Iceland in 1 or 2 weeks
Iceland
Why go to the cold when I could choose a destination of paradisiacal beaches? I asked myself this question several times before arriving in Iceland, but the doubt dissipated when I set foot on the island: charm and Nordic design in Reykjavík, hot springs and waterfalls in the south, black beaches and impressive glaciers to the east, quiet lakes and beautiful villages to the north, and, to finish, aurora borealis dancing in the skies of the capital.
An impressive country that you cannot miss!
Index
General tips
Day 0: Arrival to Reykjavík
Day 1: Reykjavík & Blue Lagoon
Day 2: Golden Circle & waterfalls to the south
Day 3: Black beaches & glaciers to the south-east
Day 4: Searching for puffins to the north-east
Day 5: Jokulsargljufur & whales to the north
Day 6: Lake Myvatn, Godafoss & Akureyri to the north
Day 7: Hvammstangi & Snaefellsnes to the west (back to Reykjavík)
Day 8: Back to Madrid
General tips
📅When was I there? April 2018
☀️Weather: Choose the best time to visit Iceland based on your preferences. Summer offers mild weather and long daylight hours, while fall showcases colorful landscapes. Winter is ideal for Northern Lights and unique snowy scenes. Spring brings milder weather and emerging landscapes. We chose spring but each season holds its own charm and activities for a memorable Icelandic experience.
🚘 Transportation: I would definitely recommend renting a car like we did and do a road trip that starts and finishes at Reykjavik- the landscapes are totally worth it! Go to this web to check road blocks
💫Interesting tips: you'll see some extra tips along the itinerary that I believe are worth highlighting.
🙋🏽♀️Doubts?: If you have any questions you can reach me at my IG account.
Itinerary
Day 1: Reykjavík & Blue Lagoon
We woke up around 9am and went to have breakfast at Roasters Reykjavík (c/ Kárastígur), a very cozy coffee shop, with local atmosphere, recommended by Lonely Planet.
The truth is that, although it sounds typical, I love collecting them and reading them before going on a trip. Not only because of their recommendations, but also because they give you a bit of context about the history and characteristics of the region.
This café was just minutes away from our first touristic stop: Hallgrimskirkja, one of the most important churches in Reykjavík. Once there, it's worth paying the ~8€ to climb up and appreciate the city from above. The views are beautiful!
From then on, we didn't have a predefined route and we decided to forget about the guide and get lost in the city, go into any shop we thought would be of interest and take pictures of every corner of the Old Reykjavík.
When we had walked enough, we stopped at Stoffan Kaffihús, where we had coffee and a delicious cake.
We continued towards Old Harbour and stopped for lunch at Fish & Chips, which, as its name suggests, has one of the best fish & chips in the city at a moderate price (25€/pax), especially considering Icelandic canons.
Another option is to eat at one of the hot dog stalls or at Svarta Kaffid, where the night before we had a great and warm soup on bread.
After lunch, we went to rent the car to Blue Rental Car, a Suzuki 4x4 that would be our buddy for the next 7 days. We decided to take it with all the insurances they offered us because, considering the state of some roads, we decided not to risk. With our new buddy, we visited the port, the Harpa and the Sun Voyager.
Once visited the main milestones of the capital, we drove 45 minutes to Blue Lagoon to give us the most incredible bath you can imagine: outside temperature of 3 º C vs water temperature of 37 º C. Keep in mind that it is essential to book. We booked the Comfort module, which includes a silica mask and a drink.
💫If you carry a Gopro, water camera or similar, you will be able to immortalize this moment. It’s absolutely worth it! In our case, we bought a waterproof case for the mobile that worked wonderfully for us.💫 Carefull with your hair! I would extremely recommend puttin on some conditioner prior to getting into these silica waters to protect it a little bit!
If you need a hotel recommendation, we chose 105 A Townhouse Hotel, a hotel with a limited number of rooms, each with its own private bathroom and a well kitchen. It was a spacious room for two people and decorated in an industrial style, where we felt completely at home. You can probably find something cheaper but, taking into account the location (quite central) and the comfort and spaciousness of the room, 120€/night was a fairly good price for the prices that are shuffled there.
After dinner, we went to Grótta Lighthouse to see auroras boreales, but we were not luck. You can also try another point that we were recommended to see auroras: Reynisvatn.
Day 2: Golden Circle & waterfalls to the south
After breakfast in our room, we set course for the Golden Circle.
We started with Thingvellir, where you can see the gigantic crack caused by the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates that make up Iceland. Here you can appreciate the remains of the Vikings parliament (Alpingi). Finally, you will find a small waterfall, Oxarafoss, where you can have a good time taking pictures. For the lovers of The Game of Thrones, after this point some scenes of the series were filmed, and you can go to check them out.
