I flew to Iceland on WOW Air, a budget airline with regular service from Boston to Reykjavik (and other cities too). Their fares are quite low, especially if you book in advance — my sister had flown with them six weeks earlier and paid around $400 roundtrip when she booked her flights many months prior. The catch is that WOW charges for bags — roughly $50 for a checked bag, and $30 for a carry-on (a personal item under 12 lbs. is free). But even including these fees, I found that WOW is still a better deal that Iceland Air or other major airlines. I paid $280 for my one-way flight plus $80 for both a carryon and checked bag, bringing the total to $360.

I’m so excited to start this trip. My first time outside of the States in ten months!

View from Logan Airport in Boston:

I always book a window seat and can’t resist pulling out my camera during take-off and landing…

… and sometimes mid-flight, too, if the clouds are calling:

I land in Iceland shortly after 4am local time. The airport is sleek and modern, with quotes about travel and nature lining the halls.

Viking ship display in the airport:

The Blue Lagoon is calling:

So is Dunkin’ Donuts, for that matter — running into a DD location across the globe never fails to make me happy:

This coffee / juice place in the arrivals terminal called Joe & the Juice looks great, but when I pass through their payment system is down so they’re closed, but I’d recommend it as the best place to kill time over a latte while waiting for the day to begin. I need a place to camp out for a few hours until the country wakes up. I could pick up my rental car any time (they are open 24/7) but figure I might as well wait until other places start to open and I have somewhere to go.

I grab a banana and coffee from a convenience store in the arrivals terminal. At that same store I also pick up an Icelandic SIM card (from Siminn) for my iPhone so that I can use the local network; it costs around $25 USD for 1 GB of data plus texting and local calls. The new SIM card works instantly and I safely tuck away my Verizon SIM card for when I return to the States.

Around 7am I pull together my belongings and walk outside the main terminal. It’s late August but already so cold!

I walk about three minutes to the car rental area. There are many companies lined up one after the other:

I’ve made an on-line reservation with Iceland Car Rental (turns out the same company also owns Reykjavik Rent-a-Car) and they have this 4WD vehicle waiting for me:

This is a welcome surprise because I reserved the smallest car size and wasn’t expecting 4WD. Perhaps they are out of the smaller models since my visit overlaps with the tail end of high season in Iceland? Or is it because I told the manager via email that I’m a travel blogger? (He kindly offered a 15% discount.) Either way, I am grateful.

Renting a car in Iceland is not cheap. True story: I paid a grand total of $553 for a seven-day rental, plus $329 for gas… which comes to a grand total of $882, or MORE than half of my entire budget for Iceland. But after investigating other modes of transportation — buses, hitchhiking — I realize this is a necessary cost if I want to reliably see all of the places on my rigorous itinerary. That said, if you have more time than me to visit Iceland (like several weeks) then a combination of buses and occasional hitchhiking would work just fine. Hitching is actually quite normal here and many travelers do it. My sister commented upon her return from Iceland that it seemed TOO popular, and at many intersections near campgrounds there would be a string of backpackers all waiting for rides. Take that ratio imbalance into account if you plan to hitch during high season.

FYI, definitely pay for the extra gravel protection regardless as to which company you rent from (some companies even include it in the base rental price). Many of the roads in Iceland are not paved, even on the main highway (Ring Road) which goes all the way around the country. Little dings like the one below are inevitable so you should make sure you’re protected. I did not spring for the ash and sand protection, but had a volcano erupted during my trip (which is scarily possible at any time in this country) I would have been screwed. For the record I did not get a discount on any of the extra insurance costs like gravel protection; I just know from reading about it on-line and hearing about my sister’s experience first-hand that it’s necessary due to road conditions in this country.

For what it’s worth, both my rental car company and my sister’s were not at all stingy about checking every ding and scratch upon return; they didn’t look too closely (perhaps because we did have the gravel insurance) and seemed to understand that small marks are inevitable on these roads.

Also, adhere to the speed limit because there are cameras along the main roads in Reykjavik and beyond.

By around 7:30am I am good to go and the rest of Iceland is starting to wake up. Time to head towards my first stop… the Blue Lagoon! It’s located between the airport and Reykjavik, so many guide books suggest visiting either when you first fly in or on the last day before you fly out. They open at 8am and I’ve scheduled my visit for that time in anticipation of fewer crowds.

See those steam columns in the distance? That’s the Blue Lagoon. I pull over at a scenic turn-off to snap a photo.

While I’m paused at this little car park area, I notice the extensive moss-covered topography:

And hidden caves (created by lava tubes) which will regularly pop up throughout my time in this volcanic nation:

Next stop: Blue Lagoon. More tomorrow!