Iceland has long been on our side bucket list and every time we've gone west we've tried to get a stop-over in Reykjavik, but haven't succeeded without ruining ourselves. Just going to Iceland has also previously been relatively expensive, as Icelandair has long had a monopoly on direct flights from Stockholm. Now, however, competition for travelers on the route has increased and this spring no less than several airlines are flying direct flights on the route, which has caused flight prices to drop somewhat. We went on a long and lovely Easter weekend in Iceland and came home with memory cards full of pictures of indescribably beautiful, rugged landscapes and brains full of happy little endorphins. Iceland was really a bit better than I expected, maybe it's simply time to update my top ten favorite countries list with a new country?
Things to think about when you go to Iceland during Easter
Grocery stores
The Icelanders are probably not really that much more religious than us Swedes, but during Easter, almost all of Iceland closes on Good Friday, Easter Day and Easter Monday. The vast majority of grocery stores, restaurants (even fast food places!) and amusements are closed, so if you (like us) get there on Good Friday and need to buy breakfast, you need to spend some time googling which stores are exempt from the closure. One of the few grocery stores that had any stores open all Easter weekend was The crown – a real savior in times of need!
Restaurants
There are a few restaurants open during the Easter days in Reykjavik, of the ones we googled, probably only about 10% were open. But all of us tourists need to eat somewhere, so the pressure on the open restaurants was high! Please book in advance if you find somewhere you want to eat, most restaurants have pages in English. (but you often have to click around a bit among the Icelandic to find the translation)
It should be noted that even the airport's restaurants seem to close at other times during Easter. We ate at a restaurant on Easter Monday that was supposed to be open 24 hours a day, but suddenly they just closed while we were sitting there eating. Very absurd.
Petrol sandwiches
If you can't find an open eating place nearby and you're starving to death, gas stations are a fairly safe choice. They very often have some type of fast food restaurant paired with the deli, often with pizza/sandwiches or smoothies, which have the same opening hours as the gas stations. (Which seems to be basically even?) Not a culinary dining experience to Instagram about for the friends, but oh so grateful to find when the blood sugar has dropped below floor level.
The light
During Easter, the light has returned to Iceland and this year the time between sunrise and sunset was almost 15 hours! Easter simply offers long, glorious days that are made for lots of adventure!
Prepare for a lot of weather
Although it's not that chillingly cold in Iceland during the spring winter, it's often very windy and the weather can change in 5 minutes from sunshine to blizzard. A windbreaker, fleece jacket, hat and gloves are not a bad idea to bring.