Later, we stopped in the geothermal area of Geysir, where you can see geysers of different sizes, being the most important Strokkur (since Haukadalur is asleep), which erupts every 4-8 minutes, expelling hot water at 20m high. It's impressive!
To close the Golden Circle tour, we visited one of the most impressive waterfalls of the whole trip, Gulfoss, with 32m depth.
Nearby is the Secret Lagoon, thermal baths similar to those of Blue Lagoon. We didn't go to, but you can always try it.
Before continuing our journey, we stopped on the way to eat at a supermarket - fast food restaurant. 💫If you can start your tour with a stop at the supermarket to stock up on food for the trip. You will appreciate it since there are not many places in the area. Also, this will allow you to save money.
We continued to Seljalandsfoss. It is a spectacular waterfall of 60 meters high that you can appreciate not only from the outside but also from the inside. But wear a raincoat because you really get wet!
To finish our waterfall tour, we went to Skogafoss. It has some stairs to appreciate the waterfall from above, but it is not an essential ascent.
During this whole tour we made a thousand spontaneous stops that you will love: Icelandic horses, farms with bales of hay in a pink plastic that makes a beautiful contrast with the snow, breathtaking landscapes, etc.
Our hotel for this night, Welcome Holiday Home, was a fairly spacious cottage with one room, one bathroom, a living room, a lounge and kitchen for a price of 100€ per night. As the living room had a large window, we decided to sleep on the sofa bed to try to see auroras if the sky cleared. Unfortunately, it didn't clear, but still that night near the window, was worth it.
Day 3: Black beaches and glaciers to the south-east
We woke up early and started our way with the intention of seeing the plane crashed on the beach, the beaches of Dyrholaey and Reynisfjara, Skaftafell Park and Jokulsarlon Beach & Diamond Beach. The reality is that due to the rain and especially the strong wind, we could not do all this route, but I will explain it equally so that you can take it into account in order to design your trip.
We were staying near Skogar, so our first visit was clear: the DC-3 plane crashed on the beach of Sólheimasandur. To get there, I advise you to follow the indications of The Expert Vagabond [https://expertvagabond.com/airplane-crash-wreckage-iceland/ ]. A few kilometers from Skogar there is a detour from which there is an hour walk to the plane. The wind and the snow did not let us move forward. In the end, we gave up. However, this is a MUST in your trip so should try to visit it.
Afterwards, we went to the beaches of Dyrholaey and Reynisfjara which are impressive and there are viewpoints along the way that you will love. We had to be satisfied with seeing them from the car because when we opened the door, it almost flew out. No! It's not an exaggeration! Watch out for the wind! 💫Take the car insurance!
Due to the storm, we decided to stop for brunch in Vik, but it's not necessarily a city to stop in.
The rain continued but, luckily, when we reached our next stop, the weather respected us, and we could appreciate the beautiful Vatnajokull glacier. We decided to take the route to the nearest glacier, 20/30 minutes walking: Skaftafell, an incredible place where we spent more than 1 hour. In fact, we were late and could not visit the Svartifoss waterfall, as it was half an hour's walk from the starting point. However, if you go with enough time, you must go, since it is another of the key points of the route.
Finally, before heading to Höfn, where we would spend the night, we went to Jokursarlon beach, a spectacular glacial beach. Also, if you're lucky like us, you'll be able to see seals as well. I recommend you take a walk along the beaches on both sides of the road and check Diamond Beach as well. You’ll see parking lots in both sides.
That night we stayed at Nyibær Guesthouse, in a small but nice room that cost us 95€.
Day 4: Searching for puffins to the north-east
This is a day for travelling rather than for visiting, but the scenery in Iceland is always worth the effort. In addition, at the end of the tour the puffins would be waiting for us (at least, is what we hoped).
We woke up early and left for Stafafell with a few stops along the way. I can highlight for example the "Stop of the red chair" in the middle of nowhere. Don't worry, you'll see it! (coordinates: 64.341729, -14.928522 approximate).
Once in Stafafell the idea was to make some route to connect with nature but, again, time did not leave us.
Therefore, we continued our way to Egilsstadir, where we ate at Salt Cafe & Bistro, an American-style restaurant, where we ate some glazed ribs that were not bad at all. But despite being classified as cheap eats, it wasn't cheap at all! It cost us about 45€/pax.
Our idea was to go to Borgarfjordur Eystri to see puffins, but the storm was still going on and we also knew that it wasn't the best time to see puffins either (they are usually seen during the months of April to August).
Because of this, we decided to head to our new hotel in the municipality of Seydisfjördur. 💫There is only one way to get there, so I give you another tip: during the snow season it is not advisable to stay in Seydisfjördur, because it is very likely that this road will have to be cut. Having said that, Seydisfjördur is a charming Viking village, with direct access to the sea and really nice residents. We parked next to a beautiful blue church from which came a little path of colors, which now, from what I have seen in new photos, has been repainted and is beautiful.
