Iceland

July 2017: We had been wanting to visit Iceland for a long time, and finally made it! This was the start of a 3 week trip to Scotland for a wedding, and a bit of western Europe. Flights to Iceland are incredibly cheap from Canada, but you definitely make it up in Iceland. I'm sure you've heard, but it is seriously expensive here, but I guess being so isolated it is completely necessary. However, we knew this and it did not deter us. This place is magical in so many ways. Game of Thrones meets Jurassic Park (the scenery...no dinosaurs!). Waterfalls everywhere. Incredible views at every angle. Even the volcanic ash everywhere is beautiful. Do not hesitate, just go!

highlights

. Waterfalls . Volcanoes . Cliffs . Black Sand Beaches . Ring Road .

lowlights

. Prices . Manual Rental Car . Airport .

We were in Iceland for 5 nights, 6 days. I am going to go through our trip day by day. At the bottom I have some general tips about Iceland.

*View of the lagoon from the restaurant. The rain kept us from bringing our camera into the lagoon.*

day 1: arrival in reykjavik & blue lagoon

We arrived in Iceland on a windy, rainy day (pretty much every day in Iceland), and had booked a rental car at the airport. Most rental car places are not in the actual airport, so we asked someone where to go (super friendly), and we had to jump on a bus that takes you to all of the car rental spots (there are about 3 different stops). We then got our little manual Suzuki Jimny (don't think we'd do manual again) and headed off to the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is in between the airport and Reykjavik, so (based on a recommendation) we decided to stop here first and relax after a couple of long flights. You must pre-book your package to the Blue Lagoon. We chose the "Experience Premium" that included a mud mask, algae mask, bathrobe, towel, slippers, 1 free drink at the in-water bar, a reservation at their restaurant plus a complimentary glass of sparkling wine there. This was $150 Canadian each (this is Iceland...get used to the crazy prices). There is a cheaper package that includes just the mud mask, towel, and 1 free drink in the lagoon. But if you want to eat at one of the restaurants, it is recommended that you reserve ahead of time. When you book, you can choose an hour within which you have to arrive. The lagoon itself is quite large, and very relaxing. It was foggy, cold and rainy when we were there, but the water was perfect. It took Lisa a couple of showers to be able to comb her hair properly again, but we definitely felt so relaxed and ready for our Iceland adventure.

After we got to our Reykjavik airbnb, we took a walk through the city and down to the water, where the Harpa concert hall is, and continued walking to the Sun Voyager sculpture, then up to the walking street where we found Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral, with an incredibly tall tower and the biggest organ I have ever seen inside.

day 2 - golden circle

If you only have time for a couple of days in Iceland, the Golden Circle is a great way to see some amazing sites of Iceland. The route is about an 8 hour day, including all of the major stops, and you start and finish in Reykjavik. We did 4 big stops, but we also pulled over when we saw something cool. Below are the 4 stops.

1. thingvellir national park

Thingvellir National Park is one of the sites where you can see the continental divide between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It is also where Parliament meetings used to occur hundreds of years ago. There are some beautiful views of the park from the road leading up to it, as well as a nice walking path.

2. geysir geothermal area

This area has big and little geysers everywhere, so you can spend a bit of time wandering around, watching and smelling this very active geothermal part of Iceland. The sulphur smell can be a bit much at times, but it is so worth it to see a geyser go off and shoot a hundred feet into the air every 10 minutes.

3. gulfoss waterfall

This is a pretty large waterfall with incredible views from multiple points. There is a walking path down right where the rapids are. There is only a small rope with little warning signs on it, so be careful...it's wet and slippery! As you get closer to the water it gets quite wet, so be sure to bring a rain jacket and protect your camera! If you look away from the waterfall, you can see a glacier waaaay off in the distance. It was our first glimpse of one at this point in our trip, so it was very cool!

4. kerid crater

This is a less popular spot to stop at, so you won't find a ton of tourists here (great for pictures). There is an entrance fee equivalent to about $3 Canadian. We walked around the top of the whole crater, then went down to the bottom. There are some fish in the water if you look carefully! I really enjoyed this little stop.

day 3: southern iceland - ring road

Our first day driving along the Ring Road took us to a couple of waterfalls, and then onto a glacier! It was a busy day, then we stayed at an airbnb on a farm a few miles off the road. It was a great little spot to unwind and clean up after a long, busy day. Below are our 3 stops.

*Seljalandsfoss - you can see people walking behind it*

1. seljalandsfoss

This is a beautiful waterfall you can see from the road, and there is a path all the way behind it, which is pretty neat. Lots of people, but there is a big parking lot. Beside and behind the waterfall it gets pretty wet, so wear proper gear! We came back here a couple of days later because we wanted to see the hidden waterfall that was just down the path from this one. We couldn't find it on this day, but after a bit more research we figured it out.

2. skogafoss

This waterfall is HUGE. Also seen from the road, so you can't miss it. Very wet the closer you get to it, and you can also walk up some steps to the top of it. A bit hard to see the whole thing from the top (the lookout doesn't quite reach), but great views of the mountains and valleys above.

