(This blog post may contain affiliate links. If you click on one of my affiliate links and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission for referring you. This comes at no additional cost to you. Please note I only offer resources that I have used and strongly recommend!)

Why Iceland? What is there to do there? I didn’t even know people live there.

These were all questions and comments I got while planning my trip to Iceland and still get after being back. Before researching Iceland, I also had these same thoughts but in recent years Iceland has become a tourist destination for it’s majestic waterfalls, beautiful hikes and prime location to see the Northern Lights.

At first glimpse, Iceland is expensive. But with about nine months of research and planning, we were able to gradually accumulate the gear that we needed and save our pennies.

DAY ONE - 9/29/18

We had a direct flight with WOW Airways from Chicago to Reykjavik at midnight. Iceland is five hours ahead of Chicago, and the flight was five to six hours, so we landed around 11am Reykjavik time.

Once we got our luggage, we were picked up from the airport by Lava Car Rentals, the company who we rented our camper van from and taken to their office to pick it up (we named her Lola). We got all settled into our new home on wheels and headed off to the Blue Lagoon.

We arrived to the Blue Lagoon and were welcomed at their front desk, where we checked in with our tickets and received a towel and instructions on what to do before we went into the lagoon. We headed on up to the women’s locker room, showered to slick our hair up in heaping amounts of conditioner so it wouldn’t fry in the chemically treated lagoon and got into our swimsuits.

We walked outside and nearly froze in the 40-ish degree weather, but it was so worth it when our toes hit the water. We received one complimentary drink from the lagoon bar, and also had our first sip of fresh Icelandic water from the drinking fountain under one of the bridges.

Overall, we had a great start to the trip by going to the Blue Lagoon. I am happy that it was the first place we went to after our flight landed because we were pretty exhausted and in need of bathing. If you are going to Iceland to do the Ring Road, I recommend stopping by the Blue Lagoon because of it’s beauty and popularity, however I don’t think it should be the sole purpose and reason why you should want to go to Iceland because there is so much more to see and experience.

We hopped back into Lola and headed off to a grocery store called Bónus Supermarket. It is one of two popular grocery stores in Iceland with great prices. We were able to buy groceries for a little more than half of our trip for the tree of us for only $115. Not bad at all considering that Iceland in general is pretty expensive!

The first campsite of our trip was the Reykjavik Campsite. Our first dinner meal was rice and hot dogs (so fancy, I know) which ended up tasting better than one would think. It was also our first real meal since we left for the airport in Chicago the night before so we were also starving!

We cleaned up after dinner, then headed back to Lola to turn her down for bed. We quickly found out that this was going to be a good 30-45 minute chore to tackle every day… The three of us took turns getting our pajamas and our clothes out of our giant suitcases for the next day; then followed a game of Tetris with said suitcases to get them to fit under the bench that ran parallel to the side of the van. After that was done, we reconfigured the seating area with the pieces of plywood we were given to make the full-sized bed for the three of us to share.

That night, we got off to a rough start with Lola. With it being completely our fault, the heater to keep us warm while we were sleeping turned off and the van became freezing cold. It was our fault because while we were getting ready for bed, we had the doors open andthe heater blasting. It charges while the van is running, so we completely drained it and it shut off by 11pm or so. We ended up running the van for a good 30 minutes and that was enough to recharge the heater to last throughout the rest of the night.

DAY TWO - 9/30/18

We made it through the somewhat freezing night and woke up feeling excited for a full day in Iceland! We woke up, had some breakfast, met some nice Canadian ladies who gave us free beer and wine, and then hit the road.

Our first stop was Þingvellir (Thingvellir), a national park just east of Reyjkavik and our first stop within the Golden Circle. Þingvellir translates to “Parliament Plains” and is the place where many historical events have happened, therefore making it one of the most sacred places to Icelanders. Today, it is now a protected national park where tourists can enjoy the epic views. I highly recommend visiting!

Later on in the afternoon, our first big hike of the day was to Brúarfoss Waterfall in Brekkuskógur, where we had our first interaction with feeding carrots to wild horses (important note: if you give a horse one carrot, they will be your best friend and follow you around like a lost puppy. If you decide to bring carrots, bring more than just one, and be prepared to spend quite a bit of time with them).