Very close to it, was our hotel, Við Lónið Guesthouse, where we were awaited by a kind hostess who took us to a room decorated with great taste and with a very spacious bathroom. This hotel cost us 60€ a night, the cheapest of our stay in Iceland, and the truth is that it was spectacular.
Day 5: Jokulsargljufur Park and whales to the north
Now you'll understand the reason for the advice of the day before. Yes, we woke up and the road to Eglisstadir was cut by snow and the worst thing is that they didn't expect to open it until the next day.
Here I will give you another important tip for your trip: whenever you can, look at the state of the roads in Iceland to be able to foresee, as far as possible, this type of inconvenience: http://www.road.is.Skoffen
What did we do then? We decided that, despite the storm, we were going to try to make the most of the time in Seydisfjördur at Skaftfell Bistro cafeteria, which welcomed us all day long. There, we drank, ate and dined like kings and queens. If I were you, I wouldn't miss Pesto and Raindeer pizza. It's worth climbing the stairs to the exhibition floor to check it out.
What would we have wished to do if we hadn't been trapped? I hope it doesn't happen to you and you can enjoy the following tour.
Head to Jokulsargljufur Park to visit the Detifoss waterfalls (the largest in Europe) and Selfoss, among other things.
Afterwards, go to the hotel in Husavik, leave the luggage, and head towards the port of Husavik to catch a boat in search of whales. I advise you to book it in advance and, before doing so, make sure that it is indeed whale season. The tour we wanted to book started at 4 pm and lasted about an hour and a half.
Day 6: Myvatn, Godafoss and Akureyri to the north
Finally, following the path marked by the snowplough, we crossed the road to Eglisstadir and continued our journey, this time to the region of Myvatn.
We started with the geothermal area of Hverir, characterized by its mud wells, fumaroles and sulfur smell. It is absolutely astonishing!
To continue, we went for a swim in the thermal waters of Myvatn: it is a smaller enclosure than Blue Lagoon, but it is worth it.
Later we decided to get lost by the lake. This was probably the best part of the day: beautiful landscapes everywhere, surrounded by Lake Myvatn.
Before leaving Myvatn, we made the recommended stops of Grjotagja, Dimmuborgir, Skutustadagigar. You can also stop at the Hverfjall volcano.
To crown this day, we watched the sunset from Godafoss waterfall. Really spectacular!
Having finished the day with a grade of 10, we headed to the supermarket and then to our hotel in Akureyri, Saeluhus Apartments & Houses. If the rest of the hotels had been excellent, this apartment took the prize at 115€ a night.
Day 7: Hvammstangi and Snaefellsnes to the west & back to Reykjavík
This day was a return trip and, as it was the last one, we decided to take it easy.
In the morning, we had breakfast at Akureyri's Te & Kaffi and visited some of their stores to buy the latest souvenirs. I would try to go to a more authentic place for breakfast, such as Bla Kannan Cafe.
After a little visit to the port, we set course for Reykjavik, making two main stops: Hvammstangi and Borgarnes.
On the way to Hvammstangi you can stop to see the Kolugljufur waterfall. We didn't do it because we were short of time. Once in Hvammstangi, we looked for a place to eat, or rather, the place found us because, without realizing it, we found ourselves in front of Sjavarborg: a modern place of elaborated food with sea views. Although it was empty, we decided to take the risk and we were right in doing so: the fish of the day was spectacular, and the meal was not expensive at all considering the Icelandic canons.
💫Tip of the day: this town is famous for seal sightings, so you may want to try a boat ride to see them.
After a cup of coffee, we continued our way to Borgarnes, where we had a hot chocolate at The Settlement. This bar-restaurant is a great stop to rest your legs and get your strength back: it's nice, the service is very kind and the food looked good, although, for us, it was still early to have dinner.
On the way to Reykjavík, we stopped to watch the sunset. If the weather is good, I recommend you stop near Borgarnes because the views were really worth it.
We had dinner and went in search of auroras. Although the activity was low, the sky seemed almost clear, so we had to try. To track the auroras, we used the web vedur.is . We tried again in Grotta Lighthouse and, this time, we were lucky! They were small auroras very blurred in the sky, but they were auroras after all and made us the happiest people in the world. 💫 If I can give you some advice, be patient as you go in search of auroras and try it even if the prediction is not very good. Also, if you like photography, you should not only bring a camera but also a trípod. It's a must if you want decent photos.
Day 8: Back to Madrid
The next day, before we set off for the airport, we had breakfast at a place near Heida's Home: Emily's. It's a cozy cafeteria with a varied offer, being stuffed bagels the house's specialty.
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