{"id":11498,"date":"2020-09-01T13:15:35","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/?p=11498"},"modified":"2020-09-01T13:15:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:15:35","slug":"how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make the Most of Your First Trip to Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">No matter what time of year you\u2019re looking to vacation, you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find a destination as adventure packed as Iceland. But, despite its surge in popularity over recent years, the tiny island nation is once again taking the forefront of travelers\u2019 minds.<\/p>\n<p>These days, the land of fire and ice is drawing attention because it\u2019s an ideal destination for social distancing. For starters, Iceland\u2019s population is a mere 360,000. Couple that with the country\u2019s proactive pandemic planning and testing, and you have what may arguably be the perfect getaway.<\/p>\n<p>But, if you\u2019ve never been to Iceland, don\u2019t fret. To make the most of your first trip, here are three things to consider:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Choose whether you\u2019ll visit Iceland during summer or winter.<\/h4>\n<p>Deciding when to visit Iceland can be difficult because it\u2019s one of few destinations that offers a variety of incredible experiences year-round, most of which are only offered during their respective season. Ultimately, choosing what time of year to visit will depend on a few different variables:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are you comfortable driving in winter conditions? The best way to explore Iceland is on a road trip with\u00a0<em>you<\/em>\u00a0as the driver. It offers you the chance to take your time and sightsee as much as you\u2019d like. Although driving in Iceland is easy (if you\u2019re from North America, you\u2019ll be driving on the same side of the road and the same side of the car), weather conditions can change in the blink of an eye, especially during winter. If you aren\u2019t comfortable driving on snow\/ice, consider visiting Iceland during the warmer months.<\/li>\n<li>Would you rather have more daylight hours? During the winter, Iceland has approximately four-nine hours of daylight. While the winter months provide exceptional opportunities, such as potentially viewing the Northern Lights, if you\u2019d rather have more time to explore during the day, you may want to visit during the summer (when Iceland has approximately 20-22 hours of daylight).<\/li>\n<li>What are your preferred activities? Seeing the Northern Lights is never guaranteed; however, as mentioned above, if seeing the aurora borealis is on your bucket list, you\u2019ll need to visit during the months of September-March. Additionally, anything ice-related, such as glacier hiking, will only be offered in the winter months. On the contrary, if activities such as campervanning, whale watching, or viewing the Midnight Sun are on your bucket list, you\u2019ll want to visit during the summer months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Decide how long you\u2019ll visit.<\/h4>\n<p>The duration of your vacation may not be flexible, and that\u2019s okay (there\u2019s plenty to do in Iceland no matter how long you\u2019re there). But if flexibility is an option, consider the following when choosing the length of your trip:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Seeing Iceland requires a lot of driving on winding roads with unpredictable weather and no passing lanes. This means getting from point A to point B can take more time than you expect. Also keep in mind the limited daylight hours if you\u2019re traveling during winter months. Typically speaking, the more time you have in Iceland, the better.<\/li>\n<li>How much do you want to see, and what do you want to see? If your main goal is to see the Golden Circle and\/or the South Coast, anywhere from five-seven days is doable. But if your must-see places or must-do activities take you anywhere else, you\u2019ll want to consider spending more time on the island (who could complain?).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Enjoy all Iceland has to offer (even if it\u2019s touristy).<\/h4>\n<p>Simply put \u2014 Iceland\u2019s hotspots are worth it. Would you visit New York City for the first time without catching a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building? No. Would you visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower? Probably not. So, when visiting Iceland, don\u2019t miss out on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluelagoon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Lagoon<\/a>. However, the perk to visiting Iceland\u2019s most popular attraction is that, contrary to many other famous attractions around the world, the Blue Lagoon is clean, relaxing, and utterly magical. As for Iceland\u2019s other hotspots (the Golden Circle, Seljalandsfoss, Jokulsarlon Lagoon, etc.) \u2014 they\u2019re worth it, too! So, make sure to visit as many places as you can. Additionally, don\u2019t miss out on the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The food. It may seem weird to find puffin and reindeer (among other interesting items) on your menu, but Iceland\u2019s thriving food scene is a welcome surprise.<\/li>\n<li>The opportunity to splurge. Have you ever\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.buubble.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">slept in a bubble underneath the stars<\/a>? Have you ever\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hotelranga.is\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">soaked in a hot tub overlooking the Northern Lights<\/a>? Have you ever\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dive.is\/diving-snorkeling-tours\/snorkeling-day-tours\/silfra-snorkeling-day-tour\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">swam between two continents<\/a>? In Iceland, you can do all three!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As if Iceland could get any better, a bonus is that it\u2019s the perfect stopover between North America\u2019s northeast coast and Europe. So, even if you simply extend a Europe trip by just two or three days, visiting Iceland is always worth it.<\/p>\n<p>Are you ready for the road trip of a lifetime? Iceland awaits you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No matter what time of year you\u2019re looking to vacation, you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find a destination as adventure packed as Iceland. But, despite its surge in popularity over recent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[271],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How To Make the Most of Your First Trip to Iceland - Odyssea Voyage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Make the Most of Your First Trip to Iceland - Odyssea Voyage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"No matter what time of year you\u2019re looking to vacation, you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find a destination as adventure packed as Iceland. But, despite its surge in popularity over recent [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Odyssea, Travel Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-01T13:15:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/road-iceland.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1170\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"susan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"susan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/\",\"name\":\"How To Make the Most of Your First Trip to Iceland - Odyssea Voyage\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/road-iceland.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-01T13:15:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71700373cbb6763ae5551d63bb803a64\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/road-iceland.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/road-iceland.jpg\",\"width\":1170,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Road - Iceland\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How To Make the Most of Your First Trip to Iceland\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/\",\"name\":\"Odyssea, Travel Agency\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71700373cbb6763ae5551d63bb803a64\",\"name\":\"susan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/012d7b2cd7c9091f793b81a1346c2538?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/012d7b2cd7c9091f793b81a1346c2538?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"susan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/author\/susan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How To Make the Most of Your First Trip to Iceland - Odyssea Voyage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.odyssea-voyage.com\/en\/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-first-trip-to-iceland\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How To Make the Most of Your First Trip to Iceland - Odyssea Voyage","og_description":"No matter what time of year you\u2019re looking to vacation, you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to find a destination as adventure packed as Iceland. 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