One Week ICELAND Road Trip
- Summer Buss
- Nov 25, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 2, 2021
Are you curious what adventures await in the incredible vast lands of Iceland, perhaps you are planning an epic road trip you never want to forget. Well you picked the right country!
CHECK OUT THE VLOG if you want to see more our trip!
I like to describe it as a dark wonderland. The sheer beauty of the landscape mixes with a dark colour palette along miles of secluded road around the country. My Fiancé Matthew and I felt like we had the place to ourselves! It was an adventure we would never forget, many long hours on the road and tons of white bread sandwiches in the car (if you are on a budget).
The following is a day-by-day breakdown of all the things we did! I know how difficult trip planning can be, so I hope this guide provides a little bit of help when it comes to designing a trip of your own!
DAY ONE: We land in Iceland!
We flew with Iceland Air from Toronto and arrived in the early hours of the morning. Some advice for the airport, if you plan on drinking alcohol make sure to purchase it when you land in Iceland, they have the cheapest prices and a great selection. After this we picked up our rental car and drove to Reykjavik which takes just over an hour.
Reykjavik is the busiest part of Iceland, take this day to embrace the city life and travel on foot throughout the fun streets. Make sure to venture by the famous Hallgrímskirkja Church.
Accommodations: Hótel Leifur Eiríksson
DAY TWO: GOLDEN CIRCLE + MORE
We officially hit the open road and tackled what we could on the golden circle! Keep in mind it takes about 3 hours of driving to complete not including stopping times.
1st Stop: Þingvellir National Park
Yes a UNESCO world heritage site! Keep in mind it takes some time to walk the park and take in all the little gems it has to offer. If you want to swim between the tectonic plates make sure you book in advance, and have the time to do it!
We decided to skip it as we already had a long day ahead of us.
2nd Stop: Geysir Geothermal Area
We didn’t find we needed to spend much time here, once we saw a few explosions we hoped back in the car and trekked on to the next stop.
3rd Stop: Gullfoss Waterfall This was probably the busiest waterfall we hit, probably because of its close location to Reykjavik. To get the best view of the waterfall put on your waterproof gear and head to the edge of the falls, you wont regret it!
4th Stop: Hrunalaug Hidden Hot Spring
What use to be an old shed to wash sheep, is now a hidden gem Hot spring. Well it use to be a local hotspot, due to tourism its kind of been overrun. Its officially run by the landowner and they charge a small fee to enter, but it was great! Nowhere to change though, so make sure you're comfortable with changing in your car.
5th Stop: Seljalandsfoss
Pretty famous waterfall, and rightfully so! Make sure to get your waterproof gear on and take a walk behind the falls.
Once we finished the golden circle we headed East towards Vik for the night. Keep in mind if you take this route you will pass by the spectacular waterfall Skogafoss.
It is not to be missed!! If you are not too tired from the golden circle make sure you stop in and don’t forget the hidden waterfall cave Gljúfrabui right next to it.
We didn’t have time the first day so decided to wake up early before breakfast to back track and tour the falls. It was the best decision as we had the place all to ourselves.
Accommodations: Guesthouse Vellir
DAY THREE
Another action packed day, but you honestly can’t afford to miss any of these sights.
1st Stop: Dyrhólaey Arch Viewpoint You drive up a semi-steep hill but you can park at the top, this is a great viewpoint to oversea the amazing black sand beach bellow.
2nd Stop: Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
Make sure you stop here to actually walk this crazy beach and get up close and personal with the rock formations.
After this we passed through the town of Vik and grabbed some groceries before hitting the road again.
3rd Stop: Laufskálavarða
This is a lava ridge, only calls for a brief pull-over to check out an interesting landscape.
4th Stop: Fjaðrárgljúfur
Unfortunately for us this site was closed!! But I do still recommend it as we had it on our list.
5th Stop: Svínafellsjökull
This was a unique hidden gem for us, it’s a very cool viewpoint of a glacier up close.
However make sure you have 4x4 vehicle to take the road in as it is riddled with pot holes!
Keep in mind also that a lot of Iceland’s sights do not have safety precautions in place so be smart and don’t slip!
6th Stop: Fjallsárlón
This is the lesser known Icelandic glacier but I preferred it. Fairly empty when we were there, even got to hop on some ice chunks!
7th Stop: Jökulsárlón
The famous glacier! I believe they offer boat tours through it, we didn’t have time to do it but if you are interested I am sure you wont regret it.
8th Stop: Diamond Beach
Almost directly across the street, and parking on either side of the bridge. We didn’t see too many major chunks on the beach but it’s a pretty unique phenomenon.
