Iceland is vast, awesome and beautiful. There’s no denying that you expand your vocabulary with all the words you try to find to express its infinite hues of greens, blues and browns. You might feel like a small and insignificant being in a big open space, but more often than not you will feel a literal and emotional connection to this vast island.
Our Aim
A family adventure holiday (parents plus grown up boys). It was time to put ourselves to the test and try somewhere new with an adventurous twist.
✈️ FLIGHTS: Milan Malpensa to Keflavik, €479 for four adults, booked 12 months before and 20kg luggage added later.
Clothing and Equipment
We went in August and found sun, rain, cold and wind on repeat so you will need clothes for different types of weather and you will need to wear layers and add or remove them when necessary. Keep a bag in the car with your swimming stuff inside, including water shoes so you can make an impromptu stop at any of the natural hot pools in Iceland. Bring binoculars so you can see you can see those cute puffins and seals up close.
Accomodation
Accomodation is limited so start planning where to stay early on. Many places have a shared bathroom only and many places in Reykjavik have rooms without a window; some places charge extra for bed linens and towels and some places have unexpected facilities like big kitchens or cosy living areas. So research well and read the reviews by the other travellers because you will be spending a lot of your budget here.
Food
Our budget didn’t include dining out so we bought food from the supermarkets and made sandwiches for lunch, flasks of coffee for the road and cooked at the accommodation in the evenings. Overall this was pretty tough going as the choice of food to buy was limited and expensive. Iceland might be going through a food revolution in terms of dining out, but this has yet to filter down to everyday groceries and snacks.
Car Hire
We used Avis Budget but unfortunately we weren’t happy with the standard of the car we’d been
given. Cost: €1300. In total we did 3393 km. The Ring Road is perfect for driving, but access to places off the main road are often along rougher roads or dirt tracks so bear that in mind when you choose your car. Fortunately, in August, the sun sets late so you have a really long day for exploring the island. We did a lot of driving but the scenery is so varied that you won’t get bored.
Day 1
From Milan to Reykjavik
▪️ Reykjavik city centre: there are plenty of bars, places to eat, shops and colourful houses.
▪️ Sólfarið (The Sun Voyager) sculpture down by the harbour for photos.
Sólfarið
Sleeping at: APARTMENTS REYKJAVIK €244.26
One of our favourite places because we felt at home. There was a pink rose in a posy vase waiting for us. We cooked our dinner after our shop at Netto supermarket and slept well. Recommended.
Day 2
From Reykjavik to Òlafsvik around Snaefellesness Peninsula
▪️ Glymur Waterfall Trail
Spectacular changing scenery along the way. The path winds high up and it’s beautiful but there are no barriers anywhere like most places in Iceland so you must absolutely pay attention to where you’re going and don’t get too distracted by the view or taking a photo. And stop for a break sometimes even if you think you don’t need one.
Glymur Waterfall Trail
At the beginning of this loop trail, you will need to ford a shallow river by walking across the log with a steel rope to hold onto. And to return you will need to cross the river downstream where it’s shallow enough to cross on foot so bring water shoes and a towel with you. We weren’t really prepared so we walked back the way we came, while other brave souls attempted to cross the river bare foot!
▪️ Stop at the Black Church at Buðir to take a cool moody photo!
Black Church at Buðir
Sleeping at: VIÐ HAFIÐ GUESTHOUSE €300
Super clean hostel looking out to the sea at the front and the mountains behind. Note that the power in the kitchen switches off automatically at 9.30 p.m. so make sure you cook your meal in time.
Day 3
North Snaefellesness Peninsula Tour
▪️ Kirkjufell Mountain famous from ‘Game of Thrones’.
▪️ Stykkishólmur harbour town with colourful boats and crystal clear waters.
▪️ Seal colony at Ytri Tunga. Your heart will melt.
Kirkjufell Mountain
Stykkishólmur
Sleeping at: VIÐ HAFIÐ GUESTHOUSE €300
This evening we wisely prepared our pasta with tomato sauce in plenty of time.
Day 4
Ólafsvik to Reykhólar
▪️ Reykhólar: walk around this village and you will see curls of steam rising up from hot water boiling out of the ground. Down by the campsite there’s a geothermal public swimming pool. We found a huge bouncy castle in the local park.
Sleeping at: REYKHÓLAR HOSTEL €165
Delighted to find a hot tub in the garden and a cosy lounge area. The rules were relaxed and other guests were cooking till midnight.
