“What’s your favorite country?” When I get the question (which I very often do), Iceland is always near the top.
“But, why?” Well, I always have a hard time describing my experiences abroad in just a few sentences to someone who asks. If you weren’t there yourself, it’s hard to fully understand a different culture until you immerse yourself into it.
I miss the warm people, the drastically different & immense landscapes everywhere. I miss driving through the mountains at midnight with sunlight all around me, getting off the beaten path & exploring hidden gems, and in the morning, waking up at the base of a gigantic waterfall. Being in Iceland let me forget all the stressors of life back in the States, let me jump out of my comfort zone, let me feel free. But I think most importantly, Iceland gave me the feeling of home in an otherwise wholly unfamiliar place.
Iceland is a Nordic island nation and is famous for its sweeping landscapes, breathtaking scenery, and thousands of waterfalls (over 10,000 known waterfalls to be exact)! I had never seen more waterfalls in such a short span of time! There are also numerous mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, geysers, hot springs, and even lava fields all concentrated in this one island nation. In one week, you can drive around the country & explore all these different landscapes for yourself. But, the best place to start your great journey is at the capital, Reykjavik. This is where most of the population lives (and hence is where you'll find the cheapest flights into and out of Iceland).
When my week came to an end, and all those 2,000 miles of driving were behind me, I sat on my plane and stared at the landscapes that I had just explored for the past 7 days. I felt grateful. Sure, I had moments of wishing I was back, but I also had an overriding feeling of contentedness. Content that I was able to see another part of our amazing world, and that the people there had so graciously welcomed me into their culture for just a little while.
I traveled to Iceland in May of 2015; please note somethings may have changed since then.
Language:
Icelandic is the official language of Iceland.
It takes roots from old European languages, including Norwegion with some Celtic influence…. All and all it’s a really unique language!
But, if you don’t happen to be fluent in Islandic, fear not! Almost everyone speaks English here too! So there is no trouble getting around or asking for directions!
Fun Fact: because the language is so old, and the advent of technology has helped create so many new things so fast, the Iclandic Government has created the “Language Planning Department.” This department pours through old Iclandic and Norse words to create new words rooted in the old language for all of these new inventions and creations! This helps preserve the Iclandic language, and by doing so, their wonderful culture!
When to Visit: summer vs. winter?
Summer: Iceland is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun
It will not get dark at night from May 21 until July 30 since the sun barely sets in the summer.
Around the summer solstice (June 21st), the sun is visible for the full 24 hours in the Westfjords and Northern Iceland.
July & August are the ‘hottest’ months in Iceland.
Winter:
February, March, September, & October are typically the best time to visit Iceland for the Northern Lights.
Note: The Northern Lights run on an 11-year solar cycle, so make sure to look up when the next peak is in order to have the best chance of seeing them!
The Weather Throughout the Seasons
You’ll never be able to fully predict the weather in Iceland. One minute it can be warm and sunny, & 30 minutes later, it can be rainy and windy.
But even though you can’t predict it, you can prepare for it! Always pack rain jackets & layers of warm clothing for your trip to Iceland! (Psst- extra socks are super helpful too and waterproof hiking boots!)
Currency:
The official currency is called the Króna.
1 USD = 9.7 Króna (as of Fall 2019).
You can exchange some cash at the airport.
Most places take credit cards, but have some cash in case they don’t take cards!
What not to miss:
Blue Lagoon
Get out of Reykjavik & explore the countryside!
Try a famous lamb hot dog – they have them everywhere here!
The waterfalls- even if you only have a short time here, there are 10,000 waterfalls!
Seljalandsfoss waterfall you can even walk behind!
Drive around the Golden Circle and explore along the way! (this is open year round - it’s part of the Ring Road).
Black Sand Beach
Fjallsarlon Glacier Lake and Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon
Hverfjall Cone (volcano): hike up and around the whole "volcano"!
Latrabjarg: this is the Western-most point of all of Europe!
Kirkjufell: famous mountain with waterfall
Tips:
1 week is (usually) enough to drive the ring road around the whole country - drive it in the counterclockwise direction.
Note: we slept in our car every other day, so if you want a more laid-back feel to your trip, consider expanding your timeline.
In summer, it is light outside almost 24 hours of the day (you can do/see more every day this way!) But also note, if you have trouble sleeping with the sun up, bring a sleep mask or learn to sleep with a shirt over your head.
In winter, you can see the Northern Lights!
There is no more WOWair airlines, which is where I bought my cheap flight to Iceland in 2015 - I only paid $220 for my roundtrip ticket back then! Unfortunately, flights are much more expensive now.
I did not go to the Blue Lagoon when I was there - but I recommend doing it!
Rent a Diesel car - it’s so much cheaper than gas there (at least it was in 2015 - double check this before you go). We rented our car from the airport (booked ahead of time). I always get the full coverage car insurance at the time of pickup - I’d rather pay a little more ahead of time than to pay thousands if the car was completely damaged.
Renting a car is the way to go if you want to drive the Ring Road & see most of the country!
Download an Offline Map of Iceland on Google Maps & save the places you would like to go to. That way, if you don’t have cell phone service or data (like I didn’t), you can still navigate around.
Pick up a paper map at the airport or a gas station in case technology decides not to work. Because becoming terribly lost definitely can throw off your travel plans, haha!
It is not recommended to go to the Westfjords even in the summer, but I did it anyways! Not sure if I recommend it though… The roads were absolutely horrible- not paved gravel “road”, no guardrails to stop your car from going off the “double-laned” (really 1 lane) cliff that you are driving on.
