7 Fantastic Days in ICELAND

As you might have gathered from previous holidays, my family love the great outdoors and road trips, so our plan was to drive across Iceland’s South coast visiting as much of the country’s unique geography as possible in the half term break. We had 7 fantastic days:

Day 1 – THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

Iceland has a very high cost of living, so we decided that we were going to try and mitigate some costs by self-catering a few nights and making packed lunches. So first stop outside of the airport was the local “Bonus”. We always always find it interesting visiting foreign supermarkets! The peninsular where the airport is located is right on top of the mid Atlantic ridge and is a particularly geologically active area. On the way to our accommodation, we stopped at the GUNNUHVER GEOLOTHERMAL AREA, where there’s a 30ft Fumarole of steam constantly erupting from the ground - it's so big, you can see it on Google satellite images! We stayed at HARBOUR VIEW COTTAGES overlooking the sea at Grindavik. We splashed out on a meal and on the walk back through the village we spotted the NORTHERN LIGHTS!

Day 2 – THE BLUE LAGOON

First stop today – THE BLUE LAGOON. Cited as one of the wonders of the modern world, it’s extremely popular, so you are encouraged to book a slot ahead of time. Beautiful facilities, towels, face mask and a drink included in the entrance price – even the kids enjoyed it! Leaving the Reykjanes Peninsular, we made our way along Iceland’s Ring Road. Our first stop was the LAVA CENTRE – a new exhibition all about Iceland volcanoes. It was really well done, about an hour long stop, but only worth the steep entrance fee if you get a reduced price after 3pm family ticket. Then on to one of Iceland's most impressive waterfalls – SKOGAFOSS – before one of our more unusual stays - THE BARN, VIK - a fantastic new hostel offering double rooms, shared bathrooms, a community kitchen and a really convivial atmosphere!

Day 3 – FJADRARGLJUFUR CANYON

Being a volcanic island, all of Iceland’s beaches are black. First stop today was the REYNISFJARA BEACH with cliffs of basaltic columns (similar to the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland) and then on to a walk along the ridge of the majestic FJADRARGLJUFUR CANYON, followed by another waterfall stop – SVARTIFOSS – named for it’s black basalt backdrop. Our accommodation tonight was at the furthest East we would travel - FOSSHOTEL GLACIER LAGOON was by far the poshest hotel we stayed in. Ideally positioned for Iceland's best glacier lagoon, it had modern, warm, interconnecting rooms and a fab set menu in the onsite restaurant… and wine was a reasonable (for Iceland) £6.50 per glass!

Day 4 – GLACIER LAGOON

JOKULSARLON LAGOON and DIAMOND BEACH – this was probably the highlight of the trip. The Vatnajökull glacier is the biggest in Iceland, it’s very close to the coast and big blue icebergs calve into a lake, flow down the short river, into the ocean and then wash back up on the black beach. It was otherworldly and made for some striking photos. Our accommodation tonight was without a restaurant, so we made a stop en route at the SMIDJAN BRUGGHUS in Vik – a burger joint with an onsite microbrewery. Great burgers and great beer, say no more!

Day 5 – ICE CAVES

We met up with our guide, Johann, for a trip into an ice cave. We boarded his super jeep to take us over the lava field and into the valley on the edge of the MYRDALSJOKULL GLACIER. Crampons and helmets on, we trekked on the ice for about an hour and into a cave in the ice. The area is an alien landscape used for many film locations including Star Wars' Rogue One. Heading back towards the Reykjanes Peninsular and the mid Atlantic ridge, our home for the night was AKURGERDI GUESTHOUSE - a cabin on a horse form with it’s own geo-thermally heated hot tub!

Day 6 – THE GOLDEN CIRCLE

We were well positioned in Hveragerði to embark on a day long trip around Iceland’s “Golden Circle”. This is an extremely well-trod tourist trail, taking in a handful of key sites close to Reykjavik. The sites include KERID CRATER, GEYSIR GEOTHERMAL AREA (it’s in Iceland that the term Geysir was first coined), GULFOSS waterfall (the biggest in Iceland) and THINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK – a world heritage site for culture (as the site of the world’s first and oldest parliament) and for nature (sitting directly on an oceanic rift with unique geology and biology). There’s also a couple of foodie destinations – FRIDHEIMAR FARM, where everything on the menu contains the tomatoes that they grow onsite and EFSTIDALUR FARM, where they make their own ice cream, you can visit the cows and play with Brian, the friendly English Sheepdog!

Day 7 – THERMAL RIVER

Today, we put our swimming costumes on under our clothing as we planned to hike 3km hike up into the hills to visit a thermal valley. It was just like walking in the Lake District, with the strange addition of steam vents and 100°c bubbling hot springs along the way. At the top of the trail, boiling water mixes with glacier melt to make REYKJADALUR RIVER the temperature of a warm bath. However, at only 1°c air temperature, it felt a little crazy stripping down to your underlayers and jumping in! Ever closer to the airport, our final stop was the LAVA TUNNEL – one of the longest lava tubes in Iceland. We took an hour-long tour under the lava field, it was very distinct from a normal cave, with fantastic coloured deposits and remnants of it’s molten origins.

FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF:

Iceland tourism has been steadily booming for the last 10 years and there is now a wealth of accommodation, unique sites and activities making it a year-round destination. Summer brings endless days, warmer weather and the midnight sun. Winter brings cosy nights, snow and the Northern Lights.

There are plenty of things to see in and round the capital (Reykjavik) for shorter breaks. The South Coast delivers some of the country’s most iconic sights, all within a 5 hour drive of the airport and suitable for longer stays. Whilst the 850 mile long Ring Road, allows you to conveniently see ALL of the country’s highlight’s over a 3 or 4 week period.

Get in touch for expert help planning your own Icelandic adventure!