As shown in the map above, our Iceland trip was 6 days. Each one packed with majestic waterfalls, mountains and hot pots. Here is a summary of our Iclandic adventure, complete with some tips for either us going to Iceland again in the future, or another party interested in a beautiful Icelandic adventure.

Day 1

Day 1 was a bit of a loopy one. We left Vancouver at 7 pm and arrived in Iceland at 9 am (2 am Vancouver time). If you read my previous post, you may recall that I was attempting to pre-lag myself by getting up at 3 am the day of our flight. Sufficed to say, this did not work as I had intended. I ended up keeping myself up on the plane watching Martian (since I can't seem to fall asleep during cinematic adventures). After overheating and waking up in a stupor, I think I may have passed out and gotten a few hours of shut eye. We took a shuttle from the airport, at which point it forgot to drop us off and so we had to take another shuttle back out to get dropped off. We then walked the few blocks and picked up our camper van!

Armed with our vehicle and a tank full of adventures, we picked up a few supplies from the nearby Bonus 🐷and we were off. Excitement and novelty was coursing through our veins. We had already planned this first day out a few weeks ago... unfortunately, we forgot to account for the exhaustion that would soon set in. We made it about an hour down the road when we saw that we were close to a Thermal River... sounds awesome. We parked and proceeded to hike up the trail we saw everyone clambering up / down. At this point, we're pretty tired and missed the sign that said it was a 3 km hike. Forging on, we finally made it to the Thermal River and it was glorious.

It was like a hot tub flowing down stream. Makeshift rock dams created pools which cascaded into the next. Boardwalks with outdoor changing areas made it easy to slip into a bathing suit and find a spot to post up. This scenic oasis washed off the flight and a bit of the jet lag that was still very much upon us.

Originally, the plan had been to drive down to Vic on the first day. However, after the thermal river, it became very clear that it was not safe to try and drive there on this first day. So we ended up pulling into a campground in Selfoss, ate some dinner and promptly passed out.

Day 2

Woke up bright and early and hit the road. Today, we planned on hitting up some of the tourist spots on the Golden Circle. Over breakfast we planned our route and first stopped at a pretty cool Crater, about 15 minutes outside of Selfoss. From there we proceeded up to Gullfoss to see the waterfall which was awesome and then cruised down to a place called Þjóðveldisbærinn Stöng which I thought was a cool waterfall, but turned out to be some traditional grass houses that were crafted to meticulously match the remains found by archaeologists.

After the grass houses, we proceeded towards Vik first stopping at the hot pot for the day Seljavallalaug. This hot pot was by suggestion from a friend and was awesome. It was nestled deep into a valley and during our visit had a bank of clouds enshrowding the tops of the steep banks on either side. It was a rectangular pool that had been built next to a river and is now maintained by volunteers. The water definitely had some plant life in it, but the temperature was excellent and we met some friendly americans 🇺🇸while hot potting.

We ended up spending longer than expected here due to the ever present sun light at this time of year and so we got to the Skógafoss waterfall quite late. We made some dinner and then took some pictures at the waterfall. Then proceeded to roll in late to the campsite in Vik to again promptly pass out.

Day 3

Slept in a little on this day, but got out and saw the Black Sand Beach in Vik. They were beautiful, and warm! Today would be a longer day of driving, but with our bodies beginning to adjust to the time change it was definitely in our sights. The drive to our first stop was awe inspiring. Driving across the volcanic planes with ocean to the one side and an enormous glacier spilling through the gaps between the mountains on the other. Not going to lie, as the driver it was difficult to stay focused on the road. This beautiful scenery was a gorgeous stepping stone to our first major stop of the day. The glacier lagoon of Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach. This was amazing. Seeing newly born icebergs meandering through the glacier lagoon only to find themselves surging down river toward Diamond Beach and ultimately the ocean. It was pouring rain when we got to Diamond Beach but we tossed on our rain gear and explored. It was incredible seeing such huge ice sculptures flowing down river and crashing into those that had beached themselves somewhere along the way. All the while, the fresh water melting and filtering through the jet black, volcanic sands on the beach.

In need of some warm water to soak in, we set a course for the Hoffell Hot Tubs. These are some hot tubs that have been set into the rocks and although you had to pay, the varying temperatures and clean water and facilities made this a great stop along the way. From the hot pots, we snaked our way along the coast to our final resting spot for the day, a campground called Fossardalur Campsite. This place was great, it was nestled up on top of a hill and had excellent showers and facilities. Also, the sounds of the river running by the campsite made it easy to fall asleep.

Day 4

If you miss a pull out to take a nice picture, just wait a couple minutes and there will be another one.

Unfortunately on this day, it was quite foggy and being up in the hills... we were driving through the clouds. Though nice, not as scenic, which means we made great time, getting to Dettifoss around lunch time. Dettifoss is apparently:

"Europes most powerful waterfall"

And I'd believe it. Not sure how many people have seen Neverending Story, the movie with the flying / talking dog. Anyways, there is a part in this movie where the kid's fear of heights is exemplified by a scene in which he is standing on a diving board looking into the most terrifying waterfall I remember seeing as a child. This waterfall reminded me exactly of that one (and apparently I'm not the only one ). Immensely powerful. The spray of the waterfall was creating smaller water falls on the adjacent cliffs.

