Natural hot springs, black sand beaches, glaciers, volcanic rocks, hidden waterfalls, northern lights and landscapes to die for.. it’s official, the land of ice and fire is absolutely magical.
Our Itinerary Summary
DAY 1: Thingvellir National Park, Geysir Hotsprings, Gullfoss Waterfall, Fludir (1 night)
DAY 2: Seljalandfoss, Glufrabrui, Skogafoss, Plane Wreck, Dyrholaey and Kirkjubaejarklauster (1 night)
DAY 3: Diamond Beach, Jokulsarlon, Svinafellsjokull, Reynisfjara Beach and Vik (1 night)
DAY 4: Hrunalaugh Hotspings, Kerid Crater, Kirkjufell (1 night)
DAY 5: Kirkjufell, Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik City (1 night)
DAY 6: Head Home
Best time to visit Iceland
Iceland is a country for the seasonal traveller, whether
you visit in summer or winter the landscapes are just as stunning. After seeing
the enchanted Northern Lights earlier in the year from our trip to Finland we
wanted to try our luck again, so planned our trip for the month of December
(between October – March gives you maximum chances of seeing them) Also, we
love snow, and knew Iceland is swamped with it over this month.
Top Tips for
Iceland
- RENTING A CAR is at the top of our recommendation list, especially for this itinerary. By all means you can sign up to day tours or 2+ day excursions however if you really want to explore Iceland and not be pressured by my pet peeves (being rushed when exploring and having a million other tourists around you) then this is the way to go. As we were travelling during the winter months with lots of snow on the road we opted for a 4X4 vehicle which we booked through Reykjaik Cars. This came to £182 for 5 full days. The only prerequisite for the rental hire was a credit card and of course a full drivers license you have had for 2 years.
- ACCOMMODATION: I can’t stress enough how expensive this country is, so plan ahead and book as soon as possible. We primarily opted for Airbnb’s which were in quite secluded areas and were a lot cheaper than the hotels. We have shared our stays in the blog below at each stop.
- DAY LIGHT HOURS:: travelling in Winter we found sunrise was approx.10am with sun setting between 4-4:30pm so a planned itinerary is the way to go. You really have to make the most of the day light you have!
- FOOD:: We brought snacks over from London for our trip, but in all honesty we didn’t find food prices too different to London so wasn’t too much of a shock to the wallet. We did eat in for half the trip with stopovers at local supermarkets to save money.
- GROUP TRAVELLING: that’s what we did! We knew after car rental, petrol and accommodation prices were going to be quite high. By travelling as group of 4 this cut our costs down dramatically and also means you can split up the driving.
Day 1:
Thingvellir National
Park
We caught an early flight from London arriving to Kef Airport approx.11am and within half an hour of landing we were on the road to Thingvellier National Park.
Thingvellier National Park sits in a rift valley and was the former home to Iceland’s parliament. We spent just over an hour here, walking between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates (you are literally in between two continents here!) and following the trail to Thingvellir church. Here you can find Oxarfoss waterfall, lakes, natural formations and the Silfra Fissure.
Drive time: Approx 1 hour. 15 minutes
Parking: They have a carpark set up in front of the visitor’s centre, this costs £4.60 for the day. When you enter the centre you just enter in your car rego and pay by card (so easy!!)
Geysir Hotsprings
Just under an hours drive we had arrived at our second stop for the trip – The Geysir Hotsprings. These hotsprings are a geothermal area which consist of geysers that shoot up water due to volcanic activity. Expect lot’s of mud pits and the smell of sulphur which reminded us a lot of the lovely Rotorua (New Zealand). We spent about half an hour walking the track and waiting for the geysers to shoot up (every 7-10 mins) and trying our best to get some on film! We were very out of luck with weather at this point, the snowfall was insane so unfortunately weren’t able to get an iconic snap like we had seen on insta but regardless it was still very specatcular!
Drive time: 50 minutes
Parking: Across the road is a carpark which is free.
Gullfoss Waterfall
Gullfoss Waterfall is the most visited waterfall in the whole of Iceland and on a beautiful clear day you could see why .. consisting of two cascades which drop into a canyon the photos we had found online had us in awe.. for us .. once again all we saw was a lot of cloud and snow. This is definitely top on the list for when we return! As we were visiting in Winter some of the tracks were blocked off due to being too dangerous/covered in ice however in summer there are a handful of viewing points and trails around the waterfall.
