Notes From a Holiday Director - Solos Tour to Iceland

Jennie was the Holiday Director on Just You’s first overseas tour since the world opened up once again, for her it was an emotional experience and one that she will treasure for a long time. Here is what Jennie had to say about her Icelandic adventure…

"It was so exciting to be back on a Just You solos tour again. I thought that it was the travel that I would have missed the most, but what I found, and especially with Just You customers was watching my group come together and make new friends, it was all very emotional.

I think it is what people have really missed, the coming together as a group and sharing those amazing experiences when we are out exploring and then talking about it later when we were back in the hotel.

For our first tour, Iceland was perfect, it is completely unique. Iceland has scenery like nowhere else in the world. I come from a geography background and I love the natural sights of this incredible country.

Highlights of Iceland

The favourite day for me on Just You’s Icelandic Splendours tour is when we go out on the Golden Circle, which is a popular route looping from Reykjavik, into central Iceland and back again. This day gives you a chance to get out of the city and view some of the natural phenomena that this country has to offer.

One of the incredible highlights of the Golden Circle for me is walking along the two tectonic plates, it is an amazing thing to do, and, on this tour, we walk on the American side. You also have the incredible Gullfoss waterfall and of course the geysers. The most famous of which is the Strokkur Geyser which erupts every few minutes. What was special on this tour was that the weather was perfect, the sky was so blue, so it made the geysers look even more impressive as the water leapt out of the ground against the stunning blue backdrop.

I feel that the chance to see the Northern Lights is a real draw on this tour. The first time I saw the Northern Lights just took my breath away. You are very lucky if you get to see them, we certainly do everything we can to give our customers the best opportunity to see them, and if you do it is something that you will never forget.

Our local guide in Iceland is fantastic and always finds us somewhere new to explore. On this tour as we were exploring Reykjavik on a Sunday and it was a quiet day, she took us out to the Presidential house, this was my fourth trip to Iceland, and I had never seen this before and it was so beautiful, and somewhere that is not in the regular guidebooks.

Icelandic Flavours

The food in Iceland is exceptional, especially the seafood, we had lobster soup, wolf fish, and the lamb just melts in your mouth. On the second day in Iceland, we all get together for a traditional Icelandic meal at Potturinn og Pannan (the Pot and Pan Restaurant), which is always wonderful and gives everyone a chance to share their experiences of the day and really bond as a group.

I know from what they told me that our customers really enjoyed being back on tour with Just You. They were so happy to be travelling once again, they told me that one of the reasons they choose to travel with us, as a singles escorted touring company, is as we were there to help with the new protocols as we all begin travelling once again.

It was such a special experience, and to watch people go home having made new friends, it is such a big part of what Just You is all about. It is one of the main reasons that I became a Tour Manager and why I love what I do."