Most countries have rolling mountains, green land and gridlocks of city layouts when you look out your airplane window as you land. However, Iceland has volcanic plateaus, sandless beaches and vast nothingness as you land into Keflavik. This is just a taste of the landscape that makes Iceland every explorer's delight.
We landed in the morning. Our first meal, after picking up our rental car*** was a traditional Icelandic platter. We got lamb bacon, reindeer meatballs, lamb pate, fin whale and Icelandic meat soup.
There are a lot of international restaurants in Reykjavik, those owned by locals also have international menus so you have to ask around and walk a bit to find a local menu. Towards the end of the trip, we discovered Whale fishing is illegal in most countries because it is an endangered species. While it is not illegal in Iceland, it is highly frowned upon and visitors are discouraged from patronizing restaurants that sell whale in order to minimize profit and end the practice. For this reason, I will not be sharing the name of the restaurant. The meal pictured cost about $60 though.
We drove around for a bit, made a quick stop at the Reykjavik Art Museum then went home for some rest.
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| My knees destroyed my pants on the flight lol |
At about 6pm, we drove 15mins from downtown Reykjavik to Blue Lagoon (online tickets were approximately $90each). We had an incredibly, relaxing evening soaked up in the warm, geothermal water. Blue Lagoon's distinctive blue color is due to the way the silica refracts sunlight and it is one of earth’s 25 wonders. Some people prefer to save Blue Lagoon for a final, relaxing treat on their last night. We chose it as a relaxing energizer to get us rested after traveling and give us an exciting taste of what's to come. Do whatever works for you.
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Day 2
We were supposed to start with whale watching but we got there late and missed the boat so we rescheduled for a later date and started our overachieving, misguided adventure.
Golden Circle
The Golden Circle is a small loop consisting of 3 of Iceland's most popular attractions: Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir Geothermal Area and Gullfoss waterfall. Most people who come to Iceland for only a few days stay in Reykjavik, complete the Golden Circle and head back home with a big taste of what the country is about.
We started with a scenic drive through Thingvellir National Park. It is a historic site with ruins of old stone shelters, rocky cliffs, random water falls and the seat of Iceland's Parliament from the 10th-18th Centuries. From there, we made a stop at Strokkur Geysir - the geothermal fountain churns up boiling water that smells like rotten eggs, with steam rising from vents in the earth next to mud pools, fumaroles and mineral deposits. We watched it explode a few times, then had unimpressive lunch at the restaurant nearby.
We then went to Gullfoss waterfall. Unfortunately, it had started to snow and the winds had picked up so we took a few photos and ran back to the car.
If you have time, I highly recommend soaking in the Reykjadalur Thermal Hot Springs. It is a valley filled with hot springs and mud pools heated by the geothermal activity in the region. It takes about an hour to hike there and the views alone are worth the journey.
Ring Road
We skipped the hot springs due to time constraints and headed off to the Ring Road. The Ring Road aka Route 1 is a national road that circles Iceland and it takes about 20 hours to complete. Our first stop on the road was Skogafoss, one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland. |
| Side view of Skogafoss |
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| Skogafoss |
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| Skogafoss from the top |
From there, we drove 25 minutes along the highway to Seljalandsfoss. You can hike around it or encircle the waterfall if you like. Either way, be sure to bring a windbreaker if you intend to get close to it or any of the other water falls because the winds carry the droplets far and wide.
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| Seljaladsfoss |
Unfortunately, while we were about 15 minutes into the walk, the temperature dropped to 38 degrees, wind gust went up to about 50mph and I literally started getting blown away! We turned around and blindly headed for the car. It was quite terrifying. We were even warned to mind how we opened our car doors as they could be blown away if the wind hits them just right.
We drove 20 minutes, through the terrible weather, into Vik but couldn't find any available hotel or Airbnb. Eventually, we settled for the best thing we could find on google, a $175 room in the basement of a guest house. That evening kicked our butts and to be fair, we deserved it. We had only booked rooms for our first and last nights, with the intention to book all other places on the go, depending on how much we achieved each day so this was bound to happen... we just didn't expect it on our first night.
Day 3
From there, we made a 2 and half hour scenic drive to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. It was everything I imagined and more: Blue glaciers, ice cold water and blue skies behind puffy, beautiful clouds. We unfortunately couldn't do any of the glacier tours because they stay closed until November to ensure that the ice is solidified. It was still a beautiful experience regardless.
Less than 5 minutes down the road, we spent 2 hours in northern Iceland's version of Blue Lagoon, Myvatn Nature Baths. It is serene due to less crowds going that far north. We enjoyed soaking in the geothermal lagoon in 3 degree weather and overlooking the mountains as it snowed on us. This was my favorite stop on the trip.
Day 7
We woke up early and caught the boat to go whale watching - they had been gracious enough to reschedule us at no extra cost after we missed the boat on day 2. I was way too cold to take any photos or videos but I can promise you that it was absolutely worth it! We saw a ton of whales and other fishes.
***Car rental - TBH, our car rental seemed sketchy. When we got to the office, it looked like one family managed rentals for all the companies online. We also had to wait an hour because of the crowd then discovered there is a surprise mandatory insurance of $32/day with $400 deductible OR $3,200 deposit. We got insurance and it turned out to be worth it because we had a flat tire halfway through the journey. I'll recommend an SUV if you're going on the ring road but a sedan might be fine in the Golden circle.