Day 5
Reykhólar to Akureyri
▪️ Fosshóll waterfall after kilometers of soothing green pastures
▪️ Godafoss waterfall
▪️ Geothermal pool area Hverir, for another dramatic change of scenery and temperature
▪️ Lake Myvatn
Fossholl
Hverir Geothermal Pool Area
Lake Myvatn
Sleeping at: TORG GUEST HOUSE €300
In Akureyri city centre, probably the least authentic of the places where we stayed and least value for money.
Day 6
Akureyri towards the Arctic Circle
At this point we were at the farthest north we’d ever been and felt a real traveller’s urge just to
keep going and see where we’d end up. The landscape became more barren and empty with a
cold wind sweeping across—which would explain the fish-drying racks we saw.
Kópasker
▪️ GeoSea geothermal sea baths at Húsavík. If you love a good spa then you will love this place.
It’s cold, windy outside but you’re toasty warm in the water and you have a view of an infinite blue-grey sea.
▪️ We spotted a puffin colony near Kópasker, where we stopped for a walk. They nest in the rocky cliffs and while one parent stays with the chicks, the other hunts for food and returns, landing vertically on those fantastic orange legs with a beak full of food.
▪️ Dettifoss waterfall. Living more emotions at this thunderous and powerful waterfall.
Dettifoss Waterfall
Sleeping at: TORG GUESTHOUSE €300
Day 7
Akureyri to Selfoss
We did a lot of driving on this day as we headed back down south. There are more treasures to visit in North Iceland, but you need the right type of car (ideally a 4×4) and for certain places also a guide. So that’s for another adventure. We passed through a lonely lunar landscape, listening to music as we went. This is a road trip!
▪️ Gullfoss waterfall, it’s well-known and busy but I like it for the rainbows you can see when the sun
comes out.
Gulffoss Waterfall
Glamping Ljosafoss Guest House
Sleeping at: GLAMPING LJOSAFOSS GUEST HOUSE €250
There is a guest house for breakfast and then there is the campsite in a different location at the end of a track through the forest. The tents are set in a clearing and they are very inviting with soft, puffy bedding, faux fur rugs and heating. The other facilities were not up to the same standard but maybe things have improved by now. Generous and colorful breakfast of pancakes and strawberries.
Day 8
Around the Golden Circle
▪️ Braerfoss blue waterfall. Insanely beautiful blue water.
▪️ Hot pool bathing at Reykjadur Valley springs. Be prepared to hike to get here and uphill. The water is hot and some parts are not for bathing.
▪️ Keðir crater. Walk down and around the crater of an extinct volcano now filled with blue-green water. You will love the colours of the rocks around you.
Braerfoss
Sleeping at: GLAMPING LJOSAFOSS GUEST HOUSE €250
Day 9
Selfoss to Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach and Stokkseyri
▪️ A long drive out but, as always, scenic along the way.
You can feel a drop in temperature as you approach the Glacier Lagoon and it sort of smells icy.
The glaciers are beautiful in their structure and shades of blue and white but it is disturbing to see
the broken blocks of ice as the current draws them out towards the sea and reminds us that
icebergs do melt. And maybe never form again.
▪️ ‘Diamond Beach’, so called for the shiny blocks and chunks of ice sparkling on the black
pebbly beach.
Glacier Lagoon
Diamond Beach
Sleeping at: ART HOSTEL AND APARTMENTS €147
The place is a bit bizarre, but we slept soundly and paid an honest price for our stay.
Day 10
Reykjavik
After nine days on the road, with lots of communal bathrooms shared between us and makeshift meals (cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, pasta), we were ready to have one special day in the capital. We walked through the park, had a look in the shops and had lunch.
▪️ National Museum of Iceland
I found the answers to many questions I’d had been thinking about during this trip, the first one being “How did the people in the past survive on this island?”. This is a beautiful and engaging museum with plenty of exhibits, artifacts and a cute gift shop.
▪️ We stopped by ‘Pósthús Food Hall and Bar‘ for a well-appreciated fish and chips.
Sleeping at: HÔTEL FRAN APARTMENT €360
For our last night in Iceland, we spread out in this large and stylish city centre apartment, followed by a good and healthy breakfast the next morning.
Day 11
Reykanjes Peninsula
▪️ Hópsnes lighthouse near Grindavík, this tangerine-coloured lighthouse makes for a great photo on a sunny day.
▪️ ‘Great Auk’ statue at Valahnúkamöl and the area nearby of dramatic cliffs and calling seabirds.
▪️ The ‘Bridge Between Continents’ is underwhelming in my opinion, but obviously a curiosity because you are literally able to walk from Europe to North America, and vice versa, just by crossing the footbridge.
Hópsnes lighthouse
casaalison 
Leave a comment