The Brúarfoss hike was about a 30 minute trip and it was quite confusing. There is a muddy trail that over time was created by visitors on private property, which is closed to the public due to people destroying the natural habitat and also because it is trespassing on someones property. We were pretty confused getting to the waterfall because the lot that we parked at had a path that followed a river and eventually led us to the private path, which we realized that we had taken the wrong trail when we had to climb a barb-wired fence. It turns out that the path you are supposed to take follows along the road for about 1.5 kilometers, then you take a left at a long gravel road with a traffic barricade and you continue walking until you start seeing signs for Brúrarfoss to follow. The hike was pretty muddy so we were happy to have worn our hiking boots!

Our final hike of the day was to Gullfoss. This is such a massive and powerful waterfall - a short walk from the parking lot and when we got to the end of the pathway, we were able to climb onto some rocks to see it up close.

That night, we camped at Gesthús Selfoss Campsite.

DAY THREE - 10/1/18

Day three was a bit of a chilly start. We bundled up and headed off to our first cave called Efra-Hvolshellar, or also known as the “Irish caves.” They have been around since before the 19th century.

Our next stop was Gluggafoss (also known as Merkjarfoss). It was a short drive up a gravel road from Highway One and we were able to walk up close to get some great photos. We saw our first couple of rainbows both at the waterfall and shortly after leaving - it was the strongest and brightest rainbow we have ever seen!

Once we finished up at Gluggafoss, we set out to head to a very well known waterfall that most people know as the one you can walk behind, called Seljalandsfoss. With this waterfall, we had to put our raincoats on because there is no way you can experience it without getting wet. I had on a raincoat over my winter coat, a protective sleeve that went over my camera to protect it from the mist, and finally a poncho over all of that to give my camera more protection. It was a bit difficult to take photographs but luckily my sister and friend didn’t mind waiting for me to get situated.

Once we made our way around the path behind the waterfall, we had about a fifteen minute walk to Gljufrabui, which is a hidden waterfall and probably one of my favorite ones of the entire trip. To get there, you have to walk into a gorge along rocks of a shallow stream. It is not a long walk to get to the hidden waterfall, but there were quite a few people waiting to go in or come out, and there was only one path to get in and out. Once we got in, the view was absolutely unbelievable. There is a giant rock you can climb on to stand closer (as well as to get an epic picture) looking up at the waterfall that is surrounding you. This moment gave me butterflies!

Our next venture was to, yet another waterfall, called Skogafoss. This is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland, as well as one of the wettest if you decide to hike the trail next to it, which I highly recommend. Skogafoss was one surprise after the next; as we kept hiking, we found another drop or bend in the stream. Round trip, it took us about an hour and a half to walk up and back, however we could have continued further.

Skogafoss was our last stop of the day. We were planning to stay at Skogar Campsite which is right next to the waterfall, but the office to pay was closed until the next day so we backtracked about twenty minutes and drove back to Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui where there was a campsite called Hamragarðar next to those waterfalls.

We had a big pasta dinner and an early night to bed to get enough rest for our glacier hike the next morning.

DAY FOUR - 10/2/18

We woke up around 7am to get ready for the day, pack the van back up and head off to our 9am hike of Sólheimajökull Glacier. This glacier has two volcanoes buried underneath, one of them being the volcano that erupted in 2010.

Once we got to the parking lot and office (which is a decked out school bus), we signed in and rented the equipment we needed for the hike - a helmet, climbing shoes, crampons, a harness, and an ax pick.

There was a group of about 15-20 people on the morning hike, and two guides. We split up into two groups and trekked off.

To get to the glacier, we had to hike along a black sand beached area for about 1.5 kilometers, which used to be where the glacier reached before the 2010 volcanic eruption. Once we got to the point where the glacier started, our guide taught us how to put our crampons on our boots, which are spikes that are used to grip the ice and climb vertically. He also gave us some facts about the glacier and volcanoes within it - specifically one that erupts every 30 to 100 years and how the last time it erupted was 1918… he advised that if we saw him running that we should run with him…

About 15 minutes into the hike, I realized that I made a mistake. I packed my backpack with extra stuff that I didn’t necessarily need on this hike, most of them being extra layers and some camera equipment which made it heavier and a little tougher on my back.

