On New Years in Reykjavik

Starting 2018 with a Bang!

New Year's Eve is one of my favorite holidays for traveling! There's no better way to wrap up one year and start another than experience another culture. Reykjavik, Iceland is one of the most unique NYE celebrations around the globe.

Fireworks for Days

The week of New Years, fireworks are legal in Iceland. For us, that means from the moment we drove into Reykjavik on December 29 through January 6, we could see (or at least hear) fireworks all day every day. The sale of fireworks is a nationwide fundraiser for ICE-SAR, a search and rescue team.

A Full Evening of Icelandic Fun

The Night's festivities are well planned. Icelandic families dine together around 6:00, followed by bonfires around the country at 8:30. If you can find a bonfire with more locals than tourists, you may be treated with elf songs around the fire. Bonfires may also be lit on January 6, i.e. the Twelfth Night of Christmas, to bid farewell to the YuleLads. #YuleLads

After the bonfires, the Icelanders retire to their homes to watch a local comedy show. Similar to SNL, the show is a sketch comedy recapping the year.

Then the fireworks really begin to take-off. After days of fireworks you wouldn't think there'd be any left, and you'd be wrong. Continual bursts of light and sound will surround you with increasing intensity through the countdown to midnight and into the wee hours of the morning.

What I wish we knew beforehand

New Years is a really big deal in Iceland. We underestimated to what extend the country would shut down completely. We checked into a new hotel closer to the festivities in Reykjavik. The hotel, featuring a kitchenette, was located beside one grocery store and across the street from another. When we walked back outside to shop for dinner, both stores, and every other grocery, gas station, and restaurant was closed. Most stayed closed until the 2nd, and for some restaurants, through the 6th. Luckily for us, we had leftover sandwiches to hold us over until a midnight hotdog (the world famous hot dog stand by the Radisson Blu was open!). If you don't have reservations for your New Years plans, better get to a store before 3:00 pm or so on New Years Eve if you want to eat!

Gleðilegt nýtt ár!

A guide told us Icelanders love it when you say "Happy New Years" in Icelandic. Need to hear it to pronounce it? Wait for the girl to say it at the end of this adorable ad from Icelandair!

#Iceland #HappyNewYear