We had a fantastic trip to Iceland in April!
Iceland
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Apr 3 - Apr 10, 2026
We had a fantastic trip to Iceland in April. The weather put a few snags in our plans, but it's part of the adventure of Iceland. The country is absolutely beautiful. We loved the Snæfellsnes Penninsula, the Hotel Budir, the Sky Lagoon and seeing the Northern Lights the best! We also enjoyed self-driving. It gave us the flexibility to stop whenever we wanted and pull over to see something we found interesting. Driving was easy, except for a couple of snow-related issues! Our travel specialist, Guðmundur Óli, did an excellent job. He assisted with the trip planning, making recommendations and adjusting the schedule to include things we wanted to see. He was responsive and helped us navigate some weather issues while in-country. The daily driving maps were amazing and made navigating very easy. All of the arrangements were perfect - no snags whatsoever. Would highly recommend!
Hotel Reviews
Hotel was great. Breakfast was lovely and it's in a great location to explore the city.
This was my favorite hotel of the 5 we stayed in. It was beautifully decorated and in an absolutely stunning location. The room was perfect and we had a perfect view of the black church from our window. There's a lovely lounge with fantastic views for having a drink or playing cards at night. The restaurant was fine but we were there for 2 nights and the menu was the same both nights. The chocolates at the front desk are a nice touch!
I really liked this hotel. The rooms are in clusters of buildings and you can either walk or drive to the main building for the restaurant. We had 2 hot tubs for our building. They were empty upon arrival, but they quickly filled them after a call to the front desk. The breakfast was excellent. Room was one of the largest we stayed in and we appreciated the lounge area with kitchen so we didn't have to sit in the room all evening.
Hotel was nice. The room was great and we enjoyed the lake view. It was very windy and rainy during our stay so we didn't get to enjoy the outside. The breakfast was good. There is no hot tub and no lounge to sit in outside of the room. We didn't spend much time in it, so it was fine. Everything was clean and orderly.
Hotel was in a perfect location. Our flight wasn't until 5pm and the hotel allowed a late checkout until 2pm for a small fee. This allowed us to do an activity during the day and go back to shower before leaving for the airport. It is 7 minutes from the airport and its in a little town with restaurants close by. The room had everything we needed and the lounge area is nice. The restaurant was fine. It was too rainy and cold to use the roof top hot tub, but it was a nice amenity.
Activity Reviews
The tour was interesting and the guide was very knowledgeable and gave a great tour.
We really enjoyed the lagoon. We went to 3 different ones during our trip and this one was unique in that it's in a forest-like setting. The locker area was clean and the process was very organized. Unfortunately, lightening cut our visit short. They offered us a return visit the next day, but we were getting back on the road and could not take them up on it.
The weather was very rainy and our van got stuck in the snow/slush 3 times on the way to the glacier. Other vehicles had to tow us out. The driver worked very hard and ended up shoveling tires out several times, but didn't provide us with much in the way of updates on what was going on. This turned the trip out to the ice cave into 2 1/2 hours. There was no bathroom available and the entire trip took 5 hours. By the time we got back to the parking area, it was 9pm and all of the restaurants were closed and we still had an hour drive to our hotel. Thankfully, the lovely people at Kronen (the grocery store), allowed us to dash in and quickly buy something right as they were closing. The ice cave was also very small. The guide said that it was usually longer, but the recent snow had closed part of it off. I honestly don't think it was worth it under the conditions, but the hike on the glacier and being inside the ice cave was cool and a unique experience.
We only saw one whale and we pretty much followed him around for 2 hours. The weather was very cold, windy and rainy, so the dry suits helped us stay warm and dry. Rough seas were expected due to the weather and the tour operator helpfully offered sea sickness pills for free. The tour did a good job - we just didn't see much and returned to the marina an hour early.
I am happy to hear you enjoyed the trip.
Conditions can definately be tough around the glaciers, and it seems you sure got the whole Arctic experience. I hope that in retrospect, you come to value that experience, tough as it was a the time, as a once in a lifetime adventure out in the Arctic wilderness, battling through the snow in a super jeep.
I'm happy to hear everything else went well, and the photos you sent me of the northern lights you saw were... Read more