United Kingdom

Iceland and London Trip Conclusion

Our flight from London back to Iceland was at 8:40 PM so we had the full morning to see more of London. Our AirBnB host was nice enough to let us store our luggage in his house (which is right across the street from the rental apartment). Our last meal in London – we went back to Joy King Lau for the amazing deep fried custard bun; those were that good! We ordered 2 orders and wanted more afterwards but the waiter said will need to wait around 30 minutes because they’ll need to make it, steam it, and then fried it so 3 steps. That was why they were so good, they were that fresh! The delicious dim sum brunch was $107.24 for 5 of us included tips!

Our last morning in London was finally blue sky and it actually got very warm!

Our last sightseeing in London: Buckingham Palace! Wow a lot of tourists!

I was more attracted to the “golden” gate on the right side of the palace!

Very grand!

But the palace on the other hand, I am not impressed with the exterior, it doesn’t have the grand palace feel!

I am sure the interior must be very grand but we didn’t went in this time….next time when only my husband and I travel 🙂

The Victoria Memorial:

The blue sky and white clouds, I wondered how often do you see that in London?

Then, we walked down The Mall to The Household Cavalry Museum:

I like the exterior design of this building more!

We didn’t have enough time to visit more sights so we headed back to Piccadilly Circus to Chinatown to get some food for our flight and then pick up our luggage and took the bus back to Victoria then the Gatwick Express to the airport. We got to the airport early, would better to be early than late, who knows how busy Gatwick would be! We had plenty of time to hang out at the airport so we did some shopping and have some food before our flight. We arrived Iceland late at night at 10:50 PM, we stayed at Bed and Breakfast Keflavík Airport again; they provided free shuttle service and the great amenities they offered (see my previous post about it). Our flight back to the States was at 3:35 pm so we could sleep as late as we want to. We had a late and full breakfast! Knowing how busy Keflavík Airport was on the flight out to London, we made sure we get there early this time! We were the first ones in line to check in so as soon as the staff showed up, we didn’t have to wait long 🙂 Another good thing of being early was we could shop for souvenirs….my Blue Lagoon masks! The prices at the airport was less than at Blue Lagoon due to duty free, although you could get a VAT refund if purchased more than $$ but will need to wait in line. And also if you buy at Blue Lagoon, you’ll need to put those in check baggage since they are over 3 fl oz! Our flight back home was smooth and on time. Goodbye Iceland, we’ll be back for the Northern Lights…better luck next time!

Overall it was a short trip, we usually take a least two weeks in Europe, but this time due to limited vacation days, we only stayed 9 days and split between Iceland and London due to our travel group’s interests. BUT we saw a lot on both places. Iceland was amazing; the peacefulness of it and the dramatic change of landscape! My favorites were the ice lagoons and the Diamond Beach! London was huge with tons to see and surprisingly great and affordable Chinese food!

Here’s the total we spent per person in USD of our 9 days trip to Iceland and London, not including souvenirs:

Total 1870.007
Date Description
Day 1 Sat 8/29 Flight to Iceland 425.8
Iceland Car Rental 73.79845
Hallgrímskirkja Church
Harpa Concert Hall
Thingvellir National Park – Selfoss 801, Þingvallavegur
Geysir Restaurant 3.768
Gullfoss, Iceland
Lunch Kaffi Krus – Austurvegur 7, Selfoss 800, Iceland 14.746
Supermarket Kronan 13.386
Gas N1 Gas Selfoss 7.836
Seljalandsfoss – Þórsmerkurvegur
Skogarfoss – Gönguleið um Fimmvörðuháls
Hotel Farmer’s Guess House Hella – Meiri-Tunga 1, 851 Hella 50.852
Day 2 Sun 8/30 Reynisfjara – black sand beach
Foss á Síðu – Þjóðvegur
Gas OB Kirkjube 5.42
Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Dinner Hali Country Hotel restaurant 35.604
Hotel Hali Country Hotel – Hali 2, Suðursveit, 781 Höfn for 2 nights 155.728
Day 3 Mon 8/31 Jokulsarlon Glacial Lagoon 34.755
Skaftafell National Park, Iceland
Svartifoss
Lunch Fish and Chips 8.342
Supermarket Netto 11.678
Gas N1 Gas Hofn 5.456
Day 4 Tue 9/1
Gas N1 Gas Vik 5.456
Thai Keflavik – Hafnargata 39, Keflavi 19.968
Blue Lagoon at 6 PM 38.426
Gas Gas airport 6.244
Hotel Bed and Breakfast Keflavík Airport -Valhallarbraut, 235 Reykjanesbær 34.8
Day 5 Wed 9/2 Flight to London 224.25
Train/Subway Roundtrip from Gatwick to London and Oyster Card 62.766
Lunch Noodle Bar 15.94
Supermarket Grocery 3.52
Piccadilly Circus
Trafalgar Square
Admiralty Arch
Westminster Bridge
Houses of Parliament
Westminster Abbey
Dinner Café TPT 24.218
London – AirBnB apartment 226.8
Day 6 Thur 9/3 Paris Day Trip 80 euros
Breakfast buns 3.2
Windsor Castle 34.70333
Lunch Joy King Lau 19.29667
St. George’s Chapel
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Millennium Bridge
Dinner Beijing Dumplings 29.866
Day 7 Fri 9/4
Harry Potter sites King’s Cross Station – Platforms 9, 10 and 11
Oyster card refill 10 pounds for Judy, 5 pounds for Heidi & Peter 15.27
Train tickets Royal Pavilion plus Oxford train tickets 52.134
Lunch Japanese food 8
Brighton Pier
North Laine
Tower Bridge
buns 2.08
Grocery drinks 1.824
Dinner Bai Wei 24
Day 8 Sat 9/5 Oxford included in train tickets above
Blenheim Palace 36
lunch SoJo 9 Hythe Bridge Street 22.12
dinner Dumplings Legend 24.778
Day 9 Sun 9/6 Buckingham Palace
lunch Joy King Lau 21.448
Hotel Bed and Breakfast Keflavík Airport 34.8
Day 10 Mon 9/7 Fly back to Boston

9 thoughts on “Iceland and London Trip Conclusion

  1. I am so sorry this trip is over . . . I picked up a lot of good advice for my trip mid Jan. I will be awaiting more good reading and great photos from Peru.

    Sandy

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