We doubled back from Dettifoss and came back out to the main highway. We then found ourselves driving into what looked like a Martian landscape, known in Iceland as Námafjall. The desolate and red earth appears sapped of life by the sulpher that bubbles to the surface. Pits of bluish-gray mud cast fowl smelling steam across the barren landscape. Vents encircled by mineral-encrusted rocks vigorously blast steam through the cracks and into the atmostphere. We concluded our Martian visit with a hike to the top and across the hills that watch over these thermally active plains.

After the martian plains, we made a couple more stops. First stop was at a blue thermal lake and the second stop was at some caves just down the road. Both of which were very cool in a water-so-hot-it-would-burn-you kind of way.

We then had dinner and headed up to the Mývatn Nature Baths. We heard that they were a cheaper version of the Blue Lagoon which proved to be fairly accurate. Don't get me wrong, they were more than going to your local swimming pool, but they were glorious. There was a main pool with various vents injecting the mineral-rich hot water. We also later discovered that there is a Map on a screen before you enter that show you the temperatures throughout the pool. There is also two saunas and a hot tub as well. After the pools, we proceeded to a campsite down the road where we played some crib and fell asleep.

Day 5

Day 5 was an early start. We headed out and made a quick pit stop at nice little waterfall called Goðafoss. Holly decided she wanted to give the manual transmission another go so we traded off. Unfortunately, there was a lot of stopping / starting and bad driving in front of us, so this was less of a break for either of us. We traded back before we got into Akureyri, a quaint little harbour town. We parked and took a little walk around. They had a really cool Icelandic (no kidding right?) church that we poked our heads into. After that, it was off to a much anticipated stop for us. Our hot pot of the day was called Fosslaug. From the limited experience I have with Icelandic name, there seems to be a convention of laug for pools and foss for water falls. So in this case, Fosslaug combined the two!

It was outstanding. Tucked away, above the waterfall Reykjafoss was a little hand built pool nestled right next to the river. The river made for an excellent escape from overheating in the small pool. Although when we arrived there were many in the pool, they soon began to leave and we were left soaking alone. We made lunch and took a few pictures of the falls and then headed out to try and get to Hvitserkur before the sun dissapeared. It was a good drive through a dirt road up to the coast where we parked and walked down to see it. By it, I mean this natural stone carving standing at the edge of the beach. As if part of the bed rock decided to wade into the water up to its ankles and stand there for the rest of time. The structure has been reinforced with concrete to prevent the ocean from doing what the ocean does to rocks. Effectively preserving this relic for us to be able to come see. * #thanksIceland*

After the stone statue, we drove into a campsite in a sleepy little fishing town and posted up for the evening. We had planned to head out early the next morning as it was our last and we had plans... big plans.

Day 6

I would say it was the crack of dawn, but at this time of the year, I'm not even sure when/if that happens in Iceland. I'm sure its at like 3 am. But for the rest of the world, we were up at 5 am. Our plan was to drive to get down to Glymur Waterfalls early enough to beat the rest of the world that wanted to see Icelands tallest waterfall that day. And boy am I glad we did. We had a quiet and pristine hike for most of the morning. The waterfalls are about 300 metres above sea level and fall for 190 metres into the valley below. The scenery was breathtaking. At times, the height definitely played tricks on my brain. Making me behave extra cautious around the outcrops, but the views were stunning.

We hiked up to the top and crossed the river above the falls to the other side, testing out the waterproof-ness of our hiking boots in the process. #NoLeaks After getting back down to the van. We made our last lunch and directed ourselves to the Vesturbæjarlaug pools in Reykjavik. We figured that it would be nice to relax in some pools and have a shower before our flight that night to France. Boy was that a great choice. The pools were outstanding. Icelandic people know how to Tub. The showering process is very serious, but worth the various temperature tubs and pools available. After that, we packed up our bags and checked out the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church. We went to a park and ate our last meal before heading off to the airport ✈.

Favorites

Iceland was teriffic. Here were some of our favorite things:

Notable Mentions:

The martian landscape of Námafjall and the Mývatn Nature Baths were also very cool.

Tips & Recommendations

Holly and I are creatures of optimization. Here are some things we found useful or would have done differently.

1. Spend more than 6 days, it was possible, but a bit rushed

2. Dehydrated Camping Meals for the win

   • Easy to make, few dishes
   • They cook while you explore! Boil water, mix together, explore some Iceland, return and eat 👍
   • Really enjoyed Backpackers Pantry

3. Camper Van was great

   • Make sure your cooking propane is full (ours wasn't)
   • Camping chairs weren't super useful
   • Gas is expensive
   • When filling up gas, don't select Fill Tank Option. It puts a large hold on your card for many days.
   • Bring some cord or rope to make a drying rack
4. Early mornings adventures have less people.
5. Pictures won't do it justice, the scale can't be captured
6. Eyemasks for the win
7. Buy a big jug of water and fill it up at campsites
8. Skyr = Tastiest Yogurt-esque product

9. Power inverter for the camper was awesome

   • Always be chargin 🔌
10. A huge 4x4 would be so fun