Iceland, Part 2

The moment I landed in Reykjavik Intl Airport, I was shooocked to find out the bus to city center costs more than EUR 40/person.
There is no ridesharing service, so it was either that bus or a taxi which would cost you around EUR 200 per trip (divided by 4 people so it's almost the same price as the bus).
I was so concerned that I thought ok I need to humble myself down since I did not realize this place would be that expensive.
Therefore, I have some things I learned from this trip:

1. Most people go to Iceland for a road trip experience, which I understand.
Being in this country made me feel like this place is meant to be explored that way.
The transportation within Reykjavik is quite nice, I did travel with buses too, but barely something would take you beyond the capital.
I did not find many or even any intercity bus, maybe there are some, but it's just not that common.
So, if you want to rent a car (a very recommended way to explore Iceland), pick up and drop off your rented car in the airport! It'll save you so much money.

2. So many things to explore! 

I wish I had enough resources to spend a month exploring the whole country.
If you stay in the capital, Reykjavik, there would be some tour agents who would provide a day trip/day tour but it would most likely take you to the closest routes like the Golden Circle, or aurora sighting in the national park.
There would also be some excursions such as: icelandic horse riding where they can take you to riding in the route taken by the vikings, volcanos visits, spa in Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon, etc.
I feel like you will never run out of things to do!
However, the distance between places are quite far. For example, we had to drive 5-6 hours from Reykjavik to the glacier lagoon and the Vatnajokull Glacier area where we did our glacier hike and went to see the Diamond Beach (which I have to say you must visit). That pretty much sums up why road trip is the nicest way to explore the country. AND also, go beyond Reykjavik!
We only explored the southern part of Iceland though we went from the east to the west. That was, to me, more than enough to me to go in a pretty-dense 5-day road trip. 

Look at the map below to see where I went (marked with red~ish markers):

3. Prices are relatively expensive.

I mean, coming from Indonesia, everything in the Netherlands is already so expensive to me, but Iceland is more expensive. A bowl of ramen did cost me 25 euro (they use ISK as their currency, but I'll just convert it to euro). Although I have to say the quality of the foods and ingredients they provide is top notch.
During the road trip, we tried to cook as often as possible in our Airbnb.
The price of groceries is not that different than in Netherlands, we spent around 200 euro to feed 5 people for 5 days. We had lots of lambs steak (which is verrry common in Iceland), couple of veggies, rice, and snacks. A piece of small sandwich would cost you 4-6 euro, that's why try to stay in Airbnb/apartment and cook to save money.
PS: Go to their famous groceries store "Bonus" as the other stores have more expensive prices.
If you go around and visit places, I can say 98% it would cost you nothing except for the parking fee.
About gas, some rental companies would sometimes give a discount or promotion for gas where they'll reimburse some of your gas expenses after you return the car.
We spent around 250-300 euro for gas to roam around for 5 days. Of course it depends on how you travel. We did drive around for hours everyday (also, consider the energy used for heater should you come during colder weather).

4. Wear lots of layers, and don't forget to bring waterproof jacket/raincoat! On top of proper (better if waterproof) boots/shoes.

I remember we were so tired while doing the waterfalls trip, it was only September although it was 1 day after a storm. It was so exhausting just to walk here and there because the wind and the rain was ruthless.
Luckily, local people said it was not a normal weather in September but yeah that happened to us.
It was chilly for 2 hours, then it's warm, then it's raining, then it's windy, then it's suddenly warm again.
I remember thinking to myself how I understand why the vikings are as strong as they are.
Their daily lives is already my definition of workout especially compared to my life in Indonesia.
My hands were freezing, my body was warm, but my feet were freezing, then for 10 minutes they're all okay. It was just weird.
We had to buy lots of supplements and end our days early to have more sleeps, we just realized the environment was not easy (despite already going through winter in the Netherlands, I have to say this was a tad harder-despite being there in September).
Equip yourself with good gears, hiking attire would be suitable for most parts of the country.
Get yourself waterproof everything, it will come in handy.

This is me when the storm was on effect, I wore everything waterproof + raincoat:

5. Bring tumbler everywhere, the water and air quality in Iceland is probably the best I've ever experienced.

I swear Dutch summer really messed up with my skin, but, spending 10 days in Iceland dramatically healed my acne and cleaned my pores lol.
The tap water is the freshest ever, they said some of them are sourced from glaciers.
It was okay but personally I was so excited to drink glacial water from my kitchen sink hahaha.

Below is us trying to pack as much glacial water straight from the source hehehe:

Well yeah, I still have some minor things in my head, but probably it would be nice to keep some things as mystery lol.

I have never heard a disappointing story from someone who has visited Iceland.
This place is otherworldly, it is breathtaking, mesmerizing.
Also a very good place if you want to rent a campervan and just explore the country.

Probably one of the most Icelandic sceneries I captured

They are sooo blessed with natural resources like geothermal, so it would be very common to see hot springs in the middle of nowhere.
They say, if you dig a hole deep enough anywhere in Iceland, a hot spring would appear.
Imagine the fun of wandering around in a good weather.

tbh idk if someone is still reading this blog, but I would be very open to answer questions about travels (only if I already have experience in that place tho).

So, hit me up!