We recently spent four nights in Reykjavik, Iceland for our Wedding Anniversary. It’s somewhere Vicki has always wanted to go, so I booked some flights for her birthday present. Whenever people go to Iceland they often warn you how expensive it is to eat and drink out there. Honestly, yes, if you were planning on going on a boozy lads weekend, or a hen-do, you’d probably need to have a lot of cash behind you – alcohol isn’t cheap. That said, it’s not insanely expensive, we came home with holiday money left over.
How we got to Reykjavik
There are easyJet flights from Stansted (which is our local airport) however, they didn’t really fall when we wanted to go – so we flew from Luton instead. The parking at Luton’s own Mid-Stay parking was pretty reasonable with buses to the terminal every 10-15 minutes. easyJet has some really snazzy self check-in terminals at Luton which meant checking in was very easy. I paid a little more for our seats which allowed us to have Priority Boarding and take our bags into the cabin. If you don’t pay for that, you’ll more than likely have your cabin bag taken off you and put in the hold. It was great strolling past the massive queue and getting on the plane.
We flew into Keflavík International Airport which is around 45 minutes drive from Reykjavik. We had looked at a private car to transfer us from the airport – they were STUPID amounts of money. We opted for the flybus – a return trip was just under £40 each. It seems like a popular choice, and it actually dropped us off outside our hotel. You might need to switch buses, but the staff were really helpful with that and it’s pretty straightforward. Talking of our hotel..
Where we stayed in Reykjavik
There’s definitely no shortage of places to stay in Iceland, after considerable research by Vicki, we opted for 105 – A Townhouse Hotel. It appeared to be a good compromise of quality and price with pretty good reviews to boot. It didn’t have a 24 hr reception, and because we arrived in the evening we were given an access code to get in the building. Once inside, there was a phone and they person on the other end gave us a code for a tiny wall mounted safe. We tapped it in, and it popped open with our room card – we chose an ‘Attic Studio’. It was a lovely room with a kitchen, king sized bed, dining table, soft seating and a toilet / shower room. On the wall was a MASSIVE TV with English TV Channels via satellite. There was free WiFi included too.
At the 105 – A Townhouse Hotel there wasn’t any breakfast served, it wasn’t something we were bothered by. We had the facilities to knock something up if we fancied it.
I really loved the hotel, it was SO quiet, we hardly saw (or heard) other guests. It’s a 5-minute walk from the centre of Reykjavik, so you’re close enough to the action, but not pushing past tourists as you leave the hotel. I think my only criticism is that the room needed a little more storage space for clothes, and somewhere to tuck away the suitcases. Oh and the bathroom door is a frosted glass which doesn’t leave much to the imagination, the toilet is to the side, so you aren’t in full view – but worth mentioning.
Where we ate in Reykjavik
There are lots of great places to eat and drink in Reykjavik, most of the restaurants have English menus outside to give you some idea of what to expect. The prices are higher than home, or America for example. The Icelandic folk don’t do tipping, so, you don’t have to factor in that at all. Most places cater for veggies and vegans, however options aren’t always that vast choices. The three below were excellent and I’ll go through why. If you’re wanting a quick bite, I recommend Reykjavik Chips, Emilie and the Cool Kids, and DeVitos Pizza
Staff
We went to Staff on our first night in Reykjavik, it’s a super cool laid back place. Lit with fairy lights and retro bulbs, it was the perfect place for us. We both opted for the Portabello Burger (about £17) Grilled portabello mushroom with ruccola, spicy vegan mayonnaise, jalapeno jam. Served with fries. A pint to go with it was around £7. The service was swift, but not too rushed. We didn’t need to book, we just walked up – I’d definitely recommend it.
Glo
Glo is a bit of a rarity in Reykjavik, a Vegan Restaurant! It was lovely to have the pick of the WHOLE menu. You just go in, find a seat and then order at the bar. They’ll call your name when the food is ready. They also sell a lot of dishes made with ‘Oumph’ a vegan meat substitute that is becoming popular in the UK. I had an Oumph Burger, and Vicki had a soup. It was a ‘lighter’ dinner, I could have probably smashed back a pudding too, but I’m trying to be good. It all went out of the window on our last night, and meal at…
Rok
Right, it is no exaggeration that I would happily travel back to Iceland just for this place alone. It was insanely good. Rok was RAMMED with people, and I can understand why. The staff were amazing, the atmosphere was brilliant, and the food was INSANE. Not only was it presented beautifully, but it also tasted incredible. We had a handful of dishes (they were smaller, tapas-sized plates) not one of them was even close to average – we loved everything. I felt a little guilty not being able to tip the staff because they were really, really good. If you’re ever going to Reykjavik you MUST go here.
Read Part 2 of our Adventure here!
If you don’t want to wait – watch the video blog below..
