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About Iceland
Of all of the countries I have visited (I think I’m at 53 to date), one of my favourite has been Iceland. It’s a relatively young island (only 60 million years old!) and since it’s still an active volcanic island, the creation of the island is still in the making. As a result, you see things flowing, steaming and alive all around you. It’s incredibly easy to navigate – there is only one road (the Ring Road) that encircles the island. We spent 9 days driving the Ring Road and it was a trip of a lifetime! We visited Iceland in 2013 so there wasn’t a lot of infrastructure for tourists. I would recommend booking things well in advance. Or best yet, hire a camper van from Happy Camper and this way, you have your accommodations with you at all times. There are no by-laws that prevent you from parking just about anywhere in the country. You can load up groceries in Reykjavik and you’re all set!
We had 5 of us so there wasn’t a camper van (at the time) that could fit us all. In Reykjavik we had 2 great places we stayed: Room with a View (which was an apartment with lots of room for everyone and a hot tub on the roof); Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina (totally funky hotel)
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Eat / Play / Shop
In terms of shopping and eating in Iceland, I don’t have much to say but here are some tips:
-I URGE YOU NOT to eat whale
-skyr is a delicious thick and creamy yogurt
-try Rúgbrauð, rye bread that is put in special wooden caskets and buried in the ground near a hot spring to cook
-the infamous hot dogs (they are like weiners you get at the baseball game – the most popular place to get one is at Baejarins Best Pylsur in Reykjavik)
-there is delicious soup at the Noodle Station in Reykjavik
-Pakkhus Restaurant in Hofn (get the langoustine)
-Bistro Skaftfell in Seydisfjordur (my son had ground reindeer on his pizza and he loved it)
-In general, food is very expensive in restaurants so we ate at gas stations (weird but cheap and a bunch had restaurants attached that had buffets) and we did a huge shop before hitting the Ring Road at the supermarket Bonus for all of our essentials.
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Itinerary
THINGS TO DO
Reykjavik:
- Saga museum
- Settlement exhibition
- City museum
- Blue Lagoon
Golden Circle:
-Thingvellir, Geysir, Gulfoss (these are easily accessible from Reykjavik for a day trip)
Day Trips from Iceland: check this out
Around the Ring Road:
-Skogafoss (amazing waterfall that you can climb to the top of and then continue along on a nice hike)
-Dyrtholaey and Reynisfjara (amazing)
-Vik (spent the night living with a local family)
-Skaftafell National Park (great for hikes – head to the Svirifoss waterfall; do a glacier walk -book in advance)
-Jokulsarlon (do a lagoon tour)
-Hofn (spent the night at a local hostel)
-Breiddalsvik (Petra Stone Collection if you are into rocks)
-Seydisfjordur (spent the night at the Post Hotel)
Lake Myvatn Area:
- Krafla or Hverfell (crater walk)
- Myvatn Nature Baths (thermal pools)
- Dettifoss (waterfall)
- Dimmuborgir Rock Formations (go for a hike)
- Grjotagja Hot Spring Cave
- Hverarond Geothermal Area (bubbling pools of mud and steaming fumaroles emitting sulfuric gas – sounds gross but it’s fascinating)
Note: 2 places to stay in this area are Raudaskrida or Vogafjos
-Husavik (whale watching expedition)
-Godafoss (waterfall)
-Akureyi (spent the night; watched We’re the Millers at a local theatre with Icelandic subtitles -they had an intermission in the middle of the movie to get more popcorn, stretch your legs or have a pee break!)
-Snaefellsnes Peninsula -Arnarstapi and Hellnar (Vatnshellir Cave, hiking, Snowcat tour in glacier) here is a nice website that covers the area: Snaefellsnes Peninsula
