Iceland Part I: Travel To Iceland
My Journey: Atlanta, GA, Raleigh, NC, New York, NY, Atlantic Ocean, and Keflavík, Iceland.
4/25/2024
I have been wanting to go to Iceland ever since I learned what all it had to offer. When I was in elementary school, I went to Yellowstone as part of a cross country road trip. I loved all the geothermal stuff and it is an experience I remember fondly. Then, my senior year of high school, I went with my parents to Alaska and again, it was a trip of a lifetime. Iceland seemed to offer a bit of Yellowstone and Alaska, but with Viking flare. As I go into my 50th year, my partner gifted me with a trip to Iceland. After much research we settled on the spring shoulder season and many, but not all, things would be open, the weather should be manageable and the tourists are mostly still at their homes. Unlike our trip to Italy and Greece, we planned to go on our own. It took about a month to plan out an itinerary, which was built around Viking/Norse sites and museums, natural wonders, and of course, Iceland’s many geothermal baths.
We began the trip by driving from Atlanta, GA to Raleigh, NC. We stopped in Raleigh to pick up subs to eat along the way so that we would not be tied to airline and airport food for lunch and dinner. We ate half of our sandwiches at the Publix and saved the rest for dinner. We also topped off gas before parking with the Raleigh Fast Park and Relax, the same company we used at the Atlanta Airport for our trip to Italy and Greece. We boarded and left on our regional Delta Jet from Raleigh to JFK Airport in New York at 7:55 PM EST.
Our flight to New York’s JFK was uneventful. I had some nuts and coffee on the plane. There was not entertainment as the plane was a small commuter jet. We landed in JFK around 9:50 PM EST.
We boarded the plane around 11:30 PM EST and we would have taken off early had there not been an issue with the door on the plane arming. Once up in the air, we were glad to have eaten the Publix sandwich as we only got a snake on the plane; soda, fruit, nuts, and cheese. We attempted to watch a movie but both of us fell asleep.
Friday 4/26/2024
I woke up over the North Atlantic and looked out the window to see the Northern Lights. I spent the rest of the morning watching the lights until the sun came up.
Northern Lights
After watching the Aurora Borealis all morning, it was not long before the sea and clouds shifted to a view of land.
The view of Iceland was spectacular! As we came in for our landing, however, we were on the wrong side of the plane to see the volcano. We were on the ground around 9:30 AM local time. Once on the ground and through border control, Dez went looking for the restroom which was immaculate and of course he took pics. Then, we picked up our luggage and started to look for the Kuku Camper shuttle which was harder to find than you would think for such a small airport.
Out the door and on to see the rest of Iceland.
This picture was taken on the way home because I missed the sign on the way in.
Lessons Learned and Tips:
Make sure you have Master Card or Visa Card with Active PINS. Discover did not work outside the airport and one spa, and American Express was not taken anywhere in the country. PIN numbers are needed for GAS PUMPS which often do not have an actual station and is just an isolated pump with a card only machine attached.
You need Icelandic Krona for some of the smaller businesses in areas outside of Reykjavik, Iceland.
