We took a 9:15pm nonstop flight to Iceland landing at Keflavik Airport around 11pm Icelandic time. Iceland is 2 hours behind Germany, so we really landed at 1am Germany time, which made for a long day for me since it was my last day of work. After getting our luggage, we got a taxi which took us to our hotel. We spend the night at the Courtyard Marriott, which is a short 5 minute drive form the airport. That short taxi ride cost us 25 USD. Iceland is expensive, so be prepared! Things to know:
Day 1:Our day started with a shuttle picking us up from our hotel at 8:30am and taking us to our camper van. There are many camper van companies to pick from, but we decided to go with Camp Easy. Camper vans sell out quickly and the only way we got this one, was it was brand new this year. After registering, we got the keys to our van. We decided to go with the Luxury 4X4. Yes, it is big but super roomy and cozy for us to live in for the next 2 weeks. It has 3 beds, 2 refrigerators, gas stove, kitchen supplies and tons of storage. Under the back bed is a trunk, which was perfect to store suitcases. It comes with an IPAD loaded with trip itineraries, things near by to see and a chat option incase we needed to contact Camp Easy. It also has it's own WiFi, which has been great for me keeping up this blog.    One helpful app was called Parka. In this app, you could pay for campsites and parking at numerous different attraction. It made it nice that I didn't have to grab my credit card at every parking lot. Water can be drank from any faucet or stream throughout the island. Before we left town we wanted to stop by the grocery story, Netto, but it didn't open until 10. So we decided to head 15 minutes out of town to see the Gardskaga lighthouses. Iceland welcomed us with super windy weather and low temperatures. With the winds in the teens it made it super cold day. Just days before the northern part of the island, got a crazy snow storm! So glad I packed warm layers. We found parking and walked towards the two lighthouses. The first reference to a lighthouse on Gardskaga peninsula was around 1847. Then in 1849, a lighthouse was built. The new lighthouse was built in 1944 because the ocean eroded away the shoreline of the original one. As we drove back towards town, we stopped at Giganta's Cave. Giganta was a character in a children book written by a former elementary teacher in 1959. Along the way to the cave, was lupines along the path. We would later learn lupines were brought from the USA and used a ground cover, so there aren't terrible wind storm. This made sense as we drove around the island.          After getting groceries and eating a quick lunch at a burrito place similar Chipotle. We headed out of town towards Thingvellir National Park. It was added to UNESCO in the summer 2004 and made into national park in 1928. Our first stop was Öxaráfoss. Foss in Icelandic means waterfall. The story goes that their forefathers changed the course of the river in order to get better access to water. Drekkingarhylur or The drowning pool is a deep pool in the river near the bridge in Almannagjá, formerly a place of execution. Up to the early 18th century, women found guilty of crimes such as adultery, incest and murdering infants were tied in sacks and drowned there. There are numerous parking areas to park, but you must pay to park. There is a kiosk or QR code option to pay. You type your license plate number in and type of vehicle and pay. It was super easy and took credit card. There was restrooms and a visitor center with a gift shop and eatery.     Our next stop was Bruarfoss. A new road and parking lot was add which cuts the walking distance to the falls. I used the parka app to pay the parking fee here.    Our next stop was the see the Geysirs. At this stop, there were rest rooms, restaurant and a gift shop.    Our final spot was the Gullfoss or "Golden Falls". It is in the river Hvítá, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland. It falls 32 m in two cascades. The canyon below the falls is 2,500 m long and 70 m deep, a magnificent sight. There are restrooms, restaurant and gift shop. We had a windy and chilly day of seeing some amazing sights. We headed towards the campsite we would be staying for the night. In Iceland, it is illegal to park and spent the night in parking lots and side of the roads. So you must pay and stay at a campsite. I picked Flúðir Campsite, because it was right on our path. We found a spot and had to wait till 7pm to pay at the reception. It cost us about $35 USD to spend the night. It had a shower and toilet combo with hot water included in the price. We just showed up to the campsites, hoping to find room. We only pre-booked two campsites. We tired to arrive by 8pm at the latest because campsites do fill up. Day 2During this time of the year, it is light 24 hours a day. Our van did have curtains which somewhat made it dark, at times we had to get creative on how to make it dark, this is where extra blankets and raincoats came in handy. Our first night sleeping in the van was comfortable, but we forgot to turn on the heat, so we were happy to have warm comforters to use but still were very chilly. We didn't make that mistake again. Our first stop of the day was Seljalandsfoss, which was about an hour drive from the camp site. This waterfall is one of the highest waterfalls in Iceland, though it has little water. The coolest part was being able to follow the path and walk behind the falls. Thank goodness for rain gear!      