Ultimate ICELAND Travel VLOG - Why You Should Visit Iceland in November (Winter)

hello everyone welcome back to wandering with Jenny today we are going to talk about five amazing days in Iceland and why you need to do it in November [Music] okay so before we even get started with the planning and the itinerary we need to talk about what to wear while in Iceland so a couple of things that you need to make sure that you pack are of proper boots this is by far probably the most important thing that you're gonna have you want to make sure that your feet stay dry warm and comfortable you do not need to go out and buy a big old pair of boots like these I got these ones because I live in Canada so I know that they're going to stay in use pretty much four months out of the year so I don't mind spending a little bit of money on them but you can get yourself a really good pair of hiking boots or winter boots for much less okay next up is the outer layers so you want to make sure that you have a really good coat next up is winter pants so again you want to make sure that they're windproof and waterproof so probably the most important thing that you're going to have to wear underneath your clothing is a base layer now I highly suggest a Merino wool this will keep you so warm make sure that you have something that's at least 70 percent Merino wool next thing is protecting our fingers so I had got another pair of gloves from Amazon because I was trying them out and I absolutely love them next up the Hat the good old hat the toque we call it here in Canada but again something that um you definitely wanted to make sure that you keep your head warm there now one thing I want to talk to you about if you are going in November um or any of the winter months you maybe want to invest in crampons so these are them they are cleats that go underneath your boot and what it does actually is it keeps you from slipping and falling now if you're going to be walking around Reykjavik in the winter this is something you definitely want to invest in um it does get very icy there so you definitely don't want to end up on your keister okay so I think the main thing when you are dressing to go to Iceland in the winter or even actually even in the spring and fall it's actually quite cool there it is very windy so the number one thing you want to do is make sure you keep yourself dry and keep yourself warm so winter layers make sure they're waterproof make sure that they're windproof and you will stay actually very very warm while you're there okay so now that we've got all the series buttons out of the way let's talk about planning oh I love planning it is my favorite thing to do in the entire world but when it comes to Iceland it can be pretty expensive if you don't plan things out correctly so food is very expensive fuel is very expensive the tours I would say are probably more average price and hotels are actually quite they're they're average priced as well but one of the things that I wanted to do was that I still wanted a little bit of free range so I did do some tours but I also rented a car so when you fly in to Iceland you're about an hour about an hour and 10 minutes from downtown Reykjavik so in order to get there you're gonna have to either take a cab a bus or your car rental so to rent a cab to go from the airport to downtown Reykjavik you're looking at about 150 to 200 U.S which is for me that's just absolutely mind-blowing but you can also take a public bus which is about I think 15 U.S um which is bus number 55 I believe we went with the car rental option we didn't actually use it for the first probably other than getting to to downtown Reykjavik we didn't really use it for the first couple days so on day one there are so many amazing things to see in Reykjavik and if you stay at a good hotel we had stayed at Silva um Slava Apartments I think it's called which I'll show you here on the map it's pretty much downtown and it's Central to everything this apartment was so freaking cute it was an awesome location the only thing I didn't like about them was that there was not a lot of communication so this is a um self-check-in so they give you a key code to get into the building and a key code to get into the apartment the communication was quite awful but aside from that it truly was a perfect place it really was and from there we got to go to all the different places and everything was in walking distance so we didn't need the car the Sun Voyager was probably one of the bigger things that I actually wanted to see down there um it is a sculpture that's right on the waterfront is described as a dream boat or an Ode to the sun I is absolutely stunning the workmanship that's put into the sculpture is incredible and I must see this is also a great place to check out the Northern Lights which we will talk about later on so next up is this stunning absolutely stunning Cathedral I am not even going to try and say the name of this because I will butcher the crap out of it it's down below this is probably one of the bigger landmarks in Reykjavik I'm sure you've seen it on Instagram um anything really and pretty much anybody that has ever gone to Reykjavik will talk about this church it is 73 meters high it is absolutely stunning and you can hear it all over the city when the bells go beautiful and absolutely gorgeous at Sunrise definitely check this out as one of your first stops so if you are standing in front of the church and you look directly in front of you at this street name again not going to try butchering it there is Rainbow Street probably the most colorful streets that you're going to see in Reykjavik this area is filled with some amazing shops little cafes any type of little shopping that you want to do this is a perfect location to do it so now another thing to think about when you're going into Iceland is how expensive the food is so if you are planning on doing some budgeting and you don't want to eat out all the time the best place to do your grocery shopping is is the grocery store called bonus you'll notice it by The Pink Pig that's in the window so day two we decided to do a tour it was my birthday I didn't feel like driving that day and one of