I finally talked Lynn into going to Iceland. I had travelled there before Lynn and I met to visit my daughter who was spending 2 months there as part of her art studies in 2014. Since she was there for such a long period, I decided to go visit her and experience the place for myself. I fell in love with the country in the 8 days I was there. Rugged terrain, beautiful scenery and wonderful people with a rich history. I knew I would go back again sometime and the chance to do so had finally come around. Lynn took a little convincing at first, but we came to the understanding that I would plan everything and she did not have to worry about where to go or what to do. At that point she was all in.
Lynn and I love adventure and we enjoy sharing our experiences with like minded people. If you have ever considered a trip to Iceland we hope that this page offers some insight and perhaps a starting point for you to create your own adventure. If you were to travel there, here are a few very basic tips that may be helpful nonetheless:
- Pack appropriate clothing for the season. Even in the summer you could see 45F with rain, but you could also see 70+F with sun.
- Your rental car may cost more than your flight, so be prepared for a little sticker shock there. We opted for the cheapest 4x4 available, but it was still more than the flight. Of course, we stayed for 10 days so if your trip is shorter this is less of an issue. There are cheaper 2WD options but I would not recommend that as you will be limited to paved highway only.
- You don't really need cash. Everything is electronic payment via credit or debit card. We used no cash our entire trip
- Do not tip. You will not even be offered the option to tip when paying for your meal.
- If you purchase anything to bring home be sure to get the tax credit form and submit that at the tax deferment counter at the airport when you leave. You will be refunded all sales tax since you are taking the items out of the country. It saved us about $300 so it is worth it.
- Everyone speaks English. It is a requirement in the public education system. In fact, every Icelander speaks 3 languages fluently.
We scheduled the trip for July 2022. This was the height of summer and that worked for us! I don't think Lynn would have appreciated any other time of year. When I had visited in 2014 it was April, and that for me was comparable to harsh northern winter weather for a southern boy. Once we decided on dates, I booked the flights and got to work. One of the driving factors for me pushing this trip was that Iceland Air was opening up direct flights from Raleigh, NC, which is a 2 hour drive for us. Cheaper and faster than my previous trip. We were to leave on 7/16/22 and return on 7/26/22. A ten day trip that needed an itinerary worthy of Lynn's expectations. Not that she is hard to please, rather I had been talking it up so much I was under a little pressure to deliver a good experience.
Once I dig in I can tend to really get lost in the details. For this trip that is exactly what was needed. At this point I should point out that a trip to Iceland is something that you want to embrace as an adventure - it is ALL about adventure! As part of our preparations I put together a map of all the places we might want to see, as well as highlighted the hotels we would be staying at. The map is kind of busy but we did have 10 days after all. Our focus would be mainly the southern part of the country. Some folks travel the entire ring road all around this incredible island in one trip, but we didn't want to be rushed. We pinned many options and we were looking forward to trying to see as many as we could.
All of that being said, by the time our travel date arrived I had all plans in place and an itinerary that would allow us to spend plenty of time seeing the sights. I think Lynn was really looking forward to a trip where she did not have to plan anything. I had made reservations for some things, mainly the hotels. A snap shot of the plan:
Our flight out of Raleigh was scheduled for 8:30pm on 7/16. It would be an overnight flight landing at 6:30 am local time on 7/17. We made sure we were well rested prior to the flight as we intended to hit the ground running once we landed.
Finally! Checked in at the international terminal and ready to go!
Boarded and waiting for take off!
Most seasoned travelers would recommend if you are taking an overnight flight, to stay awake as long as you can the next day, make the most of your morning and afternoon, and get to bed rather early evening to get adjusted to the time zone. This is no exception. Once we arrived, the first order of business was picking up the rental car. I had reserved a Suzuki Jimny 4x4. This was the cheapest option that would allow us to travel the F-roads, which are only open to 4 wheel drive vehicles. It had plenty of room for the 2 of us and luggage so we had no issues with it. Kind of a mini Jeep sort of vehicle. I should also mention that I added GPS to the rental knowing that cell coverage would be spotty at times. I did not want to rely on a phone app for guidance.