As we walked down the path, we pass one waterfall on the way to see and explored Gljufrabui falls. Go inside the cavern of rocks to get up close to the falls.     We drove about 30 minutes down the road to our next waterfall, Skógafoss. This one is the highest in Iceland. Legend has it that the settler Þrasi hid his chest of gold behind Skógafoss. A huge staircase with many steps, brings you up to the top of the waterfall, where you can see the stream that feeds into it. It was insane windy when we got there, barely could walk. You have the opportunity to spend the night at this site. There was a bathroom.      Our next stop was Dyrhólaey which is full of cliffs and rock formations. Dyrhólaey means "doorway hill island", is a cape or headland 110-120 m high, with perpendicular cliffs on the southern and western sides and a narrow arch rock protruding into the sea. It is nature sanctuary with a lighthouse on top of the cliffs. There were puffins flying all around.       The next stop was Reynisfjara, the black sand beach. The beach was made up of small and large pebbles. The beach is lined with basalt column formations and caves. The sea is wild here. At the entrance to the beach, there is a safely level, and today's was yellow. You had to pay to park but the toilet was part of this fee. You could use your parka app or pay at the kiosk. Your parking ticket gives you 3 hours to spend at the beach. It was busy when we got there!       From there we headed toward Vik, which is where we would be spending the night and our meeting place for our Katla Ice Cave excursion. We booked our tour with Tröll Expeditions. We ate at Smiðjan Brugghús, which is a burger place for lunch and then rest for a bit before meeting our group. There was only 6 of us on the tour. We drove about 40 minutes to the base of the glacier, which was very bumpy. We stopped for a quick view of the glacier from afar. Then spent the next hour exploring and learning about how ice cave are made. It is incredible to see the glacier ice up close. Since it is late in the season, we were able to see a ice cave at its end, ready to collapse any day now and a new one still growing.           After our tour, we headed to Vik campsite, which is a right off the main road. We paid at the reception for a night stay which was about $35. There were washers and dryers and showers for an extra fee. Day 3Before we started our day we got gas and a few things from the grocery store. Our first stop was right out of town, as you can guess another waterfall! This one was called Uxafotafoss, which was off a dirt road. You had to climb a ladder to go and see it up close but it was beautiful.       From there we traveled down the road for a few minutes, to our next stop, Yoda Cave. We drove down a dirt road to the parking lot, which was right next to the cave. You had to pay to park, which was about $20, which was a little pricy, but the land is privately owned.    As we drove along highway 1 which takes you around the whole island, there is always something to stop and see. This time we stopped at Skaftareldahraun to see lava beds covered in moss.        Our next stop was Fjadrargljufur. After a climb up another hill and at the end of an 1 mile hike, we saw a waterfall flowing down the western side of the canyon. There were numerous observation platforms where we stopped and took in the beauty.    After exploring the canyon, we visited Stjornarfoss. It was a short walk from the parking lot.    Out next stop was at the Skeioara Bridge Monument. There is a small piece of what used to be a bridge which was destroyed by glacier flood. We made a quick stop to see the Svinafellsjokull glacier.    From there we drove to our meeting spot for our Glacier hike tour with Troll Expeditions. When we arrived we were checked in and fitted for our gear. This was an amazing adventure where we hiked up and down a glacier.         Our campsite for tonight was in the Shaftafell National Park, so we had to back track about 25 minutes. Along the way we stopped at a gas station and had an amazing hamburger and fries. In 1967, the land of Shaftafell was made into Shaftafell National Park. The campsite was really nice with showers, 1 washer/dryer, toilet, and a recycling area. All included in the cost of about $50 USD since we got electricity. I was able to use my scrubba to do some laundry. This one was one of our favorites. Day 4Our day started with a 3 mile round trip hike up another hill to see Svartifoss. This one we almost missed, but I saw it on a postcard at a gas station and had to see it. It was a good thing it was right at our campsite. The entrance to the trails were right next to the campsite. As we climb the hill, we took in the views and the waterfalls we passed. I'm glad we started early, because it got busy as we were leaving.          