Back from an amazing mini break to the beautiful island of Iceland to celebrate my big birthday! Very lucky to have been gifted this trip by my parents who thought it’d be the perfect respite for me and hoped I could fulfil my dream of chasing the Northern Lights!

We had our package booked with Tui which had a fantastic hotel, flights & trips included. Mr Mackem & I took a little roadtrip to Manchester to catch our early flight to Keflavik. We flew from terminal 2 and grabbed brekkie in The Bridgewater Exchange. They had lots of GF options on their menu, they explained the kitchen wasn’t allergy free however one of the chefs was coeliac so they were very aware. I opted for a Scrambled Egg with Bacon on gluten free bread (as my food anxiety kicked in and I thought this was one of the safer options). It was brilliant and just what was needed at 4am to set me up for the busy day.

On board TUI flight there were some options available GF Lasagne, Tikka Masala, Fries in the skies and some snacks (Brownies, fruit pastilles, rainbow popcorn) but it was a super short flight (just over 2.5hours) and my brekkie had set me up so I passed on the trolley when it came.

Lots of people had suggested when you land at Iceland, you exit through a duty free shop, to stock up on alcohol as there’s limited places to purchase this (other than bars & restaurants) and is the most budget friendly way to drink on your stay. Luckily, we’re the rock & roll couple who drink more tea than booze, so we skipped this but one for you if you are fond of a tipple.

We headed on a short transfer still in darkness ( we landed at 9am) and headed to the capital city, Reykjavik where we were basing ourselves for our short stay. Our hotel was the Hotel Borg located on the Posthusstraeti, next to the parliament buildings and well placed to explore the whole city. We had a quick change to some warmer clothing (it was -3* with a wind chill lowering the temp feel to -6) and went to explore. We walked up to the Hallgrimskirkia, which is a stunning modern cathedral at the top of the hill overlooking the city (15 minutes from our hotel) and took a casual stroll back through the beautiful streets, back down to the harbour and the Sun Voyager , sculpture overlooking a breaktaking bay!

We were a bit apprehensive about finding GF eats as I’m one of those odd people who doesn’t eat seafood or fish so felt my options might be limited but a friendly local pointed us in the direction of Posthus , Food hall & bar. Posthus is a unique venue set in the old Post Hall with multiple food & drink retailers with a funky vibe. The menus were all up on display but the best offering was at Funky Bhangra, Scandinavian Asian fusion restaurant. The gent who served me was super clued up & recommended a chicken or lamb curry dish with Icelandic pickles! It packed so much flavour and was warming to banish any chill away! There were quite a selection of dishes available and all the food we saw coming out of the open kitchen looked amazing. They also served Gull Lite which is a gluten free, locally made lager.

It was then back to the hotel room to bundle up for our first night excursion “Catching The Northern lights”. We bundled onto a coach with our brilliant guide explaining what are the Northern Lights and that as a natural phenomenon we’re not guaranteed to see them. I’d already checked the forecast (being a little sky geek already) and wasn’t fancying our chances as the sky was thick with cloud. We headed out of the city down to Vogar on the South West of Iceland to a dark sky location, 5 coaches there and we walked up the icy carpark of Kalfatjarnarvollur to join a plethora of nationalities staring up at the sky. About an hour passed with darkness all around and we started to see glimmers of colour (which appeared as bands of clouds) , through my iphone camera the colours were visible. Truly goosebump inducing, this was happening up above us and we managed to see it. It went dark again so we headed up to the cafe & grabbed a gluten free hot chocolate ( the temp had dropped to a very chilly -10) and back to the coach. Our guide quickly jumped back on board & rallied us all off as the aurora had returned brighter,more visible to the naked eye and then just like that she disappeared behind clouds. We headed back to Reykjavik stunned and tired but thankfully to our cosy hotel around 1am.

Day 2 – The Golden Circle

An early wake up call for breakfast in the hotel – a small buffet of hot & cold items were available clearly labelled with allergens (we had emailed prior to our trip and they had reassuringly said they offered dietary options as standard). I opted for gluten free seeded bread (almost a rye style heavy slab), eggs, bacon followed by oatmeal as I’d read online options were limited on the tours of the Golden Circle.

It was off and out on the bus by 7.30am for a day of touring “The Golden Circle”. Tui had included this excursion in the package and as an ex holiday rep I was hesitant of what to expect but it was a fantastic way to see the beautiful scenery without the worry of driving in winter in conditions which were ever changing. Driving up through the mountains it felt like we were on another planet, our guide was explaining about the volcanic landscape (the volcano had erupted the week prior to our visit), how geothermal technology is important to Iceland and how the locals utilised the natural resources to enjoy & faciliate their lifestyles.

