Iceland - Ultimate Southern Roadtrip
Contents
1. Daylight Hours
2. 6-Day Itinerary
3. Solo Traveler Suggestion
4. Other Things You May Want to Do
5. What to Eat
6. Resources
7. Data Plan: E-Sim
8. Travel Insurance
9. Packing Suggestions
10. Bonus Travel Recommendations - Sneak Peak to Travel Hacking
11. A Big Thank You!!
*Disclaimer: This guide contains some referral links. This does not cost anything extra for you, it just means you'll be helping me out by using them. I'd like to thank you in advance for using these links as it will help me continue creating travel guides for you!
Daylight Hours
I highly recommend looking up the daylight hours for the time that you will be there. Keep in mind, these times are when the sun is fully up, so I realized on day 1 that I actually had more light to work with than I had expected.
For example, January 14th daylight hours were to be from 10:58am-4:15pm. I had a beautiful sunrise at 10:18am and plenty of light to work with by 10:30am. Same for sunset- I had about 40 minutes more workable light past the sunset time.
Being in January, my daylight times slightly increased per day, so keep in mind in the fall you may have the opposite situation.
Day One
1. Pick up your rental car.
3. I squeezed in a quick drive around the small town of Keflavík before heading to the Bridge Between Continents. Honestly, this was a bit underwhelming, but cool in theory. It's also a very quick stop on the way to other places so you might as well.
4. Reykjanes Lighthouse, Valahnúkamöl, & Gunnuhver Hot Springs. All 3 of these are very close together (I did drive to each parking area). This area has gorgeous views across the water on cliff edges and from the lighthouse (you can hike up to but can't go inside). The hot springs were actually cooler than I had anticipated. While I was there, the wind blew the steam across the paths, creating a fun challenge to walk through while not being able to see anything.
- If you're a Will Farrel or Rachel McAdams fan, Valahnúkamöl is where they have keyboards setup from the music video for Volcano Man (from the movie: Eurovision)
5. Drive to accommodation and check-in. I drove 164km to Hvolsvöllur where I stayed at Midgard Base Camp. Check your Northern Lights Visibility apps (resources below), grab dinner in town or at the hostel, then enjoy the sauna and hot tub. Midgard had a delicious lamb shank dinner that I would recommend trying- Lamb is a staple dish in Iceland.
**Disclaimer #1: Flights arriving ~5-7am seem to be popular. This.is.brutal. My rental car company happened to have free coffee that I was chugging and somehow stayed a human for several hours to do the above. So, if you don't sleep on the plane ride over, then spare a few extra minutes to really fuel up on coffee and stay safe driving or find an accommodation closer if you don't think you'll make it (the last hour of the drive was tough if I'm being honest).
***Disclaimer #2: This is the day I originally planned to go to the Blue Lagoon after getting breakfast in Keflavík and exploring around a little prior. However, the volcano erupted right after I landed, closing the lagoon and all of route 43 (my heart goes out to those whose homes were destroyed :( ). So, if you're expecting this in my itinerary, it didn't make it, but there will be time allotted.
Day Two
1. Seljalandsfoss . This is the waterfall you can take stairs up and then walk behind. In the winter it gets really slippery behind the falls, and you may just be holding hands with a lot of strangers like I was to catch each other from falling- great bonding moment haha. They have a little shop and coffee stand at the bottom which is a perfect way to warm up. The spraying from the waterfall had my coat covered with a layer of ice that stuck!
2. Skogafoss. You can also take stairs to the top of this one and I highly encourage you to follow the trail further past where most people stop. You will come across more falls where you should at least go to another one or two. I walked to a third one (not including Skogafoss) before turning around. The trail does keep going and seems endless if you have it in you.
3. Black Sand Beach - A couple different options here and depends on the time of year. I was misled as to which ones had the basalt columns, so I am here to clear the air. In January when I went, Dyrhólaey Beach was only a lookout point with no access to the beach. Beautiful views, nonetheless. Vík downtown also has its own black sand beach that I went to next, called Víkurfjara. However, if you want to see the columns then go to Reynisfjara Beach. All 3 are easy to squeeze in as I went to Reynisfjara in the next morning once I found out that was the place to be.
4. Check into accommodation. I stayed at The Barn hostel and hotel. This is a lovely place 10 minutes outside of the town of Vík with dorm and private room options.