There is also a visitors centre here we can purchase postcards and all types of tourist memorabilia!
Drive time: 10 minutes
Parking: Free parking
Fludir &
Accommodation
And just like that, Day 1 was complete. Our first stop had gorgeous weather but unfortunately were out of luck for the other two. It feels odd only ticking off three things in one day as we are so used to being 24/7 on our holidays but with the little daylight you have it just can’t be done in Iceland. It was only a short 40 minute drive to our accommodation for the night. We stayed in the Mosas Cottages which are just gorgeous, super cosy and warm and even had a hot tub which you bet we relaxed in! Definitely recommend this place to stay!
Additional Notes: I would have loved to of spent one more night at this cottage allowing us to spend the next morning enjoying a Icelandic Horse Adventure through the unique Fludir landscape followed by a dip in the Secret Lagoon which was also close by.
Drive time: 40 minutes
Accommodation Cost: £180.00 (£90 per couple if travelling as a group of four)
Day 2:
Seljalandfoss
Our aim was to arrive at Seljalandfoss for sunrise (10:30am ha!!) and to beat the influx of tourists so we left our Airbnb just before 9am for our second day on the road. It was pitch black as we set off but the drive was beautiful as we slowly saw the day come alive. Timing was impeccable, we arrived about half an hour before 3 bus loads of tourists and right on sunrise.
This waterfall is incredible, there is even a trail you can follow which takes you directly behind the falls making for some beautiful photo opportunities. In saying this, expect to get wet and wear good footwear. Most of it was iced over when we visited so a lot of sliding and slipping was happening! We spent about half an hour at this fall taking in all the surrounding scenery before heading a few minutes up the road to Gljufrabrui.
There is a food trailer at the parking lot of this stop filled with hot drink and food options. We purchased a toasted panini and coffee for breakfast which came to £13 (not too pricey..) They also have sweet treats and hearty Icelandic soup options too! You can purchase these and eat at one of the picnic benches which overlooks onto the waterfall if you’re not in a hurry.
Drive time: Approx 1 hour. 15 minutes
Parking: £4.60 fee which you can pay for by card in the carpark
Glufrabrui Waterfall
Literally a 2 minute drive North up the road brings you to Gljufrabrui. You can leave your car Seljalandfoss and follow a walking trail here however we opted to drive as wanted to take the drone out which needed to be away from the public. You can park on the side of the road here which is free.
This is a fairly small waterfall in comparison but what makes it unique is that you can follow a trail to enter the narrow canyon which is where the water plummets to a small pool. As it was freezing and the water level was quite high no one was going in .. Jarrod however braved it through across the water and rocks and managed to get a few snaps. Can only imagine what a swimming spot this would be for summer (if it ever got warm enough!!)
Drive time: Approx 2 mins lol
Parking: Free – we parked just outside the fence near the road
Skogafoss Waterfall
Another majestic waterfall ticked off the list, and to be honest, we think Skogafoss was our favourite from the trip. Although we have spent the whole morning chasing waterfalls, the thing we are loving the most is that they all offer something so different. This particular waterfall is situated on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliffs of the former coastline and is famous for being Flokey’s Waterfall (from the Vikings) .. yes Jarrod went nuts!
We climbed the 527 steps and got rewarded with views of Skogafoss from above along with views of the south Icelands Coastline. After catching our breath, getting some snaps and making our way back down for views of the waterfall below we had a lovely walk along the snowy waterfall river before heading back to the car.
This is also a good place to stop for a bite to eat. They have 2-3 restaurants here, we just grabbed a bottle of water as were still fill from our breakfast.
Drive Time: 30 Minutes
Parking: Free Parking in the visitors carpark
Plane Wreck
The drive time from Skogafoss to the Plane Wreck Carpark was 12 minutes. Once you are parked up you have two options:
1) You can walk out to the plane wreck which takes approx 45 – 60 mins each way.
2) You can take a shuttle bus which runs every 20 minutes. The cost for this is £15 per person for a return trip and payment is card only, alternatively you can book online here. The shuttles run each day from 10am – 5pm.
This stop is a must for any road trip, it was truly amazing to see the crashed plane in contract with the black sand and the snowy landscape with the sea in the background. Given the unique look this is a very popular location for photographers so mane sure you pack your camera gear. Also a beautiful place to come at night time to try and capture the Northern Lights.
