Iceland Guide
Details:
Dates: Thursday – Tuesday in September
Transportation: rented a car through Avis, picked up and dropped off at the airport. We used it for entire trip, would recommend doing if you are going to drive around but just beware you have to pay some pretty hefty prices for the GPS and insurance each day
Itinerary
Thursday
Late afternoon: arrived in KEF airport @ Reykjavik, picked up the car, and just explored the town
Friday: Golden Circle & Blue Lagoon
Pvingellir National park: massive park that is ~45 min drive from the city. Beautiful views and small hikes and a tiny waterfall (Oxararfoss). We spent about 1.5-2hrs here
Strokkur Geysir: ~1hr drive from the park, we didn't spend a ton of time there but a cool geysir that erupts every 4-8 minutes. Has bathrooms and a cafe if you want to have lunch there. We spent ~30-45 min here
Gulfoss Falls: ~10min drive from the Geysir, a massive fall that you can walk up and beside. We spent ~1hr here
Fridheimar Farm: ~30min drive from the Falls, a cute tomato farm that you can stop at for lunch. Reservation is required to sit at a table but you can instead just walk in and pay half the price for a bowl of really good tomato soup and a breadstick
Blue Lagoon: ~1.5hr drive from the farm but it is near the airport so a lot of people do this right when they get off the flight, which in retrospect probably would have made sense. It is obviously touristy but we found it extremely cool and definitely worthwhile. We bought the premier package that included a shorter line, a robe, a towel, flip flops, two face masks, and a free drink at the bar in the lagoon. Would recommend doing this package and you MUST book an appointment ahead. There is a restaurant there but it seems stupid overpriced. We were here for ~2 hours. Disclaimer: do not be disappointed, like I was, when you find out that the masks you see everyone photographed wearing are not, in fact, from the base of the lagoon (which is, in fact, cement), but instead from a stand in the middle of the pool. Overall, a bit Disney World-esque, but something that we felt we wanted to check out. A good time if you go in with the mentality that its not the most beautiful/remote thing you'll ever see.
Saturday: Waterfalls all en route from Reyk à Vik
Kerid crater: ~1hr drive from Reyk, large open crater that you can walk around and then down and almost into the water. We explored to the side of the crater on to other smaller craters (without water) and spent a total of ~45min-1hr here. Would recommend checking it out for something diff than waterfalls and can also be a part of the golden circle drive. Fee to enter.
Seljalandsfoss waterfall: ~1hr drive from the crater, or ~2hr drive from Reyk. Massive waterfall that you are able to walk up and behind and then back around. We spent about 45 minutes here. Notes: be prepared to get wet, the water spits from the fall so recommend having a raincoat. Also, the best part about this, we liked more than the main fall, was off to the left if you keep walking around the bend you can enter almost a cave and stand at the base of a different waterfall. Have to pay for parking, has toilets
Seljavallalaug (hidden pool): ~20 min drive from Seljalandsfoss, a hidden pool at the end of a hike. We stayed here for ~45min-1hr. Notes: the pool is NOT hot, semi warm but by no means hot, and the changing rooms to change in are pretty gross. It is a 15-20 min walk from where you park and you will not see the pool until you are literally on top of it. While we didn't really love the pool, we kept exploring past the pool and hiked for a little. Wouldn't recommend an absolute stop. Free parking
Skogafoss waterfall: ~30 min from the hidden pool, a massive waterfall with a great hike behind it. The fall is huge and you can walk up a large set of stairs (pretty tiring) to get to the top of the waterfall. Past that, you can hike up a massive mountain to get some pretty sweet views. This was one of our favorite activities yet. We spent a total of ~1.5hrs here. Free parking, but have to pay to use the bathrooms
Dyrholeay Cliffs: ~30 min from Skogafoss, not an absolute must stop but pretty views of the water and the cliffs. We were really tired by the time we got here / it was about to start raining so we only stayed for ~20 min. Free parking, no bathrooms
Sunday:
Black sand beach: ~15min drive from the hotel in Vik. Basically just a large beach you can walk on that is made up of black pebbles instead of regular sand. Pretty views and cool to see but definitely not something you should kill yourself to do. We spent only ~30 minutes here
Glacier snowmobile tour: we went through a company to do a specific tour and was an awesome experience. The tour itself was ~$270 per person and was a 3hour total activity. We booked the 10-12 slot but by the time you get there (30 min early) and get back down (30 min after) its a good 3 hours. The tour includes a helmet, a face mask, snow boots, and a full onesie snowsuit. You get in this massive jeep/bus and drive 45 minutes up the mountain to the base of the glacier and then drive around on the snowmobile for a little over an hour and then take the jeep/bus back down. It was definitely cold, and extremely windy, but really cool and something I would definitely recommend if you have time. We rode together on the same snowmobile and I would recommend definitely recommend doing that if going with a guy and a girl, plus saved ~ $200.
