Iceland October 20-26, 2024
The land of fire and ice will ignite your creativity and imagination, and reset your mind. This tour of the natural world of Iceland is curated with ease in mind. Six nights in one special hotel allows you to unwind, explore, and relax all while visiting the most iconic sites in this amazing country.
Demand is high
We keep our retreats small for maximum impact. Registration is now open! 10 people only. 6 spaces left.
It’s impossible for me to describe to you the beauty of Iceland adequately — but I’ll try! It fills the senses in the most surprising ways. The silence of this vast, sparsely populated country is powerful. The lack of noise allows you to experience nature at a level few do. On this trip you will hear geysers bursting from the earth, waterfalls pounding the rocks, and bird songs you’ve never heard. Nature breaks through the icy landscape, surprising you at every turn with rainbows, rock formations, wild horses, and glaciers.
This beautiful land invites you to go within to explore your inner landscape. We will take the time to do just that by gathering daily to meditate, write to prompts, and share our work. As your words unfold, a new community is created. I’ve seen such love, support, and care come from these gatherings and trips. Be a part of it. And let it become a part of you.
I also love traveling to Iceland because it’s easy. From where I live (Baltimore) there is a direct flight for about $300 roundtrip, every day. We leave in the early evening and arrive five hours later, early in the morning in Keflavik. After a short bus ride to the capital city, get some rest and let the magic begin. Iceland is pure - the water is crystal clear, you can eat all the food without worry, and you can even sit on the toilets! The buildings, hot tubs, and lagoons are heated with geothermal waters. It may be chilly outside, but it’s refreshing, the cleanest air, the bluest skies, the snow-capped mountains, the northern lights at night.
All you need to do is put down a partially refundable deposit to hold your place. My last Icelandic retreat sold out so fast I opened up a second week. This time I won’t be able to add on another week, so please, act quickly and get your spot. $850 will hold your place. The balance is due on May 31. Payment plans can be arranged.
Here’s a good reason to come this year - the northern lights! https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/travel/iceland-northern-lights-aurora.html?unlocked_article_code=1.f00.ppiA.fFrFZX5eujnA&smid=url-share
Want to talk about it? Let’s set up a call. Email me: susan@susanweisbohlen.com. I’d love to tell you more.
Iceland Write & Roam 2024 Itinerary
We depart BWI (or other cities) on Saturday, October 19, and arrive in Keflavik on the morning of Sunday, October 20.
Day 1 Sunday, October 20:
Upon arrival at 5 am, a private bus will take us to our hotel in Reykjavík where we can rest for a few hours before venturing out to see a bit of the city. A big treat awaits us at the world-famous Sandholt Bakery. After a bite and a coffee, our guide, driver, and my friend Heiða Björk Sturludótti willmeet us and take us to the incredible Sky Lagoon. We will “experience true Icelandic bathing culture at their oceanside geothermal Lagoon.” Yes, that’s right, oceanside. Over the wall of the lagoon is the Atlantic Ocean. Enjoy the view while immersed in 100-degree water, perhaps a mimosa in hand and take advantage of the rituals of cold plunges, scrubs, a sauna and more. I chose this for our first day as I want you to wash away whatever you don’t need for this trip, and soak in the minerals, the warmth and beauty that will last a lifetime.
Later we will make our way to our lovely boutique hotel, a former schoolhouse, next to a magnificent church. The Skalholt Hotel will be our home for the next 6 nights, in the heart of the Golden Circle. We will have a private room with a fireplace for our writing sessions, and group meals by innovative Chef Bjarki Sol, who uses locally grown and sourced foods.
We will check in, settle in our rooms, enjoy a meal, and get ready for our adventure.
Day 2 Monday, Oct. 21
After breakfast will take advantage of the daylight and visit two spectacular natural wonders. At Geysir Hot Springs we will see boiling mud pits, and wild, exploding geysers. The Strokkur geyser lets loose every few minutes. A hush falls over the waiting groups in anticipation of the shooting hot water. Delightful cheers erupt along with the Geysir, which spouts water 100 ft into the air.
Then we will visit Gulfoss, an astonishingly huge waterfall, powerful and gorgeous. We will walk around her and see the prisms of light and rainbows as the water flows. If it’s cold enough, we can see some of the falls frozen in place. After our time in the natural world, we will go shopping! A big, beautiful store and cafe nearby offer Icelandic sweaters, socks, hats, gloves and more.
Lunch will be in town at my favorite coffee shop, Kaffi Krus. After a bite we can walk around the lovely town of Selfoss, visit a local supermarket, a bookstore, some cute shops and really take in life in Iceland.
After a rest back at the hotel, we’ll have dinner, and our first writing session of the trip. You will already be bursting at the seams with thoughts, feelings and images to transfer to the page.
Before bed visit the hot tubs just outside the hotel doors! A beautiful way to end the day, and see the northern lights.
Day 3 Tuesday, Oct. 22
This morning after breakfast we will continue the writing salon the night before and create new stories, essays, or even poems, to share. After lunch at the hotel, we’ll visit Thingvellir National Park, and see the Earth’s crust and the tectonic plates of the Atlantic ridge that runs through the country, rushing streams, and the famous Icelandic trout. An ancient graveyard reveals stories from the past, next to a church and sacred circle. My husband Larry, a master dowser, will lead us in an energy-divining exercise at this powerful site.
