ICELAND
TRIP OVERVIEW:
Trip Duration: 9 Days, 8 Nights
Time of Year: Fall (End of November, Beginning of December)
Traveled With: The two of us & 3 college friends (1 couple & a loving 5th wheel)
Highlights: Untouched nature, northern lights, winter landscapes
Daily Location (Details w/ Photos Below):
Day 1: Reykjavik
Day 2-3: Vik
Day 4: Hofn
Day 5: Vik/Skafatell
Day 6: Golden Circle
Day 7: Snaefellas Peninsula
Day 8: Snaefellas Peninsula/Reykjvaik
Day 9: Reykjavik
Before You Go - General Tips/Knowledge:
-There is only 5-6 hours of daylight this time of year. It is critical to plan ahead & make every moment count!
-Weather is quite unpredictable. Everyone who goes to Iceland for vacation has a different experience. Some experience blizzards which sent their cars off the road & require cancelling plans. Some experience rain storms. Some experience dazzling sunshine that creates sparkles in the pre-fallen snow. We were the last one. Sometimes we have good luck!
-Everything is quite expensive throughout the country. We knew this in advance so we packed plenty of food and snacks from home (oatmeal, PB&J, ramen noodles, protein bars). We made a grocery run on our 1st day for any perishables (eggs, deli meat, fruit, veggies). We made the mistake of paying $27 for a sandwich and would not let that happen again! We only splurged on a handful of sit-down meals. Hotdogs were also extremely popular check out the stand in Reykjavik) + were budget friendly treats at gas stations during the road trip!!
-Bring activities for the dark nighttime! We had deck of cards, karaoke mic and facemasks!
-Rent a car to see the country from YOUR desired perspective. It is way cheaper to rent standard cars (not automatic). We were out of luck here.
-There is one main highway that circles around the entire country (Route 1). The northern half is closed in the winter.
Download apps: 112 for safety (Iceland equivalent to 911), weather apps to monitor forecast, and My Aurora Forecast & Alerts for chasing northern lights
-Look up special information on getting gas. The process is different than the US!
-Check out our friends’ VLOG and VIDEO for other perspectives of our trip (link pending)!!
Trip Cost: Approximately ~$2,000 for flight, accommodations, rental car &excursions (meals not included)
DAY 1–REYKJAVIK
To maximize our Icelandic adventuring, we flew a red eye plane arriving at 7AM. We waste no time! We picked up our trusty rental car & straight to the Blue Lagoon we went (buy tickets in advance)! This time of day was perfect because it was not crowded yet. We expected this place to be overrated & swarming with tourists. We were pretty impressed & had a great time! Getting in and out of the water from the frigid cold air was quite the challenge. Totally worth it!
Our AirBnB was walking distance from downtown Reykjavik.
Our afternoon was spent riding Icelandic horses through lava feels with Islenski Hesturinn company. The tour group was fantastic, but man, we were NOT ready for the cold weather. Hours riding a horse in 20 degree weather called for a lot more layers than packed for this day trip. LESSON LEARNED.
Dinner was the renowned hot dogs at Bæjarins Beztu hut in the middle of town.
We did a Reykjavik pub crawl in the evening. In hindsight, we could have just organized it on our own. The company didn’t
DAY 2 – VIK
Let our winter wonderland road trip begin! Route 1 here we come!
Today we hiked to a local, natural hot springs called Reykjadalur. This hike took several hours there & back in the snow. We needed our warmest clothes, crampons for our boots, and endurance to make this happen.
The hike through the snow was beautiful with some waterfalls and (stinky) geysers along the way. The destination was a steaming, hot river with only a handful of other brave souls to share it with. Taking our clothes off to hop into the natural hot tub was painful, but as always, worth it! Bring a towel to dry off before you put your layers on. No time to get sick – this is only day 2!!!
Our AirBnB the next two nights was our favorite in Iceland. It was a farm which seemed to be in the middle of no where. The couple was extremely friendly with tons of children and animals. We ate dinner with our host family (lamb from their farm) and shared incredible stories of local culture.
DAY 3 - VIK
We awakened before the sun in hopes of beating tourists to experience sunrise at Skogafoss waterfall. We succeeded! We had this massive waterfall all to ourselves for a jaw dropping view. Man, did we feel small next to this powerful natural beauty! Always a plus to not have a swarm of strangers obstructing our photo too!