5. Dinner at Black Crust Pizzaria with - yep, you guessed it - black crust pizza.
6. Check your Aurora Apps and keep your eyes on the sky! We happened to see the green sky on the drive back to the hostel so we found a spot to pull over and view the stunning colors of green and pink/purple.
Day Three
1. Drive 199km (2.5 hours) northeast to Diamond Beach. This is where iceberg chunks wash up to shore on the black sand beach. You don't need much time here as I spent no more than 30 minutes.
2. Right across the street is Glacier Lagoon (can be done before or after the next activity). In the summer, you can kayak or do a boat tour here.
3. In this same parking lot, you can be picked up for your Glacier Ice Cave Tour if it's in the winter.
**If you don't want to go to as far east as Vatnajökull National Park, then there are also glacier caves closer to Vík at Katla.
4. Drive back to Vík and grab dinner at Ströndin Pub or Halldórskaffi. Also, if this place opens back up, then try Restaurant Suður-Vík as I was told is a very local place.
** A lot of local places are closed in Vík in winter.
5. You know the drill- check your Aurora Apps and look for those Northern Lights!
Day Four
1. Drive to the Golden Circle for your first stop at Gullfoss. I almost skipped this because... another waterfall?? But I didn't skip it and I'm glad I went as it was magnificent. Nature in Iceland just doesn't disappoint. I do recommend going to the lookout to the left to see the falls from the other direction as it's a whole different perspective- and if you go in the summer, it looks like you could go down and get closer to the water.
2. Strokkur Geysir. I've never seen a geyser before, so I was stoked and enjoyed it. It erupts about every 5-10 minutes so it's easy to visit for a short time.
**Pro tip: the trail did not wrap all the way around the geyser. Stay to the left to see the base where the water bubbles. From the right side, you won't get to see that.
3. Sólheimar, Græna Kannan. Sadly, I missed the timing to go here, but it's a very local cafe/shop located in an eco-village and known for great soup and snacks.
4. Kerið Crater. I almost skipped this, but I am glad I didn't. I walked down to the water where because it was frozen at the time, I was able to walk out onto it and slide around. You can also walk the perimeter on the top and on the inside at the bottom.
** 500 isk on arrival.
5. Drive ~97km (1.5 hours) to Reykjavík and check-in to accommodation. I stayed at Kex Hostel which was walking distance to the main areas.
6. Roam the streets for an evening/night view of Rainbow Street, Hallgrimskirkja, and pop into some of the open shops.
7. If you're feeling adventurous for dinner, go to Three Coats where I tried Fermented Shark, Roasted Whale, and Smoked Puffin.
8. If you're up for drinks, The Irishman Pub has live music every night. If you ask a drunk guy where the bathroom is, there's a 50/50 chance he'll point you to a karaoke room in the back.
Day Five
1. Silfra Snorkeling Pond. Snorkel between tectonic plates in bright blue waters even if it's snowy and gloomy above ground. They also have an option to scuba dive here instead.
**My hair was literally frozen after this, so if you plan to continue to other sights then keep this in mind and pack appropriate things for after.
2. Pingvellir/Thingvellir National Park
3. Go to Glymur Waterfall or head back to Reykjavík.
5. See the Sun Voyager sculpture. This may seem like a basic structure to go look at, but it's worth it with the incredible scenery that it's in front of. It's also located on a walking trail that follows the waterfront.
4. If it's not dark yet, go to the top of Hallgrimskirkja Church for views overlooking Reykjavík with colorful houses, mountains, and water below. I'm one for the views, so if you are too then don't pass this up- not to mention the beautiful architecture of the church.
6. Once again, if you're feeling bold for dinner, go to II Ristorante Antico to try their Reindeer Haunch Fillet (sorry Santa...). I'm not even a huge meat eater... but I am slowly becoming one after my travels...
7. Enjoy some new night life or head back to The Irishman Pub for live music.
Day Six
1. For breakfast, grab pastries at Brauð & Co. or Reykjavík Roasters. Or head to Kaffibrennslan for coffee and paninis.
2. My favorite way to soak up and get acquainted with a new city is to endlessly stroll. Go see the Rainbow Street, pop into shops, see Tjörnin pond, stroll to the harbor or Grótta Island Lighthouse if you're up to it.
3. Relax at Sky Lagoon.
4. Toward the end here is when the itinerary slows down and leaves you room to relax or work in activities that didn't work out previously.
