Iceland weekend

Just one week on from our Cologne weekend, we were off again and this time to Iceland for the weekend! We firstly drove from Ramsgate to Luton after work and school (2h30), parked at the Luton Regent Street NCP Car Park arriving just after 20:00, and stayed at Luton Town Centre Premier Inn (£41) on Friday 1st March, thereby meaning our parking was free!

On Saturday morning 2nd March we took a taxi to the airport (£15) and were at the gate for 06:45 with a new teddy!

The flight to Reykjavik (KEF) which was £89.96 for the two of us (hand luggage only), landed at 10:35. There was a short wait for passport control (but they appeared to be putting in lots of self service desks) and a simple exit to Iceland.

We had lots of time to have our first Icelandic hotdog before our 12:30 FlyBus one way 45 minute transfer from KEF to the Blue Lagoon (£23 for one adult, child free booked on GetYourGuide). It is worth mentioning that children are free on this transfer bus up to the age of 12 and with the FlyBus routes kids age 0-5 are free, with those over 6 charged at 50%. I would otherwise be quite tempted to hire a car, but with Tiger still being just 5, we stuck with the tour bus option.

I am also including photos below of the extremely big and well stocked Duty Free shop which greets you at Keflavik Airport - we didn't buy anything but this is very useful in keeping costs down!

We arrived at the Blue Lagoon just in time for 13:00 and, unlike last time I had visited, there had been a recent volcanic eruption in February which had meant lava had spread across the road leading to the Blue Lagoon and they had had to build a new bit of road which meant that our bus went over lava!

Seismic activity was continuing, but I was comfortable to still go having perused the evacuation plans. It was also the only 'big ticket' spa we could go to as the Sky Lagoon (which does look fab) did not allow kids. Our 'comfort' tickets, bought directly from the Blue Lagoon website were 12,990 ISK (£76) for me as an adult, but free to Tiger (kids age 2-13 are totally free of charge!). It is worth noting that you can get slightly cheaper tickets around 9,900 ISK if you go late in the evening. Our tickets included towels but not robes - but these you can hire for 1500 ISK if you want. I just didn't bother - we just went straight in.

One other point is that children aged 2 and younger are not allowed to visit the Blue Lagoon at all due to the mineral content of the water and children aged 8 and younger have to wear arm bands (floaties). These are free of charge, although I could imagine 8 year olds being a little less than impressed at wearing them. Also, definitely worth lathering your hair in conditioner before you go into the Lagoon to protect it. For us, our visit did not disappoint - it was just amazing. Not too busy!

We had a close eye on time at the Blue Lagoon and left on the transfer to Reykjavik at 15:15 (GetYourGuide booking, £23.15 for one adult, children free). By an absolute stroke of luck at 16:06 I got the evacuation message: "EVACUATE, EVACUATE! Leave the area quickly and safely, call 112 if you need help EVACUATE EVACUATE".

This is the media coverage from the day. As you can see we would have been evacuated had we have still been at the Blue Lagoon, because there was an imminent volcanic eruption nearby (a few km away). The magma intrusion then ended. For now at least but this was the situation just one month before on 8th February 2024.

Our transfer was 45 minutes to the BSI Bus Terminal and from here we walked to hotel via the dramatic Hallgrimskirja and Rainbow Street (Skólavörðustígur) where we dropped our bag. We only had hand luggage anyway, but still it was a bit lighter to travel onwards to the Lava Show without it.

We paid £106 to stay in a bunk bed room with our own bathroom at Loft HI Eco Hostel and rather than eat out, we bought food from the Billa supermarket which was close by to the Lava Show. This hotel was at the cheaper end of the scale but just perfect for what we needed!

The Lava Show was just an amazing experience. We had booked via their website and this was just about the only place we went to where kids were not free (adults 6,590 ISK / £39, children age 12 and under 3,590 ISK / £21). It is worth noting that there is a 10% discount if you then go to 'Fly Over Iceland' (which is just across the street) using the code LAVASHOW and I am pretty sure it would not be too hard to find a discount code for the Lava Show itself if you looked! Our presenter was actually Scottish and gave us so much fascinating information about volcanoes and, although so much of it was lost on Tiger, it was just fascinating to see real lava. And, of course, in a nice and safe environment.

On our second (and last) day in Iceland, we did a 6.5 hour Golden Circle Direct tour with Reykjavik Excursions. I really found this to be so cheap as again we only paid for the adult (£56) and Tiger was free. From our hotel we walked to the BSÍ Bus Terminal for our 10:00 bus and the tour was just amazing.

During the tour, we explored some of Iceland’s most iconic natural wonders. At the Geysir Geothermal Park, we witnessed the impressive Strokkur geyser erupting regularly—the most active geyser in the country. Next, we visited Gullfoss Waterfall, where we stood close to the edge and watched in awe as vast amounts of water thundered into the gorge below. The tour also took us to Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site rich in both geological and historical significance. Walking through the rift valley, we were immersed in the raw beauty of Iceland’s shifting tectonic plates and dramatic landscapes.

Back at the BSÍ Bus Terminal for 16:30 I had not booked the return bus and was concerned we would be cutting it too fine so we took an Uber back to Keflavik airport.

Our return flight from Reykjavik was at 19:45, returning back to Luton for 22:45, but probably was the best flight I have had for years as we saw the Northern Lights from the windows on the left hand side. This was particularly special for me as this is the third time I have been to Iceland and the first time I have seen them!

Upon our return we headed back to the Luton Town Centre Premier Inn (£43) by black taxi (£18) for a good sleep before driving back to Ramsgate for work and school in the afternoon! Wow what a weekend!