ICELAND
Rob and I just returned from Iceland, sans kids. Wow. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is seeking nature on a grand scale. For you city types, not my top recommendation. We usually post our adventures as we go. This blog post is different. It was a harder trip for me to plan and navigate ahead of time, so I wanted to share what I learned with friends. This is designed to help friends figure out where to go in Iceland for their trip.
Note: we went as a couple. Our trip could easily be adjusted for family travel.
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
1. You cannot pronounce anything properly in Icelandic language. Don't worry about linguistic gymnastics, they all speak english. Just be careful when planning, as the words are so foreign, but can look similar to each other and you can easily send yourselves across the island in an attempt to GPS yourself to a restaurant (it's happened before)
2. RENTAL CAR: Super important. Usually, this is a quick logistically step that doesn't require much thought. It's REALLY important in Iceland. We rented through Go Car Rental. http://www.gocarrental.is/
Lots of options, it's one of the few places where reviews on Trip Advisor led me to a local car rental agency versus an international one (Hertz, Budget, etc).
Car rental is expensive. Many of the roads require four wheel drive. And by that I mean, real roads, not off-roading. It's something to consider seriously when you decide. There were lots of roads we wanted to take but could not in our mini car with 2 wheel drive. Ok, we did make one successful attempt that was totally worth it, BUT we got caught and had to go by the agency to confirm there was no damage to the car.
A number of the F roads, which require 4 wheel drive, often do not open until June. If you are going late May, you probably cannot take many of the F roads anyway, so 4 wheel drive not as big of a deal. Do your research before you make this decision.
We also saw lots of people driving small camper vans (literally vans, not giant motor homes). Great option if you are on a budget. You can literally pull over anywhere to camp (in or out of the van). Most looked well-equipped and organized with mattresses, etc. There are lots of public pools and geo thermal pools with shower amenities for the campers. Most people to talked to were staying in camper vans. Definitely worth considering, if that's your thing. Again, you have to think about the 4 x 4 option there.
If you opt NOT to do a 4 x 4, then it's worth booking at least one tour to take you back to less accessible country. You can do the Golden Circle and the Ring road without a 4 x 4.
3. MAP - Again, usually this is not a thing to think about. Just bring your phone, but not in Iceland. Best Driving Map for Iceland
I know this sounds old-school, but having this map made our trip. Buy the map. Lonely Planet and the rental car maps suck. So many of the roads are not clear and I found it easier and more satisfying to use the map over my phone.
4. WHAT TO SEE - I received SO many great recommendations, I'm cutting and pasting at the bottom. We did not cover everything. We did the Golden Circle and the South. There is more for you here.
AirBnB
http://farmholidays.is/
Here's where we stayed. We were happy with each accommodation:
Reykjavik
airbnb -near downtown
reykjavik-lights - near the large park. Not as close to downtown.
Golden Circle
Heradsskolinn - old school house. Loved this place
In the South
Hella - Lax a West Ranga Lodge
Vik - Icelandair Vik
OTHER RESOURCES
Jeannes Journeys - Iceland - This was an incredibly organized blog that lays out what to pack, where they stayed, and what to do if you are gluten-free. She also includes her itinerary. Worth checking out for anyone, though it's geared towards traveling with friends.
http://midgardadventure.is/tours/ - Great tour company. We did Thorsmork Valley, but just looking at the site, you'll see a wide variety of options. None of them are cheap.
Dave Erauw Recommendations - Professional Photographer, here are photos from his trip
http://erauw-photo.com/2015/iceland/
Dave:
*You will be stopping A LOT to take pictures; mountains, horses, sheep, waterfalls, lighthouses, buildings, SO MUCH.Blue Lagoon:
Book the Blue Lagoon in advance - because in June (tourist season), it will be really, really busy. I suggest going in the morning if you can!
http://www.bluelagoon.com/
* you can book the STANDARD or the COMFORT depending on what you are willing to bring with you.. You can get away with the STANDARD, as long as you bring your own towel and make sure to pack flip flops!