About two hours into the hike, we stopped at about a 10 meter wall to take a break while our guide set up the climbing gear. One by one, each of us got to experience climbing the glacier. It was thrilling, scary, tough, and something I got to check off on my bucket list.

Once we were finished up with climbing, we started to trek back down, making it about a 6 hour round trip. The weather could not have been better with the sun and blue skies out all day.

Our next stop was Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach and Hálsanefshellir Cave. Since it was later in the day it was pretty crowded. The cave is located on the beach and has some incredible stones in the shapes of vertical columns.

One thing to definitely know about any beach you go to in Iceland are the sneaker waves. This beach having pretty massive waves but some you won’t see coming until it is too late. There have been some cases of people getting sucked in and drowning because they are too close to the shoreline - no picture is worth that risk.

We then headed off to the Vik Campsite for the night.

DAY FIVE - 10/3/18

Hjörleifshöfði Cave was our first stop on our fifth day. We arrived early to the parking lot and walked about 1 kilometer to the beach and around to the cave shaped like Yoda. We were able to get some pretty nice photos since we were the only ones there.

Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon was our next hike. This canyon had walls that were about 100 meters steep inhabited by moss and florals, and dates back to about two million years ago, which was around the cold periods of the Ice Age! The hike took us about an hour and a half to complete.

Our next venture was to the campsite for the night which turned out to be one of our favorites - Skaftafell Camping. The grounds are right next to the hiking trails to Hundafoss and Svartifoss Waterfalls. At this point in our trip, we only had as much as rice with hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, mac and cheese, and protein bars so we were craving something fried. Before the hike we decided to stop at the food stand at the visitors lot and splurge on a $25 fish ‘n’ chips. Yes, that kind of price is normal in Iceland.

The hike to Hundafoss and Svartifoss took us about 90 minutes round trip where we got to see both waterfalls and have incredible views of the surrounding mountains. If you plan on going on this hike, make sure to bring plenty water and some protein bars because the whole thing is uphill.

DAY SIX - 10/4/18

We had another early start to pack our day with as much sightseeing as we could. Our first visit was to Hofskirkja Church, which is the last of the 6 turf churches in Iceland to be built in this style.

We then headed off to the infamous Diamond Beach, where the small strip of black sand holds many washed up chunks of ice from a nearby iceberg, looking like a beach full of diamonds. We were glad to arrive early because of how crowded it was.

Right across the highway from the Diamond Beach was the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. This was an amazing sight of icebergs floating in the bay with a backdrop of snowy mountains. We were also able to spot a seal swimming around.

After spending about an hour or so staring in awe at the icebergs, we headed to the Hoffell Hot Tubs, which are located in the middle of nowhere with a scenic view of the mountains. While we were researching and planning our trip, we read about how Icelanders love their pools and their hot tubs, and a blogger that we followed for tips for Iceland planning recommended these ones.

We paid about $25 per person at the entrance and changed into our swimsuits in one of the trailers on the grounds. We were required to rinse ourselves off before going into the hot tubs at their outdoor showers.

We really didn’t stay in for long. It was very relaxing and peaceful, but we realized that sitting in a hot tub for an extended period of time wasn’t our top favorite activity to do. We took our pictures, changed and got back on the road.

Old Viking Village was our next stop in the small town of Höfn. This village is privately owned by a farmer, but allows tourists to visit for a small fee. The Old Viking Village can mistakenly look like a real abandoned spot, however it was built back in 2010 for an Icelandic movie that was never filmed. We were able to wander around and feel like we went back in time.

Vesturhorn Mountain surrounds this village, and the best spot for photos of it is at the Stokksnes Black Sand Beach. This view looked like a postcard with the black sand, the rolling hills on the beach and the way the fog settled at the base of the mountains.

Before hitting the road again, we stopped by the Viking Cafe to relax and have some coffee. We each ordered a swissmakka (their version of a delicious mocha) and took a breather.