We would spend the first 2 nights in Reykjavik at Hotel Borg in the heart of the City. Since check in was not until 3:00pm our goal was to see some sights during the day and then spend the evening down town. First stop after leaving the airport was the Kokulist Bakery in Keflavik, where we had an excellent breakfast and coffee. I had scoped this place out prior to getting there and found it to be one of the few restaurants open at 7:00 am. Glad we stopped there because we knew it was going to be a long day and breakfast was a top priority.
From there we headed south through Grindavik, then east on Hwy 427. The scenery was fantastic, as it would be for the entire trip. Our first stop was Selatangar, which is a scenic rocky beach with stone ruins of an ancient settlement. At this point the Jimny had proven its value for this trip as the access road was a bit rough.
I should take a moment here to talk about the Iceland sheep. You are going to see a lot of pictures with sheep in them. The sheep in this country have been pure bred since the 9th century. No outside livestock is allowed on the island in order to ensure the integrity of the breed. Each spring the sheep are set free to roam the entire country at will. There are no pesticides or herbicides so the grasses are pure and organic. There is plenty of fresh water everywhere so the sheep want for nothing and are healthy. In the fall for a 2 week period everyone that owns farmland will saddle up on horseback to round up the sheep. This is quite a big event and a long standing tradition. Most folks will travel back to the family farm to participate. All of the sheep are then reunited with their home farm to settle in for the winter. They spend winter in barns where they are sheared, breed, and then when spring arrives they are set free and cycle repeats itself. Since we were there during the summer we had the opportunity to see sheep in the wild, so to speak. They were everywhere.
From Selatangar we continued east on 427 to Krisuvikurberg Cliffs. These are impressive cliffs along the shoreline that offer fantastic ocean views. Our relaxed approach to a timeline was already paying off. We had no where to be other than the hotel in Reykjavik and we could check in any time. We spent plenty of time at each stop to take in the scenery.
We were not alone at the cliffs:
From there we turned north on Hwy (I use that term loosely) 42. We made multiple stops along the way to get out and enjoy the scenery.
Lynn was really enjoying all of the roadside wild flowers:
Krýsuvíkurkirkja was built in 1857 and at some point, it was also used as a residence. It was repaired in 1964 and handed over to the Icelandic national museum. The last person that was buried there next to the church was in 1971.
Graenavatn, or "Green Lake" gets its name due to the greenish hue that is caused by a high sulfur content and depth of 45 meters. Unusually deep for such a small lake.
There are a lot of abandoned barns and houses in Iceland. Land is plentiful so rather than going through the expense of demolition most folks just select another site to build a new one.
Hwy 42 runs along the shoreline of Kleifarvatn. According to folklore, a whale-like monster lives in Kleifarvatn, akin to the Loch Ness Monster. It is one of two beasts of cryptozoology in Icelandic tales; the other regards a serpent in the eastern lake of Lagarfjlót.
After our scenic drive through the Reykjanes Peninsula we arrived in the capitol city of Reykjavik. This is one of my favorite cities. The people are so friendly, the downtown area is easily walkable, a vibrant night life, and there are fantastic dining and shopping options.
We arrived at the Hotel Borg about 2:00pm and fortunately were able to check in early. Our room was overlooking Austurvollur, which is a park square across the street from the hotel.
After lunch we explored the area some more...
We stopped into a bar called Dillon Whiskey Bar for some drinks. Apparently this is Robert Plant's go to bar when he is in Reykjavik as there were multiple photos of him with the owner on the walls.