Jamie got a thick wind breaker, I whipped out my ski jacket and we drove back to plane crash. The walk was about 40 minutes one-way and it was difficult to get a decent picture without a photobomber but the effort was definitely worth it.
From there, we made a 2 and half hour scenic drive to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. It was everything I imagined and more: Blue glaciers, ice cold water and blue skies behind puffy, beautiful clouds. We unfortunately couldn't do any of the glacier tours because they stay closed until November to ensure that the ice is solidified. It was still a beautiful experience regardless.
As we drove away from the glaciers, we saw rolling mountains with white snow caps, sheep and horses lazily grazing and random waterfalls. It was all so relaxing...
...until it wasn't and we got a flat tire! All rental cars have an electric tire pump of sorts with glue that you pump into the tire to hold the seal. We used it 4 times on a 2 hour drive and eventually made it to our hotel, Fosshotel. It is quite nice and our room was overlooking some mountains and the Norwegian Sea.
The hotel dinner was also one of our favorite meals on the trip. I highly recommend staying there.
Day 4
The next morning, we found a tire shop not too far from the hotel. That $32/day insurance*** came in clutch as they covered the bill with the business and we didn't pay a dime. We were on our way in under 30 minutes.
We drove 4 miles through Faskrudsfjardargong Tunnel and then 2 and half hours through the snowy, icey paths in Northern Iceland. It was very pretty but not the most fun to drive through. The roads were slippery and had no railings. Phone and radio connection were also spotty so we were grateful to have gas and good tires.
Due to poor internet connection, we missed Dettisfoss Waterfall which is the biggest waterfall by mass in Europe. It's a detour off Route 1 before you get to Namafjall Hverir. Plan ahead with an offline map so you won't miss it too.
We eventually made a stop at the Namafjall Hverir geothermal area. Volcanic activity is high there and you can get quite boiling blue mud pits and steaming fumaroles. Sulphur of course smells like rotten eggs so expect to smell it at most geothermal sites and occasionally when you use hot running water.
Less than 5 minutes down the road, we spent 2 hours in northern Iceland's version of Blue Lagoon, Myvatn Nature Baths. It is serene due to less crowds going that far north. We enjoyed soaking in the geothermal lagoon in 3 degree weather and overlooking the mountains as it snowed on us. This was my favorite stop on the trip.
Finally, we then drove an hour and change to our lodging for the night in Akureyri, the captital of Northern Iceland. We got a guesthouse in the mountains with hopes of catching some aurora borealis/northern lights but it was too cloudy.
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| View from my bedroom window the next morning |
Day 5
We drove 5 hours through the North Western region and off Route 1 to Snæfellsnes Peninsula (sometimes called Little Iceland). We saw the almighty Kirkjufellsfoss then made our way to our Airbnb. We had dinner and were absolutely done for the day.
Day 6
We had spent the night in Olafsvik which is only 2.5 hours away from Reykjavik and on the northern side of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.
Instead of heading back to Route 1, we took a leisurely drive around the peninsula through Snaefellsjokull National Park (the only Icelandic National Park that stretches out to the sea). We stopped to check out Saxholl, a crater in the park that erupted 3-4,000 years ago. It currently rises 190m above sea level. We then got back on Route 1, headed to Reykjavik as we completed the Ring Road.
Day 7
We woke up early and caught the boat to go whale watching - they had been gracious enough to reschedule us at no extra cost after we missed the boat on day 2. I was way too cold to take any photos or videos but I can promise you that it was absolutely worth it! We saw a ton of whales and other fishes.
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| This is the boat we went out on |
Not far from the docks, we had lunch at Hofnin (The Harbor Restaurant). I absolutely recommend eating here, even if you’re not going out on a boat. I still remember the smell and taste of my meal.
We then went home, had a mini photo shoot before going in, did laundry and napped.
We had dinner at Paris Cafe because Jamie is of French ancestry and… I couldn’t argue. I don’t remember what it tasted like but I remember feeling cozy and loving our window table.
We lamented over our failure to see any northern lights and as luck would have it, they popped up right as we were finishing dinner. We drove to the outskirts of Reykjavik to minimize light pollution and saw a beautiful array of green lights in the sky. It was the perfect ending to the trip and I couldn't have asked for more.
I would go to Iceland again in a heartbeat. It is like no other place I have ever been, Alaska might do but it doesn't quite measure up. We loved how we did it but I would recommend taking 10 days to do both the Golden Circle and Ring Road so you can take your time and maybe not drive everyday. I would also recommend driving at night a few times to increase chances of spotting aurora borealis. Most of all, I highly recommend getting a travel partner that insists on driving the whole way so your ashy face can handle navigation and chill with your feet on the dashboard!
***Car rental - TBH, our car rental seemed sketchy. When we got to the office, it looked like one family managed rentals for all the companies online. We also had to wait an hour because of the crowd then discovered there is a surprise mandatory insurance of $32/day with $400 deductible OR $3,200 deposit. We got insurance and it turned out to be worth it because we had a flat tire halfway through the journey. I'll recommend an SUV if you're going on the ring road but a sedan might be fine in the Golden circle.
*I bought a $30 sim at the airport which helped with navigation needs because the car GPS was a pain to work,.