On popular demand, I am beginning to share some of the itineraries to destinations that we have travelled to. Many people have asked this and we ourselves have spent a tremendous amount of time and effort planning our trips. So, to help make some that planning easier for all travellers out there, here we go.
This was our itinerary for a trip to Iceland last year in September. Click this link for pictures and more details about that trip.
Day 1:
- Land in Reykjavik airport. We took a flight that lands early in the day.
- Drive to the iconic Hallgrímskirkja church in the city. There are many restaurants around here to get kick started for the day – About 4 kms from the airport.
- Seljalandsfoss waterfall – 127 kms from Hallgrímskirkja.
- Skogafoss waterfall
- Solheimasandur plane wreckage site (https://expertvagabond.com/airplane-crash-wreckage-iceland/) – 8km walk back and forth from the parking space.
- Stay for the night at Welcome Hotel in Lambafell. Absolutely beautiful and serene location. Some restaurants are there nearby as well.
Day 2:
- Glacial hike in Vatnajokull national park. We booked with http://glacierguides.is/ and they were wonderful – Around 200 kms from the place we stayed. We started off around 5 am from the hotel and finished the hike early evening. That gave us some time to do more stuff before finishing the day.
- Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon boat tour. We had not initially planned for this but this 45 min experience something we will never forget. Highly recommend it.
- Stay for the night in Djupivogur. We are big fans of Airbnb. Many of our stays, including this, have been through Airbnb.
Day 3:
- Dettifoss waterfall – 250 kms from Djupivogur.
- Krafla hot springs
- Drive to Akureyri. This was mostly a day full of driving and that does not make it any less amazing. There are plenty of gorgeous waterfalls on the way to quench one’s appetite for nature. A portion of the drive is on an F-road so a 4wd car is recommended.
- Akureyri is one of the larger cities in Iceland. The city is right off of a Fjord and is very pretty. We stayed in an Airbnb here for 2 nights
Day 4:
Many things are close to Akureyri. So without a lot of driving, this day is a killer blow for touristy things.
- Godafoss waterfall
- Lake Myvatn
- Viti crater
- Krafla geothermal power station.
- Leirhnjúkur Lava Fields – this hike is what we call the “End of the world” hike. The landscapes here are of hot caldera, burnt rocks like being at the edge of the world beyond life
- Grjotagja cave – (Game of thrones filming location :))
- Back to our Airbnb in Akureyri for the night.
Day 5:
- After recharging in Akureyri for 2 days, this is the second driving day in Iceland. The goal was to reach eastern Iceland from Akureyri driving through a coastal highway.
- This drive is long, extremely windy at almost all times, to the point that we had to be careful while opening car doors. We were warned that doors can come apart by wind pressure.
- There is a museum of witchcraft and wizardry on the way in Holmavik that we found to be quite interesting for history lovers.
- Grundarfjörður is where we stayed for the night and this little town is the what dreams are made of. Our Airbnb was right under a mountain, next to Atlantic ocean, sheep running around near the house.
Day 6:
- Blue lagoon – 217 kms from Grundarfjörður.
- Short drive to Krýsuvíkurberg. This is where we saw stunning views of the ocean from above the cliffs, beautiful birds flying to the tune of crashing waves. Relatively unknown but highly recommended.
-
Gunnuhver. Another place with hot vents, hot springs, mud pools and interesting ghost stories.
- Bridge between the continents.
- Gulfoss waterfall
- Stay for the night in Kopavogur. Close to Reykjavik.
Day 7:
- Last and the most rewarding day of our trip.
- We roamed the streets of the capital city, Visited the famous Harpa concert hall, became part of a local school first-day ceremony.
- Then the best part of the trip was reserved for the last few hours – Northern Lights. We booked a cruise tour from Reykjavik in the night that took us away from the city to the middle of the ocean and we saw the most lasting memory of our lives.
We could have spent many more days in Iceland. But those 7 days were the best of our lives. That trip was the genesis of this blog too and it changes the way we see this world. Here’s hoping it does for many others too, cheers.
Tips and more information:
- Set a pin number on your credit card. Credit are accepted almost everywhere, but some place (including gas stations) require you to enter a 4-digit pin number for access.
- English is the common language at most places – stores, visitor centers etc. But locals may not be very fluent in English. That said, you would be able to get by with English comfortably.
- Be vary of birds and animals while driving. They can appear out of nowhere in front of your car and get hurt – happens way more that one would like. Drive slow, drive safe.
- Food is expensive in Iceland (and its mostly just dairy and seafood). Stack up on home cooked food, ready to eat/cook packets. If you are staying in an Airbnb (or similar), cook in the night a bit to save on some cash.
Nowhere in Particular 
Nice write up.. very useful and informative for prospective travellers..
Sent from my iPhone
>
LikeLike