Once we settled back at the hotel we were ready to get some rest and prepare for the next days adventure. Now I need to mention a couple of things here. First, during the summer months the sun never really sets. Official sunset is immediately followed by sunrise. The effect of this is it is light 24 hours per day. All of the hotels have darkening curtains for this reason. Second, during the summer months all restaurants and bars are trying to get as much business as they can since everything basically shuts down in the winter. This means that if there are patrons present the restaurant or bar remains open. We also discovered that most of the restaurants have outdoor seating and the goal is that no customer is turned away. If they do not have a table for you they will grab a table and chairs from a stack they keep on hand and set up another table outdoors. Brilliant!
Our room overlooked a park square that had restaurants along beside it. You could see The Irish Pub from our window. It was karaoke night at the pub and let me tell you they were rocking it. There was a group of folks on the patio that apparently gather every week to sing. Since the bar won't close until everyone leaves they were at it until the wee hours of the morning. I slept right through it but Lynn was not as fortunate. At this point she should have just gone down there and joined them but she kept thinking it would end soon.
Before we move on to Day Two, here is a snapshot of our Day One travel so you can get an idea of where we went:
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and headed out to the Blue Lagoon. We had reservations at 10:00am for the lagoon and lunch reservations at 1:00pm for the Lava restaurant located on site at the lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is definitely a major tourist attraction and we usually steer clear of those. Their are many other spa lagoons in the country that are less frequented but we wanted to experience this one since we didn't know if we would be back to Iceland again.
The staff at The Blue Lagoon were excellent and the place is set up to get you in at your specified time without any fuss. You shower before entering utilizing individual shower stalls and then again upon leaving. The water is as advertised, it is a hot spring after all, and the mud facial treatments were quite soothing. As per usual, lunch at The Lava restaurant was excellent. Oh, and there is a walk up bar in the lagoon!
After leaving The Blue Lagoon our plan was to do some more site seeing and then back to Reykjavik for the night. I should also mention here that from this point we would be driving a lot so we had loaded up with snacks and water beforehand. The only reason to buy water in Iceland would be for the container, which we did. Almost everywhere you might stop there are water refill stations. You can also refill your bottle in any stream. The water is pure and drinkable.
Our first stop was Thingvellar. This is a national park that sits on a rift between 2 tectonic plates, which creates a natural valley with rock walls on each side. It was the site of the Icelandic parliament from the 10th to the 18th centuries. It is a short hike to a waterfall from the lower parking lot. This was our first hike inland as we had only visited the coast thus far. This is where we discovered that although Iceland does not have mosquitoes, there are biting flies.
From there we were on to Strokkur Geyser, which is a hot springs geyser that erupts every 6 to 10 minutes.
From there we went to Gulfoss, which is the largest waterfall in Iceland. There is a gift shop, restaurant, and trails you can hike that take you to different viewing points. It is quite a thing to see up close.
We then took a scenic route south. I think it was Hwy 35 but when I look at the Google Map history it shows a straight line for this segment due to the aforementioned cell coverage issues.
We saw several of these domes along the way which can be rented out for the purpose of viewing the northern lights. Since the lights are only visible in winter it is nice to have a heated space far away from any light pollution to view it.
We passed a lot of farms along the way:
Kerid Crater:
At this point is was about 9:00pm so we headed back to Reykjavik for the night. Once back at the hotel we cleaned up and headed out to find a late dinner. 11:30pm at this point. Look at the sky in downtown Reykjavik. It would be much lighter if not for the overcast clouds.
We found a place called Tapas right across from Ingolfur Square. Say no more, we were all in for that! We enjoyed a late dinner and called it a night.
Here is a snapshot of our travels on Day Two. You will notice some straight lines instead of the actual route in a couple of the legs due to the lack of cell coverage. Google Maps history just draws a point to point line when there is no usable data, but you get the gist of it.
Day Three is when we would take the ferry over to Vestmannaeyiar, which is an island off the southern coast. We would spend the night there. One of our goals was to see the Puffins as this is one of the regular roosts for them and it was the time of season for them to be nesting.