We said goodbye to our campsite and headed towards the meeting point of our tour today. We would be taking a puffin tour ran by a local family called Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour. While searching on Google Maps, I came across this tour and figured why not. After checking in and receiving two free postcards, we boarded a wagon pulled by a tractor. We traveled across what they call the wastelands, once a pretty green location is now all gray, black, rocky and sandy which was causes from a volcanic eruption. This wasteland area is own by the family. The cliffs where the puffins nest is a nature reserve. When we arrived at our spot, we had to climb up a sand dune. Once on the top we were offered amazing views. Then we headed towards the puffins. We were given a beautiful sunny day. Our guide said it is normally cloudy and windy and told us the weather felt tropical to him. He also said normally in nice weather the puffins are out the sea to hunt, but we saw tons of them!              After our tour it was lunch, so we decided to back track again and go back to our gas station and eat another yummy burger! From there we headed towards our next destinations, Breidamerkursandur beach (diamond beach) and Jokulsarlon glacier. These were right next to each other. There were three parking lots in this area. The main one was filled by the time we got there, so we parked in the overflow lot. There is a walkway under the bridge to take you to see the glacier. There is a parking fee which can be paid via Parka app or the kiosk. First, we went to Breidamerkursandur beach. It is called diamond beach because when pieces of glacier breaks off they float from the lake out to sea and often land on the beach looking like diamonds. From there we walked to the lake to see the glacier ice up close.             We stopped in Hofn for gas and to grabbed some groceries at the Netto. We were planning on spending the night at the campsite in town. But we decided to drive about 20 minutes farther and stay at the base of the Vestrahorn mountain. We spent the night at the Vestrahorn campsite. There was a cafe and showers and toilets included in the fee. We paid extra for electricity making it about $50 for the night. Vestrahorn, is on the Stokksnes peninsula in Southeast Iceland with peaks reaching up to 454 meters (1490 ft), steep cliffs rising from the sides of a stunning lagoon, and black sand beaches all around. After paying for our campsite we explored the Viking filming location which was used in the Witcher and took in the amazing views of the mountain. These sites were included in our campsite price. If your not staying the night, you have the pay the entrance fee of about $8 a person. You are given a QR code which you scan to open the gate. Then you drive to the sights.           Day 5We said goodbye to the beautiful views our campsite provided and headed towards our first stop which was Skútafoss. When you first park, you see a small waterfall which look like a dam, but as you continue to walk on the gravel path, you see two more falls.     We were leaving the south cost behind and slowly making our way up north. So today we traveled along highway 1 along the eastern coast of Iceland. Most of the day we drove through foggy weather. Even in the fog the sights are pretty. Our next stop was Djúpivogur, a village situated at the mouth of Berufjörður fjord, on the southeast coast. The primary industries are fishing, fish processing, trade and services. Trading started in the 17th century and an ideal place for bird watching. We stopped at a cafe for a quick bite and bathroom break.   Our next stop was Reyðarfjörður. This town was founded at the turn of last century because of herring fishing. We stopped at a gas station and had lunch. I had a veggie burger and it was amazing! Then we headed to Búðarárfoss. We parked in the war museum parking lot and took the gravel trail behind the museum which turned into wood chips. We follow this along the stream and then back onto a gravel path where we were rewarded with view of the falls. The reviews on Google Maps, helped us find the path up to the waterfall, so I always try to read the reviews of the place we travel to, never know what you learn. We weren't able to get close to the base of the falls but still have a great view of the falls.          