We arrived here at 2pm and daylight hours were coming to a close so we opted for the bus ride – this took 15 minutes each way and gave us a decent 45 minutes to explore the site. To be honest it was also -3 degrees outside so I couldn’t think of anything worse than a big walk to the plane wreck in those temperatures.
Added Bonus: Most of the tourists opted to walk out and not get the bus, because of this when we arrived we basically had the whole plane wreck to ourselves – we passed about 30 people walking as our bus drove past.
Drive Time: 12 Minutes
Parking: Free Parking in the visitors carpark
Dyrholaey
Now for the perfect place to view a sunset, Dyrholaey. This is the southernmost point in mainland where you will find a little old light house perched at the top and be able to see exactly where the snow meets the with some spectacular sight-lines and scenery. We spent about an hour here walking along the little track, capturing some drone footage and most importantly taking in the view!
If you get here aound 3:30pm you may witness something incredible.. on the right we had the sun setting and if we turned 90 degrees left we could also see the moon rising, pretty overwhelming experience.
Drive Time: 20 Minutes
Parking: Free Parking in the visitors carpark
Dinner &
Accommodation
Our accommodation for night 2 was approx. an hour and a half away in Kirkjubaejarklauster so we stopped in at Vik for dinner as was on route. There are a decent handful of restaurants and cafes to pick from here. We wanted something quick and cheap so stopped in at the Ice Cave Bistro which we found really reasonably priced, nothing flash but the food was good. We paid £25 for 2 drinks and 2 main meals.
Accommodation: We stayed at Snaebyli Cottage which we booked through Airbnb. This came to £135 for the night (£65 per couple). We picked this place as was quite secluded on a country farm to give us the best chances to see the Northern Lights along with the price being good. The Cottage was located in Kirkjubaejarklaustur – we picked this location based on us not having to drive too far in the morning for our next stop.
Drive Time: 1 hour 20 minutes from Dyrholaey to accommodation
Day 3:
Diamond Beach
The name of this place speaks for itself really, a beach full of diamonds (I wish) but regardless this was a one of a kind experience. We left our airbnb at 9am to arrive at Diamond Beach for sunrise. The drive there was just as gorgeous as they morning before, there is something special about watching the night come to day especially when you are surrounded by snow.
As you approach Diamond Beach there are two carparks – one before the bridge and one after. It seems the tourist busses stop at the first one so we headed over the bridge so we could be far from the crowds.
This beach is absolutely covered with sparkly ice bergs which have been washed up to shore from the Jokulsarlon Glacier (the next stop). It is a very surreal landscape of giant shapes and blocks of ice all scattered along a black beach, the photos alone don’t do it any justice.
We spent a solid hour and a half here, playing with the giant icicles and getting some epic drone footage.
Drive Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Parking: Free
Jokulsarlon Glacier
The Glacier Lagoon is within walking distance from Diamond Beach. You can either leave you car parked up and walk under the beach and along the lagoon or drive our car to the carpark across the road (we did this as had lot’s of valuables in our car so wanted it to be more in public)
This glacier is an incredible natural wonder of the world. The blue waters are dotted with icebergs surrounding Breioamerkurjokull Glacier and had us easily relaxed and calm as we watched them float down the waterway into the Atlantic. Here you can walk along trails and get right up close to the ice bergs.
There is also a caf’e here and a fish and chip truck so we opted for lunch here with the pretty amazing view!
Drive Time: 2 Minutes
Parking: Free
Svinafellsjokull
Glacier
We were speechless when we arrived at this glacier, and no wonder, it is Europe’s largest ice cap! I remember looking at Jarrod and we literally said … oh my god! We had the sun slowly setting in the background which looked a full firey colour behind the mountain and no other tourists were here which made it relatively serene and peaceful. Such a fascinating landscape and we were even able to get an upclose look with the drone!
As we still had another site to visit today we were on a pretty tight schedule so could only spend half an hour here however they do have glacier hikes you can do here (ofcourse with a tour guide) so if you have extra time I am sure it would be well worth it
Side note: you can get here via two roads (one which has many tourists and tour busses). Make sure you take the road with the red arrow sign that says ‘2 Svinafellsjokull’ (which means 2km), it’s a rough and rocky road but easy to drive along and means you are almost guaranteed to have most of the view to yourselves!