We had some time to kill before our afternoon activity. We stopped by a local black sand beach and ran like kids through the sand. Never had we ever before worn snow pants, winter jackets and hats to a beach before. There is definitely a first time for everything!
Our afternoon activity was ice climbing and a glacier hike with “Guide to Iceland” let by “Tröll Expeditions” company. The icy blue glaciers were incredible to learn about and hike through. Ice climbing was actually quite challenging. It made us feel like White Walkers!
northern lights!
We were ecstatic we booked 2 nights in our farmhouse AirBnB. We were super antsy to see the Northern Lights. As we were relaxing and editing late night photos in our bedrooms, our AirBnB host came eagerly running into our room shouting that it was time! The lights came! We all ran swiftly outside, like a bunch of kids on Christmas morning. The lights were beautiful, indeed. The skies were clear which allowed our viewing experience to be better than we ever dreamed of. The lights danced above the horses in the field. How magical!
day 4 - hofn
Let the magic continue! Down Route 1 we went to the Joklasorun Glacier Lagoon. It is amazing to stare at a body of water so insanely different than the ones back home. Every step of this trip felt like we were on another planet.
Our next adventure was an ice cave tour booked through “Go Ecco”. We hopped into an intense, all terrain vehicle that made us feel like we were ready for battle. This vehicle conquered miles of off-roading icy hills, crevasses and ditches to get to the ice caves. Definitely cannot access these babies by foot or with a rental! The ride was an adrenaline
rush in itself! The beauty of Icelandic ice caves are they are different each year. Depending on the weather conditions, the experts determine which caves are accessible and safe for visitors. Therefore, the caves in our pictures are very likely to be different from the ones you see. How cool is that?
Next up was Diamond Beach. One of my favorite beaches in this world. Diamond Beach is a black sand beach which chunks of ice all over it, looking like sparkling diamonds with the glistening sun.
We arrived when the sun started to set. Boom… enhanced natural beauty. Easy as that!
In Iceland, sunsets transform an entirely new experience. If you’re driving down Route 1 at precisely the right time, you will experience a never-ending sunset. Picture this. Beautiful mountains on one side & the ocean coastline on the other. The sun will be setting in all its glorious colors for what seems like forever along the seemingly endless horizon, brought by the extremely flat terrain.
day 5 - vik/skafatell
Today we did a 1.25 mile round trip, snowy, hike to "Black Falls", AKA Svartifoss. Along this hike you will pass by Hundafoss and Magnúsarfoss waterfalls as well. An easy hike overall with waterfalls galore…each with a unique personality!
In the afternoon we drove to the fjords and did a short walk for these views. Brace yourself…it is quite windy!
This night, we stayed at an AirBnb farmhouse with a barn full of animals and fresh milk provided by our host! We were lucky enough to experience small teaser of some more northern lights as well!
day 6 - golden circle (attempted)
The Golden Circle is an attraction for many visiting Iceland (especially those on a tight schedule) due to the many wonderous sites in a short distance from the airport Due to our action packed schedule, we only allotted part of a day here & it was unfortunately a rainy one. Due to this, we do not have any pictures or tips to share!
However, we still managed to find a memorable, delicious lunch at Fridheimar, an indoor tomato farm! We had unlimited soup, breads and coffee. Perfect for a rainy day (or not rainy day)! The prices here were surprisingly affordable as well.
This same day, we also made a spontaneous trip to Bruarfoss. The most magical waterfalls I will likely ever see in my life! The waterfalls contain a series of miniature falls between snow capped rocks, atop dark stone and flowing into crystal blue waters. We were lucky a local happened to be nearby when we were searching for this trailhead, otherwise we never would have found it ourselves!
To top off the day, it was also my personal mission to try geyser bread. That’s right…bread baked below ground in a geyser! We made a detour to find a local bakery. It was fun to try and did not disappoint!
day 7 - SNAEFELLAS PENINSULA
Feels like we somehow drove to a new planet. Where did all the snow go? The unpredictable weather surely makes everyone’s experience different. Goodbye white, hello green!
Tonight, we stayed at an AirBnb farm at Grundarfjörður with the perfect back view of Kirkjufell (yes - the arrow shaped mountain to our fellow GOT fans!!)
day 8 - SNAEFELLAS PENINSULA/reyjavik
Our final splurge meal was dinner at Tapas Barrin. Their tasting menu included local foods like whale, puffin, and lamb. All were prepared in an impressive manner and had the entire table drooling. This one hurt the bank a bit, but there was unanimously no regrets!