From there we drove into Egilsstaðir, where we would be staying the night. We stayed at Camp Egilsstadir and Egilsstadastofa Visitor Center, which was located right in town. I did book us a spot here ahead of time, because summer can get super busy! It was super nice. There were numerous toilets and showers. A kitchen area to cook and clean. There were washers and dryers for an extra fee. We arrived mid afternoon, so we took advance of no one there yet and washed some clothes. Then spent the rest of the day relaxing. This was one of our favorite campsites. Day 6Today we would continue heading north with our final destination being Husavik. Our first stop was Hengifoss. On the way we made a quick stop and enjoyed the views of Hölknárfoss. Then we continue to Hengifoss. We were expecting a short hike up to the falls but it ended up being a 2 hour round trip hike. It was another hike up a side of a mountain, this one was a killer, but so worth it! Don't believe Iceland when it says it is an easy walk!        On the way to our next stop, we stopped at a pull off stop to admire the Rjukandafoss. It was another hike up the side of the mountain. As you drive around Iceland, there are tons of waterfalls coming off the mountains.    From there we headed to our next stop Stuolagil canyon. This canyon is one of Iceland's largest collection of basalt columns. There were two different viewpoints. One was right off the main parking lot and the other one was across the canyon and required a little bit of a hike. The road to the canyon was gravel and being worked on, so at times it was a single lane road. It made for a bumpy ride, thanks goodness our van was a 4X4!    From there we headed toward Dettifoss which is the most powerful waterfall in Europe. A few days before to our visit, the roads and falls were closed due to the snow storm. There are two view points of the falls a west and east view road. The east road was still closed, but the west had opened back up. However, when we arrive we realized all the snow was still there. It was mess trying to walk to the falls. Some paths were icy due to people walk on it, other parts were slowly melting so you can fall into a puddle, which we did. It was an adventure to say the least. Some areas still had up to 4-5 inches on snow or more. If the walkways were better, we could have gotten a better view of the falls, but I am grateful for what we saw and that it was open. We saw both Dettifoss and Selfoss falls.          From there we headed toward Húsavik which is a fishing village known as the whale watching capital of the world. It is located just south of the Arctic Circle, in northern Iceland. It is also in the movie Eurovision. We spent the night at the Foss Hotel to take a break from the van. In the end, we decided we should have stayed at the campground instead because we preferred sleeping in the van better. Once we arrived at the hotel, we enjoyed a meal of the hotel restaurant. I got Arctic Char and Mario got a pulled pork sandwich. My fish was super yummy! When we travel, we have the best dog sitter! She spoils them and always sends me pictures! Look at my fur kids... aren't they the cutest!    Day 7:We originally had tickets to go whale watching but in the end decided to have a late morning and walk the town instead. We did see whales when we went to Alaska years ago. Our first stop was the Whale Museum, which was very educational and I would recommend a visit to it. Then we saw the church which was built in 1907. From there we stopped at Ice Wear, sporting good store, where I got a few things. From there we got gas and grabbed a few things from the grocery store before saying goodbye to Húsavik.    From there we headed towards Grjotagja Cave, which is a small lava cave near Lake Mývatn in Iceland. Early 18th century outlaw Jón Markússon lived there and used the cave for bathing. Grjótagjá was a popular bathing site until the 1970's when the temperature rose to above 50c. Grjótagjá was used as a location for filming an episode of Game of Thrones, called "Kissed by Fire". Bathing is prohibited, but visiting and photography are allowed. Our nest stop was Goðafoss. It is called the "Falls of the gods. According to the Sagas, Þorgeir of Ljósavatn threw his statues of the gods into the falls when Iceland converted to Christianity in the year 1000, hence the name. From there we stopped a petting zoo farm, before heading into the Toll road Vaðlaheiðargöng West. You have 24 hour before or 24 hours after entering the tunnel to pay. You go online to www.tunnel.is. You put in your license plate information and it figures out how much you have to pay. For us it was around $15. From there we stopped in Akureyri and walked around. We headed to our campsite, which was on the outskirts of town. It had walking trails, mini golf, showers and toilets. It was super busy and probably my least favorite one, but it could have worked if it was less busy.   