Once we got to our next campsite, Djúpivogur Camping Ground, we first stopped by JFS - Icelandic Handcrafts. I recommend anyone to stop by here for a visit. This is a small family owned shop where everything is hand made by the owner, Jon. He makes jewelry, home decor, and kitchen tools out of stone, glass and fallen reindeer antlers that he has locally created over the years. We were there for about an hour just chatting with him and hearing about his story.

After saying our goodbyes, we checked into our campsite and settled down with our usual nightly routine.

DAY SEVEN - 10/5/18

We started off early the next morning with a quick stop by a smaller waterfall called Sveinsstekksfoss. This was right off of the road and a nice place to see the sun coming up.

When we were leaving, there were what seemed to be hundreds of sheep in the area and after driving for a few minutes, we came up to a pull-off area right next to a group of them. We remembered that we had carrots in the cooler, so we pulled off the road and got them out to try to feed them to the sheep. Well, we quickly realized that they weren’t so much of a “people” type of crowd when they just ignored us even with a carrot under their nose.

We hit the road again, and set off to prepare for a longer day of driving than usual. We entered the Eastern Region of Iceland where we started to drive more up in the mountains and through the snow. There was one waterfall in particular that was in a snowy area that we attempted to go to called Klifbrekku Waterfall. When we got onto the road that led to it, there was a sign that said “Impassable.” We questioned it when we got on, but assumed it meant that we just couldn’t pass anybody on the road. However, still not convinced that this was the meaning, I was able to get a decent WiFi connection to find out online that it meant “road closed.” We ended up stopping on the one-lane snowy road that had a steep decline on either side to turn Lola around. My sister, Kristi, was behind the wheel at the time, and thank goodness our dad made us learn how to drive in a pick-up truck because those skills came in handy at this time! Myself and our friend got out on either side of Lola to direct Kristi, and with more than a few point turns, she got Lola around!

After a couple hours of driving in the mountains, we decided to stop in a cute, small artistic town called Seydisfjordur. This was probably one of my favorite towns out of the whole trip besides Reykjavik to visit because it was thriving with art. I never imagined that Iceland would be a country where art was so celebrated. There were buildings completely used as an artists’ canvas, and random spots that had these amazing murals painted on them. What I assume is Seydisfjordur’s downtown area, there was a rainbow painted path surrounded by these artsy buildings that led to a baby blue church. We walked around for a bit and then had some coffee tea at Nordic Restaurant that was in the same area.

We drove a bit more, and stopped by Grjortagja cave - which, for you Game of Thrones fans, is where Jon Snow lost his virginity. There were two entrances to the cave, and we quickly realized how amazing television can do with making a small space look huge. We couldn’t go all the way into the cave but compared to how the cave looks in GOT, we were shocked by how small it was.

Our next stop was the Hverir Geothermal area. This place stinks. Really, it stinks… it smells like rotten eggs because of the geothermal activity (which we could sometimes smell in certain campsites tap water because that is how their water is heated). If you are really sensitive to smells, this might not be your favorite spot to visit. However, it was really neat to see the bubbling pools and craters that you would never find anywhere in the states. I felt like this was the closest I would get to experiencing Mars.

We headed off to the next campsite (can’t remember the name of it) that ended up being closed because of the amount of snow on the ground. After a bit of panicking, we found another campsite called Vogar Campgrounds about ten minutes further that had a pizza place next to it called Daddi’s Pizza. We checked into the campsite there and found out that we got a 15% discount since we were staying at the campsite, so we all split a large.

Our last venture of the day was one we were most excited for. We drove out to the middle of nowhere (more so than where we already were) and visited Snow Dogs. This is a family owned farm where about thirty Siberian husky’s live and on their website you are able to book to either go sledding or even just go visit the dogs. We weren’t able to go sledding, but we met a handful of one-year-old, five-month-old and three-week-old puppies. It was definitely one of the highlights to the day! Every single one of them were so sweet and just wanted to get pets and cuddles from us!

