We’ve slept in some truly fabulous accommodations in Iceland and slept in a camper van for a week road tripping around the Westfjords, but one of the most unique stays has definitely been glamping in an inflatable bubble hotel on Iceland’s Golden Circle route. Dubbed the “five million star hotel” because of the stellar views of the night sky, Buubble Iceland is a magical place that shouldn’t be missed on your trip to Iceland.
Buubble: The 5 Million Star Hotel
Located in the forest on a farm, Buubble has five of the clear inflatables for guests to stay in. Three look like inflatable igloos and the other two are spheres set up on legs. The igloos are entirely clear, where the two spheres are clear from halfway up.
The exact location of Buubble is kept secret until you receive your booking confirmation. GPS coordinates, which is the best way to find most things in Iceland, are provided with the confirmation and they are dead on delivering you right to the little parking area for guests on the farm.
Check-in is fairly easy. Buubble prefers you arrive between 2-6pm, but the farm is somewhat flexible if you arrange a later arrival time in advance. We simply called when we arrived, and within 5 minutes we were met to be shown around and to our bubble.
Each bubble is set far enough apart that we couldn’t even see the others unless we went looking for them, giving guests optimal privacy since you are sleeping in a see-through “room” for the night.
The bubbles each have a name: Una, Asta and Thorunn for the igloo-like structures and Valdis and Maria for the spheres. The igloos are entirely clear, and the spheres are are clear starting half-way up.
We stayed in Una, which is the bubble closest to the shared house with the kitchen and bathrooms, as well as closest to the parking area.
The bubbles are inflated with a noiseless ventilation system. We didn’t hear any noise from the ventilation system at all – in fact, the space heater we plugged in for some extra warm was noisier (though still quiet and unobtrusive itself).
It’s fairly basic inside with a very comfy double bed that can accommodate two adults. Our bubble, Una, had two lamps, a space heater we could plug in if we got chilly and two power strips to charge up phones and cameras. Extra blankets are also provided in case you need them, though what was already on the bed and running the space heater for a bit was plenty warm enough for us.
There’s a shared house nearby with two bathrooms each equipped with a shower, sink and toilet. The house also has a kitchen with a small refrigerator where you can store some food, a kettle for hot water, a coffee machine and a two burner electric stove top. A table can also accommodate four people inside the shared house, and there are additional outlets to plug in things.
What the bubble hotel doesn’t have is wifi, but you don’t sleep in a forest to be connected.
Seeing the Northern Lights from the Bubble Hotel
Unfortunately for us, the night we stayed at the bubble hotel was the only rainy night we had of our most recent trip to Iceland. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, though there’s a saying in Iceland: if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.
A light rain continued just about the entire night, though our typical Northern Lights hunting routine was simply to wake-up hourly and check the sky. In the bubble, we didn’t even have to go outside to do that. If we couldn’t see any stars overhead through the clear roof of the bubble, there was no reason to go outside.
We have a lot of experience with the Northern Lights after our sixth season in the Aurora belt. The Northern Lights don’t always swirl over the entire sky. Sometimes they can appear on the horizon, and if that were the case you wouldn’t have a clear view since the bubbles are surrounded by trees.
Luxe Adventure Traveler’s Complete Guide to Northern Lights in Iceland
Again, you definitely can check easily for the Northern Lights from the comfort and warmth of your bed. But if you wanted to photograph the Northern Lights and they weren’t straight overhead, you still need to go outside.
The Bubble Hotel Iceland Golden Circle Tour
While you can just book the bubbles to stay the night, Buubble also offers a package that includes the Golden Circle sightseeing in a luxury jeep that can accommodate up to six people and an overnight with pick-up and return to Reykjavik.
You first visit Thingvellir National Park, where all major events in Iceland’s history have taken place and the first government came together. It’s also one of a few places in Iceland where you can see the tectonic plates of the North America and European continents meet.
You’ll also visit Geysir, where the attraction is actually a geyser named Strokkur that erupts 20-30 meters high in to the air every six minutes or so.
One of the highlights of the Golden Circle is Gullfoss, meaning “Golden Falls”. The double-cascade waterfall drops 105 feet in to the canyon below and is Iceland’s most iconic waterfall.
On sunny days, there’s always a rainbow framing the misty falls.
There’s also time to stop at a restaurant for dinner (food isn’t included in the price of the package) and you finish up the tour with a stop at Secret Lagoon to soak in a hot spring before heading to the bubble hotel to check-in for the night.
What to Pack for the Bubble Hotel
The bubble hotel Iceland is not like a regular hotel. The bubbles are literally in a forest located on a farm, though there is the shared house with showers and a small kitchen.
The website is clear that you need to come prepared with your own toiletries, towels and food; however, we were provided with some towels along with the extra blankets. We suggest having your own quick dry micro fiber towel for staying at the bubble hotel just in case the towels aren’t provided. It’s also great for visiting natural hot springs.
Restaurant Mika is just a short drive away, and is a family-run restaurant offering a selection of Icelandic dishes like deep fried coconut panko crusted Icelandic langoustines, lobster soup and mushrooms from a local farm.
If you’re tired or keen to just hang out at the bubble hotel, you can either pick-up some pre-made food like salads or sandwiches at a grocery store. Or cup-of-noodles are found in just about every grocery store and gas station and easy to make with the kettle since you just pour the hot water over the noodles.
Alcohol is allowed inside the bubbles, provided that you don’t get rowdy. Sharing a bottle of wine or a few beers is definitely okay.
You also need to have your own utensils, and a camp spork is easy is pack and makes an excellent multi-use fork/spoon/knife.