Drove back to Reykjavik - ~2hours from the base of the glacier snowmobile tour
Monday:
Reykjandular: a natural hot spring that is ~40 min drive from center of Reykjavik and has a ton of hiking routes. You get to the parking lot and hike ~45min-1hr (very uphill) and end at a small lake where people are swimming. It is beautiful and is MUCH more natural than the hidden pool (mentioned in another day prior). The lake itself is warmer the farther up you go and is extremely hot at the very top. There are also no changing rooms so just be prepared and okay with the fact that you will be changing out in the open in front of other people. After we swam we kept walking up and ended up spending an additional ~2hours hiking and going random routes. There are a ton of routes to take that are clearly marked and you end up hiking with no one else around. We hiked a total of ~8 miles and spent ~4 hours in total at this spot. We would HIGHLY recommend going here as it was our favorite activity in Iceland.
Tuesday:
Flew home to NYC
Overall Reykjavik notes:Restaurants (where we went):
KOL - was good food, but once again just so expensive
Reykjavik Fish - casual, by the water, good fish and chips and fish skillet and won't kill your wallet
Messin - our favorite meal in Iceland, incredible fish entrees
Kaldi Bar - went for pre-dinner drinks, seemed a popular spot between locals & tourists
Laundromat Cafe - legitimately a place where you can do laundry and eat upstairs or order drinks
Bonus grocery store - where we got all of our groceries and where the locals shop so not too expensive
Braud & Co - delicious fresh baked bread and pastries. Definitely grab the cinnamon, hazelnut, and vanilla filled croissant
Restaurants (recommendations):
Fish Market
ROK
Cafe Bryggian - by Blue Lagoon, good lobster bisque
Bergsson
Osta Budin
Snap
Apotek
Ramen Momo
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Lodging:
Skuggi Hotel Reykjavik: would definitely recommend. Modern and sleek design, not too expensive, and has breakfast included.
Air BnB: we really liked where we stayed, it was an extremely small cabin kinda apartment in the owner's backyard of her house. It was in the center of Reyk and had everything we needed (comfortable bed, bathroom, nice shower, and a mini kitchen to use)
Overall Vik notes:
Town is basically nonexistent / there is very little to do
Seems like a handful of restaurants but we didn't even look into any of them
Would recommend staying here for a night if looking to do everything we did in one day and not have to drive back out to Reyk, but nothing more
Icelandair Hotel Edda in Vik: where we stayed, looked super nice online and when you enter but we were put in a wing that desperately needs an upgrade and basically resembled a college dorm (for not a pretty penny). Would only recommend if can guarantee a room in the newer more updated wings.
Overall trip notes:
100% worth it and insanely beautiful
Expect to pay money, but also look into getting groceries and figuring out a way to make your own meals (especially lunches bc at these stops the premade sandwiches look bad and are more expensive than you'll want to pay)
Rent a car. The tour buses look overpacked and something I would not want to do (i.e. a golden tour on a bus). Definitely recommend renting a car and following the above layout
Overall recommended structure:
Day 1: land in Reykjavik, go to Blue Lagoon, get settled and sleep there
Day 2: Golden circle (Pingvellir national park, strokkur geysir, gulfoss falls, fridheimer farm for lunch, kerid crater lake)
If not doing glacier tour:
Day 3: Seljalandsfoss waterfall and Skogafoss waterfall and back to ReykDay 4: Reykjandular hike in AM and fly back home
If doing glacier tour:
Day 3: Seljalandsfoss waterfall and Skogafoss waterfall and sleep in Vik
Day 4: Glacier tour in AM, go back to Reyk and do Reykjandular hike
Day 5: fly home