Solo Traveler Itinerary Suggestion
As you can see, I started my trip off diving straight into the drive to because I wanted to ensure that I would be back to the west side with a comfortable amount of time before my flight (in case snowstorms came through preventing me from getting back). While keeping this in mind, it could be worth going to Reykjavík first, since I met more people there who could have potentially joined for the road trip portion. I saw this in other travelers who met in Reykjavík and ended up doing day trips together. That being said, I did meet people in Vík that I hung out with. If this is the kind of solo trip you're looking for- meeting and joining others along the way- then try starting in Reykjavík as it may make this easier.
Other things you may want to do
- Blue Lagoon, Sky Lagoon, Secret Lagoon, or another hot spring/lagoon (Sky Lagoon is probably the next fanciest lagoon to Blue and closer to Reykjavík. Secret is Iceland's oldest natural swimming pool. And there are other cheaper or free scattered thermal pools across the country like Reykjadalur and Hrunalaug)
- A Volcano around Grindavik/southwest peninsula
- Raufarhólshellir lava tunnel cave guided tour
- Whale watching tour
- Northern lights tour (although if you have a car and Aurora apps, it could be worth saving money and looking on your own as these can be a hit or miss)
- Solheimasandur Plane Wreck. It can be a long dreary walk of nothingness or you can pay a shuttle to take you directly there and back.
- Gígjagjá (Hjörleifshöfði hellir) - aka Yoda Cave east of Vík
- Icelandic Lava Show. Locations in Vík & Reykjavík
- Walking food tour in Reykjavík
- Glymur Waterfall. 54km (1 hour) drive north of the Thingvellir/Silfra
- An event at Harpa Concert Hall
- Puffin viewing tour
- Hiking
What to Eat
1. Fermented Shark
2. Lamb
3. Stew
4. Reindeer
5. Hot dogs
6. Skyr - Icelandic yogurt
7. Pastries
Resources
1. Road Closures
2. Aurora Apps -> these will help you know when the strongest potential times for the Northern Lights!
3. Hostel world -> this is a great platform to find accommodations while traveling solo since they have chat groups within the app. I did also find it helpful to find hostels straight from Google maps, like for Midgard Base Camp.
Travel Sim Cards
Airalo E-Sim -> Once again, this is my trusty data when out of the country. It was only $14 for the 6 full days while I was there in Iceland.
Travel Insurance
I've been using this insurance company for all of my recent trips to ease my mind. They have different types of coverages, personalized timelines, and very affordable. It doesn't hurt to pass up, especially when I only paid $12.88 for the whole week I was in Iceland.
Packing Suggestions
- Crampons . I wouldn't go out of my way to buy these just for this trip, but if you already own some then these can come in handy if you're traveling in winter. Walking behind Seljalandsfoss and Strokkur Geyser had me wishing I had these to go a bit further- though it's still possible to enjoy them fully without.
- Rechargeable or regular hand warmers. If you're an avid photo taker like me and constantly removing hand layers to do so, then these will be your friend to keep in your pockets.
- Heavy duty waterproof coat: This is the one I bought and could 10000% recommend it.
- Waterproof boots with traction: I wore my Oboz hiking boots, and although a little short for the heavy snow, these worked out great.
- Fleece base layers
- Neck gator, hats, multiple gloves, but these should all be obvious
- Waterproof pants
Find other items I bought for my trip on my Amazon store front
Bonus Traveling Recs
If you take flights often, it's worth upgrading your airport game from terminal hangouts to lounge hangouts. In lounges, you get unlimited free food and beverages, they often times have a bar, and comfortable quieter seating. Avoid overpriced airport food, uncomfortable chairs, and sketchy outlets. By being a part of Priority Pass, you have a network of lounges all around the world that you have access to.
You can get access directly through Priority Pass, or if you want to step up your travel hacking game further then check out the travel rewards credit card that includes access to Priority Pass. This is what I use and I am loving it!
Another way to travel hack is to get cheap flights by letting the destination choose your dates. I track flights using FareDrop (some of my favorite YouTuber's platform- Kara and Nate) and it helped me fly to Europe for less than $500 two times so far.
Thank you!!
Thank you for reading my guide and I hope it helps for your very own journey! I look forward to making more guides for you.
Safe travels!
- Layn's Leaf
The home for unique & authentic travel