We loaded up, checked out of Hotel Borg, and headed southeast on Hwy 1 which is the ring road. Hwy 1 makes a circle around the entire country. We went through Selfoss and continued on toward Landeyjahofn, which is where you board the ferry. We located the ferry entrance but were way ahead of schedule so decided to keep moving and visit some waterfalls.
We stopped at Seljalandsfoss. This is a waterfall that cascades from a large overhang which allows you to also go behind the fall. You can then hike up the other side and over to another water fall that is adjacent. That waterfall has a "room" behind it that you can access through a narrow path between the rocks.
After we left Seljalandsfoss we continued east on the ring road just taking in the scenery. Some of the beauty you see right from the road is fantastic!
At this point it was getting on into the afternoon. I knew we could have lunch on the ferry ride over so we were thinking about turning around.
Then we saw this:
After lunch we headed over to Landeyjahofn where we got in line for the 3:45pm ferry to Vestmannaeyiar. The ferry has a bar and a deli style restaurant on board. The ride is about an hour and the scenery is fantastic. It was a little chili on deck so we mostly stayed inside, just going on deck for photos.
We had reservations for the Guest House Hamar on the island so as soon as we got off the ferry we went there to check in and to make a plan for the evening. The guest house was just right up the hill from the ferry. We were able to see that there were plenty of restaurants and other hotels walkable from where we were staying. It is a small town centered around the ferry station. There was a beluga whale sanctuary that was closed when we got there, a brewery, and lots of shops and houses. The Puffin nesting cliff was on the other side of the island and we would need to drive. We walked over to Brothers Brewery for some refreshments then walked o few blocks to a restaurant called Naes (Nice).
After dinner we went back to Hamar to change and get ready to go to the Puffin nesting place. Lynn had been looking forward to this for some time so she was excited to get there. The scenery on the way was fantastic.
The town at night...
A snapshot of Day Three travels:
Before embarking on the ferry the next morning we decided to take a look at the eastern side of the island where, in 1973, the Eldfell volcano eruption destroyed homes and buildings. Most residents were able to be evacuated. After the eruption and subsequent fall out over 2 square kilometers had been added to the island and the shape of the bay had been completely transformed. We also visited Stafkirkjan which is a stave church replica gifted by the Norwegian government to commemorate Iceland's conversion to Christianity in the 12th century. It was painstakingly assembled to duplicate the stave churches in use throughout Norway during that time period.
On the ferry!
We had reservations for horse back riding in Vik that afternoon so we caught the 9:00am ferry and headed that way. We had time for a couple of stops along the way. First up was Skogafoss. This is a 60 meter tall waterfall on the river Skoga. There is a staircase to the top that offers incredible views. Local legend has it that a settler named Prasi buried his chest of gold underneath this waterfall. I don't know if there is any truth to that but I can say that due to the spray you can always see a rainbow that ends at the bottom of the fall. Maybe there is gold at the end of the rainbow. From Skogafoss there is a hiking trail along the river that leads to many more waterfalls up stream. There is Hestavadsfoss, Steinbogafoss, Fremri-Fellsfoss, Innri-Fellsfoss, and the list goes on. Camping is a popular way to tour Iceland and there is a campground at the base of Skogafoss. Folks use this a a base camp and spend the day hiking to the various falls. There are also several guest houses in Skoga. We had different plans, however, so we only visited Skogafoss.
After leaving Skogafoss we headed toward the glacier Solheimajokull, which would be our next stop. Lynn had never seen a glacier before so she was excited to be going there...
Parking is paid via mobile app throughout the country. We parked in the designated area and started the hike up to the base of the glacier.
After leaving Solheimajokull we headed for Vik where we had horse back reservations and would stay the night at Hotel Kria. Once we got to Vik we stopped in for lunch at Restaurant Suour Vik. Like all of our dining experiences in this country, the food was fantastic.