Seljavallalaug:
- However, this is one of the famous hot springs, there are a bunch throughout the Island that are free, that not as many tourists will be at:
Is one of the more enjoyable ones (it's becoming more popular, but definitely worth seeing for the view alone).
It's the first pool ever built in Iceland. It was made to teach islanders how to swim.. They couldn't learn in the ocean because the waves were so massive, so they used this natural hot spring in the middle of the mountains to create a pool..
*Make sure you bring a towel, bathing suit, flip flops.. There aren't really proper change rooms, just two empty rooms for privacy, but that's it.. No washrooms either, so make sure you go before you get there! ENJOY THE VIEW.
It's between Asolfsskali and Vik (on your way to the glacier lagoon - if you choose to go there).
It's kind of tricky to find.. You'll feel like you're going the wrong way, as you have to hike a bit to get there.. But I promise, if you keep walking towards the valley in the mountains, you'll eventually find it. You won't see it right away, as it's sort of down in the valley.. This website will help you with getting there.
http://woonblog.typepad.com/thewonderfulunknown/seljavallalaug/
Solheimasandur - Abandoned Plane:
http://expertvagabond.com/airplane-crash-wreckage-iceland/
* This is between Skogafoss and Vik
* Apparently you can no longer drive on the beach, they've banned it because too many people were getting stuck out on the sand.. So you will have to park it near the exit and walk 4K to find it.. Again, you won't see it until the very last second because it's below a bit of a hill.. It's hidden.. If you do plan on going and walking it, it will definitely take you a few hours there and back etc.
Vik (Black Sand Beaches):
Once you hit Vik, look for the black sand beaches.. There will be signs where to park and this will be a pretty touristy spot. You'll see lots of buses of people etc.. SO WORTH the view.. Make sure you bring a bottle or something to bring sand back with you.. It's so pretty and really worth it. We didn't get a big enough bottle, I only filled up a coffee cup from the gift shop inside..
http://luxeadventuretraveler.com/black-sand-beaches-vik-iceland/
Skaftafell:
One of my favourite places to just sit and listen to the ice crack and be overwhelmed by the view is the Skaftafell glacier..
It's between Kalfafell and Hof.. Not sure the exit, but the highway has signs that show you of where parking spots are, you can park and climb the mountain a bit to get to this view: https://www.instagram.com/p/96Lw5fJltY/?taken-by=dawnzdrea
You can also hike this glacier if you book a tour in advance..
Glacier Lagoon:
It's SO pretty here, and VERY much worth the drive. There's the calm lagoon on the left and the ocean with icebergs to the right. Stunning..
Depending how warm it is, the bergs might be melted a bit.. But there should still be a bunch. Try and plan to get there sometime in the early afternoon if you can.. Although the sun will be going down later for you then it did for us in November, so you should have ample amount of daylight.
Golden Circle:
This will be SUPER touristy.. It's one of the biggest day tours, so it will be very crowded, but worth to see for sure.. You'll see the Geysers erupt and there's a huge waterfall, and the massive crater.. It will probably take you a full day to do all of these stops...
http://expertvagabond.com/golden-circle-iceland/
Waterfalls:
There are SO MANY along highway #1.
There are signs on the highway again to find them.. You can stop at any of them.
Here's a list of some of the best ones:
http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/top-10-iceland-waterfalls.html
*Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss were a couple of my personal favourites..
]Snaefelsness Peninsula (East Iceland):
From Reykjavik drive through tunnel and go all the way to Borgarnes.
there is not much to see there, you don't even have to stop. just go to road # 54, drive and drive until there is intersection, then take road 56 to Stykkisholmur.
there you drive to the end of the town, to the harbour with little lighthouse on the top and great views. there is also cool church, but the main thing is the hot dog stand! If you can find it!
it looks like this http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/06/16/ae/c1/meistarinn.jpg
Then you go back and drive to Grundafjordur / Olafsvik direction.
there will be huge beautiful lava field, and a lot of MOSS!
there is also shark museum in Bjarnarhofn, where you can try fermented shark.. We didn't do this because we didn't have much daylight and apparently the museum is kinda boring, besides just trying the shark...