the tours that I actually really wanted to do was a snorkeling tour now I chose my tours with arctic Adventures they are amazing this is not a well it's kind of a shout out to them but this is not promoted I paid full for the tour and I highly recommend it the guides were absolutely amazing so we did the snorkeling with the Golden Circle The Golden Circle you can do on your own when you rent a car and if you're not into snorkeling I would suggest doing it the area is very well maintained it is very popular in Iceland so the roads are quite good if they do get snow or anything like that but the snorkeling in sofa was absolutely amazing here's a short video of some of the things that we've seen while snorkeling in between two tectonic plates [Music] [Music] okay so next up for this day is the Golden Circle which is probably one of the biggest tours and probably the most visited areas in Iceland and for good reason it is absolutely amazing so the first stop if you do the snorkeling tour the first stop that you're going to hit is this National Park now this is a big area that is huge to the Icelandic people and for good reason this is where they held their first Parliament meeting this area here you're gonna be walking in between beautiful stone cliffs take a small walk down this cute little path you're going to get a couple of those viewing areas it's a really nice start to the rest of the tour next up is probably one of the biggest things attractions that actually brings people to Iceland and that is the geyser now the original geyser the big boy it no longer is active it's it's dormant now so but there is a smaller one that still does go off about every 15 or 20 minutes I think maybe it was 25 about 100 sure but it is still active it's not as big as the other one but it still does put on a pretty good show and the last stop on this one is golfos waterfall which is stunning it is so freaking beautiful be prepared it is so windy as you can see here okay day three is our road trip day this day is going to be filled with waterfalls and black sand beaches and it is going to be an amazing day okay first stop is Sally lancefos if I did not pronounce this right I am so sorry this is probably one of the more iconic waterfalls in Iceland as it's one of the ones that you actually get to walk behind now if you're lucky in November the pathway behind won't be iced over and you'll still be able to walk through again if there's a little bit of ice make sure you have your crampons with you you may need them but this experience is incredible the water gushing over top of you it is absolutely breathtaking now I'm not going to try and even pronounce this one I think it's glue fra Foss I'm going to put the name here it's not far away it's about maybe a 10 or a 15 minute hike it's inside a really small Canyon I got about halfway and realized that my boots probably weren't as waterproof as they said they were so I ended up getting in taking a couple of different pictures and then walking back out there are stepping stones but in a certain area those don't exist anymore so but it is absolutely stunning and if the water is not that high it's a perfect area to go and check out it's a little head and jump the next stop is just a small little pull off is this place called drangiren and again I could be butchering it so here is the name of it this place just so one of the things that I was reading up on in Iceland is that they have stories of elves and this was just one of those cute little places that just looked like a place where elves would live this little tiny home thing in the middle of this rock it's absolutely cool and it's definitely a must stop on the trip so next up is skago falls again one of the most iconic waterfalls in Iceland and for good reason this waterfall you can't walk behind it however it's about 80 meters wide and drops down about 60 meters this place is busy so be prepared but it is absolutely stunning it is so beautiful there's a small Trail a Stairway that you can go to the top to get an overview Jody did it I did not okay next up is black sand beach this is going to be one of the last stops on this day again with the short daylight hours there's not a whole lot that we can see in one day but before we even talk about this beach I have to give you a warning this beach can be very dangerous the waves here are quite large there have been so many people who have been swept off their feet and injured and I'm pretty sure some people have actually lost their lives here so you at all times want to make sure that you are keeping your eyes on the water at all times now before you leave here make sure you go into the little cafe it's a little pricey but grab yourself a coffee and hit the restrooms because we're gonna have a couple of hours drive before we hit our hotel so we stayed at the Foss Hotel Lagoon which was it's a newer hotel and it is beautiful and totally perfect and in a great location for your next day adventure which is we're going hiking on a glacier okay so today we are doing ice caving and glacier hiking this is another tour that I did with arctic adventures and I so highly recommend it with this tour you arrive at the Lagoon which is like the glacier Lagoon you get into this gigantic van with these ginormous monster tires so then you take this off-roading vehicle you go up to the glacier you do a small hike you get your crampons on and then we're gonna make our way up the ice glacier the great thing about this adventure is not just about the Ice Caves there's these incredible little cracks and you get to venture down into them do yourself a favor and drink some of that water it is probably the purest water ever is so absolutely wonderful it's so good tastes amazing then you're going to make your way down into the caves so as you're going through this cave system take in how the light goes through it is so absolutely beautiful so as you can see it is perfect it is an absolutely amazing tour to do and it's got a little bit of an anger management thing there too if you had any frustrations during your vacation like the stressful drive we did the day before you can take it out on the ice so now that we're done the tour and we've