3. solheimajokull

Solheimajokull is an arm of the larger Myrdalsjokull glacier. We booked a glacier walk and ice climbing package with Icelandic Mountain Guides. It was about 3 hours in total and they give you a harness, hiking boots, crampons, a helmet, and ice picks. It was about $240/person. There is a large parking lot, and many different tour groups, so you just have to find the right van in the parking lot (others will help you out). Bring waterproof gear! We walked for awhile on the glacier (just massive), saw the layers of volcanic ash everywhere, saw little rivers and streams (tasted some glacier water), and then spent some time ice climbing. I was a bit nervous but it was a lot of fun and not too difficult! There are different spots that vary in difficulty. Our guides were terrific, I think there were 3 of them, and they shared a lot of information on the glacier and how much it's melting. We had such a great experience, I highly recommend this tour!

day 4: southern iceland - ring road

We continued driving the Ring Road, making a few stops along the way, where we saw puffins (!!!), as well as drove up to a lighthouse, plus a few more I'll mention below. We finished off the day at a Glacier Lagoon, then drove back a few hours to get to our little Airbnb cabin just off the main road.

*View of a black sand beach from the lighthouse*

1. lighthouse

We saw this from the road, and decided to drive up. This was the sketchiest part of the drive, as it's a steep, curvy road with not much room for cars to pass each other. We ended up getting stuck because the person ahead of us was driving 10km/hr with their automatic. So our little manual couldn't make it, but we backed down then tried again and made it. Beautiful views from the top!

2. vik

Vik is a very cute, charming little town in Southern Iceland. It is popular for it's black sand beach. We parked at the gas station and walked a few minutes down to the beach. I think this is also a very popular spot with tourists, and we thought about staying in the town, but by the time we were booking there weren’t many options left.

*View of the cave and columns in the distance*

3. basalt columns

This was about a 10 minute drive once you turn off Ring Road, just before the town of Vik. The beach is incredible with huge waves, and the basalt columns themselves are pretty amazing up close. A great little stop. There's also a restaurant here if you're hungry.

4. lava field

As we were driving to the glacier lagoon, we found ourselves driving for miles and miles by these lava fields, covered in moss. There was a small touristy-looking spot to pull over and walk around, so we took 20 mins to look around. They had some information about the lava fields and a little bit of the history of the area. It was a great stop, and they take great care in maintaining this environment.

*Vatnajokull glacier...where pieces are calving*

5. jokulsarlon glacier lagoon

We booked a glacier lagoon tour with Zodiac Tour, which was about $115 Canadian per person. One end of the parking lot had the van that the tour worked out of. We were given these incredibly warm and cozy flotation/waterproof suit to wear (see Trevor's picture above). I wanted to take it home it was so warm and amazing. We had to walk a bit of a ways to the boats, then spent close to 45 mins on the water, learning about the ice, seeing many different layers of glaciers, and rode pretty close to the glacier itself, where if you get "lucky" (not sure if that's the appropriate term to use), you can see ice calving off the glacier.

day 5: southern iceland - ring road

Day 5 was the start of heading back to Reykjavik to fly out the next day, but we still managed to get a few stops in on the way back. We started the day by walking to an abandoned plane on a beach, then stopped at Seljalandsfoss again, this time to conquer the hidden waterfall, and visited a neat museum. Details below! We stayed at an Airbnb that night right by the airport, as we had an early flight.

1. solheimasandur plane wreck

In the 70's, this plane crash landed on the beach here. All crew survived, but the plane was left on the beach. So it is now a tourist attraction. To get to it you start at a small parking lot, then walk down the path for about 45 mins. When you get there, people are standing on top of the plane, so it's impossible to get a decent picture or appreciate it. The walk was insanely, unpleasantly windy, and I hate to say this but it might be the one stop we maybe didn't think was worth it.

2. gljufrabui waterfall

The hidden waterfall. We found it! If you are looking at Seljalandsfoss, turn left and walk down that path almost to the end. There, you'll see a stream, and if you walk through the stream (we jumped rocks), you'll be right at the waterfall. SO AMAZING. I think one person was there when we got to the waterfall, not too many people were attempting the walk through the stream. But it was so incredible and totally worth it. I think there's also a way to get to the top of it so you can look down, but I'm not too sure how to get there.

*One of the interactive rooms in the museum*

3. lava centre

On the way back to Reykjavik, you will drive through a town called Hvolsvollur. Right on the edge of it will be a new building called the LAVA Centre. It has an incredibly cool, very interactive museum that we went through. It included a lot of information about the formation of volcanoes, a history of the volcanic eruptions in Iceland, and a detailed description of each of Iceland's volcanoes and how they erupt. It is all interactive, your feet and hands manipulate what you see in some parts, and you walk through an earthquake chamber. We loved it and would recommend it to anyone interested in the geological history of Iceland.

*Trevor in the middle of two continents*

4. reykjanes peninsula

This was a bit out of the way, and we had to actually use GPS to find this place, as it's not right off a main road. This peninsula rests on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are diverging. There is a bridge connecting the two plates, so we walked from one continent to the next! I find plate tectonics fascinating, so this was a very cool stop.

iceland tips

Airbnb is the way to go. You can't really go wrong. We didn't have too many options when we booked, but each place was different and so welcoming. The hotels are usually booked fast, and are very expensive.
Food is very meat heavy, and they have some interesting meats to try if you're in the mood.
Stop to see some Icelandic horses and sheep - they're everywhere!
Look out for Puffins! Summer is not usually a time you see them, but we still managed to find a couple.
Don't just stay in Reykjavik - get outside the city, even if you only have a couple of days.
Bring a rain jacket wherever you go! The weather is insane and changes 10 times a day.
Buy food at grocery stores and gas stations. They have a lot of options, and it is easy if you are on the go, as well as a bit cheaper.
Get waterproof gear! And I'm not just talking about a rain jacket. Pants and shoes as well.
Stop wherever you want! You can see so much from the road, so whenever you see something cool, pull over and enjoy the incredible landscapes and views.