Let's go!

Now the first step to any trip, booking flights.

Here you're also deciding on how many days you're gonna stay in Iceland.

I get asked this all the time and my answer is always 4 to 5 days.

Now you can of course visit for a short weekend, but to truly experience Iceland and all that it has to offer, 4 days at least.

Now for booking flights to Iceland, I always recommend and always use myself a website called DoHop.is.

The Icelandic website shows all available flights to Iceland, ensuring that you see the most affordable option.

Think of it as Iceland's version of Skyscanner or Google Flights, but often with even better deals.

So definitely check out DoHop.is when booking flight tickets.

And no, I'm not being paid a single penny to say this, but DoHop, if you're watching, call me.

The quality in hotel in Iceland is super high, so if you have any concern about accidentally booking some sketchy hotel, you can relax because that most likely won't happen.

What could happen, if you're not careful, if you're not listening to your friend Dan on YouTube, is that you book an accommodation out in the middle of nowhere.

And this is especially true with Airbnb, because often they'll say centrally located or just a few minutes away from the downtown area, when in reality, it's not.

Now you can of course book your accommodation wherever you like, but I wouldn't recommend staying too far away from the central downtown Reykjavik area, because it would require you to either rent a car or having to rely on public transport, which here in Iceland aren't great.

Additionally, you'll end up wasting a lot of time commuting back and forth, which is time that could be spent exploring Iceland, which is why I always recommend staying centrally.

All accommodations in Iceland are listed on the site booking.com.

Since the prices of hotels very much vary on seasons and availability, using booking.com will ensure that you get the best possible deals when you're coming to Iceland.

Once you've found a hotel that looks good, before you book it, to ensure that it's centrally located, I recommend heading over to Google Maps, inserting the name of the hotel and seeing the walking distance from the hotel to Harpa Concert Hall, which is very centrally located.

So if the walking distance is 10 to 15 minutes, you're good to go.

But if it's closer to 45 minutes, I might recommend trying to find another hotel or accommodation.

What a lot of people don't realize beforehand when they're coming to Iceland is that they're not arriving or flying to Reykjavik, which is our capital and pretty much where you want to stay for your trip.

Instead, you're arriving to Keflavik.

Keflavik has our international airport and is about 45 minutes driving from Reykjavik.

Now to get to Reykjavik, you basically have three options to choose from.

The first option and also the cheapest option if you're traveling with a group of four or less is to take the Flybus.

The Flybus is a big bus that departs after every single flight from Keflavik airport to Reykjavik.

Now the ticket price for the Flybus is $28 and it's possible to purchase tickets to the Flybus at the arrival hall when you arrive to Iceland.

The second option is to take a taxi.

There's no need to pre-order a taxi because there's always a long line of taxis right outside the airport.

Now the convenient thing about this option is that it'll take you from the airport directly to your accommodation.

This is the cheapest option if you are four or more people and it's less per person than taking the Flybus.

Before you hop into a taxi, it's definitely good to discuss with the taxi driver the approximate price to get to the city.

They should have a fixed rate which should be somewhere around 20,000 ISK per transfer which in USD is somewhere around this number here.

So if the number that the taxi driver gives you is somewhere around this number, you're good to go.

Also, while we're on the topic of arrival day, airport, getting to the city, a small little tip is that you can estimate around two hours from flight arrival to arrival time at your accommodation in Reykjavik.

Approx 45 to 60 minutes to get to the airport and then approx 45 to 60 minutes to drive from the airport to the city.

Hope that helps.

The third option is to take a rental car which can be easy and convenient especially if you're picking it up at the airport since you can return it at the airport on your way back to the airport.

Now in this segment, I've got the perfect itineraries to make your Iceland trip unforgettable.

We're going to be doing two itineraries, one that's perfect for summertime and the other that's perfect for wintertime.

All of the activities found in these itineraries can be found on our website wakeupreikirik.com so if you want to copy these itineraries down to a tee or if you want to switch some things up and create your very own itinerary, you can do that as well but I do recommend visiting wakeupreikirik.com where you'll find an awesome selection of activities to do in Iceland, small group tours, great reviews, fair pricing.

It's a spot to book your Iceland trip.

Now let's start with the perfect winter itinerary here in Iceland.

Day one begins with a Reykjavik food walk where you'll indulge in delicious flavors of Iceland with a fun local guide while soaking up rich history and the culture.

It's the best way to start any trip to Iceland.

Later that same night, you gear up for a hunt, a Northern Lights hunt.

By booking this early on in your stay, you're maximizing your chances of experiencing them since if you don't see them on your first day, you can rebook again for free.

For days two and three, get ready to embark on a two-day adventure along the stunning south coast where you'll see all of the sights including the Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach and exploring a mesmerizing ice cave.

This part will get you away from the city as you stay in a cozy guest house with breakfast included the following day.

Day four brings you back into the city where you'll join a small group Golden Circle tour and will be topped off with a dip at the Secret Lagoon.

Finish your last day in Iceland, get in touch with us here at Wake Up Reykjavik for our dinner recommendations for the best places in the city.

We'll happily recommend our favorite spots in the city to go out for dinner and if you want we can even call them and reserve a table for you, easy peasy.

Then we have the summer itinerary.

This itinerary also starts with the Reykjavik food walk.

Since good food knows no seasons, am I right guys, am I right?

After the fun introduction to Reykjavik filled with tasty bites and local fun, you will head out to the Reykjavik harbor for an amazing whale watching or puffin tour.

Summer is the time of year to see whales and to see puffins in Iceland.

