Iceland Blog
One of my favorite things about traveling (outside of the actual traveling itself) is the research and planning of the itinerary. It looks like I’m in the right business, huh? Before going to Iceland, I didn’t know much more beyond The Blue Lagoon, volcano eruptions, and that it was probably pretty cold. As I dove into more research about things I could do there, it became super apparent to me that this was one of the most beautiful and otherworldly landscapes a person could visit!
Very quickly, traveling the Ring Road in Iceland became a bucket list item for me. Originally, I was hoping to solo travel there in 2020 but had to put those plans on hold because of the pandemic. I’m glad I waited because I was able to go there with my now husband in 2023 – spoiler alert, it’s where we got engaged!
While planning I found that within our timeframe, the Ring Road may not be achievable. You want to be sure to have a minimum of 10 days to make the trek. Since we only had 8 days, I didn’t want to rush through everything trying to complete the Ring Road. So instead, we were able to explore Reykjavik, the entire south coast over to Höfn, into Thingvellir National Park, and then up to Arnarstapi coast. I wouldn’t say that we traveled the most effective way on our own, but I will say it was all well worth it.
Day one – Beating Jetlag in Reykjavik
We flew direct from Detroit to Keflavik on the red eye with Icelandair. While we didn’t get much sleep, we knew we had to stay ahead of the jet lag, so I packed our day pretty full! After dropping our bags off at our hotel, we headed to the nearest bus stop to make our way to our first stop of the trip: Reykjavik. We spent the morning walking around exploring Iceland’s capital, stopping in a little café that faced the harbor for breakfast to start our day off right! We spent the day really taking all we could in before we hit the road. We went to The Viking Museum to learn of the discovery of Iceland by the Vikings, then had to try the famous Icelandic hotdogs for lunch. In the afternoon we went to The Magic Ice bar where everything from the furniture to the glassware was made of ice – a cold but fun experience. We finished our busy day at the Peal Museum, which gives you a little taste of everything Iceland has to offer. There was an ice cave to explore, a northern lights exhibit, and of course a history lesson of the volcanos of Iceland! We had dinner there and then took a taxi back to our hotel for some much needed rest.
Day two – Selljandafoss & Skogafoss
We woke up early and hit the road to the south rim. We had plans of seeing two major waterfalls on day one, Selljandafoss & Skogafoss. To our pleasant surprise they were both right off the road and super accessible. First was Selljandafoss, we were able to walk behind it – and thank goodness we knew to bring raincoats because it’s there’s no way to avoid getting at least a little wet. We were able to walk down the path to see another waterfall hidden in almost a cave-like part of the hill. It was really cool!
Next, we headed to Skogafoss thinking we’d have a similar experience, but we were pleasantly surprised at how different it was. Skogafoss is one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland and it’s not something you want to get too close to. After admiring the falls, you can then take stairs up the side of the hill next to it, which then opens up to miles of scenic hiking. We weren’t prepared to see the trails, so we only took a short hike, but it was beautiful!
Day three – Vik, Reynisfjara Beach, Geothermal Pool
Before making our way to Vik, we decided to take a morning hike to a geothermal pool that we got all to ourselves. While the weather was a bit chilly, getting into the pool was a huge difference. After our morning dip, we headed to Vik, home of Reynisfjara beach. This black sand beach was pretty windy the day we went but was still very cool to see. We headed to a café called Skol Beans which is an old school bus turned coffee shop, not super roomy but a fun experience with delicious hot chocolate! We drove to Yoda Cave for an off the beaten path adventure before hitting the road to the next town. We ended our day with a hike near our stay before the day full of glaciers ahead of us.
Day four – Glaciers Galore
On the drive to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon we found the end of a full rainbow, unfortunately there was no pot of gold, but a unique experience nonetheless! We first stopped for a quick hike to the Fagurhólsmýri Glacier which wasn’t originally on our list, but I am glad we didn’t pass it up. We tried hiking as close as we could to the actual glaciers but couldn’t quite make it there without some risks we weren’t willing to take.
Next, we headed to Glacier Lagoon and as soon as you step out of the car you’re hit with the brisk ocean air. While walking along the shore of the Lagoon we witnessed one of the glaciers calving then being swept out into the ocean. Since we were there at the end of summer, most of the glaciers had gone down in size, as well as the chunks of ice on Diamond Beach. I can’t imagine how it looks at the beginning of summer!
Day five – Viking Village and a Surprise!
We had reached the turning point of our trip, Höfn. As I mentioned before, when planning, I didn’t think we would have enough time to do the entire Ring Road of Iceland, so I had us head back east inland. I can’t say I wouldn’t recommend the route we took because I still loved every spot we hit! Before leaving Höfn, we had to be sure to see a real Viking Ship, or at least one from a movie set.. We headed to Viking Village in Stokksnes! We sipped on our coffees from the Viking Café and walked the trail from the village and then to the beautiful rocky shoreline. The walk gave some fun history as well as beautiful landscapes. A perfect area to take a wrong turn on the trail and get engaged near the lighthouse! After taking all of the excitement in, we headed back to our car for the long trek back east to Thingvellir.
Day six – Thingvellir National Park
Thingvellir National Park changed the way I view National Parks! The entire park was immaculate, and a lot of areas were extremely accessible. We made sure to witness the Geysers in all of their glory while hiking around, as well as enjoy some food at Tourist Centre Café afterwards. While there, I realized we had some extra time to go a little out of our way – by a little, I mean, completely out of our way – and head north to the Arnarstapi Peninsula before heading way south. I definitely don’t recommend this route unless you’re okay with being in the car for hours at a time.
Day seven – Arnarstapi Coast and a Volcano Hike
We woke up early to get our hike in on the Peninsula, and I am so glad we decided to head that way because the views were more than worth it. All in all, the loop for the trail was just under 5k so it was a nice way to start our day before heading south to Grindavik. Once in Grindavik we headed straight to another hike – I know, crazy of us, but we weren’t going all the way to Iceland without an attempt at seeing a Volcano.
At the time that we went, a volcano had erupted about 6 weeks earlier. We weren’t looking to see any lava or anything, but it was a really neat hike to see the steam still coming off the rocks. After a long day of a collective 12 miles of hiking and 3 hours of driving, we were ready for bed.
Day eight – Blue Lagoon & Flight Home
We flew home on day 8, but I of course made sure to book a later flight so that we could spend our final day relaxing in the Blue Lagoon. So many people will tell you it’s overhyped, but for us, it was a bucket list item! How can you go to Iceland and not go into the blue lagoon?! After floating around with our mud masks on for a while, it was finally time to head to the airport and fly home.
Reading all of that, I’m sure you’re thinking we hit every spot possible! What’s crazy is we didn’t even make it to the north rim or into the highlands of Iceland. We do hope to go back one day to see it all, maybe during a different season. When traveling Iceland, you definitely don’t have to go as extreme as we did, especially if you are wanting a more relaxing journey. I’d recommend doing day trips with tour guides if you are looking for more hands-on guidance; there are so many options available to see all of the sights I mentioned. Iceland is a country I’d recommend over and over again, because there are endless things to see and a different scene to escape to every few miles. It truly is the country I’d add to everyone’s bucket list if I could!
