TRAVEL
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3rd day Golden Circle Area
Early in the morning left for the Golden Circle Area. The first stop is the Thingvellir. After the visitors centre, there are some paths to follow, you can make it short (just the placas) or medium (placas and church area) or long (walk all the area around). We made the medium-length path but decided that the placas side was the most interesting of all. The second stop is Geysir. Calculate some time to get the right picture, you will try many explosions. Geysir has a nice visitor centre, I still remember the image of the salmon sandwiches that we didn't buy instead we had a picnic in one of the panoramic spots on the way to Gulfoss. Gulfoss is an amazing waterfall with its legend as the waterfall is called gold waterfall, it is believed that there is a hidden treasure underneath. We did a little deviation to see this twin waterfall and didn't regret at all Hjalparfoss. There was no crowd nor a person, just us to admire and take pictures. We checked in in our lovely farm stay hotel Vatnsholt Farmhouse with lots of animals around and a magnificent view. Wanted to try Viking Restaurant for dinner and on the way we visited Stokkseyri, a little picturesque fishing village. Viking Restaurant was a little touristic but still an amazing experience with traditional Icelandic specialities. Briefly Day 3: In around 45 min drive from Reykjavik city centre; Thingvellir In around 55 min. drive Geysir In around 10 min drive Gulfoss In around 1 hours drive Hjalparfoss In around 50 min drive Vatnsholt Farmhouse stay In around 25 min drive Stokkseyri In around 20 min drive Viking Restaurant Dinner In around 25 min drive back to Vatnsholt Farmhouse stay |
4TH DAY South Iceland, Vik Left Vatnsholt in the morning and headed towards Vik. On the way saw amazing waterfalls. We stopped at the Thorsteinslundur picnic area, we enjoyed Drifandi Falls and drank some falling water. After just a few kilometres we encountered Gluggafoss (also called Merkjárfoss). Not as big as Seljalandfoss but we could go behind this fall and enjoy the rainbow view from the splashing water. Then we reached maybe the most beautiful waterfall for many, Seljalandfoss and just behind it, Gljufrafoss in a hidden cave. Seljalandfoss is the star as you can walk behind it but be careful the terrain is slippery so you need proper shoes. It is always very crowded especially at the weekends so it is better to plan to go early and on weekdays to take the best pictures. Skogafoss is another high and impressive waterfall surrounded by green and rainbows. We climbed the stairs close to the waterfall to see it from the high and hiked a little on the riverside that nourishes the waterfall. Sólheimajökull is a glacier close to Skogafoss, in only 13 min. by car we reached the parking lot and walked around 15 min. to reach the glacier view. It was easy and worth it. Sólheimasandur plane wreck - we missed this but it was on our way. We didn't want to come back to see when we realized we missed it. Because The Dyrhólaey Arch was amazing! It is an amazing gigantic arch on the sea that is reached by a panoramic walk on the Dyrhólaey Peninsula. There is a comfortable parking lot to leave the car. The way to reach the Peninsula is a slightly dangerous road; steep and narrow, sometimes foggy. If it wasn't for Google Maps we thought we were lost. After the Dyrhólaey we went to Vik, a lovely little city, where they filmed the famous Netflix series Katla. We went to Black Sand Beach and went to the Church We needed a pair good of shoes so we entered the only shopping centre we found. The prices were high but also the quality. I have also bought some Icelandic socks and souvenirs. We got some hot dogs and hamburgers at a local store and went back to our hotel to have a room dinner. We stayed at the Hotel Dyrhólaey between Vik and Hotel Dyrhólaey Peninsula. Briefly Day 4: Heading towards Vik, waterfalls first. (If you go Vik directly from Vatnsholt it is only 1hr 45 min drive) On the way do not miss Drifandi Falls and Gluggafoss. After 55 min super panoramic drive, waterfall Seljalandfoss (the one that you can enter inside) and just behind it, Gljufrafoss, inside a cave) In around 25 min. Skogafoss In around 13 min. Sólheimajökull Glacier In around 10min. Sólheimasandur plane wreck In around 20 min. The Dyrholaey Arch In around 20 min. Black Sand Beach and Vik City |
5th DAY
