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kaleoverload-blog · 8 years ago

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Iceland for 5 days! (March 2017)

So I’ve been wanting to go to Iceland for years and this year we FINALLY made it happen. Here’s a breakdown of our trip that will hopefully help and/or inspire some other travellers!

DAY 1:

We landed in to Keflavik airport which is a good ways away from Reykjavik. We stayed in the cheapest hotel we could find near Keflavik airport that night (as we arrived in late). The hotel was still £60 (GBP) or thereabouts but hey, it’s Iceland! We also paid £25 for a 7 minute taxi ride. Wowzers. Welcome to nordic countries! DAY 2:

We got the bus in to Reykjavik. Dear God it was COLD! If you’re going to go to Iceland in March absolutely make sure you bring thermals, ski-pants, hiking boots and a super warm coat, hats gloves, etc. etc. We rented a car through Airbnb (this one) and honestly, this is the only way you want to see Iceland. Rent a car and do it at your own pace. When you’re driving along Route 1 (the ringroad) you’re going to want to stop every 5 minutes so having your own mode of transport gives you the freedom to do that and thus enjoy Iceland to the fullest.

We didn’t spend any time at all in Reykjavik as we had limited days and were just eager to hit the road but before hitting R1 we needed to buy some groceries for the trip so we stopped off at a great supermarket; Bonus (greatest logo ever!!). Groceries in Iceland are crazy expensive and we spent a lot more than we thought we would have to. I think next time we travel Iceland again we’ll actually check a bag full of food. It’s a lot cheaper than buying it there.

We also topped up the jeep with petrol which was again very pricey. Over the course of 4-5 days driving we spent approximately £350 GBP on petrol.

We decided to dedicate our first day to Iceland’s Golden Circle and our first stop was Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park - a historic site and national park in Iceland, east of Reykjavík. Þingvellir is the site of Iceland's parliament from the 10th to 18th centuries (woah!) and on the site are ancient ruins of Þingvellir Church and old stone shelters. The park also sits in a rift valley caused by the separation of 2 tectonic plates, with rocky cliffs and fissures. Definitely worth an hour stop on R1.

Next up was the Geysir Geothermal Area on Iceland’s Golden Circle which was beautiful but pretty crowded. The locals told us that in the past 2-3 years the amount of tourists visiting Iceland has just risen so high that the locals can't even handle it. So the Golden Circle tours do get quite busy - be aware of that. This is why we wanted to do the Golden Circle on day one and then escape the crowds and venture further south. The Geysir area was amazing and quite warm which was nice! We even stripped a few layers. There’s a coffee shop there which is wildly expensive but again, it’s Iceland.

Our third stop was Gulfoss (pictured below) which was absolutely breathtaking. This was by far our favourite stop off. The wind was incredibly strong though so be careful and try not to fall into the waterfall! Gullfoss is part of the Golden Circle tour still and is fed by Iceland´s second biggest glacier, the Langjökull. The water falls 32 meters into a rugged canyon which walls reach up to 70 meters in height. On a sunny day (which we did not have) rainbows can be seen over the falls.

End of Day 2 and it was time to find somewhere to sleep. We travelled a little further along the ring road and found a nice spot by the sea to pull in and sleep. Again, if you like camping and being adventurous I can’t recommend this mode of travel enough for Iceland. The jeep we rented from Stefan through Airbnb came equipped with a mattress in the back and sleeping bags, cooking utensils and a small stove so we parked up by the sea, cooked some food on our little stove and slept the night away. This sounds very peaceful of course but be aware that it was VERY cold, starting the stove was quite tricky and the wind coming off the sea wasn’t all that pleasant... We probably could have picked a better spot but hey, that’s the whole fun in it!

DAY 3:

We hit the road again early on Day 3 and unknowingly stumbled across Urridafoss Waterfall. Only in Iceland can you drive along a seemingly normal road and then come across THIS....

... and then THIS was next up!

This is the stunning, breathtaking view of Seljalandsfoss Waterfall which just pops into view from the road while you’re driving and leaves you completely speechless. It didn’t matter at all to us that it was raining because you don’t go to Iceland for the weather! Dress well, keep warm and make sure your clothes are waterproof and you’ll be fine.

