My birthday trip to Iceland - and my birthday - has come and gone, and I’m so glad I made the decision to visit this country when I did. 

When I was deciding where to go for my birthday this year, I naturally gravitated towards warm locations first because, well, I like visiting warm places in the winter. But, for the first time, I decided to head to a cold weather destination. 

Enter Iceland. 

I spent almost five days in Iceland during what could be considered their “low season” aka winter (I don’t think Iceland actually has a low season, hence the quotation marks). And I loved it.

I haven’t been to Iceland during any other time of the year, so of course I can’t comment on other months, but I think Iceland in March is pretty ideal. You’re still there during prime time for seeing the northern lights, but you’re also there when the days are starting to get longer - during my time there, the sun rose around 8am and set around 7pm. I also lucked out and got beautiful weather almost every day.

One of the things I enjoyed about Iceland is that it’s a choose-your-own-adventure kind of destination. How I spent my time in Iceland is certainly not the same as how others do it. I based myself in Reykjavik and did nonstop tours, but if you’re confident with your driving skills, I’d say it’s even better to rent a car, move around Iceland even more and get off the beaten path.

I’m working on an itinerary for Iceland based on my time there, but in the meantime, here are some of my favorite photos from my trip:

Have you ever been to Iceland?