Day 8:Today we continue to explore the northern part of Iceland which consisted of twisty and windy roads. Most of our day we rode along side the coast and the views were amazing! Out first stop was about 1.5 hours from our campsite. We visited Grafarkirkja, which is the oldest church in Iceland. It was build in the late 17th century by a bishop. It was deconsecrated in 1765. The National Museum of Iceland had it rebuilt in 1953. It was a super sunny day, so I didn't get the best picture of the front of the church. The church wasn't open but was able to look in the window to get a picture of the inside.       Right down the road form the chruch we visited the town of Hofsos. We went to Staðarbjörg Basalt Columns       Then we headed towards the Glaumbaer Farm and Museum which is a old turf farmhouse. It is dated between 18th and 19th century. The turf style of construction was common in rural Iceland up until 1910-1930. There were 15 rooms that we could visit, I was really interesting going inside.         From there we stopped for lunch at the gas station where I had my veggie burger again! From there we visited the Víðimýrarkirkja (church). We got the combo ticket so we could view both places. You can only pay and see the farm if you choose. Combo ticket was around $17 USD each.         For the next 1.5 hours we enjoyed the views the coastline had to offer while we travel to Hvitserkur which is a 15 m high basalt rock rising out of the sea and due to the ocean eroded it making it look like a 3 legged monster. The road there was very bumpy and gravel and took us about 35 minutes. In the end, I felt it wasn't worth it and I would have skipped it and saved some time.    After we got back on the main road, we drove to the Kolugljufur canyon.    From there we decided to drive another 2.5 hours to our campsite, which was in the northwestern part of the island which is know of the West fjords. This campsite took us closer to the things we would be seeing the next day. We stayed at the Hveravík campsite. It was really nice. It had a heated pool, 1 toilet and shower inside and one outside. A huge kitchen area with anything you would possibly need to cook with. The owner was really friendly and one we would definitely stay in again. Day 9We left the campsite and headed to our first stop which was about 2 hours down the road. We were originally going to a seal look out but came across Litlibær instead. It was a farm built in 1894 and lived in until 1969. In 1999, the National Museum of Iceland took over land and rebuilt the building. It was open to the public in 2007. Currently in the farm building is a cafe where we stopped for a little treat and the restroom. From there we drove to the Lambagil Waterfall. This waterfall had some off trail hiking required. We weren't able to get close to the falls because you had to do some climbing and chose not to, but we did get some pictures.    Our next stop was a gas station in the town of Ísafjörður. We grab a few things from the grocery store for lunch before heading out of town. There were 3 cruise boats at dock, so there were alot of people walking around. From there we drove to Dynjandi which was worth all the twisty and bumpy road we drove while in the West Fjords. Dynjandi is an abandoned farm and above it is the biggest waterfall in the west fjords. There are 5 waterfalls under the main one and wow they were amazing. We had to pay for parking using the QR code provided in the parking lot. There were restrooms. They are in the process of building a walkway and a viewpoint which will be nice when they are done. The climb up the falls was moderate due to them rebuilding the walkway but the views made it worth it!           On the way to the campsite, we detour to take in a few more waterfalls. This adventure was cut short do to an eroded road. Our whole day was driving through the westfjords. It was full of lots of twisty roads and some bumpy, gravel roads. Imagine your fingers are the peninsula and you have the drive down and round to get to the next finger, no option of crossing the bay.     After about 2 hours we arrived at our campsite, which offered a view of a waterfall, swimming pool, showers, toilets and a community kitchen. A family runs it and the owner was nice. The parking spots had turf grass put down which would been nice in wet weather. Definitely would stay here again! Day 10Today we left the Westfjords behind and we are heading back to west part of the Iceland. The weather was cloudy and windy. This didn't stop us from exploring. Our first stop was Eiríksstaðir - Viking Longhouse.         We parked in the small parking lot at the base of Grábrók Crater. There were numerous stairs to climb before you were at the top. Once at the top you could walk around the top of the whole crater. It was super windy up top. This crater was formed in a fissure eruption less then 3,000 years ago. It is 173m above sea level.        