After working up an appetite, we’ll take a short drive to the amazing Minilik Ethiopian Restaurant for dinner. Yes, Ethiopian in Iceland! We’ll meet the owner and his wife the chef, and enjoy a fabulous meal.
Day 4 Wednesday, Oct. 23:
After an early breakfast, we’ll head to the mystical, black beach town of Vík í Mýrdal, the southern-most seafront village in Iceland where we will learn about the folklore of trolls, elves, ghosts, and fairies, that are very much a part of the Icelandic lore and the natural formations. The eerie, surreal Netflix series Katla was filmed here.
On the way, we’ll take a stroll behind the waterfall Seljalandsfoss, a thrilling experience.
In Vik, we will explore the Reynisfjara Sea Beach walk, visit the black beach and the hexagonal basalt columns in the cliffs, take a cave walk, and see the famous Three Trolls standing guard over the sea.
We will enjoy a delicious meal at the Restaurant Suður-Vík and visit a cool exhibit at the Lava museum.
A little shopping at the fabulous Icewear megastore, and we’ll drive back to the hotel for dinner and a writing salon.
Northern lights and hot tubs await us. Did I mention that wine and beer and local liquors are available at the hotel? They are!
Day 4 Thursday, Oct. 24:
Breakfast and our writing salon this morning will be followed by a visit to Fridheimar restaurant, a geothermal tomato greenhouse, and an Icelandic horse farm. How about that for unique? And the food is simply delicious, fresh off the vine, farm-to-table. We’ll visit with the horses and learn more about their way of life.
Need more hot geothermal healing waters in your life? Yes! We’ll visit the Fontana Spa after lunch. A local lagoon on a vast lake. You’ll enjoy dips into several pools at different temperatures, as well as dry heat and wet saunas and you can even take a plunge in the cold lake. There is a Holy Pond on site that we’ll visit and dowse the energy lines with Larry.
Dinner will be at the cozy Lindin Laugarvatn restaurant just across the way from the spa.
In the evening we can search for the northern lights and enjoy another soak in the hot tubs if you are craving more warm water.
Day 5 Friday, Oct. 25:
Breakfast together, writing together, sharing our words, and roaming continue. Our journey today takes us deep, into the Kerið's Crater. Approximately 6,500 years old, it’s deep and wide and easily walkable. We’ll go around the rim and venture down to the depths to explore. The caldera is approximately 180 ft deep, 560 ft wide, and 890 ft across.
A short drive will take us to the sunny Thrastalundur restaurant, next to the rushing waters of the Sog river, with a view of the mountains.
After lunch, we will visit the beautiful Solheimar, Iceland’s only ecovillage! About 100 people live here, some with special needs, who work and live together. Sólheimar (Sunworlds) was founded in 1930 by a Sesselja Sigmundsdóttir (1902-1974). She was an innovator who was interested in caring for people with mental challenges as well as organic horticulture for health reasons. Here we will find artwork, home goods, candles, soaps and cosmetics made by the residents of Solheimar. And there is a cafe for an after lunch coffee and a treat in the sun-filled seating area. We’ll arrive back at the hotel with time for you to rest and pack (sigh) and get together for our last dinner at Skalholt.
Day 6 Saturday, October 26
We’ll enjoy breakfast and some time writing before leaving for the airport. Along the way we’ll visit the striking Viking Museum, a wall of glass facing the sea, housing a replica of the first Viking ship. We can have lunch here and continue to the airport, bidding farewell to this magnificent country.
Pricing:
Double room, sharing: $4995 each
Single room, $5395
A partially refundable deposit of $850 will hold your place. Payment by credit card please add 4%. Payment methods: Venmo: susan-weis-bohlen (last for of cell are 2096; Zelle: 4109792096; check to Breathe Books, 20 Clarks Lane, Reisterstown, MD 21136
Pricing includes all travel within Iceland, 6 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 4 dinners; entrance fees, Fontana Spa and Sky Lagoon experiences, guide and driver and tips (always optional if you want to offer more), writing salons, 1 private session with Susan for either Ayurveda or writing advice.
Not included: airfare to Iceland; additional spa services; espresso drinks; alcoholic drinks; laundry services; excursions outside of the itinerary; tips for hotel staff; 6 lunches; 2 dinners (count on $30-$70 a meal without alcohol)
NOTE: A single room for the 5-hour rest after our flight in Reykjavik may not be available. Currently, we have double rooms held and are worked into the price. If you require a single room for this rest period, let me know ASAP and I will try and get you a room! Reykjavik is extremely popular and hotel rooms must be booked far in advance.
Review flight options on Play Air. Plan to arrive on the morning of Sunday, October 20, and depart the afternoon of Saturday, October 26.
A packing list will be sent upon sign-up. The weather in late October has an average low of 37°F (about 3°C) and highs of 45°F (7°C). It can be rainy, but last year we didn’t see a drop! The sun rises around 8:40 am and sets at 6:30 pm, giving us plenty of daylight to roam around the country.