🇮🇸 Iceland
Iceland will enchant you with breathtaking views, waterfalls, volcanoes and hot springs. Unique experiences such as the Northern Lights, glaciers and pristine landscapes will make the trip unforgettable.
Here are some photos from our trip:
Itinerary preview
🗓 10 days
DAY 1: Reykjavik
DAY 2: from Thingvellir National Park in Haifoss
DAY 3: Waterfalls along the coast of Vik
DAY 4: Glacier and glacial lagoons of Jökulsárlón
DAY 5: from ice to Seydisfjordur
DAY 6: Hverir geothermal area
DAY 7: Husavik and Trollaskagi peninsula
DAY 8: Snaefellsness peninsula
DAY 9: volcano Geldingadalir and Blue Lagoon
DAY 10: departure from Reykjavik
🔗 Useful links
💸 Cost
(for 2 people)
🏠 Hotel: €1500
🚗 Car: €1108
✈️ Flights (Wizz Air): €680 for two people
👣 Excursions: €450 (zodiac, glacier and whales)
💊 Insurance: €90
💰 Various expenses: €1050
Total: €4880 (€2440 per person)
✨ Essential
👕 Dress in layers, the weather changes very quickly
🕵🏻 Bring a waterproof jacket
🥾 Trekking shoes, above the ankle if possible
Trip features
Features of this itinerary based on our real experience:
🔹 10 days
🔹 Road trip
🔹 Independently organized
🔹 Travel as a couple
🔹 Beginning of September 2021
In this itinerary you will find:
🔸 List of the places visited every day
🔸 Links to Google images of every place
🔸 Link to daily map on Google Maps
🔸 Link to accommodation on Booking.com
🔸 Tips and impressions of every day
🔸 Useful links for this trip
🔸 Total cost of the trip (for two people)
🗓 Day 1
Arrive in Reykjavik late in the evening with Wizz Air
🚗 Collect the 4x4 at Reykjavik Cars
Tips
💡 4x4 or small car? Iceland is a country with spectacular landscapes but also with challenging road conditions, especially off the Ring Road, the ring road along the entire island. Using a 4x4 in Iceland offers access to off-road roads, better stability and safety in adverse weather conditions, river crossings and more space to comfortably explore even the most remote places. We preferred the 4x4 and for us it was definitely the right choice.
💡 Attention: car insurance usually does not cover damage caused by water entering the vehicle and engine. If you plan to wade into rivers or similar things, check carefully what your insurance covers before venturing out to avoid unpleasant surprises.
🗓 Day 2
Places visited along the route (mainly the Golden Circle):
📍Strokkur (Geysir geothermal area)
📍Gullfoss (waterfall)
📍Haifoss (waterfall)
Tips
💡 For us Haifoss, the highest waterfall in Iceland, It was one of the most spectacular waterfalls. Reaching it requires some effort and time, as it is not an easily accessible destination as you have to negotiate uneven terrain and dirt roads. However, it is absolutely worth visiting because it will give you a breathtaking view of a spectacular waterfall surrounded by an amazing natural setting, a unique panorama of the surrounding deep gorges and valleys and an isolated experience because Haifoss is less frequented than other tourist attractions in Iceland.
If you wish to visit it, plan your trip properly and take the necessary precautions to fully enjoy this wonderful waterfall.
🗓 Day 3
Places visited along the route:
📍Seljalandafoss (waterfall)
📍Dc3 (plane wreck)
📍Skogafoss (waterfall)
📍Dyrholaey (panoramic cliff)
📍Vik (country with Icelandic church)
📍Svartifoss (waterfall)
Tips
⭐️ Day of manywaterfalls but each of them is unique and impressive!
Don't forget your waterproof jacket so you can get closer and feel their intensity and energy.
⭐️ To get to thewreckage of the DC3 plane it takes about 1 hour each way. After reading several comments from other travelers and, since we were right with the times, we preferred to dedicate more time to the other stages of the route and decided not to visit it.
🗓 Day 4
Places visited along the route:
📍Vatnajökull Glacier (excursion: hike on the glacier)
📍Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon (excursion: zodiac tour)
Tips
💡 Unforgettable stage surrounded by ice and seals!
💡 Hike on the glacier: a little challenging but highly recommended. We did the easy option. We booked with Local Guide of Vatnajökull (€93 per person).
💡 Tour of Jökulsárlón: you can take the tour on an amphibious boat (35 minute ride in a larger boat) or on a zodiac (around an hour ride in a dinghy with fewer people and which manages to get closer to the glacier and icebergs). We have chosen zodiac tour (around €95 per person) and, from our point of view, it is the best choice because you can live the experience much more intensely than the amphibious boat.