So you continue to Grundafjordur direction..you will be stopping a lot on your way because of the views..look out for whales, they might be there in fjords..then you will see the most photographed mountain Kirkjufell
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Kirkjufell.JPG
Apparently there are tales of Trolls living in these mountains...
Continue to Olafsvik, and from there to Hellisandur direction..continue to Djupalonssandur, nice black sand beach with cool rock formations
After few kilometres from there you will see a rocket shaped lighthouse called Malariff..
GO TO THIS LIGHTHOUSE. The view is AMAZING. There's large rock cliffs and you can watch the ocean crash on them.. There's a mini zipline and you can go on that, there's some cool tall shaped rocks in the distance.. This was a lovely place..
And there was maybe another couple here.. Not a lot of people stop here..
Then go to Arnarstapi, there are beautiful cliff views, big troll statue.
When you will be driving back to Reykjavik direction there will be a farm called Ytri-Tunga and if you turn there and walk few metres to the beach, there might be some seals.. (there were none in November but maybe now)
Then you just drive road 54 to Borgarnes, and take road 1 back to Reykjavik.
it should be around 450km this whole roundtrip so probably its good to leave early..first 2 hours its just driving to Stykkisholmur so it doesnt matter if it is dark.
Just make sure you have enough gas, because there are not many gas stations..
Nor places to eat,so take some snacks for the road, or eat a lot of those hot dogs and a must, you have to eat their yogurt because the yogurt is amazing
FROM ANOTHER FRIEND WHO WENT AS A COUPLE
My husband and I went to Iceland in May last year, which was their spring time. The days were very long which was nice since there was a ton of sunlight. It rained a good bit but not enough to damper our plans! We were there for one week and drove along the south coast. Iceland is composed of several ring roads making it hard to drive straight through the country. One thing my husband and I both agreed on after our trip was getting a car that is four wheel drive. We are the adventuring type, since we don’t adhere to a schedule we were disappointed that our rental car struggled in the national parks. We also saw tons of off road vehicles that you can camp out of which is super cool! Otherwise you are looking at staying in more of a guest house setting then your run of the mill Marriott Hotel. We stayed in several guest houses that were awesome but made it by the skin of our teeth since it was off season and there was little availability. (Should’ve booked in advance.) We didn’t spend too much time in the city of Reykjavik, but there were some very quaint restaurants and funny bars like the ‘Big Lebowski bar’ for a White Russian 😊 as well as churches and parks.
Things we did/saw:
Geysir- very active geyser that you can stand right next to. This location is a good example of how unregulated Iceland is so proceed with caution but enjoy!!
Gullfoss- Gigantic waterfall just a short hike off the road
Reykjadaulr Hot River!!!!! This is a MUST! The hike is pretty intense, I think it took us a little over an hour but it is beautiful, it winds through a valley full of geothermal spots and boiling mud and fluorescent ponds. Once you reach the naturally hot river it becomes warmer the further you travel. There is a boardwalk along the side and places to put your clothing and hop in! There was even a big clump of natural mud for a face mask 😊
--- It was a very full day but we did all of these things in one day because they all lie along the ring road just outside of ReykjavÃk.
As we drove south we stopped for a short hike through tectonic plates, this site was well marked off the road. Stopping at Seljalandsfoss waterfall is a must because you can walk behind the cascade, very cool! When we reached the southern point of the island we stuck around the small town of Vik. Surrounding sites include Skogafoss waterfall, Dyrholaey, Reynisfjara Beach, Black Sand Beach and Mydralsjokull Glacier. (At the end of the day we did not do a tour of the glacier and I’m still torn whether we should’ve, visibility was limited with our knowledge of the area.)
The Blue Lagoon is a must!!! With the advice of a local we went later in the day, on our way to the airport leaving the country actually. Later in the day there are less tourists. The whole experience is very fun and relaxing, make sure to follow the directions on adequately cleaning yourself before you enter!