Before leaving Vik, in the morning visited Reynisfjara Beach. Black Sand Beach wasn't that much interesting for us but Reynisfjara Beach is amazing with rocky mountains like Game of Thrones and triangular big rocks on the ocean. Both Black Sand and Reynisfjara Beaches are extremely dangerous as there are big and sudden waves that can suck you up. There have been lots of death tourist cases recently, so be careful because it is very easy to be distracted by the amazing view to take a good shot. Canyon Fjadrargljufur Another considered to be a minor attraction within the highlights of Iceland, but an amazing canyon and especially a photogenic place. Passing through Skeidarsandur, the biggest sandur in the world, an enormous zone of sand made of all the debris brought by the glaciers, we reach Nupsstadur, the famous abandoned farm. It was only us so it doesn't seem to be that famous, maybe because it is hard to spot on the road. There is no sign or indication, google maps has no indication, you should watch out for the turf houses, just park in front of the entrance and walk. It is abandoned for real, so there are no fees or checkpoints. Next stop, very recommended Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park; consists of the Waterfall Svartifoss and the Glacier Skaftafelljokul which both deluded us a little bit. They share the same parking lot and facilities in two opposite directions, in a large area. There is a nice open-air cafe/bar in the direction of Skaftagelljokull. We walked to reach Svartifoss for 45 minutes one-way walk 1.5 km o/w) on a narrow and steep path with a crowd, maybe this was the reason why we were disappointed because the waterfall was quite amazing. It was an incredibly hot Sunday (like 27°C hot!) which explains the reason for the crowd. Skaftafelljokul's road is easy, flat and it takes 35 minutes to walk. It could be more interesting if we had done some excursion glacier hiking. To sum up, due to the long distances and the crowd, we wish we had skipped these two long trekkings because there are more impressive waterfalls and glaciers on the way. After around 45 min. of driving, we reached the Famous Diamond Beach and Jokursarlon Lagoon. They are in two opposite directions of the main road. We preferred to go before Diamond Beach as we still had time for the Jokursarlon Lagoon excursion already booked in advance (satisfied to guess the right timing around 16.00). Diamond Beach had few diamonds as the iceberg fragments melt due to the hot weather that day. But still, we saw some for the pictures. We were more interested in the seals making a show trying to swim counter-current. Then we changed the parking lot and went to Jokulsarlon Lagoon. Even though we got online tickets for the boat tour, we had to check-in. The amphibian boat so it goes from land to the lagoon and we paid around 50 USD per person. Our hesitations about this excursion had a happy ending as sailing among the huge iceberg pieces reflecting all shades of blu and white colours was an amazing experience. But still, the lagoon visit is amazing without this excursion; you can walk along the beach and observe the picturesque scene from the land. After this highlight, we drove 1 hour to reach the town famous for its shrimp. So we had two delicious shrimp sandwiches in a famous diner at the port of Hofn, Hafnarbuðin. After this sandwich, we should have stopped in Hofn but we already had booked Berunes Hi Hostel so we had to drive almost 2 hours more and arrived almost at midnight, always in day light. If it wasn't for Skaftafell, we could have arrived earlier and stopped by during the trip and taken lots of amazing pictures because the road was extremely scenic. Berunes Hi Hostel was so lovely, I definitely recommend it to everybody. Briefly - 5th day Vik, Black Sand Beach. In around 10 min. drive Reynisfjara Beach In around 50 min drive, underestimated but amazing Canyon Fjadrargljufur In around 35 min. Nupsstadur (abandoned farm) There is no sign, so you should watch out for the turf houses, just park in front of the entrance and walk. It is abandoned so no fees or checkpoints. Observe that you will be passing through Skeidarsandur In 30 min drive, park in the Skaftafell P area and first for the Svartifoss (45 min one-way walk – 1.5 km) and then Skaftafelljokul (3.7 km walk (round-trip) easy pathway) recommendation: There is still much way so I would rather skip Skaftafell... In 46 min drive, Diamond Beach – watch out for the seals and Jokulsarlon Lagoon, and take a boat trip in the glacier lagoon. In a 1-hour drive arrive at Hofn – taste the shrimp or at least a shrimp sandwich Hafnarbuðin. Berunes night stay |
6th DAY
After a lovely morning coffee with a wonderful view and visiting the little Church Beruneskirkja they have at the Berunes property, we chose our itinerary to reach Husavik. The aim is to be able to see as much as possible on the road. The road is super scenic, full of sheep posing us in front of cliffs... Our itinerary passed through Edilsstadir, the lake with a legendary monster, which is a touristy place and convenient to refurnish some supplies; food, fuel etc. but not as lovely as the Seydisfjordur. We climbed a mountain on a steep road full of fog and snow, as well as waterfalls and glacier lagoons, to reach this cosy fisherman's village inspiring peace. After this sweet village, we went to the fierce waterfall Dettifoss. As we entered the inner land to reach the Dettifoss, the scene changed drastically from green and blue to drastically to an arid vulcanic