Europe Over All- Lessons Learned, Tips, Budgeting

      I learned so much on my trip. Most of what I learned was about myself, but some of my newfound tips can be shared.
     If you are living in the United States and are looking to do a big trip to Europe, you can do it for cheap. I spent one month and spent less than $1500 including 6 different flights, 4 hotel rooms, and food and doing tours. Your flight will be the spendiest part, but if you are studious about it, you can find great deals, with a few tips and tricks, but be patient.  Actually, that applies to everything on the big trip plans.

Tip #1 Be Patient
       I booked my flight from Boston to Iceland for $79, still under $100 after all taxes and fees were handled. Now, I know what you are thinking, "but I don't live in Boston." This is where the patience and tricky tips come in. I used http://www.travelpirates.com/ to find a cheap flight to Boston. I used my phone to book my Boston to Iceland deal, and my tablet to book from Minneapolis to Boston. Now I still live 7 hours of winter driving to Minneapolis, so that was where my hotel #1 came in. I booked both tickets at once to make sure I have the perfect, 3 hour (don't cut that short! You need every second to get out of security, and back in with your next airline ticket in hand) cut between flights. Now it doesn't always work. My trip back things didn't work out as planned and I didn't make my connecting flight, which takes me to tip #2

Tip #2 Don't Stress Over Every Penny
     So things don't always go as planned, you buy a bottle of booze and it's cheaper at the next place you go, you miss your flight because it got delayed and you have to book a room in a strange city and the cabs are expensive, you get ripped off on your room because you booked it on the weekend. Things go wrong, it will cost you money, but you can't stress over it.


Tip #3 Go With The Flow
     I arrive in Iceland with no plans, I didn't book a hotel, I didn't book a tour, I put my name out there on couchsurfing.com and it all worked out. I did come across a couple of kinks in the road, like when I went in the wrong house and made it in the news. Which leads me to tip #4


Tip #4 Laugh At Yourself
    So I was horribly embarrassed at the huge misunderstanding and apologetic despite the language barrier, but we all make mistakes. It's unhealthy to take it too seriously.


Tip #5 Try To Learn A Little About The Languages Spoken Widely
    This goes along with the laugh at yourself. Even if you don't learn a few phrases, at least learn to read it, it is incredibly hard to get directions to a place if you don't know how to read the word to ask people where it is, or even what you would call the first letter in the word such as when I went snorkeling. Also, people appreciate your effort, even if it just hello, thank you, and goodbye.


Tip #6 Talk To People
     If you are traveling alone, or even with people, talking to people is the best way to get tips on what tours to do (or not to do), the best or cheapest places to stay, and just great places to eat or walk.

Tip #7 Don't Make Plans
    I didn't plan ANYTHING for my trip, and it was the best trip of my life. When you don't make plans, you leave yourself open to do new things with the new people you meet. Because I didn't make plans, I was able to stay up late and go out with a group of 13 new friends I made that day and I got to do all the tours that other people payed hundreds for, for wayyyy cheaper. Which leads me to Tip#8...

Tip #8 Make Your Own "Tours"
    Rent a car, buy a map, and make it your own. When you google the tours, they tell you all  the main stops, but I can not emphasize enough how great it was to do these tours with just a couple people. I saw whole buses full of people arrive at the places we saw alone. We made as many stops as we wanted, we packed our own lunches instead of paying a fortune for the tour box lunches, and we spent only about $20/person.

Tip #9 Make Friends With EVERYONE
     This ties in nicely with tip#6. The more you talk to people, the more you will find that most people, especially travelers, are AWESOME! I really liked couchsurfing for meeting people too. Thru couchsurfing, I was able to make friends with some awesome locals that know the area and people from 6 different countries. Hostels are another great place to make friends, as well as free walking tours. You will make friends for life, you will have friends who you can visit and can visit you, and you will have a blast.

Tip #10 Do What You Want!
     You know what is fantastic about traveling alone? When you get sick of being around people, you can get a hotel. When you want to spend the day in hot springs, do it. If you want to run run run all over the place and never stop until you are asleep, go for it. Traveling alone is a beautiful thing. Check out my video below.

Iceland's Northern Lights

I saw a lot of tours to see the northern lights. Honestly I think I saw them the best way I could though. Instead of booking a tour and "maybe" seeing them and having to be with a bunch of people I don't know, I chose my own route.

Still using that rental car from the Golden Circle and South Coast days, we chose to go to http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/ to find the best location to see it and when.  With just a map we bought at the gas station and way too many people in the smallest car you could rent,  we found the perfect spot.

We had an amazing time and I made some great friends that night.

Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure- Iceland

I did everything on the cheap when I was in Iceland, so I had to splurge on just this one thing. I have no regrets! I booked thru Iceland Adventure Tours, and  I wouldn't have done it thru anyone else. When we arrived at Þingvellir, I saw dozens of other tour groups that were packed full of people. Our group was only 5 people. I don't know about you but I want to see the area, not other people's butts. They said the max is 9 people thru this company. Perfect size! Plus they were the cheapest and the only one that didn't charge for pickup. Our guide was awesome too. No complaints at all.

At the begining he said, "I have to take a picture of all you smiling" after all, the water was only 8 degrees. He had a great sence of humor about the whole thing. It was cold, but it was actually warmer in the water, so I was first in!

 Everything about this is unbelievable! How many people can say they snorkeled between the tectonic plates?

 The water was crystal clear.

 This was so clean you could take off your mask and drink the water you are floating in. It was a big part of the experience because I feel like it is a once in a lifetime feeling.