made our way back be sure to go to the other side of the parking lot where you can actually take a look at all of the glaciers and the the chunks of ice that are forming in the legume this will bring us to our next spot but before we go there I have to tell you one of the most amazing experiences if you go here you need to go to this little bus and you need to get yourself some lobster soup and a hot dog these are two things that everybody recommends in Iceland and for good reason and here it's like almost half the price of what it is in Reykjavik so if you want to try the lobster soup and the hot dog this is where you need to do it and trust me you will not be disappointed at all okay so inside the glacier Lagoon you've seen all of those chunks that I've broken away from the glacier now our next stop is Diamond Beach and the reason it's called Diamond Beach is because all those little pieces that are washing out their way as they're making their way out to the ocean they actually get washed back up onto the beach and you get this now if you're lucky like we were and it's the sun peeks out this is so pretty it is so pretty but again this is another area where you need to watch the water or you're gonna end up wet so that day has pretty much come to an end the sun is probably almost coming down and we are going to start making our way back West towards the airport but before we get there there's a one more spot that you can stop on your way back and that is the mossy lava Fields it's a cute little area just to pull off give your legs a little bit of a stretch and then make your way back West so now before we get to the last day at the Blue Lagoon I want to talk to you about one of the reasons why I chose Iceland in November the Northern Lights probably one of the biggest things that brings people to Iceland in the winter is the Northern Lights now there are a couple different ways that you can see the Northern Lights you can do it on your own or you can do it on a tour Jody and I took fate in their own hands I had done a lot of research and joined a few groups there's also an area or a website that you can go and look at and it'll give you what the ratings will be from one to five I believe on what the predicted northern lights are going to be for that night the northern lights are amazing and the day that we had arrived it was a five and I couldn't be more ecstatic five means that it's high it's very active and the likelihood of us seeing them actually in the city of Reykjavik was still pretty high made our way down to the Sun Voyager and we sat there for about 45 minutes and didn't see a single thing and then I remembered that there was a posting from the night before or two nights before about someone doing it from this Lighthouse which I'll put here on the map for you it's another little area that's not so much there's not so much light pollution there so the main thing is to get if it's a lower number you want to get outside the city you want to get away from the light pollution but if you are seeing High numbers the likelihood of you seeing in the city are still pretty high so for our last night we decided to stay at backy apartments which is just south of South Falls this is about an hour from the Blue Lagoon the price was really reasonable I think we paid about 120 dollars for the night and again this was another spot that we actually got to see the Northern Lights it was not as bright as it was in Reykjavik but it was still amazing to see no one likes not once but twice in five days so it was pretty fun so the next day you're going to get up this was our last day we were flying out in the afternoon so we decided to book the Blue Lagoon make sure you go on and make your reservations ahead of time we booked it for early in the morning the reason I did this is because one I wanted as much time there as I could and two I actually wanted to see what it looked like at night time and it was pretty amazing and I was kind of hoping to see the Northern Lights while I was there but we didn't have that luck however the Blue Lagoon there are three different packages that you can choose from so the first one is Comfort this will give you entrance into the Lagoon a face mask a towel and one drink the second one is the premium which is what we did which includes your entrance a towel a robe it gives you three masks which were absolutely amazing I ended up buying some and the third one is the luxury Retreat Spa one a little bit over my price range but I definitely recommend at least going up to the other one it is it's more incredible in person than it is in your pictures and your videos the Lagoon is quite big so even though it looks like it's packed in all these pictures which I'm sure is probably your midday stuff but if you go early in the morning there's not a lot of people there and if you really want to get up early make sure you book yourself in the first spot so this video is about why you needed to come to Iceland in November and it's for the northern lights and the lagoons and the waterfalls and the glaciers and the Ice Caves there's so many things that you can do here in the winter even if it's not November if you go there in the summer time you're still going to have an amazing experience the people the culture everything about Iceland is the reason why I was so happy to make that choice if you've been to Iceland tell me your favorite spot that you went to and why in the comments below and of course if you haven't already be sure to like And subscribe and if you think anyone's going to benefit from this make sure you share with your friends and family bye everyone

Channel: Wandering with Jenny

Views: 16,636

Keywords: iceland travel, iceland, november, iceland november, northern lights iceland, iceland road trip, iceland winter, iceland winter travel, iceland winter packing, iceland tour, travel iceland, iceland waterfalls, skogafoss, ice cave iceland, ice cave tour, diamond beach, diamond beach iceland, snorkeling iceland, snorkeling iceland thingvellir, snorkeling iceland silfra, tour reykjavik, iceland food, Iceland Vlog

Id: ErgFqC_Kpw0

Length: 23min 3sec (1383 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 12 2023