black and grey. We drive around 2.5 hours from Seydisfjordur to Dettifoss. It is easy to visit Dettifoss as close to the parking road the path starts and you can choose to walk around or along the waterfall to get a different perspective for your pictures. In a 1hr 15 min drive, we found ourselves in Husavik, hungry. Went directly to the harbour to book our Gentle Giants Whale Watching Tour and ate fish&chips at the fish& chips looking at the harbour. To save money we booked a hotel a little outside Husavik, Skogar Sunset Guesthouse and we were very happy about our choice. We went to check in to our place and to change clothes to put on warmer ones before the last whale watching tour of the day. The Gentile Giants Company also provided a super warm overall before the excursion. The experience was unforgettable, on the way to watch the whales, we passed through Puffin Island, where thousands of puffins were ridiculously enjoying their lives. It was as good as whale watching and we were glad to book this combined tour instead of whale watching merely. Briefly - 6th day Berunes, Beruneskirkja Passing through Edilsstadir, the lake with a legendary monster After 1,5 hr drive Seydisfjordur, a lovely fisherman's village In 2,5 hr drive Dettifoss In 1hr 15 min Husavik, fish&chips at the harbour Gentle Giants Whale watching tour |
7th DAY
The original plan was to leave Husavik to go directly to Akureyri and proceed to our night stay in Stikkisholmer. But we saw that there were a lot of daily excursions from Husavir or Akureyri to the Myvatn Lake Area and we got curious. Without spending too much time and changing our original itinerary, we added the best attractions to our morning plan. So we just drove to the Skutustadagigar and had a walk along these green hills and craters around the Myvatn Lake and then continued to Hverir, an extraordinary geothermal area. Both Skutustadagigar and Hverir were easy to visit, parking lot close to the attraction, you can choose to spend more time walking further, and both were free of charge. On the way to Akureyri, inside an arid vulcanic scenic, 45 min. after Hverir, we visited Godafoss, far from where we drove we could see the splashes and mist. Easily visitable Godafoss has a legend; when Icelanders accepted Christianity over paganism -under the pressure of Norwegians- they throw away their totems into this waterfall therefore it is called the waterfall of the Gods. After a 30 minutes drive, we reached Akureyri City Centre. We first visited the botanical garden with a vast variety of beautiful flowers, just 50 km. away from the Arctic Circle. We wanted to have something to eat at the cafe in Botanical Garden it was extremely crowded as it was a nice sunny day! So we went closer to the city centre and parked our car in a parking lot behind the main road Hafnarstræti and walked towards the famous hot dog stall Pylsuvagninn. Normally I don't enjoy hotdogs but there are so many innovative creations of hot dogs I had to taste and they were delicious. We climbed the stairs of Akureyri Church and visited inside, and then left the Capital of North Iceland. After a 3-hour drive, we arrived at Vatnses Peninsula, which is a little scenic peninsula famous for observing a large seal colony and the unique rock formation Hvitserkur the Rhino Rock. There is nothing else but views and beautiful horses. After another 3-hour drive, we reached to Snarfellness Peninsula, called also Micro Iceland, and stayed at the Stikkisholmer beautiful village with cosy restaurants. It was already late evening so we dedicated our evening to lovely Stikkisholmer. Even if it is small, Stikkisholmer is the biggest town in this Peninsula and has a stunning harbour view just in front of an impressive little mountain. It was possible to dine with this pleasent view at the Sjávarpakkhúsið Restaurant, but we couldnt eat at one of the most coziest restaurant in Iceland due to covid. Briefly - Day 7 1 Hour drive from Husavik, Myvatn Lake Area, Skutustadagigar pseudo craters In 20 min. Hverir, amazing geothermal area, just close to the parking area In 45 min Godafoss In 30 min Akureyri, park around Akureyri Church or Hafnarstraeti. Walk along Hafnarstraeti and eat an hotdog at the famous Pylsuvagninn HotDog Stall, visit AkureyrI Church. Take the car again go to the Botanical Car, have a coffee at the Café Laut After 3 hr drive to Vatnses Peninsula. Just drive around the Peninsula and stop to admire Hvitserkur and watch for seals After another 3 hour drive arrive to Snarfellness Peninsula, called also Micro Iceland and stay at the Stikkisholmer beautiful village with cosy restaurants |
8th DAY