First stop was Haukadalaur Geothermal Field to watch the sunrise come up over the Geysers! Every 10 minutes or so there was a vast explosion from the Geysir which was unbelievable, the scent of sulphur in the air but forgotten when this natural phenomenon happened! After an hour we jumped back on to the coach to head up to Gullfoss Waterfalls, a staircase waterfall fed by the glaciers and visible in two stages and truly stunning. Our tour had arranged a traditional lunch, served family style, of Icelandic Lamb Soup with freshly baked bread. Immediately my little red flag went up but the servers explained the soup was naturally gluten free & offered me a seperate serving of GF bread (Veggie options were available also). The soup was delicious full of veg and the most tender lamb pieces – one to warm us all up as the temperature dropped down to -12 (wind chill to -17). I Perfect prelude to walking down to experience the natural force of the water of Gullfoss from the two viewing platforms – one step free at the higher level and one down a very tall, steep staircase which took you closer to the lower basin. Our final destination of the day was Thingvellir National Park. A stunning place to experience where you literally are between the North American and EuroAsian Tectonic Plates. I can imagine in the summer this place is a fantastic base to hike & explore the rugged and unexpected landscape for days but the cooler temperatures forced us to take a slow, steady walk with our grips on our shoes before retreating back up to the top of the park where the scenery was equally breathtaking. A small visitor centre had the history of the site alongside a small shop, cafe and the best loos with a view I have experienced! I’m always intrigued by options for GF eating so had a look at the cafes on site: Geysir cafe really had only Isey Skyr (icelandic yogurt high in protein) and salads but not a lot of other options available, the Gullfoss restaurant had the most options available with knowledgeable staff to boot but Thingvellir had the least options with only icecreams available! Luckily i’d prepared a bag full of snacks to take out so I had plenty to keep me going – I think as coeliacs this seems to be a good habit to be in and this trip was no exception. We walked almost 10 miles so energy refuleing was much needed.

Back in Reykjavik, a much needed nap & bad weather meant we missed our dinner reservation at Apotek so we wandered up into the streets of Reykjavik, late night and stumbled into the Tiktok famous ‘Reykyavik Chips’. Not the most exciting culinary experience I hear you cry, but they pride themselves on their locally grown potatoes which turned out to be the best fries i’ve ever had. 95% of the condiments were gluten free alongside they delicious chips and there was a throng of people waiting to be seated inside this niche hangout.

We stumbled back towards our hotel where we heard some amazing music coming from Hus Mals og Menningar, a book store, cafe and late night bar we had to explore. The amazing Bookstore Band were performing live music and had the place bouncing! More gluten free beer (Viking) and cocktail options as well as non-alcoholic bevvies once we entered the atmosphere kept us in through the snow storm. A must for any night although it did feel like we’d stumbled down a rabbit hole where people were chilled out reading books whilst one of the best live bands we’ve heard rocked out on the stage drinking wine & water…

The next day we took advantage of the hotel breakfast before heading out for a shop & explore. On our travels we stopped off at Kaffi Brennslan where I had the most spectacular chai latte (unfortunately no cake options for GF) but the guy recommended Sweet Aurora (sadly closed on the day we visited). We found one of the supermarkets, Kronan but sadly they had some GF bread but not a lot of snacks other than natural fruit, food produce which was highly priced. A punnet of blueberries worked out around £9! We walked down to the Harpa, Reykjaviks opera house, which is a stunning venue on the harbour and just a beautiful place to see up close (it’s made up of glass prisms) and changes colour in dark hours.

In the afternoon we had a reservation at 2pm at Sky Lagoon, a new Geothermal Lagoon on the outskirts of the city. We jumped in a taxi and headed there, as we booked direct via the website. We’d signed up for the Sky package which included private changing facilities and the 7 step ritual. We were welcomed in and guided to the changing pods, immaculately kept and showered before entering the lagoon. The lagoon itself was gorgeous, man made but accentuated the landscape with volcanic rocks, waterfront views and grass covered huts. The water was so warm, clear & clean. Outside temperature was -2 to -4 so it created a steamy mist that rose from the waters making it all feel a lot more private even though there was lots of people enjoying the waters. The 7 steps was blissful and included the lagoon, cold, sauna, mist, scrub, steam and lagoon experiences. You were then allowed to stay and swim ( they recommend no longer than 2 hours for rehydration reasons). There’s a bar in the lagoon, where you could purchase unlimited soft drinks and 3 alcoholic beverages per adult. We stayed until sunset and had such a blissful time relaxing it’s a must do if you can! Sky Cafe had gluten free options available to eat with a menu that changed daily.

We headed back into Reykjavik for some dinner & drinks for our last night. Dinner we managed to get a walk in reservation into Rosso Pomodoro on Laugavegur. The manager seated us and explained most options from main & desserts could be gluten free – i opted for a pasta with cream, tomatoes (grown in the golden circle as told by our waiter) and chicken. For desert there was creme brulee which is my favourite option, it was delicious and all freshly made but on the pricey side (My pasta, hubbys pizza, cheesecake, brulee, 1 beer & 1 lemonade was £138). As we headed down rainbow street we had heard about a concept cocktail bar called BINGO, dressed like a family members cosy house but owned by 4 entrepreneurs who want a taste experience, we were welcomed like old friends and presented with a menu where we had no idea of familiarity. Mr M ordered a jamie olive oil which I can only describe as a liquid bruschetta, it was heavenly and played with your mind. I had a soberman which like a long island ice tea but without the hangover.It’s a secret venue but a must and its sister bar, Jungle was next to our hotel upstairs with more of a boujie vibe but same wonderful friendly welcome!

There were other eateries local to the centre we wished we had time to try such as Eldur og is (creperie), Hlemmur Matholl (Skall), Reykjavik Kitchen, Icelandic Kitchen, Monkeys and Le Ko ck which were all mentioned by the lovely people we encountered on our wanders. So i’m saving them for if i’m lucky enough to return

At Keflavik Airport on the return journey, there were fresh fruit, yoghurts, cheese platters and seafood salads availble at the kiosks but I struggled so dipped into my stash of prepacked porridge pots & biscuits. I also took with me an amazing translation card from The Coeliac Sanctuary which helped ease my worries about miscommunication of my dietary needs & highlighted the allergy words for when I was looking at packets of food wondering if I could devour it.

Hope this lengthy guide helps you have a wonderful trip to the land of fire & ice.