When the heat of a Carolina summer dandles heavily on the tail end of spring, fanciful dreams of a cooler clime sometimes give way to notions of travel. Elfa D. Jonsdottir can help transform those fancies into reality.

Elfa is Founder/Owner of Your Iceland, a local top-rated travel boutique founded with the purpose of curating personalized travel experiences and offering the best Iceland has to offer. A native of Iceland, Elfa is a certified wellness travel agent with a bachelor’s degree in international hospitality management. 

Elfa is an expert in planning itineraries tailored and customized for clients’ dream holidays. Her attention to detail ensures each itinerary is planned to perfection drawing on the best suppliers, unique accommodations, tours, and activities. "My goal is to create your ultimate journey to Iceland, filled with out-of-the-ordinary experiences, well-being, and one-of-a-kind accommodations in inspiring locations.” Elfa’s mindful trip curating specializes in slow-paced travel itineraries filled with leisure activities, cultural experiences, and wellness.  

A group of ten people from Brier Chapel recently returned from their adventure to Iceland. One of those participants was Allen Tate Global Realtor and Relocation Specialist, Mary Jo Coppola. She shares: 

We made it to the land of Fire and Ice! Our direct flight from RDU to Reykjavik was fast and easy. After some rest, we enjoyed a walking tour of Reykjavik. The city has beautiful shops, great art to bring home, an Irish pub, and superb restaurants. While Iceland has a reputation for high-priced food, our first meal, with two excellent entrees and two glasses of wine, cost us $104, less expensive than the States. Additionally, it is customary not to tip in Iceland. Every meal was delicious, with fresh and authentically prepared food beautifully presented.

The scenery is stunning, with puffins, volcanoes, miles of lava rock covered in lush moss, lakes, rivers, ocean, and geysers galore. Our trip to Iceland was an opportunity to face our fears, including claustrophobia, as we ventured 440 feet into the depths of the earth to explore the only volcano on earth that can be explored on the inside. The journey into the dormant Thrihnukagigur Volcano was four-miles round-trip, and although it was a bit nerve-wracking squeezing through the tiny opening as the sides of the carriage scraped the walls, it was worth it. The vivid colors left by the volcano were breathtaking. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Another popular activity that we highly recommend is Fly Over Iceland, which was like Soaring at Disney World but longer and a notch above. 

We drove The Golden Circle and climbed the wall of boulders and rock behind the enormous Gullfoss Waterfall. We enjoyed the Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park and experienced the geothermal area in Haukadalur, which contains the geysers Geysir and Strokkur.

Our vacation in Iceland ended with a relaxing and luxurious experience at the Blue Lagoon, where we swam in therapeutic, thermally heated water and enjoyed three facial masks. We left feeling both young and beautiful. We sipped drinks from the bar while swimming. The lagoon was truly amazing, making us feel like we were living the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  

Overall, this was an extraordinary trip of a lifetime, made even more memorable by Elfa's experience, attention to detail, and incredible planning. We all returned with life-changing memories.