Drive Time: 1 Hour
Parking: Free
Reynisfjara Beach
We ended our night watching the sunset at the world famous Reynisfjara Beach. This beach offers views of the large volcanic rock formations coming out of the ocean and has huge basalt columns which you can try to climb! While we were here we even spotted Dyrholaey (where we were the night before)
Drive Time: 2 Hours
Parking: Free
Accommodation:
We spent our third night at the Mid-Hvoll Cottages – this accommodation was cosy and off the beaten track (which is exactly what we wanted to give us another hopeful opportunity to see the Northern Lights, and that we did!!! The price came to £150 (£75 per couple) which is a bit steep for what it was but it did the trick!
Drive Time: 15 Minutes
Parking: Free
Day 4:
Hrunalaugh Hotsprings
I was very excited for our first stop of the day – I found this hidden gem on an Instagram post a few months prior to our trip and just had to make it one of our stops. On arrival there is a small donation box that the landowners have up so make sure you have cash to pay it forward.
Hrunalaugh brings you right back to mother nature, it is an old hut surrounded by small thermal springs for you to swim and relax in. Completely off grid and isolated with not many people knowing about this spot had us lucky enough to have it to ourselves for a couple of hours.
It’s such a surreal experience being in 30+ degree thermal water whilst the whole outside of the area is covered in snow! Important to note that during the summer months this is completely dried up!
Drive Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Parking: Free
Kerid Crater
Kerid Crater is our second and last stop for the day as we venture back along the South Coast heading to Kirkjufell Mountain. We had seen so many photos of the crater (all which were taken in summer and spring) so were shocked when we arrived and found the entire thing iced over.
Here you can walk around and along the ice covered lake. We didn’t stay long as had some extremely heavy winds and it was freezing but nontheless was still glad we stopped n to see this impressive attraction!
Drive Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Parking: Free
Entry Fee: £2.50
Mount Kurkjufell &
Accommodation
This is our longest day of driving yet but it had to be done as were eager to spend the night in Grundarfjordur so we would be close to Kirkjufell Mountain. We had seen some incredible photos online of th Northern Lights in the background of the high mountain so had our hearts set on capturing one of our very own (hence staying here for the night)
Our accommodation was just a 5 minute drive from Kirkjufell Mountain so we would be close enough to quickly head out in the night if it showed strong chances of seeing them. Unfortunately we lucked out here but still got some impressive photos of the landscape in the morning (above photos)
Day 5:
Mount Kurkjufell
Our morning was spent exploring the scenery at Mount Kirkjufell before jumping back on the road. You quickly see how this is Iceland’s most photographed mountain as you can walk right along the paths with waterfalls beneath – such an iconic spot and can only image how beautiful it is with the Northern Lights in the background.
Blue Lagoon
On the road again on route to one of the 25 wonders of the world… the Blue Lagoon! This is an absolute must if you’re visiting Iceland! First things first though, make sure you book in advance. They give you time slots to choose from (by having allocated time slots means the retreat is never completely over crowded), we selected a 3.30pm slot so we could be relaxing away during sun set and it was absolute bliss.
The basic package we booked came to £85 per person – extremely steep on our price list but it’s one of those things you just have to do! Our ticket came with a locker, towel, a drink (cocktail, beer, wine or soft drink) of your choice at the swim up bar, a face mask and unlimited time in the retreat. We spent two hours enjoying our time in the warm water and relaxing after a full 4 days on the road. Really couldn’t fault this place, loved our time here.
Drive Time: 3 Hours
Parking: Free
Entrance Fee: £85 per person
Reykjavik City,
Northern Lights &
Accommodation
We spent our last night exploring the Capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. It’s a super cute City and worth spending an hour or so just wandering the streets. We stayed at a lovely local airbnb right in the centre here which came to £190 for the night (£85 per couple).
We explored the streets for dinner options, enjoyed a warm drink in our air bnb and then drove 15 minutes out of town to head to the lighthouse to try our luck one last time for a show of the Northern Lights. and you best believe we saw it in all it’s glory!
What would we change?
I feel like we really made the most of our 5 days here in Iceland – the only thing I would have loved to of done was spend a day Icelandic Horse Riding in Fludir and go on one of the amazing glacier hikes with a tour guide. As we were limited on time we missed out on doing both of these, so what would I change? Just an extra couple of days of exploring please!
& That’s a Wrap!
Just like that our road trip through the land of fire and ice is all wrapped up. Iceland has easily been one of our favourite countries to explore through Winter – time and we now cannot wait to come back and adventure through it during a summer period!
P&J xx
