It can be tricky figuring out the best time of year to visit Iceland. Go in the dead of winter, and while the Northern Lights will be at their peak, you’ll only get four hours of daylight (No really, I’m serious!). Go in the middle of the summer, and you’ll find the opposite. Jared and I chose to make our week-long visit at the end of March, and it was perfect! Here’s why:
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While studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain for a semester in college, I lived with a host family, which meant I ate all my meals with them and didn’t eat much food around the city. That being said, I didn’t let that keep me back from indulging my sweet tooth, and Sevilla has so many good desserts! Here are my favorites:
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Staying in hostels was one of my favorite parts of traveling around Europe. In some ways, hostels are even better than hotels. They’re definitely a great way to meet people and a cheap option. While many hostels are pretty similar, there are some that go above and beyond. Here were my favorites while backpacking all over Europe:
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One of my favorite hikes I’ve ever done and one of my favorite experiences in Spain was hiking San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (pronounced Gaz-te-lu-ge-che; try saying that three times fast) outside of Bilbao, Spain. It’s a beautiful hike past farms along the northern coast and then up steps to the top of the small peninsula sticking out into the water. For all you Game of Thrones fans, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe also has the added bonus of being the filming location for Dragonstone in more recent seasons!
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Living with a host family is the absolute best way to make the most out of travels abroad because it allows you to get a firsthand view of local culture and get involved with it yourself. But that doesn’t mean that living with a host family in a foreign country can’t have it’s challenges. After living with two host families in Argentina for five weeks and a family in Spain for four months, here are some of my tips. Some can apply to staying with a host family in any country, but some are more specific to Spain.Read More »
When you think of Iceland, one of the first things you probably think of is the Blue Lagoon, a warm pool with milky blue water and beautiful views of Iceland’s surrounding mountains. When I began planning my Iceland trip, I quickly learned that some people choose to forego this stop on their itineraries because it can get incredibly crowded and it’s expensive. There are also many other geothermal pools in Iceland such as the Secret Lagoon, a much cheaper ($28/person) and more off-the-beaten path favorite of tourists opting to skip the Blue Lagoon.
Jared and I decided to book the Blue Lagoon after all, so here are some of my thoughts on the experience and if it truly is worth it.Read More »
Studying abroad in Spain was one of the best decisions of my life! It’s a wonderful place to study abroad, and I would absolutely recommend it. Here’s why:Read More »
Sevilla is a beautiful city, and there’s so many lovely things to do there! Here are 14 of my favorites after having lived there for four months. For more information on what to eat + drink in Spain, check out my Spanish Food and Drink Guide.Read More »
When I booked my $380 round-trip flight to Iceland, I was ecstatic. The cheap flight was certainly a selling point on the location. However, I soon learned that Iceland is incredibly expensive once you’re there. Here are some average expenses and tips for spending less (so you can spend more on the things you care about of course).
Yes! Before my Iceland trip, I did a lot of research into renting a car and got scared off by a lot of horror stories online. Now that I’ve done it, I can confirm that driving in Iceland, at least on the main roads, is pretty easy and pretty much essential considering most of the country is incredibly remote. Without a car, you’d be stuck paying tour companies too much money for something you could go and enjoy on your own schedule. Here are some of my tips and notes on car rentals.