I didn't have any real plans, just booked my flight without giving it too much thoughts and booked a car. At first, I really wanted to see what it was like living in a camper, because it is a dream of mine to live in a camper and travel everywhere. However, I couldn't find one to rent because it was last minute and I have no idea how to drive manual so my choices are limited. So, I went with a 4x4. Some people say you don't need it and can get away with a 2WD, but in my opinion, it is necessary if you want to explore outside of the tourists zone, and you really should get outside of your comfort zone because that's what Iceland is all about! Just because regular cars are allowed on some roads doesn't mean that it's not going to damage your car, and just because you have a 4x4 doesn't mean you can drive on any roads. Icelandic wilderness is spectacular but brutal, and one must be stay humble when travelling around.
We also did camping all the way which is the best way to travel in Iceland, because you don't need to plan ahead and you just stop when you're tired. Camping doesn't require reservations, you simply stop when you see one. You can also camp in the wild, or pretty much anywhere without a sign that says you can't, but be sure to leave no trace. Who doesn't love spontaneity?
My favorite parts of Iceland were the waterfalls, there were so many waterfalls. I used to not really understand what was the big deal about waterfalls, until Iceland. They were everywhere, small and big, and it's really mesmerizing. I also loved driving in the highlands, and just the unknown waiting to be explored!
I only had 7.5 days to spend in Iceland, and I'd definitely love to go back for some more hiking as we didn't have much time for long hikes, and to see more in depth. Quite frankly, you really need to be as energetic as I am to drive and see that much in 7.5 days, because it's really short...or unless you can share the driving with someone.
Here is the day to day itinerary. I hope that helps someone out there who wants to explore Iceland!
Day 1
I finished work and took the plane in the evening to Keflavik. I was in such a rush that I worried about forgetting to bring stuff. I also worried about driving a rental car in a unfamiliar place without much sleep. I arrived there at 5 in the morning and picked up the car without too much delay. Then, I went to a gas station and got a sim card so I could google places as we went on. I also downloaded maps.me, which are offline maps that serve as GPS without data or service. I highly recommend it.
The first day was an easy day. Our destination, Vik, was about 3 hours away, with terrific spots to explore along the way. It was an easy day to handle, and to get acquainted with Iceland. It was very near Reykjavik, so there were lots of tourists of course.
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| Seljalandfoss |
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| Skogafoss |
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| Sólheimasandur Plane Crash |
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| Black beach |
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| Reynishverfi Rocks |
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| Dyrhólaey Arch |
We visited Seljalandfoss, Skogafoss, Sólheimasandur Plane Crash, Reynishverfi Rocks, Dyrhólaey Arch. We had plenty of time to explore. There definitely was a lot of walking involved, and I wasn't exactly feeling at my best and had a stomachache. But overall, it was an awesome day.
Originally, I wanted to continue all the way to Landmannalaugar, which are colorful mountains in the highlands, but I figured it would be a bit much and I was too sleepy to keep on driving...and I was the only driver unfortunately. I would definitely come back for this someday!
We stopped at Vik to resupply, have a cold shower and spend the night at a campsite. Yes, it is sometimes not that comfortable, you might not always get hot water, you don't have a comfortable warm bed, etc, but very often these are times you get to discover the most.
Day 2
The plan today was to drive to Hofn to spend the night, but after visiting the Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, Mossy Lava Rocks, Jokulsarlon Lagoon, Skaftafell National Park, and having a nice supper in Hofn, I figured that we could drive further north so we can have a shorter driving day the next day.
It was about 6pm when we left Hofn and the goal was to get to Neskaupstadur, because someone recommended a camping spot there. Also, I really wanted to escape the tourists and the further away from Rekjavik, the least there will be. According to maps.me, it should take 3.5 hours, but it ended up taking us 5.5 hours. Can you believe? I learned my lesson to never underestimate driving time in Iceland. Maps.me pointed me towards a F-road, and I had no idea. I didn't turn back because it was a great chance for me to see what it was like, because I was really curious...although it was starting to get dark. I guess it didn't take into consideration that the highlands are so rough that I couldn't drive faster than 20-30km/h. I was so afraid to get a flat tire but I didn't say anything to not jinx myself. The land was so vast and the roads so narrow that I was scared to fall off the cliffs.
The highlands comes in all forms but mostly consists of white glaciers, mountains, lava deserts, black sands, rock formations, waterfalls, volcanoes, and much more. It is rugged, grand and powerfully peaceful. It really defies imagination and it's an amazing feeling to be up there. There are times you drive there for days without coming across any cars, and there are no gas stations in the highlands. There are also times it gets very foggy and windy. It is Europe's largest inhabited land. There comes times where you might have to cross glacier rivers. That's why it is recommended to go in groups of 2 cars so that 1 car can get help if anything happens. Going there wasn't planed in my case, so it was just me. Luckily for us, we made it through in one piece. It was definitely one of my best moments in Iceland, and I can't even describe that feeling.
Needless to say, it was dark when we arrived. However, it was probably the best day driving because the scenery was just amazing everywhere we went, the harbor towns, the dinosaurland-like landscape, the highlands, the random coastal views, the mountains smoking at the top, glaciers, mossy fields, black rock fields that made us feel like we were in the moon. It was all too beautiful to be true!
