Iceland is one of the hottest travel spots and tops many travel lists catered to those with wanderlust. I too, was tempted by all the buzz and so I snagged plane tickets for two.

For those of you who are planning or thinking about planning a trip to Iceland, I’m sharing some tips that might be helpful!

What I Got Right

Packed Light

I packed everything for my 4 day trip in ONE backpack. This is no ordinary feat for a girl who normally uses a roller carry-on for a one night trip to Vegas. I kept telling myself that this isn’t a “glamour” vacation while packing to dissuade myself from bringing extra clothing for vanity purposes. In the end, I was grateful for the ease of travel from bringing less.

Booked a Tour

I originally wanted to drive and DIY the trip. We would have more freedom to wander on our own without the constraints of traveling with a big group. Unfortunately, we could not trust a Texas-bred and two Cali-bred to drive in icy conditions. We shelled out for a two day tour, so we could reach Vatnajökull National Park for glacier hiking and ice caves. While it wasn’t snowing during our trip, the wind tossed our tour minibus across both lanes of the road. With a tour, we got to see everything we wanted to without any hardships of traveling in unfamiliar terrain.

Packed Snacks

Apparently, the food in Iceland has not changed much from the Viking days. Apart from being expensive (basically paying for airport food prices at grocery stores), their mainstays may not sit well with all palates. Their popular street food is the pylsur, hot dog, which is a mix of lamb, beef, and pork. I tried this once during a layover from Paris back to LA and it was definitely NOT my taste. They also have horse meat, puffin, reindeer, minke whale, and fermented shark. I unfortunately do not enjoy gamey foods. Since options are limited driving through the sparsely populated country, my snack pack was appreciated.

Indulged in Ice Cream

Even though it felt like the dead of winter, we visited a ísbúð (Icelandic for ice cream shop) and had rjómaís (Icelandic for…you guessed it, ice cream) almost every single day. There’s something about their milk because it was some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

What I Wish I Had Known

Book Blue Lagoon Early

We booked our flight 5 weeks in advance, tour 2 weeks in advance, and did not even seriously look into Blue Lagoon until 1 week before. Of course as the hottest attraction in Iceland, only evening times were available by the time we looked. It all worked out though. It was still magical gazing at the stars with our drinks in hand, silica mud masks on our faces, soaking in the lagoon.

Moisturize and Hydrate

Iceland’s climate is harsh. It sucked the moisture from my face, skin, and lips. Also, the Blue Lagoon water wrecks your hair. I slathered on conditioner before going in to soak, tied up my hair, and still ended up with a birds nest of tangles for the subsequent days. I had to pre-condition, shampoo, and then condition twice one night to properly detangle the mess.

Layer Up

I really underestimated how cold it was going to be. With two layers of pants and three layers on top, I looked like a baked potato. But, while I was out there in the glacier-freezing temps, I was wishing for better gloves and real REI grade type of clothing. Hand and toe warmers would’ve been great items to pack.

There aren’t many things left to be said to convince you to travel to Iceland. Everything you see about Iceland on travel articles and pictures is not a bait and switch tactic. Iceland is truly otherwordly. With plane tickets so affordable, don’t miss out on this adventure!