Then we were off to the stable for our horse back adventure. I have mentioned before that no outside livestock is allowed into the country in order to protect the pure bred animals that have been on the island for centuries. This is even more critical with the horses. The Icelandic horse has been bred on the island for over a thousand years and are extremely adapted to the terrain and climate, and free of disease. Part of the protections in place include requirements that you do not bring your own riding gear. If you have riding gear that has been in contact with other horses you would not be allowed to bring it into the country. The stable provides all riding gear for you. A sad but necessary requirement is that if a horse is taken out of the coutry it can never return. This means that for show horses participating in European events the trainers have to sell them before returning home as they cannot bring them back.
When we arrived at the stables we were introduced to our horses (I was to be riding Snow White with Lynn riding Hector), outfitted with the proper gear, and given an overview of what to expect. We would be riding on the black sand beach as well as grassy rough terrain. We would also have an opportunity to run the horses through their 5 gait exercises if we felt so inclined. These horses are a bit smaller in stature than most breeds and that suited us just fine. So we saddled up and headed out.
What a fantastic experience! The horse back ride offered excellent views of the Vikurfjara, the black sand beach closest to Vik. After our ride we checked in at Hotel Kria and got cleaned up. Vik is a popular destination due to the amount of scenic sites in the area. Our plan was to go check out Reynisfjara, the other black sand beach a few minutes drive from Vik. If you are a Game Of Thrones fan you will no doubt recognize the scenery here.
At this point it was about 5:00pm and we had dinner reservations at Restaurant Drangar, so we made our way back to the hotel.
Wow! Ok. Good thing we had a reservation! LOL. The view from the restaurant was wonderful and the meal lived up to our expectations, which at this point had become quite high.
After dinner our plan was to go to Dyrholaey, the light house over looking both Reynisfjara and Dyrholaey Beach (aka The Endless Black Beach). Photos just really cannot do this place justice unless you are a professional with all the appropriate equipment. We are definitely not photographers, we are tourists. It really needs to be experienced in order to appreciate the majestic beauty here. Oh, and there were Puffins!
We got back to the hotel about 10:00pm and called it a night. Our experience in Vik and the surrounding areas was well worth the stop. With Day Four ending we were looking forward to what the next day will hold.
A snapshot of our Day Four travels:
We had reservations for the next night at Hotel Klaustur, in the town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. This is about an hour drive on the ring road from Vik. Our goal was to keep going west to the glacier lagoon and then circle back, seeing as many sites along the way as we could.
This leg of the ring road offers some spectacular scenery and drastic landscape changes. The moss covered rocks look more like a moonscape than something on earth. These rocks are protected and walking on them is strictly prohibited. There are pull over points for photos, as well as an elevated roadside walkway at one point that allows you to really take in the views. That icecap you see in the back ground is Vatnajokull, the largest ice cap in Europe. Other scenery along the way is diverse and beautiful.
Our first stop after checking out the rock scape was Skaftafellsjokull, which is a finger glacier spurting from Vatnajokull. This area is part of the Vatnajokull National Park and has a lot of hiking trails, camp sites, etc. Near the parking area for Skaftafellsjokull is a trail head leading to Svartifoss. This is a spectacular waterfall and the hike offers some majestic views. I had visited it previously with my daughter and wanted to share that with Lynn. Unfortunately the trail head was closed when we arrived so we got some photos and then set our sites on Svinasfellsjokull. This was also close by and is an outlet glacier for Vatnajokull. Much larger than the sister glacier Skaftafellsjokull.
Skaftafellsjokull:
Svinasfellsjokull:
From there we continued west to Jokulsarlon (aka Diamond Beach or Glacier Lagoon). This is where Vatnajokull empties into the lagoon and those icebergs, as well as water flow, head out to sea. This is a major tourist destination and when we arrived there were tour buses, food trucks, bar trucks, etc. There were also boat tours being conducted in the lagoon. We saw ducks, seals, and a lot of icebergs. The weather was overcast as a rain had just come through. This seriously impacted the view from the lagoon. Views of the mountains and icecap were limited. We spent quite a bit of time exploring the shoreline, then turned back toward Kirkjubæjarklaustur. This would be as far west as we travel on this journey.
