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An email to Karen from a happy client…

“Hi Karen

Thought I would just drop you a line to thank you so much for organizing our recent trip to Iceland and also to give some feedback.  Basically we had the most wonderful adventure, loving the spectacular landscapes and delightful friendly people of Iceland.  Our tours were absolutely amazing.

Firstly we really recommend Icelandair.  Superb website, check in and inflight service.  Seats with plenty of room even in Economy Class.

Flybus+ service excellent and reliable.  As we chose to fly with Icelandair we had a very early start on the return journey, having to be at the pick up bus stop 5 minutes walk from our hotel at 4.30am and the weather was decidedly “Icelandic”!! But that was our choice and we weathered the storm!!

The Alda Hotel.  Absolutely superb.  Tasteful décor, excellent and extremely helpful and friendly reception staff.  Lovely varied buffet breakfast and the Brass Restaurant serves a fairly limited menu but the food it beautifully presented and very tasty.  Hotel residents receive a 10% discount on restaurant meals in the evening.  Hoping to return to Iceland we would most definitely be staying here again.  Wouldn’t bother looking at anything else.

We wanted to buy traditional Icelandic jumpers and had previously researched and found only five minutes walk from the hotel the Handknitting Association of Iceland shop.  Expensive but so worth it to be supporting the local industry and not some foreign import from China.  Visitors need to bear this in mind.  Staff in the shop were very helpful and we were very grateful to have our jumpers on a couple of occasions in the somewhat inclement weather!

Basically we were very lucky with the weather.  We had a crystal clear but blisteringly cold first night for our Northern Lights hunt and ….. we saw them first time out.  Full credit to the expertise of the Superjeep team who had 250 customers out with them that night as weather had been inclement and the aurora forecast low for the previous few nights.  We were supplied with hot chocolate fortified with vodka while we waited for the light show and all the guides had cameras set up which see the Lights before the human eye can and subsequently everyone has the opportunity to have photos taken with the Lights in the background.  A real bonus as unless you have expensive photographic equipment and a tripod with you it is virtually impossible to get anything like a decent image.  

Full day tour with Superjeep to The Golden Circle.  Again a spectacular tour right off road and up into the mountains through deep snow on another crystal clear and blisteringly cold day.  Our guide for the day was not the most informative but we still thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Restaurant recommendation in Reykjavik…..Rok…..which is up the hill near the Lutheran Cathedral.  Tapas style Icelandic meal which is great as each person choses 3 – 4 dishes so you have opportunity to sample several different dishes.  Icelandic food is fresh and the emphasis is definitely on the healthy.

Two day tour to the south coast, Vik, waterfalls, Vatnajokull glacier, Jokuslaren ice lagoon, complete with wild ride up onto the glacier itself and tour down into a stunning natural ice cave, Black Beach and Diamond Beach.  Cannot pronounce, let alone spell or remember any other place names unfortunately.  Our overnight accommodation was Hof Adventure Hotel which was bunkhouse in style but very clean and adequate for the night.  We were glad we didn’t stay in one of the cottages as a storm hit overnight and the occupants of the cottages said they got no sleep and their beds were shaking it was so windy!!  The sleet, snow and rain comes down horizontally!!  Iceland is the third windiest place on the planet and not many people live in the first and second places!!  Our tour was with Arctic Adventures and our guide was superb.  Very informative and friendly and included a couple of unscheduled stops for us on the way back to Reykjavik on the second day as his Northern Lights Tour was cancelled that night and he had extra time to take us up to another glacier, one of the locations used in Game of Thrones, and also to an extra waterfall and a mountain canyon.

All in all a wonderful experience and the next time we hope to go in April, May or June, feeling that we have only scratched the surface of what Iceland has to offer.

So thank you so much Karen.  We will be returning to you again in the future and would have no hesitation in recommending Spa Travel.

With kind regards V “