Accomodations: Seljavellir Guesthouse
DAY FOUR
Long driving day ahead so gear up a good spotify murder mystery podcast or a great music playlist.
1st Stop: Sveinsstekksfoss
it’s a small not so famous waterfall, nobody else was around. A tiny hike around allows your to get up close with the water and fill up your water bottles. Did I mention how clean the water is Iceland is?? We filled up our bottles naturally any chance we got.
2nd Stop: Lagarfljot lake
We drove around this large lake stopping at several viewpoints and camping spots. The landscape here reminded us of Canada. A good idea would be to stop and head lunch in a picnic bench here, it feels like you are camping in the forest. However if you are pressed for time and want to skip this place perhaps consider detouring to Seyðisfjarðarkirkja for that famous church instagram picture if that’s what you are after!
3rd Stop: Hverir
Now this place is SMELLY! If you can stand the smell have a stop. We just drove by as we didn’t want the stench on our clothes to remain on us the rest of the trip.
4th Stop: Krafla
This is a volcanic crater filled with teal water! You can walk around the top and take some great pictures, worth the stop!
Accommodations: Dimmuborgir Guesthouse https://dimmuborgir.is
Our accommodations here were the best and I couldn’t recommend them further. The cabins are great and property alone has a lot to offer. We also enjoyed the dogs on site! They also give you a discount on the Myvatin baths so please check them out!
5th Stop: Myvatn Nature Baths
We chose to do these baths as oppose to the blue lagoon. They are much smaller and less busy. Super relaxing of an experience.
Day Five
Yes you are hitting the road again!
1st Stop: Góðafoss
God's waterfall, This was the first stop of the day, there are several paths to explore here so feel free to take your time!
2nd Stop: Bjórböðin - Beer spa & Restaurant This is the famous beer spa. Be sure to chose your time in advance. We book for 1pm. We thoroughly enjoyed this place, they give you a tap beside your bath and all you can drink for 30 minutes. After this take a hot tub outside and enjoy mountain air and FRESH beer. Make sure you don’t drink too much as there aren’t really any accommodations out this way so like us you will probably have a drive ahead of you.
Accommodations: Saeluhus Apartments & Houses in Akureyki
DAY SIX
We pre booked the night before and woke up early to catch a whale watching tour!
1st Stop: Akureyri Whale watching tour
Once on the the boat you are given these great super warm overalls, but make sure you brought hats and gloves as it really does get cold out there. We stayed on the top deck and never missed a whale! In fact we saw four that day
2nd Stop: Hvitserkur
This actually was one of my favourite stops, its just a unique rock formation in the water but the tide was low enough for us to explore. The landscape nearby is also quite interesting to explore. So much so that we stumbled across a ton of seals! Be sure to walk to the beach, you never know what you may find!
Nearby is also a bathroom stop with a small store. The owner is lovely and filled us in on a lot of Icelandic history. Why not stop and share a beer with him?
3rd Stop: Paradísarlaut
This is a small park with literally no one in it but locals walking their dogs. It’s a nice little walk with a pretty still teal coloured water pool at the end. If you want to brave the cold you can for sure jump in!
Accommodations: Icelandair Hotel Hamar
DAY SEVEN
1st Stop: Deildartunguhver/ Krauma
This is the largest hot spring in Europe, you don’t need to go to the affiliated spa Krauma to see all the hot water brewing around the site. But if you want another relaxing stop you can hit this place!
2nd Stop: Reykjanesviti
You have now come full circle and are back near the airport! This place was really unique and I got some of my best footage here, again another all black area with hills and sea cliffs. Lots to walk around and explore so drive around the area and see a few of the gems before flying out the next day! Accommodations: Eldey Airport Hotel
QUCIK ROAD TIPS:
Prepare for all forms of weather, have a rain coat handy if you want to get up close and personal to the waterfalls
Don't plan on much partying or drinking here, it's too expensive and I'm Canadian!
Make sure to buy food at grocery stores not only to save money but restaurants are quite limited and might not be near your accommodations.
Do look out for horse petting areas and they are too adorable to resist.
Don't be rude to the people or the land, respect signs and especially the untouched areas.
Don't randomly pull over for photos, wait for a pullover indent, trust me there are lots of them.
I hope you enjoyed my breakdown of our Icelandic adventure! Please check out my video to get a real sense of the scenery you are about to embrace! I love to hear feedback so please like, comment or ask any questions you may have. Stay tuned for my Norway Guide next!
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