We checked in at Hotel Klaustur about 5:00pm. This place was excellent and had a lot to offer. We grabbed a refreshment and got settled into the room.
Wait, is that an espresso machine in our room? Hell yeah!
We had been told about a water fall that we could hike to right from the hotel so after dinner we went to check it out. The falls were called Sister Falls as there are 2 falls on the same rock face. Local legend has it that 2 missionary nuns drowned in the pond at the top of the mountain, adding to the Sister Falls lore. The hike and scenery were great, and when we got back to the bottom we realized there was a bar right there!
We got back to the hotel about 9:30pm and settled in there. With 24 hours of daylight available we were really leaning into long days. Time to put Day Five away and get ready for our next adventure.
Snapshot of Day Five travel:
So Day Six is to be our F-Road day. We planned to explore some of the roads less travelled, so to speak. When we got up in the morning we noticed a group of 8 Toyota Land Cruisers gathered in the parking lot, all of them set up for offroad. There was what appeared to be a tour guide going over maps and giving instructions to the group. Turns out this is a guided F-Road tour and we would cross paths with this group again.
We headed east on the ring road then turned north on F-Road 208. The scenery is really just amazing. We just traveled north not really knowing what to expect and taking in the sites as we went.
Umm, Ok...
This is Suðurland Grafarkirkja, a small rural church not far into our F-Road journey.
This road side map was a little further down the road. Anything in dotted lines requires 4 wheel drive.
Definitely the road less travelled. Scenery is amazing.
There would be many water crossings. Here is crossing #1.
The colors in these fields is surreal. These photos are not enhanced in any way.
- All Icelandic names have a particular meaning, have to be approved by the government, and are recorded in detail. You can be traced back to your ancestral roots via "The Book Of Names", or in modern times via an app. All ancestry is documented.
- Icelandic names also distinguish class. For example one of these young ladies has no surname because her ancestry does not have any royalty. Basically her last name means "Peter's Daughter". The other one does have a surname due to royal ancestry.
- Also, since all Icelanders are descended from 13 Viking families that settled the country in the 9th century, they are all related at some level. With a total population of only about 330 thousand this is quite relevant. You can use the app to determine how someone is related to you.
- All citizens graduate high school speaking 3 languages fluently
- Icelandic
- English
- Elective
- All citizens attend college and it is free.
This is one place where cultural appropriation is not only acceptable, it is encouraged. Lynn really leaned into the experience...
Once we got back to the ring road on our way to Reykjavik heading south, we had to go through Hvalfjörður Tunnel. This tunnel runs underneath the Hvalfjörður fjord and is 5,770 meters (3.5 miles) long and reaches a depth of 165 meters (541 feet). With this tunnel a drive that used to take an hour now only takes 7 minutes. It is a bit eerie knowing that you are driving underneath 541 feet of water. From there it is a short scenic drive along the coast back to Reykjavik.
Now this bar, Islenski Barinn (aka The Icelandic Bar), is truly an Icelandic experience. They only serve Icelandic brews and spirits, and offer a menu of traditional Icelandic dishes with modern interpretations. Things like Hakarl (fermented shark), leg of lamb, reindeer, meat soup, and they also have burgers and more modern dishes. The manager there was quite a character and took great pride in telling us the history of the place.
On the walk back we took and a few detours and Lynn did a little more shopping. She was seriously leaning into the culture at this point...
One of Lynn's interests on this trip has been churches, sheep, horses, and abandoned buildings. Plenty of which we have stopped to see and photograph. Way too many to share here. As I mentioned before, abandoned barns and farm houses are plentiful and photographing them is eerie yet beautiful. She has a catalog of photos for each of these categories and it is quite impressive. The reason I bring this up is that I had identified a church, Álftaneskirkja, that has some historical significance and is located on the tip of a peninsula with views to the sea. Since it was not too far from Borgarnes we decided to check it out.
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