8 Day Trip Iceland
We got back two days ago from our 8 day trip Iceland and I thought I’d share some tips and thoughts! We had amazing weather, which judging from the forecast I had seen before leaving the US, I had not expected. We were in short sleeves much of the trip.
Arrival in Iceland
Arrival was super easy. (see end of posting for the shit show that trying to leave the country was). We arrived so early that we had to wait around for an hour or so to pick up our rental car. First tip! Make sure to note whether the car you are renting is manual! I had picked the most affordable option and was not given a choice. Fortunately, my husband who was planning on doing most of the driving knew how to drive stick, but it had been about 20 years so it was a little rough going at first.
Driving tips Iceland
Driving tips for your 8 day trip Iceland – the speed limit on the Ring Road is 90 km/hour, which for us Americans, is pretty darn slow on a road like this, but it’s enforced by cameras so you don’t want to speed. If it appears that someone is trying to pass you slow down slightly and turn on your right turn signal to indicate that they can pass. Another thing – there are a lot of one way bridges in Iceland. You might want to read up on the protocol for these.
Covid
Covid thoughts – the tourists overall are great about masking. The natives not so much, which surprised me. We were not really comfortable eating inside most of the restaurants so we had a few chilly dinners outside, but it was worth it not to be anxious. We used the BiNax/Emed tests for our return tests and it worked out well for us. We just did it 72 hours prior in a hotel room and that way we had time if something didn’t work out.
Blue Lagoon
Anyway, after we left the airport we drove straight to the Blue Lagoon, which was lovely. A tourist trap indeed, but it’s not to be missed.
Volcano
The next day went to the volcano, which was quite possibly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We perhaps had not done enough research on the actual hike so we walked to the place where the hardened lava was and thought that was it.
I happened to stop another hiker who was walking toward me and asked him if there was a place to see the hot lava. He said it was about an hour long walk, but we had to do it. He showed us a photo and we were convinced. After walking through fog and mist and rain, we came out to the lava field and found ourselves speechless. Absolutely stunning. If it is active while you are there DO NOT MISS IT.
Reykjavik
The next day we spent in Reykjavik, which is a sweet town. We went to the Phallological Museum, which is a hoot though people did not seem quite as amused as we were. And then walked around admiring some of the more well known sites. (tip – do not pay to go to the top of the big church. it’s definitely not worth it). We were lucky enough to catch a concert in the church though, which was beautiful (violin and pipe organ).
Eating in Reykjavik was hit or miss and all very expensive. Some of the hits were Noodle Station, Reykjavik Chips (very good veggie burger), Sandholt (bakery with good sandwiches and delicious baked goods).
Golden Circle
We then headed to the Golden Circle, the first stop being Thingvellir. Because we had a lot to do that day we stuck to the highlights, which were beautiful, but I believe there is more to explore if you have time. The next stop was Geysir, which, if you have ever seen Old Faithful in Yellowstone, is quite disappointing. Old Faithful puts this geyser to shame 🙂 The next stop was Gullfoss, which was breathtaking!! It was a sunny day so there were rainbows aplenty created by the mist and sun.
From there we headed to the Seljandsfoss area where we had rented an adorable cottage for two nights. I can’t say enough about this little place, tucked into the green hillside (let me know if you want the name). We came home one day to find our parking spot taken over by adorable sheep. Seljandsfoss is beautiful and we caught it around 7 pm when it was just gorgeous.
When you are planning a 8 day trip Iceland this is a must see!
Glacier Hike
We wanted to do one tour on the trip and chose a glacier hike on Sólheimajökull, which ended up being a lot of fun! They outfit you with crampons, helmet, harness and an ice pick though other than the crampons, the rest was not really necessary, but I suppose is good just in case you happen to fall into a crevasse.
There is something about the light between 6:30-7:30 pm, which is amazing so if you can hit up some waterfalls or glaciers around those times they’re magical. We were headed to Hofn and looked left and saw something that could have been in a fantasy book. We pulled off and couldn’t believe what we were seeing. It was Fjallsarlon, a smaller glacier lake that we hadn’t heard of. It’s a lot smaller than nearby Glacier Lagoon, but was absolutely stunning, especially at this time of day. Don’t miss it.
Svartifoss is also just beautiful. It’s about a 30-40 minute walk, but worth it.
Hofn
We spent a couple of days of our 8 day trip Iceland in the Hofn area, which while the coast is pretty, we didn’t find too amazing. We were hoping to see the fake Viking village, but it was closed to the public because they were filming the second season of Witcher. We probably had our best meal of the trip in Hofn at a place called Pakkhus where we did make the concession to eat inside.
The area is known for its lobster so my husband ordered the lobster platter, which he said was delicious. We also had a lovely lunch at a food truck that served crepes called Sweet and Savory.
Glacier Lagoon
On the way back to Reykjavik we stopped at Glacier Lagoon. This was our one non-sunny day so while beautiful, I can imagine with the sun shining it’s even more glorious. Our final stops were in the Vik region with Reynisdrangar and Dyrholaey. The road up to Dyrholaey was closed for some reason so we couldn’t see the famous rock formation from its best angle, but what made up for that in spades were the PUFFINS. So so CUTE!!!! I may have squealed a few times.
We had part of a day left of our 8 day trip Iceland in Reykjavik, which we spent wandering around. We did end up riding the some of the omnipresent scooters the night before and had a blast.
If you like licorice this is the country for you! We love it so we had it in milk shakes, on waffles and brought home bags of it!!
Airport
We got to the airport about 3 hours prior to our flight, which we definitely needed. We were in line after line and it took us about two hours just to get to our gate. This is when the shit show really happened. Icelandair has about five flights that all appear to leave within 45 minutes of each other. People from all five flights were lined up in a fairly narrow corridor, but there was no real demarkation between the lines so most people had no real clue if they were in the correct line.
Not only did this cause immense frustration, but from a health point of view, it was just downright dangerous to have thousands of people crammed into a small area in the middle of a pandemic. I don’t what they’re thinking, but they really need to do something about this.
Anyway, that’s about it for our 8 day trip Iceland. We had a wonderful time! It’s a magical country and I’m so glad that we went!
Trip report by Reddit user: Massive-Fix-1636
