Iceland

We spent 10 amazing days in Iceland, here’s our journey.

Reykjavík

We kicked it off in Reykjavík and walked all around the city.

to Siglufjörður

We rented a car and took Route 1 up to Siglufjörður, about a 5 hour drive from Reykjavík. Naturally, we stopped along the way. To get to Siglufjörður we had to go through several tunnels. One of which was a single lane tunnel that had intermittent pull-offs (a real nail-biter).

Siglufjörður

Known for its herring industry in the mid-century, this small town is an hour outside of Akureyri (Iceland’s second largest city).

On our last day in Siglufjörður, we had lunch at Kaffi Rauðka

and visited the museums.

Akureyri

While still up north, we did a day trip to Akureyri where we visited the Botanical garden, Goðafoss, and then had sushi pizza at Rub23 (seriously).

And here’s the waterfall of the gods, Goðafoss.

to Bláskógabyggð

After our time up north, we headed back down Route 1 towards the Golden Circle.

Bláskógabyggð

For one night, we stayed in this charming cottage.

While in the area we visited Geysir

and Gullfoss.

to Hvolsvöllur

Next we headed down to Hvolsvöllur. On the way we hit a few sites starting with Vatnsleyfoss.

And then Kerið, a volcanic crater.

Then we visited two more waterfalls that were amazing and surprisingly vacant. Here’s Þorsteinslundur.

And our favorite, Gluggafoss.

Hvolsvöllur

Hvolsvöllur is a small town in a great location for visiting Vík (black sand beaches), more waterfalls, and taking the ferry to Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

On our first day in the area, we drove to Vík (about an hour east) and stopped at sites on the way back.

We walked on Reynisfjara beach.

And then the cliffs at Dyrhólaey.

We climbed the steep steps to see eye-to-eye with Skógafoss.

We also spotted these small (uninhabited) houses lodged in these rocks.

And then we ended the day at Seljalandsfoss. This waterfall had it all: a persistent rainbow and a walkway behind the falls.

Vestmannaeyjar

On our second to last full day, we took the ferry to Vestmannaeyjar. We visited museums (pet a real live puffin!) and hiked up Eldfell, an active volcano.

Blue Lagoon

On our last full day we visited the Blue Lagoon, the amusement park of geothermal pools.

For next time

• Pack a winter jacket with a hood.
• Pack an eye mask for sleep. (Surprisingly only one place that we stayed at had black out curtains and the nighttime felt like daytime.)
• Pack two less shirts.
• Stay in Reykjavík and take the Flybus upon arrival and the last night. (It’s not worth staying in a hotel near the airport. The Flybus runs regularly and reliably between the airport and Reykjavík.)