DAY EIGHT - 10/6/18

We started off our eighth day at Goðafoss waterfall, a gorgeous beast located right off of the Ring Road. Although this waterfall only stands at a height of twelve meters, it spans at a length of over thirty meters. After reading a bit more about it after visiting, an interesting fact is that it played a big role in Iceland’s conversion to Christianity back in the year 1000. Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, who was a lawspeaker, threw his statues of Norse gods into this waterfall after he declared Christianity as Iceland’s official religion.

The small town of Akureyri was our next destination. We wandered around to take some photos of the town’s church that was on top of a hill and and also indulge in Icelandic hot dogs and Appelin at an outdoor stand called Bæjarins Beztu. We each had a traditional hot dog that had crispy and sauteed onions, cocktail sauce, and one or two other toppings that I can’t recall… Very different than the typical Chicago dog, but very delicious!

Our last stop of the day was Hvitserkur Rock, a basalt cliff that looks a bit like a three-legged animal. The rock has been reinforced by concrete at its base to prevent it from falling over. The drive to the site was not all that nice, considering that the road was a full twelve kilometers of nasty potholes, but once you get to the parking lot, there is a trail that leads to the side of the cliff for a nice aerial view.

DAY NINE - 10/7/18

First stop of day nine was the Gerðuberg Cliffs. These cliffs are made of the same rock (basalt) as the Hvitserkur Rock we saw the night prior. The cliffs are a little difficult to spot from the road because they blend in pretty well with the surrounding environment and span over 500 meters.

We did a lot of driving again this day, where we were getting really close to coming full circle around the whole island. We entered the Snæfellsness Peninsula where we would spend our last few days of our trip. and eventually got to Kirkjufell, which is a mountain that was filmed in Game of Thrones. Right next to the mountain is Kirkjufellsfoss waterfall, which has a path that trails around the waterfall for a top view.

We then headed off to Landbrotalaug Hot Springs. This is a natural hot springs that is free for anyone to take a dip, however upon arriving we found out that yet again, the internet never fails to make tiny spaces look huge. There was enough room for two people to go in at the same time, but it was cool to see that this tiny pond naturally heated from the earth without any other assistance.

The first stop on the Peninsula was the Búðakirkja, or the Black Church. I could be wrong, but I heard that this was the most photographed church in Iceland. There is a winding road leading up to the front doors surrounded my moss and lava rocks. Once we arrived, a newlywed couple stepped out with a priest! We just crashed a wedding!

We were on our way to our campsite for the night, Snorrastadir Camping. This is a horse farm where you can rent a horse to go riding, however I warn anyone who will be staying here to think twice about feeding them. We still had carrots leftover and came up to a pull off on the road leading to the farm that had about ten or fifteen horses nearby. As we stopped, all of the horses looked up at us and right away I knew that we were going to have a hard time getting out of this one. We figured that these horses are used to getting fed with all of the campers coming to stay every day and not moments later they all came over to greet us. Long story short, it took us a while to be able to get back into the car and back on the road because they had surrounded Lola wanting more carrots.

Over the course of the whole trip, we were keeping an eye on the forecast for the Northern Lights on this app called Aurora. The first week we were there, the forecast hadn’t been as great as what it usually was so we were starting to get worried that we wouldn’t see them at this point in the trip. We were hopeful though, because this horse farm was pretty far away from light pollution, and in an area where you can drive ten minutes away and be totally in the dark. We were getting Lola ready for bed, and I hopped outside to get something from the front seat as well as check to see if I could get a glimpse of them. The first thing I saw was what looked like a cloud, but with a green tint to it. Being optimistic, I walked around the corner of the barn we were parked next to and saw the grey cloud-like form fade into a bright green streak that continued on for probably miles! I ran back to Lola to tell my sister and friend that they were out, grabbed my camera and spent the next hour or so snapping photos. We had finally seen them and can check them off of our bucket list!

DAY TEN - 10/8/18

We continued our journey exploring the Snæfellsness Peninsula. We started off by venturing toward Fjöruhúsið café and around the shoreline near Gatklettur. We walked around for an hour or two taking in the amazing sights of the cliffs and the water.

