Since the Airbnbs are what started it all, I think it's appropriate to make a post solely about our Airbnbs. I'll link to their Airbnb listings with a little more in-depth reviews. I also thought some of our hosts were so interesting, so I linked to my Someone I Met blog in the paragraphs as well.

16 March - 18 March: Midtown, NYC - Hilary

It was Tam's first time in NYC ever. Ever. For that reason, this Airbnb was really great. It is super close to a lot of the tourist stuff, like the Rockefeller, Times Square, Nintendo World, and 5th Avenue. It was super close to subway stations, which made it easier to get around to different neighborhoods. A lot of NYC is walkable from here, and we really enjoyed just strutting around.

The Airbnb itself is a little small, but it did have an elevator and rooftop access. The roof wasn't super amazing since it's an older and smaller building, and it happened to be covered in snow when we were there. Overall though, if it's your first time in NYC, this is the Airbnb you want to be at.

19 March - 23 March: Akureyri, Iceland - Pétur

So this is the Airbnb that started it all. It's important to point out that our unit was one of 3 that were in the same property/house. The walls were mostly insulated and all those things are fine and dandy, but the view was beautiful. Because the home is outside of the main city of Akureyri, you're actually overlooking the town at night. It also made it amazing to watch the Northern Lights during dinner on our first night.

Akureyri isn't somewhere I would recommend staying very long during the winter. It's pretty remote considering you can fly there or drive 6 hours along Road 1. That aside, it was a super relaxing aspect of our vacation because we spent a lot of time just chilling out and driving.

23 March - 24 March: Höfn, Iceland - Einar

This Airbnb was a last minute booking, as we originally were going to sleep in the car, like it was a camper... But that didn't pan out as the weather was shaping out to be much colder than it traditionally is each year.

We stayed in Glacier Inn, and it was basically a house treated like a hostel. It was super clean and I appreciated that, but I definitely would say I'm not a fan of forced community interactions. The other guests were nice. If your'e looking for quiet time like we were, then you end up looking like a snob for not interacting. Most of the house is living room and kitchen, so it felt like the experience is centered around having a shared space.

24 March - 25 March: Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland - Ármann

This Airbnb is cool because it's so close to all the really famous waterfalls on the southern half of Iceland. I think it can be off putting because you're literally on a cow farm, and it smells like it outside. The inside is very clean and the rooms were really nice. The story of the host is even cooler. I detailed some of it on my other blog. Since the only common area is the kitchen, you can duck out whenever you're done and not feeling up to chatting with people.

25 March - 28 March: Reykjavík, Iceland - Ólöf

This place was great! The Airbnb is an annex in the back of the property. There's a reasonable amount of street parking, and it was literally a 5 minute drive from downtown. The host was super nice and the Airbnb felt like it was just a super nice apartment. Since the travel time was so short to town, it was super easy to drop stuff off at home and head right back into town.

28 March - 31 March: Williamsburg, NYC - Melanie

Time travel is a thing! We traveled back into time to get to Williamsburg. I don't know if you noticed, but I specifically pointed out elevator on the other NYC Airbnb. It's important because this one was a walk-up, so there were no stairs... And we (Tam) were carrying bags up 4 floors. Williamsburg is super trendy and really great to walk around, while pretty accessible to Manhattan. The roof was excellent here, and we had a beautiful view of the NYC skyline. According to our host, there's a lot of good food in the area as well.

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I'm a huge supporter of Airbnb, but I also understand the strain it can put on neighborhoods. While I know that many hotels are against Airbnb because it is a competitor, I can see that there is a market for both. It just depends on the experience you are looking for.

That being said, I recommend looking into the laws of the places you're visiting before choosing to rent through Airbnbs. As with anything there's always a risk. I do want to say that I like how Iceland handles Airbnb regulations, which requires a level of communicating with your neighbors before doing it. Unfortunately, I can't find that article anymore... But, I know NYC is trying to become stricter with it due to high cost of rent and living.

Either way, do it at your risk, but also have fun looking! You can choose your experience through Airbnb, and it's all part of the fun.