Around the Ísland of Iceland
Three and a half months ago I planned one of the craziest trips I have ever planned, an around-the-island trip around Iceland for a week in July with my brother and my dad. I had just come back from this amazing trip to this mesmerizing island nation. For anyone interested in doing this trip in the future, I here offer what I went through and some tips.
Day 1 – Arrival + Golden Circle
The Golden Circle consists of 4 main attractions:
Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir National Park
Strokkur Geyser
Gullfoss Water Fall
Kerið Crater Lake
We stopped in Hotel Vatnsholt off of the town of Selfoss. It’s a farm-style hostel with a shared bathroom. There are also some more hotel-like but also more expensive places in Selfoss.
Day 2 – South Coast of Iceland
The South Coast of Iceland is known for 3 major things: waterfalls, glacier, and its rugged coastlines. We set off in the morning and finished off two major waterfalls: Selijalandsfoss
Skogafoss (foss in Icelandic = falls in English).
There is also a plane wreck 4 km off of the highway that is only accessible by walking that we didn’t go to, but we heard great stories from many who have been. Apparently it’s an abandoned US Navy DC Plane that crash landed in Iceland in 1973 and had been left there since then.
The town of Vik is a great place to have lunch. Further on right pass the town of Hof you come across Jokulsarlon, the famous glacier lagoon in Iceland (it’s full with glacier all year round). For about 50 dollars per person you can ride a boat into the lagoon to get closer to the glacier, but we decided to just walk around the lake and save the money for a nice langoustine meal in the town of Hofn for dinner. We stayed in Klif Hostel in the down of Djupivogur off of the southeastern coast of Iceland.
Day 3 - East Coast of Iceland
We didn't plan to do much on the East Coast of Iceland other than to drive from point A to point B, passing Fáskrúðsfjarðargöng, a famous 7-km-long tunnel on the way. But before we entered the tunnel, we ran into a French hitchhiker heading in the same direction but a different direction and he later led us to two really amazing towns on the way. The East Coast is known for its small towns where steep mountains meet the water.
Town of Neskaupstadur
Town of Neskaupstadur
Town of Seydisfjordur
We stayed at a farm hostel off the cost of the Arctic Ocean in Northeast Iceland.
The beach off of Arctic Ocean outside of the farm we were staying at.
The beach off of Arctic Ocean outside of the farm we were staying at.
Day 4: Across Northern Iceland
The main spots on this day were:
Dettifoss
Dettifoss
Námafjall, which is an area of high geothermal activity, with fuming rocks and boiling ponds.
But we also stumbled upon two more spots on the way: Mývatn, a lake near a volcano.
And Goðafoss, which literally means, God's Falls.
We stayed in Akureyri, the 4th largest city in Iceland and the largest city outside of the Reykjavik metro area. We were going to go to a seafood restaurant for dinner, but it was overbooked. We then walked into a restaurant with three new kinds of meat that I have never tried before: guillemot, whale, and horse. And Viking beer, mmm...
Day 5: Northwest and Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Most of today is spent on driving without stopping in the Northwest Region of Iceland until we got back to the West Coast of Iceland, the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. The hiking trails near the town of Hellnar are stunning.
Day 6: Northernmost Capital In the World - Reykjavik
On our first day we didn't stop in Reykjavik at all. So today is all about exploring this capital city of Iceland and the northernmost capital in the world. Some of the main attractions are:
Hallgrimskirkja (a cathedral)
National Museum of Iceland
The Saga Museum
Perlan (the Pearl, a viewing platform + bar/restaurant on a hill that overlooks the city)
Höfði house (a former British consulate which later became the meeting place between US President Reagan and USSR leader Gorbachev in 1986 which signified the end of the Cold War.
Hallgrimskirkja (a cathedral)
National Museum of Iceland
The Saga Museum
Perlan (the Pearl, a viewing platform + bar/restaurant on a hill that overlooks the city)
Höfði house (a former British consulate which later became the meeting place between US President Reagan and USSR leader Gorbachev in 1986 which signified the end of the Cold War.
Day 7: Blue Lagoon
Our flight was in the afternoon, so we took the morning to go to Blue Lagoon, a natural seawater geothermal lagoon rich with silica. It naturally replenishes itself in every 24 hours. You need to reserve in advance for a certain hour to go in. Once you go in you can stay as long as you want. They are open everyday from 8 am to midnight. Drink plenty of water before you go in, and bring your own towels/bathrobes because they cost money to rent out!
On rental car, gas, lodging, currency, food
Rental car is not cheap in Iceland. We spent about 100 USD per day on our car.
Gas is not cheap either; they are about 2 dollars per liter or 7.5 dollars per gallon, about 3 times the cost in the US. But what you find interesting is that for any given day all the gas stations in the entire island has the same gas price. So just fill up whenever you need to rather than trying to look for the cheapest gas station.
Hostel or hotel costs about 100 USD per day as well for the 3 of us. There weren't many 5-star hotels in many of the places we stayed in except for major cities like Reykjavik or Akureyri. Shared bathroom is very common in Iceland.
Iceland is not part of the EU and Iceland doesn't use euros. The currency in Iceland is Icelandic Kroner (ISK). 1 USD is about 120 ISK. If you are traveling from North America or Europe, just bring USD, CAD, euro, or GBP and exchange them when you arrive. It is unlikely you can find ISK before you arrive in Iceland. Credit cards are generally accepted everywhere.
In terms of food, Iceland is known for its seafood and cattle. All the cattle you find is locally produced and raised on a farm. There is almost no industrial farming in Iceland, so they are all locally grown and organic. Iceland is known for its lamb, beef, and pork. Iceland's most seafood are cod, langoustine, salmon, tusk, and trout. Furthermore and as mentioned before, you can try something you have never tried before, such as whale, horse, or guillemot.
Gas is not cheap either; they are about 2 dollars per liter or 7.5 dollars per gallon, about 3 times the cost in the US. But what you find interesting is that for any given day all the gas stations in the entire island has the same gas price. So just fill up whenever you need to rather than trying to look for the cheapest gas station.
Hostel or hotel costs about 100 USD per day as well for the 3 of us. There weren't many 5-star hotels in many of the places we stayed in except for major cities like Reykjavik or Akureyri. Shared bathroom is very common in Iceland.
Iceland is not part of the EU and Iceland doesn't use euros. The currency in Iceland is Icelandic Kroner (ISK). 1 USD is about 120 ISK. If you are traveling from North America or Europe, just bring USD, CAD, euro, or GBP and exchange them when you arrive. It is unlikely you can find ISK before you arrive in Iceland. Credit cards are generally accepted everywhere.
In terms of food, Iceland is known for its seafood and cattle. All the cattle you find is locally produced and raised on a farm. There is almost no industrial farming in Iceland, so they are all locally grown and organic. Iceland is known for its lamb, beef, and pork. Iceland's most seafood are cod, langoustine, salmon, tusk, and trout. Furthermore and as mentioned before, you can try something you have never tried before, such as whale, horse, or guillemot.