Hidden Cafes and Alleyways

The longer you’ve been at UMass Dartmouth, the more infamous UMD Ring Road becomes. Whether it’s cars flying off the road or two years ago when the windmill shat itself, we’ve all grown accustom to our lovely Ring Road. But, did you know there’s another grander Ring Road? It goes all around Iceland, and I want you to experience it.

A little bit about myself: I’m no salesman, and I’m not writing to represent any travel company. My name is Sam. I used to be a Rugby Captain for the UMD team and just graduated in Fall 2015. I studied Psychology and Sociology and did a study abroad Social Work Program in Fulda, Germany. While living in Europe I was able to backpack to nine different countries and found a passion for travel writing, so I started my own blog to help others travel!

So now I want to help you plan your SPRANNNGGGG BREAKKKK! If you’re a nature lover, then you’ll think Iceland is perfect. Icecaving, snorkeling between tectonic plates, glacier hiking, laying under the Northern Lights, and tons of cool record stores, little cafes, and live music bars. UMD Spring Break 2016 is Saturday March 12th – Sunday March 20th, so the time to start planning is now. I know as a college student that the possibility of travel boils down to one thing: money.

Lucky for you, Wow Air offers budget flights to the Iceland capital of Reykjavik. How low are these budget flights? Last time I checked they had plane tickets for $99 each way. Don’t think Iceland is your cup of tea? I see flights from Boston to Paris as low at $150 on the site all the time. They fly to Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Copenhagen, and to many other European destinations.

But for the sake of my recent wanderlust experience, I’m going to focus exclusively on Iceland. For hotel accommodations you can check out Hostel World if you’re looking for a place to meet new people with dorms as low as $20 a night. I traveled with a group of four including myself  and we stayed at Reykjavik Hotel Center in a family room. It was a little over $50 each for the whole week. We got our own bathroom, but the rooms were just the beds, which was fine, because the hangout room is nice and spacious.

The hotel mentioned above also has a kitchen and “Bonus” is a good supermarket right down the street. Going out to eat can add up, but you can buy plenty of stuff for a quick breakfast and take away snack. The hotel also has free coffee, which made me a happy camper.

Ring Road wraps around the entire island, so if you want to rent a car you can cover the whole thing in a week. If you want to go that route, then you don’t need a hotel, maybe pack a tent. Every tour guide said the countryside is the most picturesque, especially with all of those wild horses! It’s sunny most of the days in the summer, so spring break is the perfect time for Iceland. Car rentals can be a low as $20 a day. And you can pick it up right at the Keflavik International Airport, which is where you would likely be flying into. In the link it says you need to be 20 years old to drive and it’s manual.

Don’t want to road trip? Check out “Top 10 Things To Do in Iceland” where I included the prices of many popular tours and activites. The main strip of Rekjavik is very nice and you could spend a few days exploring and going in the shops, museums (there’s a Penis Museum), and the beautiful Harpa Concert Hall. They also have buses. Download the app to pay for the ticket ahead of time before you leave your wifi spot.

For alcohol (as always worth mentioning) get the tequila at the airport. They had some pretty weird and recent prohibition laws so buy all the booze you want at the airport duty free store. Pre-game hard before you go out and get a few Viking Gulls while your out at the bar, so your tab doesn’t break the bank.

Hope this all helps! Have questions on study abroad, backpacking through Europe, getting a student or travel visa, or the best hostels? Feel free to contact me at hiddencaa@yahoo.com !