Summer in Iceland
The best word to describe Iceland? Magical, definitely magical. I had been wanting to get to Iceland for a while now. It is even better than we imagined! Five days wasn’t enough. However, with the short time we had, we were able to see quite a bit of the southern portion of the country! You can find our itinerary below.
Because we went during the summer, the F-roads and the highlands were open. We rented a 4×4, and headed to Landmannalaugar straight from Keflavík International Airport. It was about a 4 hour drive. The roads weren’t bad if you drive slow and no river crossings weren’t required to get there. The landscapes are very interesting, often resembling Mars! Be sure to stop at the Sigoldufoss Waterfall as it’s right along 26. The water is a beautiful aqua color! Pulling in to the Landmannalaugar parking lot, there’s a thermal bath just feet away. Past it, begins the trail through the lava fields. So cool! We hiked the Sudurnamur trail through the painted mountains overlooking the Brennisteinsalda volcano and lava fields. It was incredible! Probably our favorite sites we saw in Iceland!
After hitting the main spots of the Golden Circle, we headed south to Vik. Our first stop, Seljalandsfoss put on quite a show! With the wind and sunshine, rainbows were constantly forming, disappearing then reappearing in different ways! There’s an abundance of photos from this stop, it’s hard to narrow down!
Dyrholaey Arch. The puffins come to shore for a few weeks in the summer. Dyrholaey is a popular spot for them to nest. They are too cute!
Sólheimasandur beach plane wreck in Vik. Sort of a long boring walk to get to. We were happy to see that there’s a regular running bus which we caught to get back to our car.
Basalt columns and Halsanefshellir Cave at Reynisfjara Beach
Ring Road Sites
Itinerary:
Day 1 – Reykjavik Hotel: Landmannaguar
2 – Reykjavik Hotel: Golden Circle: Thingvellir National Park, Great Geyser, Gullfoss Waterfall
3 – Vik Air B&B: Keriðd Crater, Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi Waterfall, Reynisfjara Beach
4 – Kirkjubæjarklaustur Air B&B: Dyrhólaey Lighthouse, Plane Crash, Skógafoss, Fimmvörðuháls Trail, Fjadrárgljúfur Canyon
5 – Kirkjubæjarklaustur Air B&B: Svartifoss Waterfall, Fjallsárlón Lagoon, Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Diamond Beach, Vestahorn
Rental Car: Lagoon Car Rental
Reykjavik Hotel: City Park Hotel