After eating lunch outside at a picnic table, we headed off to Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge. This translates to Red Mountain Rift and is a natural wonder of the Snæfellsness Peninsula. We were able to hike uphill to the opening of the gorge, which ended up being a bit more of a hike than it looked from the road. To get inside, we had to walk up in a stream along with other tourists. Once we were in, there was an open area to stand to get photos, and further along there was the stream that continued up further into the gorge. There were many people trekking further, but it was not the smartest idea because of how dangerous it was, so we decided to head back once we got to this point.

After the gorge, we headed to Ytri Tunga Beach to hopefully catch a glimpse of some seals, as this was a popular spot where they hung out. Unfortunately, we were unlucky but got to enjoy one of our last moments at the shoreline.

We went back to Snorrastadir Camping to spend another night, got lucky again and saw the Northern Lights and got ready for our biggest hike the next morning.

DAY ELEVEN - 10/9/18

Coming to a close on the trip, I started to feel the post-travel blues when we left the horse farm to complete our final hike. Glymur is the second-tallest waterfall in Iceland with a hiking trail that hikes up into the snow caps of the mountain, over the waterfall and back down to the start of the trails, totaling to be about a four hour round trip.

What made this hike slightly more difficult than the others we have done were the steep inclines, the narrow trails that were most of the time right next to a cliff, and the river we had to cross twice. There was an option to stay on one side of the waterfall, but the downside to that was that you were not going to get a good view of the waterfall. Within fifteen minutes of the hike, we came to the river with no decent path to cross. In order to get to the other side we had to walk through it and get soaked. The river was about thigh deep and had a strong current to the point where we had to link arms to get every one of us across without being taken away by it. Once we were across, we took our shoes and socks off to ring them out and continued on. It took us another hour and a half to two hours to get to the snow caps and on top of the waterfall, which is 198 meters tall. We crossed the river again at the top of the drop and got over to the other side. Heading down the trail was much easier and not as nerve racking.

We finished up the hike, had some peanut butter and jelly with Lola and completed driving the entire Ring Road by heading back to Reykjavik! It was and still is such a bitter sweet feeling.

We ended up getting an Airbnb in Reykjavik to re-pack our bags, clean out Lola and clean our hiking boots before heading back to the states. This was also the first night where each of us got our own beds in eleven days rather than sharing a full-size cushion. It was such a great feeling!

DAY TWELVE - 10/10/18

The post-travel blues really set in when we checked out of our Airbnb. We spent our last day in Iceland exploring Reykjavik. We first stopped by the Grótta Island Lighthouse, went on the Sculpture and Shore Walk and continued to wander around the city.

We stopped for a pastry at Brauð & Co and a coffee at Reykjavik Roasters - Brautarholt before going to the famous Hallgrimskirkja Church. We bought tickets to go up in the clock tower and got the best view of Reykjavik! From this point, we were able to see all of the colorful buildings with the mountains and bright blue skies in the background.

Reykjavik really earned its place in my heart. Living in Chicago, I am used to seeing graffiti on buildings, but everywhere we turned there was the kind of murals you could tell that artists were commissioned to do. I found it so thrilling that this was a huge part of Reykjavik’s culture and it gave me some ideas of direction for what I want to do with my art style.

We had a night flight back to Chicago, so around 3pm we finished up our sightseeing, took Lola for a much needed wash and headed back to Lava Rental to part ways with her (another bittersweet moment). Getting through Keflavik Airport was very tedious and a long process than what we are used to, so make sure to get there at least four hours early.

As I finish up this summary post, I cannot help to have a strong feeling of nostalgia as I recall our days, and a bit of heartbreak that these adventures had to come to an end. It has been a month since we were there and I am still feeling that post-travel depression that I think will still linger for some time. Iceland was a place where I was in my element. The hikes we conquered, the waterfalls we saw, the people we met, the mountains we were surrounded by and the Northern Lights that danced all night never failed to amaze us.

To anyone who is thinking about visiting Iceland, do it. It is worth everything, and I plan to visit again for a round two someday. :)

Related Posts:

Iceland Ring Road Travel Tips

My Week In Thailand

Thailand Travel Facts & Tips