Book in advance so as not to remain without availability! We booked with Glacier Lagoon and we had a very good time.
I lobster rolls from the parking kiosk are amazing!
🗓 Day 5
Places visited along the route:
📍Diamond beach again
📍Hofn (village)
📍Stokkness (beach and views)
📍Djupivogur (coastal village)
📍Egilsstadir (village)
📍Seydisfjordur (town with rainbow painted on the street)
📍Gufufoss (waterfall)
Tips
💡 The previous day we had been in the Diamond beach but the day was very grey and there was almost no ice on the beach and in fact we were a little disappointed... Since our hotel was close and the day was sunny we decided to go back and thank goodness! The beach was completely different: super full of pieces of ice of all shapes that created a truly incredible environment with the sunlight.
Sometimes you have to follow your instincts to live unique experiences.
💡 That evening we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights! I get emotional just remembering it...
September is the beginning of the period in which this spectacle of nature can be spotted, but it is still rare. We downloaded ourselves an Aurora forecast app in the world and that evening we received a warning that there would be a lot of chances. So we were very careful and as soon as the colors started dancing in the sky, we moved the car to a dark area and enjoyed one of the most beautiful experiences of our life.
🗓 Day 6
Places visited along the route:
📍Dettifoss (waterfall)
📍Selfoss (waterfall)
📍Hverir (geothermal area)
📍Myvatn baths (spa)
Tips
💡 Dettifoss and Selfoss waterfalls are very suggestive. As for Selfoss, I suggest you continue to the end of the route because it is little frequented and you can take beautiful photos next to the immensity of the waterfall and in solitude.
💡 For those who want to take a dip in a spa facility, it can be done for a fee at Myvatn baths. However, we preferred to dedicate the day to visiting all the possible places along the route and going to the famous Blue Lagoon spa on the last day to end in beauty and relaxation.
💡 We slept in a glamping in the middle of the countryside near a river. The tents were very nice but the bathroom is outside, so you have to go out in the fresh air every time you have to go, and common (but clean). We saw a slight aurora that evening.
🗓 Day 7
Places visited along the route:
📍Husavik (excursion: whale safari)
📍Godafoss (waterfall)
📍Skagafjordur (fjord)
📍Glaumbaer (peat farm)
Tips
💡 In Husavik you can do a whale watching excursion. We booked in advance with North Sailing without advance payment (approximately €77 per person). When we went to the desk to pay for the tickets they told us that there hadn't been any major sightings in the last few days and that they couldn't guarantee that there would be any that day, so we could cancel (very honest of them). We decided to do it anyway and although we didn't see any pilot whales, we saw lots of white dolphins, pilot whales and the ride was very enjoyable.
💡 The accommodation near Glaumbaer, Hestasport Cottages, it was fantastic and I highly recommend it: we had our own well-equipped private wooden cottage and in the garden common to all the cottages there was a small spa pool in which most of the time you were alone. In the cottage there were bathrobes so you could go from the house to the pool and vice versa without feeling cold. Marvelous!
🗓 Day 8
Places visited along the route:
📍Ytri Tunga beach (seal colony)
📍Búðakirkja (black church)
📍Djupalonssandur (black beach)
📍Arnarstapi (fishing village)
📍Kirkjufellsfoss (waterfall)
Tips
💡 Day dedicated to Snaefellsness peninsula which is breathtakingly beautiful.
💡 On the beach of Ytri Tunga can be seen seal colonies; we saw several of them and stayed there for a while admiring and photographing them.
💡 The famous one Kirkjufellsfoss is very evocative. It was our last stop of the day and I must say that that landscape with the sunset light truly enchanted us.
🗓 Day 9
Places visited along the route:
📍Blue Lagoon (Premium entry, €77 per person)
Tips
💡 We went to the Geldingadalir volcano the morning. We took the easier route because from what we had read the other one was quite challenging. The volcano was clearly active but there was almost no lava. Then we went to the Blue Lagoon to relax, but when we came out of the Blue Lagoon in the evening, the sky was completely on fire because the volcano was erupting. It was the last evening in Iceland and we didn't think twice about it despite the tiredness, we climbed the volcano again and this time we did the most challenging route because everyone was going in that direction. Following that route we reached the crater directly where a few meters from us the lava erupted and flowed freely. In short, the 20 km uphill and downhill this day were rewarded with this incredible experience!
💡 Blue Lagoon: the daily entrance starts at €60 per person (Comfort entrance), but we decided to do the Premium one at €77 per person which also included the bathrobe, flip-flops, a drink included and 3 face masks. It was worth it and we really liked the facility.
🗓 Day 10
✈️ Departure from Reykjavik. See you next time, Iceland!