The final thing you really don’t want to forget is a headlamp or a flashlight. You’ll want it to light the path if you need to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or walk out to the clearing to watch the Northern Lights.
We also downloaded a few movies to our MacBook ahead of time. Once it gets dark, there isn’t much to do especially on a rainy night so having the movies was nice to entertain ourselves with until we were ready for bed.
Know Before You Go
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Our stay was provided by Buubble: The 5 Million Star Hotel in order to bring you this story. However, Luxe Adventure Traveler maintains full editorial control of the content published on this site. As always, all thoughts, opinions, and enthusiasm for travel are entirely our own. This article contains affiliate links. When you purchase anything on Amazon through our affiliate site, we earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Larry says
Very very cool. I think this is one of the most unusual and unique glamping ideas I have ever heard of. Great article.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
It’s definitely unique. I haven’t seen this type of glamping offered anywhere else yet.
Kate says
What an awesome experience!
Anne Slater-Brooks says
Oh god, I love the novelty of this but the thought of sleeping in it turns me off entirely. Whilst I like the thought of being able to see the sky, I would be having nightmares about baddies peeping on me in the night. I think the half one would be better for me. Shame you did not see the Northern lights.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Iceland is the safest country on Earth. I had zero concern about peepers.
Marion Halliday says
Fantastic!! When I saw the first pic, I did wonder how far I’d have to go if nature called in the middle of the night, or how much privacy I’d really have but it sounds like everything’s covered!. While it’d be AMAZING to watch the lights if lucky enough to have them right overhead, even the rain looks amazing from inside the bubble – although I’m not so sure a thunderstorm would have the same appeal!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
The light rain was actually really relaxing. I slept so soundly!
You don’t have to go far at all for the bathroom. I had to walk 30 seconds to the shared house. I’ve had to go much further to a bathroom staying in igloos and ice hotels in Switzerland and Sweden.
Marie Valgardsson says
There are rarely thunderstorms in Iceland as it hardly ever gets hot enough to form cumulonimbus clouds. You do get some lighting here in winter, but that is usually along the coast in the south and forms quite far out at sea. In 10 years I have only heard thunder about 3 times, so really nothing to be concerned about.
Fiona Maclean says
What a shame it rained! But, then since you are old hands with the Northern Lights I guess it wasn’t such a big deal. The bubbles seem like a great idea though – and the whole concept sounds well thought out.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Well, it’s still always disappointing when the weather doesn’t cooperate. But I also had perfectly clear nights with not a cloud in the sky that the Northern Lights still didn’t appear. It’s just the reality of hunting the Northern Lights.
KIM says
What a fabulous idea for an accommodation! I still can’t figure out if it’s a tent or a room, it’s amazing and looks very cozy.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Somewhere between tent and room, I think. We’ve slept in some pretty fancy tents that also had electricity in Morocco and Tanzania.
Hugo Cura says
The bubbles look really cool but when I saw the first picture, I was wondering how far apart they were from each other. Glad they are not close and you still have some privacy. They look really cool though and seem to fit the environment really well.
I can also vouch for the Secret Lagoon (usually very quiet!) and the quality of Restaurant Mika!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Glad to hear you also enjoyed Restaurant Mika, Hugo!
I couldn’t see or hear the other bubbles. The only time I saw the “neighbors” is if we happened to be in the shared house at the same time. Quite a bit of privacy is created, considering you are sleeping in a clear plastic bubble.
Marcus and Mel says
We love Iceland and those bubbles look so cool. It would be great to be lucky enough to be there when there’s an appearance of the Northern Lights. We’ve been twice this year and failed to see them on both occasions!.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Bummer. That is just the way it goes with the Northern Lights. It can be weeks at a time that they don’t appear. Around the Fall Equinox is one of the best times to attempt to see the Northern Lights because the solar activity increases around the equinoxes and I did see the Northern Lights 3 nights of 5 nights on this trip, just not the night I stayed in the bubble.
Anu says
I wish you had a video of the rain from inside the bubble. I know you missed the Northern lights but then sleeping right out in the Jungle with rain falling over your head must have been lovely.
I am adding bubble stay to my list of things to do in Iceland.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
It was a misty rain. You couldn’t hear the pitter patter of rain drops.
Anna Johnston says
What a shame it was raining but it would have been lovely hearing the pitter patter of the rain all night too (one of my fave sounds to fall asleep to). Seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland is absolutely something I plan to do, so I loved this post.
Stevo Joslin says
I can’t imagine a cooler view than looking up at the Northern lights from the comfort of a bed inside a bubble. Excuse me, buuble. The rooms look very cosy, but that’s probably for the best on cold winter nights. Northern lights, geysers and rainbow-flecked waterfalls, this place has it all!
Barb says
So the bubble costs $1100 for a couple? That’s more expensive than most hotels I have stayed at. it must be an amazing experience though. Great invention!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
No, the full day tour of the Golden Circle in a luxury jeep plus entry to Secret Lagoon and the overnight stay in the bubble costs $1100 per couple.
Archana Singh says
WOW! What an incredible experience you had. I had heard about igloos but never about the Bubble Hotel. And, it’s aptly named as the “five million star hotel”. I would love to sleep in it to see the stellar views of the night sky.
marlene dombrowski says
Wow what an experience. Thought the bubble was great for star gazing and watching the northern lights. Sorry it rained but still very unique. Certainly a must . Great article
michael jones says
This got to be an awesome idea for a hotel room, but really out their, Be able to see the stars and scenery as you sleep amazingly. But have to be a little wary, especially changing clothes, I am nervous.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
You can always go use the private bathroom to change your clothes if you’re nervous.