If you are like me, you are tired of lockdowns, tired of the four walls containing you the past year and tired of making your own food day in and day out. I’ll confess a few days when a PB&J or protein shake was all I could muster for dinner. We all want to escape our homes, our work at home setup, our virtual learning/teaching – just escape and go off the grid. But we need to do so in a safe manner. What better place to explore than Iceland! Wide open spaces already lend themselves to socially distanced setups. Private tours limit the number of tourists. Rental cars are plentiful as are natural wonders for a road trip like no other.
Iceland is now open to vaccinated American travelers as well as UK, Canada and Asia. There are testing requirements for non-vaccinated travelers. Its a bit more confusing for EU Schengen countries. As with any trip, it’s up to you to do all the research, ensure you have up to date testing, vaccine cards and other paperwork required for entry.
Iceland Requirements & Flights
As you will likely fly Icelandair to Iceland here is the up to date Iceland is Open FAQs
I visited Iceland for four days a few years ago for in November when layers and layers of clothes were required. How I managed to stuff everything into a carryon bag still amazes me. It was dark all day with just a few hours of muted light and one sunny day (the day I was leaving of course). Now with spring and summer weather, you have better weather, long sunny days and an opportunity to escape to experience the wonderful country of Iceland.
Icelandair business class review – I received a free update to the business class Saga seat but not the food/drink amenities or private curtain and bathroom. No biggie, it was still a great flight with wonderful flight entertainment system and tasty coach food. I flew from Newark direct to Rekjavik but now Icelandair has more destinations in the U.S., many of which are seasonal so you may need to reposition yourself to a different airport to find a direct flight
Tours in Iceland
Northern Light tours are a popular attraction, sadly in spring/summer you’ll need to forgo this natural dancing of lights in favor of long days of light and little darkness. Imagine playing golf at midnight when still light out. Ok, maybe not a fair trade but we are trying to get you out of house arrest and to a new destination right now. Compromises and patience are needed.
Iceland Black Sand Beaches of Vik are open year round and in spring/summer the cute puffins can be found in nests along the coast. I didn’t get to see them in winter. The black sand beach is quite a unique visit especially on a cloudy day when it adds to the moodiness of nature. There are many private tour groups exploring the South Coast of Iceland.
Iceland Waterfalls are everywhere so just follow the tour busses, the signs or discover on your own. The more popular waterfalls are set up for tourists (paths, stairs, snack bars, restrooms). Others are a bit more rugged like the waterfalls we climbed behind (and got wet) with port a potties and a snack trailer (no worries they take credit cards as Iceland is cashless for the most part).
A nice drive to see waterfalls, history, a geyser and a glacier is the Golden Circle tour from Reykjavik. That one tour, while being all day, hits all the check boxes on your Iceland bingo ticket as well as your instagram stories list. If driving, its a long day with wide open spaces so make sure to plan out stops, bathroom breaks and ensure you are stocked with water and snacks prior to leaving Reykjavik.
This is not the landscape with a Wawa or Circle K along the road. We did stop to take air out of tires to drive offroad and then drive on a glacier. Those were done by the Iceland private guides from SuperJeep so not sure it’s something you’ll want to do per se. If so, rent an appropriate vehicle.
Reykjavik Lodging, Tours and Food
Back in Reykjavik and wanting to chill out and be low key after days of driving and/or adventure? A walking tour of Reykjavik is fun with a local blogger who shares her love of Iceland with readers and visitors.
While there are many different lodging types in Reykjavik, I enjoyed the Art Deco centrally located Reykjavik luxury hotel, Hotel Borg. Be aware that lodging outside of Reykavik is a bit less plentiful so you should book in advance for a location you really want to stay at and ensure you don’t get shut out along the road trip. With so many people ready to ponce on a destination, it doesn’t mean that all facilities are open for tourists. Likely many shops, restaurants, hotels/motels/B&Bs are still closed.
I ate very well in Reykjavik and while I don’t know what is or isn’t open right now (things are changing daily). My favorite Reykjavik breakfast and Icelandic dinner spots are easily walkable central to the city.
Visit Iceland – Spring/Summer 2021
If you decide to leave the U.S. to explore Iceland, be ready to be open to changes along the way. The world is slowly waking up to tourists and figuring out how to explore in a safe way which likely means required masks and socially distanced is still on tap for a while. Be courteous and respect all local restrictions. If you are not ready to travel yet, that’s ok too, you can still do research and follow those who are the advanced team.
I’m glad to see Iceland open to tourists again. I have high hopes that they will manage vaccinated visitors and tourism in a responsible way to provide a blueprint for others to follow.  We need to restart global travel to begin to see a ripple effect to all businesses that support hospitality & tourism.