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| Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon |
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| Skaftafell National Park |
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| Jokulsarlon Lagoon |
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| Mossy Lava Rocks |
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| The view from our camping spot |
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| Coastal views |
Day 3
We woke up to a pretty nice scenery, and drove to Myvatn. At this point, I realized that there are certain towns that are really popular with tourists because they have been mentioned in blogs and travel itinerary, and I figured the best way to get a tranquil good night was to drive to a random town past it because it's probably as beautiful and very often, you might discover something unexpected.
The road to Myvatn is quite interesting, it looks like there was a powerful force pushing from under the earth. It smells sulfur a bit everywhere, with all the geothermal activity. That day, we had the chance to see Dettifoss, Krafla Power Station, Viti crater, Hverarönd/Namafjall Geothermal, Hrossaborg Horse City and Hverfjall Cone.
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| Dettifoss |
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| Viti crater |
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| Hverarönd/Namafjall Geothermal |
We also had a chance to go to the natural geothermal spa in Myvatn to relax and recharge our batteries. I hesitated to go at first because it was raining quite badly and I just don't know if I wanted to be in a spa with rain falling on my face. I'm so glad I went because it really is the perfect place to be when the weather is not good. You barely notice it when you bathe in the naturally heated warm milky pool. We spent the night at Myvatn after having a good time at the spa.
Day 4
Today, the stop most people stopped at was Hvammstangi, so I decided to drive all the way to Holmavik in Westfjord instead. On our way there, we stopped at Akureyri, the second largest town in the north, Godafoss and Aldeyjarfoss, which is my favorite waterfall. There was nobody there when we were there as it is off the ring road and requires some f-roading but it's not as bad. You will either need a 4x4 or some hiking boots. The rock formations are just wonderful, it looks like mother nature drew some cool design on the rocks, especially at the top of the basalt column, it looked like there were flower designs. It made me wonder, how on earth did this happen. How was this created? It just looked like the earth split into two. I could spend hours just staring at the magnificence of this natural sight.
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| Aldeyjarfoss |
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| Akureyri |
Day 5
Today is when the adventures in Westfjord begins! Westfjord is the most unexplored and underrated region.The gorgeous open roads and unexpected sceneries, the random naturally heated pools with amazing views of the ocean are amazing. You will want to stop very often as the Westfjord is an attraction in itself. Not many people venture there and there will be many sheep on the road so must be careful not to kill one. The condition of the roads are not that great and the driving time is always way longer than expected.
We actually didn't have much time to be there, but I absolutely wanted to go even if that means long drives. How much you see depends on the weather as it can change dramatically. For us, it was windy and foggy at times, but overall it was great. There is Hornstrandir, which is not accessible by car but I would love to go back and explore.
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| Gardar Ba 64 Shipwreck |
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| Dynjandi waterfall |
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| Ísafjörður |
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| Random views along the coast |
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| Dynjandi waterfall |
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| Rauðasandur beach |
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| Melanes Camping |
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| Latrabjarg Cliffs |
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| Sheep blocking the road |
We saw Ísafjörður, Gardar Ba 64 Shipwreck, Dynjandi waterfall which was another one of my favorite, as there were many levels to the waterfall and it is remote and such a hidden gem, we also went to Latrabjarg Cliffs but were unable to hike all the way there because it was extremely windy, and I had a hard time standing still. I definitely didn't want to fall off that cliff.
Day 6
I didn't have any real plans on day 6 as it all depended on how it went in the previous days, and luckily it all went well and managed to get a lot covered. We visited some Viking ancient sites and drove to see the geysir. I thought the drive will be uneventful but maps.me pointed us to a F-road. This one was quite amazing too, it felt like we were in mars with those red-ish mountains. On the way out of the F-road, we drove through some lush green forest which is quite rare in Iceland. It was my first time witnessing a geysir and it was beautiful.
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| Geysir |
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| Viking Museum |
Day 7
We visited Thingvellir before going to Reykjavik. Thingvellir is the old parliament site and my least favorite place visited on this trip. It was packed with tourists buses as it's very close to the golden circle attractions. Luckily, we were there pretty early and had some quiet time before all the buses arrived.
We then went to Reykjavik and explored town. There were so many cute cafes, and it's not overcrowded like the ones in Montreal. You can actually sit peacefully and read a book, which isn't something I would do in Montreal because it's often too loud and too crowded. The ones that are quiet are usually not nice anyway. After exploring town, we headed to the blue lagoon.
I'm usually not that into spas, but I'm definitely enjoying it here in Iceland. The blue lagoon, although cliche and touristic, was awesome. And there are limited lockers, so the number of people is actually limited, and it's so big that you don't feel there are that many people. I definitely prefer the blue lagoon over the Myvatn Spa. It might also be because we went at night so it was more peaceful. We sat for very long is the spa, and didn't even want to leave.
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| The Sun Voyager |
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| Downtown Reykjavik |
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| Thingvellir |
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| Blue Lagoon |
Day 8
This was a half day as we had to return the car and go home. We took it easy and explored town. We discovered a really cute unpretentious cafe right in front of the water in Grindavik. There were books, maps, and many cute decorations. Outside, there are lots of photo opportunities of fishing boat harbor. After that, we drove to Keflavik and walked around before going to the airport.
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| Bryggjan |
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| Bryggjan |
Unfortunately, it wasn't really the time of the year when you can see nothern lights, but I'd love to go back for that someday!
My pictures are not that great as it was cloudy almost the whole time we were there. It's hard to really capture the beauty of this place. One must go and see with their own eyes to believe it!