Seljalandsfoss is one of the best known waterfalls in Iceland and does get a lot of visitors. It is 65 meters high and you can walk behind it which is incredibly cool. You will get soaked though so be prepared for that! Gljúfrabúi waterfall is 100metres from Seljalandsfoss so definitely go check it out as well while you’re there. It’s absolutely stunning and not as many people walk down there.

Next unplanned stop was Eyjafjallajökull Volcano which is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, north of Skógar. Remember that volcanic eruption that caused all those flights to be delayed in 2010? Well that was this one! Amazing site to see and only a few minutes needed to park up and gaze at it from the roadside!

Then came my favourite stop of all where we spent a few hours; Skogafoss. This was just simply indescribable. The waterfall itself is immense but the hike on top of the waterfall is even better. I’ll let the pictures below tell you all about it because words could not do it justice. My advice would be to take your time here. Walk around the top of the mountain for an hour or two and soak in the views. This place is like another planet altogether!

Our last stop before choosing our campsite was Dyrholaey overlooking Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach near the village of Vik. Reynisfjara is widely known as the most impressive black-sand beach in Iceland and oh my, it is epic. The views from Dyrholaey were amazing and although it was super cold and windy, it was more than worth it!

Finally it was time to find somewhere to eat some food, drink some whiskey (Monkey Shoulder got us through those cold nights!!) and rest our eyes. Lucky for us we parked up in the most incredible camping spot.Skaftafell National Park (also known as hiker’s paradise) is randomly where we decided to camp on night #3 and of course, like all things in Iceland, it was out of this world beautiful! We were literally camping right underneath a glacier... clear sky, food cooking, glacier behind us. whiskey in hand and an incredible starry sky.

DAY 4:

Day 4 started with Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon which is located in Southeast Iceland and it's truly a unique place. Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon, bordering Vatnajökull National Park in southeastern Iceland. The waters are dotted with icebergs from the surrounding Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier, part of larger Vatnajökull Glacier and the lagoon flows through a short waterway into the Atlantic Ocean with massive chunks of ice left behind on a black sand beach. In winter, the lagoon hosts hundreds of seals as well! We saw two or three seals swimming amongst the icebergs which was just AMAZING!We spent about two hours here walking along the beach, gazing at the beautiful lagoon, watching the seals swimming and taking photos. It was a grey, rainy day which actually made the lagoon look eerie and otherworldly.

We then left Jökulsárlón to start our journey back to Reykjavik (as our flight was the following morning) and on our route back we stumbled across the most insane thing... Yet another stop-off that was only partly visible from the road and yet, when you turned the corner and parked up the views just left us speechless. The place I am referring to is called Svínafellsjökull Glacier Tongue and little did we know we had actually camped pretty much underneath this glacier the night before. WOW!

Again, I’m not sure words can do this place justice so I’ll just pop this picture in here... It is definitely a must-see!

On making our way back to Reykjavik we then had a very unfortunate break-down and were stranded for three hours which was a total bummer. But looking on the bright side at least the sun was shining (for the first time our whole trip) and the views were beautiful all around. We waited three hours in a gas station and then our Airbnb host came to pick us up (all the way from Reykjavik). We had a lovely three hour drive back to the capital chatting all the way with a lovely local Icelandic man during which period we learned a lot about the country. It’s all part of the adventure hey!

So there you go, that was our trip. We flew out the following morning and were VERY sad to be leaving. We will 100% be going back very soon and this time at least we know the lay of the land, expenses, camping grounds and some more places we want to go! To finish - a few practicals:

What was the budget for 4 days, 5 nights in Iceland?

Flights (£180 each), jeep rental (which also was our accommodation for 3 nights = £250), petrol (£320), grocery shopping (£150), other bits of coffees, snacks, etc (£30) and hotel on night #1 (£65) + monkey shoulder whiskey at airport (£40) = £1215

* This was a real budget trip though so be aware of that! No hotel costs, no eating/drinking out, camping, etc. That’s how we love to travel but I’m aware it’s not for everyone!

Is it possible to travel in Iceland on a plant-based diet?

Yes! We had no issues with this BUT we were camping so be aware that we bought everything we needed in grocery stores and didn’t eat/drink out at all.

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