 You are wearing a dry suit the whole time with a onesie underneath that they provided. Don't forget to wear your base layer under it all, you will be changing outside. Trust me, this is not the place to be outside in your underwear.

At the end we walked back still feeling the rush of this amazing experience. My face and hands were cold but not unbearable. My dry suit froze to my body so I needed assistance getting out of it. Imagine a baby on it's back getting it's footy pajamas taken off, now replace that baby with a 25 year old me laughing my head off. Yeah, this is a thing.

I had a fantastic time. I would absolutely recommend this. My hands hurt so bad from the cold after but I didn't even care. This was a huge thrill. If you can't get a clear view of the video watch this here!

Reykjavik- Part 2

 Reykjavik itself is full of things just too see. I spent several days just walking around the city and enjoyed every second of it. I don't mind getting lost as long as I have no place to go, and in a city like this you are safe to explore as much as you want. Above is a sculpture of an old viking ship (warning, it was the slickest thing I have ever stepped on.)

 Iceland takes pride in it's graffiti artists, and it makes the town very fun to look at.

 Don't forget to grab an old end of your bread for the locals.

 Just about anywhere you are in the city, you can look down the streets to see a beautiful view of these mountains.

      Please don't miss out on the local hot springs when you are here. They only cost 600 krona and you can walk to them for free or take any bus for 400 krona. Even in the winter, if you dress appropriate, it is a beautiful walk and the exercise feels so good. I went to two hot springs in Reykjavik.
      Sundlaug Vestubæjar is a big place, with an indoor pool and several outdoor pools and a steam room. You get to choose your temp and even if you want to be in a hot pool with salt, or mineral water. The slide was closed, it might be that way all winter but I didn't ask. The facilities are clean and high tech, with lockers that open with waterproof wrist bands and you can rent a towel or swimsuit for 400 krona each if you don't have one. The pools are kept clean because they require everyone to shower (naked) with soap before putting on their swimsuits and entering the pool. It may seem weird if you are American, but if you don't make a big deal about it, no one else does either. Don't forget to hop out, roll in the snow, and get back in!

     Nauthólsvík Geothermal Beach wasn't as warm as the other, but it is nice because it is at a beach. I saw people all over swimming in the ocean (it was soooo cold outside by the way, around negative 8 Celsius) and they didn't seem to mind. I decided to give it a shot and forgot how to breath and only lasted about a second. The walk barefoot, back to the pool was really tough. It really showed me how tough Icelandic people are. I saw many little kids (from two to 10) going in the cold ocean water and acting like it was no problem!

    The perpetual sunset in the Icelandic winter makes everything look so beautiful all day long. Or would you call it the perpetual sunrise? The general rule of thumb for swimming in the cold water is one second per degree, so if it is negative outside (Celsius) only a fraction of a second unless you are trained or raised doing this.

Iceland's South Coast Part 3- Glaciers and Volcanic Beaches

     The south coast of Iceland was full of amazing sights, even the road was so awesome to see. If I had more battery in my GoPro I would've taken a video of my ride.

 I feel like you can't go to Iceland without seeing some extreme things, like volcanoes, or glaciers! We drove for a long time, but finally made it to Mýrdalsjökull and it was so worth it. It was blowing the whole time with amazing amounts of snow, but to see the snow against the black, volcanic background was so awesome. I didn't go with a tour and I would never recommend going in or on the glacier without a guide so we just enjoyed the views from the bottom. It is far too dangerous to try to go it alone, literally life and death. Ting and I didn't mind the views of the entrance though.

 Not even 10 minutes into the hike to get there something tripped me up. It was my Yaktrax, they had snapped and the spring caught me in the pants and tripped me. Iceland is too tough for normal gear. Maybe I will find a better alternative for my next trip because they were incredibly helpful up to then.

 It really gives you an idea how massive this glacier is!

 I just loved the contrasts. It was an amazing shade of blue!

 Then I headed out to see a view of the wild, black beaches near Vik i Myrdal, The view was awesome, but upon arriving those scary black clouds brought wind. Not just any wind, but wind full of snow, and then hail. The wind was so strong, when I opened up the car door to get in, it sucked our maps out and we caught them, and it took two of us to shut it again. We almost lost the passenger door by the time Ting got it open. It took all of our strength to barely shut it and we couldn't completely shut it til we were off the mountain side.

 It was becoming very dangerous to drive in with all the snow and wind. Our car was too light and small and didn't have four wheel drive so we gave up and headed back.

 It was a smart call. I can drive in the snow, but I know my limits. Every year tourist die trying to drive in Iceland. Be safe, and don't push your limits.

    Heading back it was like night and day. Only twenty minutes down the road and the storm was behind us and we were back in our sunny, beautiful weather. I couldn't leave the south coast without getting a nice shot of the horses of Iceland. The horses in Iceland are built for the weather, and much smaller and more stout then North American horses. Read about it here.

Iceland's South Coast Part 2- Skógafoss Waterfall

   The next stop on the South shore was Skógafoss Waterfall, an absolute must see when you are out and about. It was hard to capture how massive and powerful it was because the closer you get, the wetter you get.

 After climbing endless steps, (honestly you have no idea) Ting and I stopped for a photo shoot.

 It was pretty remarkable, and scary, to be up that high.

 I definitely recommend getting off the beaten path and hiking the area. After a while of hiking, we got to see the most amazing views. I still can't believe how blue that water was.

 I love how small we looked in the beautiful mountainside. The view was unbelievable.

 More remarkable canyons.

 From the top of Skógafoss, you can see for miles. It's really hard to believe what you see.

Don't be afraid to be a trailblazer, the best views are when you are completely alone. Read more about our trip here