City Profile- Reykjavik, Iceland

“Hipster is mainstream here”

I was sooooooooo (infinite amount of o’s) excited to visit Iceland, and even though for this trip I was only spending five nights in the capital (Reykjavik), I was determined to fit as much in as possible.

Although the capital, as there is only approximately 300,000 people living in Iceland, Reykjavik is not overly large. However, it is oozing with character, and it is probably the most hipster place I’ve ever been (in a trendy, non-pretentious way!).

The streets and building were covered in snow, there is street art on almost every blank wall, so many different coloured houses, museums, record shops, amazing Scandinavian style cafes, and pubs from all over the world (English pub, Irish pub, American bar etc). As I said, it is oozing with character. Also Iceland is known to be one of the safest countries in the world, and it certainly felt that way.

I promise you it is not a place you can get bored- and this is only the capital- wait until you start exploring further out and realise just how truly amazing this country is (go here to see more photos of Iceland).

Top five Reykjavik tips (beyond the typical ones you find on Tripadvisor):

Dietary requires are not hard to cater for- I was a little worried travelling to Iceland as a vegetarian who is also allergic to nuts- I thought I may struggle to find food to eat. But I didn’t at all, so many of the restaurants and cafes here cater for all dietary requirements- There are even vegan/gluten free crepes!

The nightlife is expensive but worth it- Everything in Iceland is expensive. Like, really, really expensive. But don’t let that scare you off. I had one of the best nights out of my entire trip. The Iceland nightlife is FUN, and no bars or clubs have entry fees, so you can hop between them the whole night. I have zero regrets about consuming $35 (in Australian money) cocktails… or making a snow angle at 4am.

Icelandic air- I highly recommend flying with Iceland air. I found the plane so spacious, clean, and modern. Icelandic Air is also making a conscious effort to reduce their impact on the environment, which I think should be rewarded. www.icelandair.com/

Hotel Cabin- I stayed in two hotels whilst in Iceland, and Hotel Cabin was my favourite. Although, slightly further out of town, the rooms were clean and the view was amazing. Warning though- the rooms are very small (but as I said before- Iceland is expensive!). hotelcabin.is/

Guide to Iceland- I highly recommend looking on the website guide to Iceland ( https://guidetoiceland.is/). You can book all your day trips through here (there are so many things to choose from), and I found the website really easy to navigate and book through.