We were planning on explore the Glanni Falls, however, we couldn't find parking, so we didn't stay. The parking lot was right next to a golf course. So we went to our next stop, Háafell Goat farm. There was an admission fee and then we were able to go into the field and pet the goats. We spoke with one staff member who gave us some information about the goats. We learned there is such a small number of them they are endangered species.             We changed our itinerary a bit and decided to spend the next two nights at the FOSS Hotel in Reykholt. Day 11:Our first stop was the waterfalls of Hraunfossar and Barnafoss. These waterfalls were right down the road from the hotel.             From there we headed to the Troll Garden, which is based in the characters of a children's book written by a local. We paid the admission fee and walked around. We had lunch at the same resturant from yesterday. Today was Iceland's Independence Day!               After lunch, we came back to the hotel. I walked around the hotel and learned about the area. It was another gloomy and cloudy day. The rain held off until I got back to the hotel.             Day 12:Our first stop was at the horse farm right down the street from the hotel called Sturlureykir Visiting Horse Farm. I emailed them about setting up a stable visit and they said sure come by at 9:30am since they had a tour coming at 10am. When we arrive we were given a small presentation information us about Icelandic horses. Then we toured the stables and saw how they make rye bread using geothermal heat. We were able to try the rye bread with butter, yummy!            
Next we stopped for lunch at Subway and grabbed a few things from the grocery store. We were planning at staying at a campsite in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. Mario decided that were spending the night at the hotel. We found a hotel that could fit our mega camper van. So we will be spending the next two nights in the Reykjavík. After checking in, we walked around Reykjavík. Our first stop was Hallgrimskirkja (The Church of Hallgrimur). It is largest church in Iceland and houses the largest organ with 5,275 pipes. It is also a national monument dedicated to a sacred poet of Iceland, Hallgrimur Petursson. You can pay around $10 and take the elevator up to the bell tower. There are two different levels, which both gives you views of Reykjavík. The bells rings every 15 minutes.          Day 13:Today was rainy but that didn't stop us from exploring. This whole trip we had amazing weather minus a day or two, so I am not going to complain. We got our raincoats on and explored more of the capital. Our hotel is right next to the HARPA, which is a concert hall and conference center. It is home to the symphony and opera. Then we walked to the Sólfar (Sun Voyager) statue. It is a steel sculpture by Jón Gunnar and is a dreamboat, an ode to the sun.     Then we walked along the ship yard. Our next stop was the Saga, a history museum about vikings. You could try on costumes. The museum had wax lifelike character showing the history. It was very informative. An audio guide was also given which gave you additional information. I included a few information boards and wax figures to show you what the exhibits looked like.       Day 14:Today is our last full day in Iceland. We checked out of our hotel and drove to the Blue Lagoon. Due to the volcanic eruptions, we had to take a detour. It should have took use about an hour but now it was an 1.5 hours. On the way to the lagoon, we stopped at the Bridge Between Continents - Miðlína or Leif the Lucky Bridge is a walkway linking the North American & Eurasian tectonic plates.        We had some time to pack up our things before heading to the lagoon. On the way to the lagoon, you can see the cooled lava beds, still smoking. They are rebuilding roads and making walls which would hopefully slow the lava down.         They are currently fixing the areas around the lagoon. After you park in the main parking lot, you must take a shuttle bus to the main entrance or hotel. So leave extra time, since the shuttle comes every 15 minutes. We arrived a few minutes after our entry time of 12. We got our wrist band which gave us access to our premium package which included entrance, robe, towel, 3 masks, and 2 drinks. We put our things in our locker. Rinse off before heading to the lagoon. It was a rainy and foggy morning, so add the stream from the lagoon and you couldn't see. We got some drinks, tried to face masks and stayed about an hour. From there we had a quick lunch and then dropped off our camper van.
It was an incredible 2 weeks of exploring the island. We got a shuttle ride from the camper van drop off to the airport arriving around 4pm. Sadly, our flight wasn't until 12:05 am, so we had tons of time to relax at the airport, but there were food places in arrival and we found seats. The time went by really quick. We booked our flight arrived back in Stuttgart around 6:30am. Then we headed home to wash clothes and prepare for our next trip! Another great trip in the books!
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