Iceland

WOW! <----Yes Iceland deserves all those capital letters because it literally blew me away! I first convinced Chris to head to Iceland because I found some cheap ($300) round trip tickets from Minneapolis! Little did we know that Iceland is actually pretty pricey once you get there, but we still had an amazing trip!

We decided we wanted to road trip the island in 7 days and I came across another FABULOUS blogger named Jeannie. If you are planning a trip to Iceland I would highly recommend checking out her blog called Iceland With A View. I even bought a few of her Ring Road Guide Ebook to help plan for this trip and it was 100% worth it!

We rented a camper van from Happy Campers and grabbed some groceries from the local Bonus (cheapest grocery store chain in Iceland) and headed out! Here's our itinerary:

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Day 1: Arrive in the morning. Pick up campervan and get groceries. Drive to Golden Circle and see the sights. Pingvellir National Park, Gullfoss, Kerid Crater, Geysir, Oxararfoss, Flosagja Fissure. Grab some ice cream at Efstidalur Dairy. Spend the night in Hella. 

 

Day 2: Start at Seljalandsfoss waterfall. Get there early before the tourist buses arrive. This waterfall is sooo neat because you can walk behind it! Be careful because it gets slick!

Swing by the waterfall right next to it called Gljufurafoss. ←Bethany’s fav!

Drive on to Skogafoss and if you're able, hike up the stairs to the right of the waterfall! It's definitely a climb, but there's another neat waterfall at the top!



We then went to Seljavellir hot pot (we had to go down this tiny gravel road and then hike about a mile to find this hot pot.) If you choose to visit this one (and you should because the scenery is gorgeous!) change into your suit in the car. The bath houses were nasty!



Continue onto Dyrholaey and Reynisfjara beach.

Make sure to swing by Fjadragljufur Canyon <---- Chris’ fav! It’s a tiny little road sign so don’t miss it!



Continue onto Jokulsarlon Iceberg Lagoon. Spend night in Hofn.

Day 3: Drive from Hofn to Stokksnes and Seydisfjordur. Seydisfjordur is a neat little harbor town that we ate lunch at. It’s a little bit off the beaten path, but it was scenic.

Drive to Dettifoss waterfall (use the bathroom before you get there if you can! There were only some nasty port-a-potties available). Next up we went to Namafjall Hverir and Myvatn Nature Baths (Blue Lagoon Alternative). Spend night in Reykjahlid. 

 

Day 4: Start driving to Godafoss.

Stop for lunch in Akureyri (eat at Blaa Kannan cafe on Hafnarstraeti). Akureyri was a neat city to walk around and shop in!

Then drive onto the Snaefellsness Peninsula.  Visit Kirkjufellsfoss, Grundarfoss. Spend night in Grundarfjordur.

Day 5: Head to Snaefellsjokull National Park. We took an adventurous detour to Ondverdanes Lighthouse. This area is beautiful! We easily could have spent more time here!

Travel onto Saxholl Crater (an active volcano that you can climb up!) Arnarstapi has gorgeous rock features! So many great photo opportunities here!

Visit the Budhahraun lava fields and then hike up to Glymur (2 hour hike) if you have time.

Stop at Bjarteyjarsander if you want a good meal or a fun farm tour. Spend night near Glymur or head back to Reykjavik.

Day 6: Reykjavik Day! We took a free City Walk Tour and it was fabulous! Our guide told us lots of history and some neat Icelandic facts (like about how they utilize their geothermal heat and whatnot). I would recommend it, just go onto their website to reserve your spot. Grab some ice cream at Valdis in the area known as the “New Harbor”. We enjoyed eating at The Sea Baron (Saegreifinn) near the “Old Harbor”. Try their lobster soup!

Check out the Harpa Concert Hall for a neat view. Take the elevator to the top for a free view of Reykjavik.

Hike uphill to Hallgrimskikja the most famous church in Iceland. You can take an elevator to the top for like $10 (we didn’t).

There's some neat museums in Reykjavik too so if you have some extra time, feel free to check them out!

We spent the night in a guesthouse near Keflavik that had a free shuttle back to the airport. 

Day 7: Fly home.

Extra Tips:

Here's a list of some of the places we stopped in Iceland on Google Maps. Check out Hotpot Iceland for a list of all the public hotpots. Bonus grocery stores are the best/cheapest, so make sure to look for those. N1 Gas Stations we found to be the cleanest and most convenient around the island. I believe all of the ones we went to had free bathrooms.

I hope you have an amazing trip to Iceland! It's a gorgeous country worth seeing!