A youngster in the airspace (since 2019), but dried up in a very short time: PLAY Airlines, a so-called low-cost carriers with a base in Iceland. PLAY Airlines flies to Europe and North America for very competitive prices under the motto 'Pay less, PLAY more'. Streamlined no-nonsense service, they say themselves, and safety first. In practice, this means a right to a seat; you pay for all the extras. Extras like sandwiches and meals, but let's be honest: have you ever had a really good meal on an airplane? We didn't think so either, so it's no problem to take your own food on board, certainly not on short European flights. And if you do want something, then of course it's there too - a chocolate bar with liquorice balls, for example, go for it! Not paying in advance for food and drinks on board saves you a lot of money. And then the best PLAY deal: you can make a ten-day stopover in Iceland free of charge, and then fly on to New York, for example. Double your holiday!

PLAY Airlines

Check it off! Don't go to the Netherlands without trying this:

Egg Sett Don't be fooled by all the expensive bars of real Icelandic chocolate that you find in every souvenir shop and at every attraction: they are expensive, very sweet and really not that special. Better to run to the supermarket and stock up on all the bars of Eitt Sett, such as the Súper Sett, chocolate with licorice balls in it. Also sweet, but a local - and much cheaper - delicacy that melts deliciously sinfully in the mouth.

Bingo Lacquer Ice Cream Licorice with chocolate, it's a thing here. Really horribly delicious are the hard licorice balls with a toffee-like chewiness, coated in dark chocolate. Stock up!

Fermented shark Not just on the menu everywhere and certainly not such a popular specialty as everyone wants you to believe. Fermented shark (hákarl) is eaten once a year during a special commemoration party, as a tribute to the first Norwegian settlers in Iceland, who had a hard time surviving because of all that bitter cold. If a shark washed up on the beach, it was cheeringly boarded and fermented in animal urine. That fermentation now takes place in ammonia. So you eat a cube chewy shark, which you should wash down with beer and aquavit, the Icelandic Brennivín, also called 'black death'. Rinsing is absolutely necessary, the Icelanders themselves also think. We at Barts Boekje think: NEVER EAT IT, DON'T DO IT! This is by far the most disgusting thing we have ever eaten, the author of this guesses. Still, try it, of course, entirely at your own risk. You have been warned.

Take a bath in natural geothermal water, spring water from deep underground that has been heated by the earth. It smells a bit like sulphur, you have to be able to tolerate that, but you quickly get used to the smell. Wonderfully warm and relaxing, with your head outside above the surface looking out over the water and the landscape, while the rest of your body is submerged. There is also a bar built into the large natural pool, so you can swim around in the water with a drink. Take the whole ritual with sauna, steam baths and scrub salt for total relaxation. Refreshment just a fifteen-minute drive from Reykjavik.

Sky Lagoon

Whale watching with Elding. Thing to do is of course going out with a boat, to see if you can spot whales. And not in a rubber rower, but with a boat from whale watching company Elding, who will professionally sail you into the whale-infested waters. The photos on the site show the whales in all their glory, but they certainly do not always come to the surface so enthusiastically. Still: you want to catch a tail of these majestic mammals of the sea. There are different types of whales, the guide on board will tell you the who's who. Tip 1: wear water-repellent and warm clothing. It can be quite splashy and very cold. Tip 2: don't be discouraged if the weather is too bad and the tour is cancelled: often you can repeat the tour the next day. So plan at the beginning of your trip.

Whale watching

Colourful halos in the sky at night and at ungodly hours, that's what really gets people excited! Best seen in the winter months, exactly, when it's freezing cold, but then it's at its most beautiful, with green, blue, red, pink and purple skies of unparalleled beauty. You can go out with your own car and aurora apps, or join a tour, that's the easiest option with the greatest guarantee that you'll see the Northern Lights. Tip 1: if you can't make it during a four-hour tour, you can often repeat the tour for free, so plan at the beginning of your trip. Tip 2: the Northern Lights are difficult to photograph, but with a long shutter speed (usually ten seconds on an iPhone) you'll get the best results. Tip 3: wear layers. It's cold and you sometimes have to hike to see anything.