You can see whales all year round but the sighting percentage I think it goes up to 98 or 99% during summer and also during summer if you go on a tour it's guaranteed to see a puffin since during the summertime we have about 8 to 10 million puffins that come here to Iceland.

The next day you'll wake up and head out to experience the south coast for two action packed days.

This summer version of the tour offers a stunning glacier hike and also visits the Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach.

You will also spend the night at a local guest house on the south coast that has breakfast included.

For the last full day in Iceland you will conclude your journey with a day trip to the mystical Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

Each corner of this place offers natural beauty and unique sights making it the perfect finale to your summer saga.

For the final night you will also enjoy a fantastic last night dinner in the city and similar to the winter itinerary if you need any recommendations just send us an email at info at wakeupregulary.com we will send over our recommendations for awesome dinner spots in the city.

So here you have two epic itineraries to make your adventure to Iceland one for the books.

Our daylight varies a lot throughout the year.

In the summer time our sun never sets and in the winter time we go down to only three hours of daylight.

The longest day of the year is June 21st and the shortest day of the year is December 21st.

We get just under three hours of daylight but from then on out the days only get longer.

On the summer time the temperature generally stays between 48 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit so it doesn't tend to get too hot here in Iceland while in the winter time the temperature will generally be between 27 and 37 degrees Fahrenheit so it doesn't tend to get too cold either.

But we do have the strong cold winds which makes it feel a little bit more chilly than what the temperature is saying.

One take.

It's a one take Danny here coming at you with the new video.

Now if you're debating whether to come to Iceland during summer or during winter time

I've made the decision even easier for you by making a simple pros and cons list for each season.

Let's start with the pros of visiting Iceland during winter time.

There are less people here during winter time so the major tourist sites will be a lot less crowded giving you a better feeling of being alone in nature making it a little bit more nice.

Number two.

The snow.

This might be a con to some people but generally here in Iceland we get quite a bit of snow during the winter time and it makes the landscapes a little bit more icy a little bit more unique and more beautiful in my opinion.

So the snow during winter time big pro.

Number three.

Northern lights.

They are above Iceland all year round but during our summer months and our more brighter months of the year it's simply too bright to see them.

During winter when things start to get dark they start to get visible.

So one of the big bonuses or big pros about visiting Iceland during winter time is seeing the bright northern lights.

Now let's move on to the cons of visiting Iceland during winter.

Number one.

It's pretty much given the weather in winter time here in Iceland is worse than during summer time.

It's a little bit more windy.

It's a little bit more cold.

Yeah.

Worse weather.

It is what it is.

Number two is worse road conditions.

Here during winter time our roads they'll get a little bit icy sometimes a little bit slippery and it's not ideal especially during winter time when it's dark as well.

If you're planning on doing a self-drive road trip be a little bit scary over winter time which is why I always recommend doing tours instead if you're planning on exploring which I definitely recommend doing.

But when you go on a tour you're in a vehicle that's fully equipped with an experienced driver who's been driving in these conditions for all of his life.

So even though the road conditions aren't always ideal during winter time it shouldn't stop you from exploring and experiencing the very best that Iceland has to offer.

Number three.

Shorter daylight hours like we mentioned before or winter time.

It does get pretty dark especially if you're here around the December month we go down to only three hours of daylight.

It's very dark and it gives you less time to kind of go out and to enjoy all these magnificent magnificent magnificent magnificent sights.

So that's a con but it still shouldn't stop you.

Winter is a great time and you can definitely see some amazing sights.

You just have to do some careful planning.

Now for the summer time pros.

Before we get into this do a little montage of some beautiful summer sights here in Iceland.

Summer is one of my favorite times to be here in Iceland.

So montage montage montage.

How amazing did that look?

The weather is better.

So the chances of tours being canceled or roads being closed is far less during summer time.

The warmer weather here in Iceland also leads to the lupins blossoming.

Now this is a pretty unique flower which cannot be found in most places in the world.

It's purple and technically an invasive plant.

But it sure looks pretty when looking at the big purple fields across the island.

Number two.

The midnight sun.

Now we have a very unique midnight sun here during the summer time because it never sets.

So if you want to experience long bright days, very bright, very nice, I recommend visiting during summer time.

Number three.

More culture and life.

Now during summer time we have a lot of different festivals happening in the city and outside of the city here in Iceland.

Whether it's food festivals, Reykjavík pride, music festivals all over the island.

You can check out some of our other videos which go more in depth about these events and festivals.

The cons of summer time.

Number one is more crowds.

Now the most popular time to visit Iceland is during the summer time.

It's when the most people visit.

So the major tourist attractions, sightseeing sites, they tend to get more crowded during summer versus winter, unfortunately.

But it's still very nice.

Number two is more expensive accommodations.

Since summer time is a popular time to visit Iceland, accommodations tend to sell out quick.

And when they're starting to sell out, it tends to happen that the prices of our accommodation does rise.

Let's still say pretty organized and you're watching videos like this and you book it ahead of time, you'll be fine.

Number three is that it requires maybe a little bit more planning.

Since hotels and tours tend to get sold out ahead of time, it can be a tricky time of year if you're going to visit it on very short notice because a lot of things might be sold out and it might require you to be a little industrious and try to kind of figure it out.

But like I said before, if you plan it ahead of time, all tours will still be available.

Accommodations will still be at a decent price.

So summer time, this could be a con, but I guess not if you're organized and if you do it ahead of time, it should be fine as well.

I hope this video came in handy.

If it did, consider giving the video a like or even subscribing to the channel.

We have a lot of great videos on Iceland, some travel tips, and now we're posting every single Friday.

And also if you have any questions, leave them down in the comments and I'll see you guys soon here in Iceland.