The plan was to discover Micro Iceland, the Snaefellness Peninsula and reach the capital for the last night before our flight back home. Just after we left Stikkisholmer, we encountered Helgafell, the saga mountain, not very interesting at first look but it becomes when you read the sagas about it. 20 min. after we encountered Grundarfjordur, a lovely neighbour village, always living on fishing. Just after Grundarfjordur, the most photographed place in Iceland; the scene of the famous symmetrical mountain, Kirkjufell and its astonishing waterfall Kirkjufellfoss. In 2 minutes drive, there was Olafsvik Village on the way and in 8 min. Rif Village... After 4 min. we reached Hellissandur Village where we had fish soup, cake&coffe at the Gilbakki Cafe. This cafe is one of the best coffee shops we have ever been to. We continued to drive till Ondverdarnes Cape, the westernmost part of the Peninsula. The road became unstable and full of little stones that can damage our tires, doubly though we followed our curiosity. There are no signs on the road so if it wasn't for google maps we wouldn't proceed. First, we reached a nice tropical-looking white sandy Skardasvik Beach and then in a 10-minute small and careful drive we reached Svortuloft Lighthouse. We didn't visit the Lighthouse itself but spent time on the huge cliff just before the lighthouse home to many seagulls and funny puffins. After half an hour we arrived at Djupalonssandur & Dritvik. For both attractions, there is one parking area and you just walk from Djújpalónssandur or called the Black Lava Pearl Beach to Dritvik Cove. They are both coves very close to each other, surrounded by volcanic formations with historical importance. On the first, there are rests of a shipwreck as well as big stones which in the old times it was obligatory to test one's strength by lifting the stones to be accepted to work as a fisherman on the ships. The smaller stone weighs 23kg. and the biggest 154 kg.s there was a tourist group trying to lift the stones and laugh at each other. The latter has more photographic value with rocks and big waves breaking on them. After leaving in 30 minutes we reached the famous Black church Budir. The church was closed so we couldn't visit inside; we remembered the little church in Berunes Stay a couple of days ago. The road was again amazingly scenic to go back to the capital and we were sad that we had to leave the day after. It wasn't really on the way to Reykjavik but we were very curious about Hraunfossar waterfall so we extended our way about an hour (approx. 100 km. totally) to visit this waterfall. Actually, it is too far to go only for this waterfall after all the amazing and potent ones we witness)ed along our journey. But still, we were happy to see also Hraunfossar and its twin sister Barnafoss with a sad and spooky saga about 2 kids disappearing inside the water and their mother building a natural arch to cross the river safely. That night we stayed in a hotel outside Reykjavik, to save some money, hopefully, we did, because Hotel Hildsfishermann had a beautiful view over the ocean (certainly would be fantastic to watch aurora borealis) and was located close to shopping malls and supermarkets around. Briefly Day 8 In 10 min drive from Stikkisholmer, Helgafell, the saga mountain. In 3o min drive Grundarfjordur, a neighbour village. 5 min parking to Kirkjufellsfoss, the waterfall which you will take pictures together with the famous symmetrical mountain, the most photographed place in Iceland In 2 min. Olafsvik Village, and in 8 min. Rif Village In 4 min. Hellissandur Village, do not miss Gilbakki Caffe for a fish soup and/or caffe&cake stop In 22 min. Ondverðarnes cape, the westernmost point of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Do not miss Skardsvik Beach and Svortuloft Cliff before the Lighthouse. In 30 min. Djupalonssandur &Dritvik The Black Lava Pearl Beach In 30 min. Black church Budir If you still have energy, Hraunfossar waterfalls for an additional 100km/round trip; otherwise in 2 hours 15 min. Reykjavik directly. Hraunfossar Watefall – Reykjavik drive takes 1 hour 45 min. |
9th DAY
The last day we wanted to stay around Keflavik, the airport city and discover towns around; Gardskagi with the Old Lighthouse, Garður and Grindavik. Before going to the airport, we went to Blue Lagoon, a world famous spa with geothermal seawater of striking colours in a volcanic landscape. We booked a couple of days ahead for an evening session (due to pandemic there weren't much tourists, you may want to reserve with a larger antipacation). There are different packages offering for DAY VISIT, we booked the cheapest one, and it was just fine, no need to exagerate, you do not miss anything else but some free drinks with a more expensive option. At the parking lot, we encountered shuttle buses taking tourists to Blue Lagoon directly from the airport or city center. After the Blue Lagoon, in less then 20 min, we were already at the airport and flew back home. Briefly Day 9 Before delivering your car and taking your flight, if you have time you can visit villages around Keflavik; Gardskagi and its old lighthouse and Grindavik. If you didn’t visit the 1st day, in 45 min drive, go to Blue Lagoon (book in advance). From the Blue Lagoon to the airport takes less than 20 min. BYE BYE ICELAND!... |