right.

Meggan: 56:58

so I get that. But if there's free stuff, do the free stuff. The most popular spots you do likely have to pay for parking. They have removed a lot of the physical parking pay machines. They do use the parka app. So P A R K A. So I would suggest downloading that before you leave home, get your credit card set up in it because you will need to use it. What you'll also need for that is data.

Jenn: 57:26

Right.

Meggan: 57:27

That leads to my next point, which is using an eSIM. This was our first time in all of our years of traveling. eSIMs are fairly new anyway, but this is our first time using one. So with our cell phones, that's how we got data versus using what our carrier would charge us per day. We saved hundreds of dollars doing this, and it is a game changer. I will do a Travel Tip Tuesday on this to provide more information, but just as a Quick reference until that time we used both Nomad and Allosim. Because we'd never done it before we wanted two different ones. We didn't know how they would work so we didn't want to rely on just one choice. We wanted to have two to be safe and they both worked brilliantly. Yeah. And then my last tip is not to buy bottled water. A lot of people are so paranoid about going all over the world, in some cases understandably so, and drinking the local water. Please drink it, bring a reusable water bottle, or even buy a bottle of water initially if you forget yours, and then just fill it as you go. The water is pure and beautiful. The freshest in the world. Please just drink it.

Jenn: 58:36

Yeah. So how would you rate this trip overall? Not, not thinking about the windshield. We'll pretend that doesn't exist right now.

Meggan: 58:46

We will forget about that for now. I would say overall, it was our most expensive trip, but also our best trip ever. We did so much stuff. I mean, I didn't even mention everything that we were able to do, but we really got out into nature. Iceland has gotten more expensive, but you know, the whole world has. I mean, that's just reality. There were a few more things as well that were monetized this time that weren't last time, such as parking lots of different places we had stopped. Now you had to pay where previous you didn't, and we did notice, surprisingly, there were a bit more people outside of Southern Iceland than there had been last time. So Southern Iceland is always the most popular places in the country, but usually East and North and a little bit West aren't too bad. But there were a lot of people everywhere. Not, I mean, I say a lot, but a lot for Iceland, I guess I should say, but it wasn't, it wasn't a big deal. But overall the beauty is unmatched and it is a place that will sort of hold forever in my heart. I would say this trip, last trip in 2018, we scratched the surface and this trip, we really got into it for us. Like we're not like, we're not like caving or anything. We're not out, you know what I mean? Like My adventurousness goes just so far,

Jenn: 1:00:06

Yeah.

Meggan: 1:00:07

but for us, we did so much more stuff. If I were to say about going back, like maybe someday, but we do have a bit of high price fatigue right now. And that really did become a thing toward the end. And there's so many other places in the world we have to see. So maybe someday, but it's going to be many a year likely before we do return. But it is it was our best trip and my favorite trip to date.

Jenn: 1:00:33

Amazing. So how did it feel to, to revisit somewhere? Because you don't do a lot of repeat trips. So how did it feel doing kind of a repeater, even though you did new stuff?

Meggan: 1:00:47

it was amazing. I I'm glad that this is the place, the big destination. We go to Bar Harbor a

Jenn: 1:00:52

Right. Yes.

Meggan: 1:00:53

So that is, that is a repeat destination, but that's also close. So in terms of a major trip, this was. One of our few repeats and it was the right place to do it for. Like I just mentioned, we did so much more. We really got into it. I would say it was the perfect destination to repeat.

Jenn: 1:01:12

Yeah. There's so much to do.. I can't wait to go back to we talked a lot about packing like leading up to your trip to Iceland. How, how did your packing go? Did you, did you take too much? Did you take too little? Did you get it right? How did you feel about it?

Meggan: 1:01:28

Oh, it's a good thing I'm cute. Cause I'm still an overpacker. I did take too much, but probably took less than normal. I'm, I'm going to call it a little bit of a win, maybe a little bit of a draw. I don't know. I have realized I take too many hair products so that's something I'm going to have to try to curb. My hair is curly and complicated, but yeah, overall, I still over packed, but a little bit better, I guess, is what we'll call it.

Jenn: 1:01:53

That's fair. And so one of the things for me, like when I'm looking at your itinerary, I'm like, oh my gosh, like they're moving so much. Like you had a lot of like one or two night stays. How do you feel doing that? Do you feel like you move too much or does it feel good for you?

Meggan: 1:02:14

Yeah, I think that's a great question, and I think this really is dependent on the person and, and what their preference is. I couldn't agree more. For the stuff we wanted to, To do and see. It's almost as if we didn't really have a ton of choice if we wanted to fit most of, we didn't get to see everything we wanted to see, whether it was due to weather or location, but we did see a majority of it. And for the things we wanted to see and accomplish, and I'm not talking just check a list accomplished, but truly immerse ourselves in, we did it right. The one night stays were places that were a little small, maybe. So one night was fine for there. Two, and then the final three nights in Reykjavik were all perfect. That part, this time, worked out very well. Not to say in the past I haven't felt a little bit rushed. Especially with our early trip planning we did way more one nights. Than we did this time. And I would say for this particular trip we actually got it quite right.

Jenn: 1:03:12

Good. Sweet. So finally, like, any advice for anyone planning an epic Iceland road trip?

Meggan: 1:03:21

I would say have a framework of what you want to see and do, but be very open to pulling over on the side of the road for the beauty that isn't on the map, that isn't in the guidebooks. When I say that though, I would like to pause and say, please pull over safely in a designated area. I can't tell you the amount of people that just stop in the road because they need a picture.

Jenn: 1:03:46

No.

Meggan: 1:03:47

And there's no shoulders, hardly at all, in Iceland. And there are eventually little places to pull in. Choose those or just don't endanger people. But yeah, be flexible. There's going to be, you know, so many waterfalls and black sand beaches and random sites everywhere that don't have paid parking and aren't on people's regular itinerary, but you're just like, Whoa, what is that? Let's pull over. And I have to say old Meggan, that was very out of my comfort zone. This is where we're going next, so let's just keep going. Like, why are we pulling over? I think this really helped me a lot with that, but also I think I've mellowed and I'm very much more open to being like, whoa, like we can't miss this, even though it's not on the list.

Jenn: 1:04:35

Yeah. Fair.

Meggan: 1:04:37

I would say finally, also be prepared, like I mentioned, to likely spend a bit more than planned in terms of budgetary, and have to be okay with that. And then finally, expect the unexpected. You never know what the weather's going to be like, so have your raincoat, have your sweater, have your sneakers, have everything with you you need at all times. You never know what you're going to see, i. e. random herds of horses.

Jenn: 1:05:04

Great.

Meggan: 1:05:05

know what's going to be around the next corner. Really anything can happen in Iceland, including Crazy weather, which can be a little scary at times, like I mentioned snow. So really just understand that Iceland's in control, not you.

Jenn: 1:05:22

I love that. And you shared some photos on both your stories and our, our Travel Mug podcast Instagram stories while you were there. And it made me miss Iceland so very much. I started looking up flights Iceland Air is flying direct out of Halifax again. So hopefully I'll be going back soon. It's been 10 years since or nearly 10 years, nine years since my last visit. So if you want to see some of Meggan's photos, make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. She'll be sharing those over the next couple of weeks after this episode comes out. We're on Facebook and Instagram at the Travel Mug Podcast. We're also on our website, TravelMugPodcast. com. You can leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We would love to read a review of what you thought of the episode and you can support the show through, buy me a coffee. So until next time, bye.

Travel Mug Podcast

Meggan's Iceland Road Trip - Mountains, Waterfalls and a Chipped Windshield, oh my!

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