I did not have data or service for my phone. I love being able to disconnect from everything back home! Some people may not want to do this though. One of my friends had a phone with cell service in case of emergencies - that is not a bad idea!
Everything is very expensive in this country (food, housing, renting a car). I saved money by sleeping in the car/camping 3 nights and stayed in hostels the other 3 nights.
I bought groceries instead of going out for meals every day This also saves time so you can explore more! I eat cliff bars, granola, dried fruits, nuts, pretzels, nutella, pb&j sandwiches (food that will not spoil in warm weather), gallons of water.
Visa: not needed for this country. Passport still needed.
Vaccines: no extra ones needed for this country (if you are up to date on your vaccines). Ask your doctor.
Iceland: my 1-week itinerary
Total cost: $724
I road-tripped around the whole country counterclockwise. I recommend doing it this way!
Day 0:
Overnight flight from Toronto to Reykjavik. Landed in Iceland at 5am, & I picked up my rental car and started on my roadtrip! Some people might prefer to sleep, but you can sleep when you're dead right?! haha.
Day 1:
Landed in Reykjavik, picked up my rental car, started my road trip!
Stopped to get groceries for the week near Reykjavik
Drove the Golden Circle (3 hours 20 min to complete without stops; I of course stopped a lot!) - Walked around Thingvellir National Park, saw the church, and Öxarárfoss waterfall, Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss waterfall
Kerid (small entrance fee): volcanic crater-lake - walked around it & down to the water (pictured below)
Seljalandsfoss waterfall: you can walk behind this tall waterfall! (video below) We walked around here and found a few other waterfalls & rock climbed to another hidden waterfall - you have to find these yourself; I don’t know exactly where they were.
Skogarfoss waterfalls: walked up the stairs to get to the top of it
Slept in car at the base of Skogarfoss waterfall!
Day 2:
Walked to Solheimasandur Plane Crash: 2.5 mile walk each way. It gets VERY windy/cold on this walk... dress accordingly! (pictured below)
Drove near Dyrholaey Arch to Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach: black pebble beach with towering basalt columns (pictured below)
Vik: pretty church on a hill, drove to the overlook (pictured below)
Laufskalavara Volcanic Rocks
Fjaroarglijufur Canyon: hiked the cliffs - gorgeous place! (pictured below)
Svartifoss waterfall in Skaftafell National Park: hiked to it and stood at the top!
Fjallsarlon Glacier Lake and Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon (pictured below)
Stayed at Vagnsstadir Hostel
Day 3:
Coastal and Mountain driving day! (pictured below)
Drove through Hofn town
Stopped at Black Pebble Beach (pictured below)
Fossardalur waterfall: hiked to it
Mountain driving: up & down Dyrfjoll mountain
Drove to Lagarfljot Lake: drove around the lake, known as “monster worm”
Drove to Borgarfjortur & saw all the puffins nesting!
Drove through the mountains late into the night (it’s light out most of the day there in the summer) and saw the gorgeous sunset at 1am!
Slept in the car in the middle of the mountains (stopped on the side of the road on our way towards Lake Myvatn - you can do that in Iceland - or at least you could in 2015!)
Day 4:
Drove through Hrossaborge Horse City (horses were everywhere here in the country side).
Drove towards Dettifoss waterfall but the road was closed because of too much snow covering it so I never made it there... (yes, I did say snow in the summer haha).
Started driving towards Aldeyjarfoss waterfall but the roads were too snow covered we had to turn around…
Hverir geothermal field (Namafjall): walked around here
Krafla Crater Lake: hiked up to it, was covered with snow
Myvatn nature baths- we did not do this but it looked cool
Drove around Lake Myvatn
Hverfjall Cone (volcano): hiked up and around the whole thing- super cool!
Dimmuborgir lava fields
Godafoss waterfall (pictured below)
Drove to Akureyri town- walked around this little city
Stayed overnight at Akureyri Backpacker Hostel
Day 5:
Driving day through the fjords! (pictured below)
Drove to the Westfjords! To Dunjandi Waterfall (pictured below) - best waterfall in Iceland. There were many tiers to it; to say that I felt small standing in front of it looking up is an understatement! It was a LOT of driving just for this waterfall. I don’t mind driving through the fjords but you might not want to drive this much!
Reykjafjardarlaug Hot Pool- very small in the middle of nowhere.
Saw the gorgeous sunset while driving through the fjords!
Saw the BA64- oldest steel ship in Iceland and the US Navy abandoned plane.
Slept in the car at Latrobjarg- very bad gravel road...
Day 6:
Hiked Latrabjarg: this is the western most part of all of Europe, Iceland’s largest bird cliffs, & one of the most magnificent cliffside nesting areas in the world - saw TONS of birds here (pictured below)
Raudasandur Beach: golden/red sand - it’s a long walk to get to the beach...
Kirkjufell: famous photographed mountain with waterfall (pictured below)
Grabrok volcanic crator
Deildartunguhver: largest hot spring in Europe
* I missed Hraunfossaur waterfall and Barnafoss waterfall – the road to get to these waterfalls was closed due to snow... I highly recommend these waterfalls if the road is open when you go!
Stayed at an Airbnb in Reykjavik
Day 7:
Explored Reykjavik:
Perlan building- went on the top for the overlook!
Harpa Concert Hall and conference center
Walked along the cost to see Solfarit (San Voyager)
Hallgrimskjrkja: famous church - huge and gorgeous! (pictured below)
Last famous hot dog before going back to the airport and dropping off our rental car!
Flight back to Toronto in the afternoon.
Total Driving Distance: 3,207.1km = 2,000 miles in 1 week
Commentaires