This was one of the more lengthy trips I’ve taken and we saw a lot of stuff and covered a lot of land so I broke up what we did each day. Additionally, all the best pics from this trip will be in the gallery.
DAY 1- ARRIVAL
We arrived at Reykjavik Keflavik airport early in the morning allowing us to drive to Hveragerði, We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and set off the explore the small town. First stop was the creator of Hveragerði where we trekked around the edge of it, not long before we were pelted with rain/sleet mixture and made a run for the car. Note: running is very hard when everything is icy so Pro Tip #1: Buy crampons or yaktrax immediately. Fortunately we all made it to the car safely without any falls (but lots of close calls).
Since the sun sets at 4:30, the day was almost over but we had time for one more activity. We heard about a hot river hike nearby so we decided to hike up just enough to feel the water, which was hot hot hot and I casually burned my hand.
DAY 2- GOLDEN CIRCLE
The Golden Circle is a possible day trip in itself where you can hit all the main attractions that Iceland has to offer in one… well, circle.
Thingvellir National Park :
Thingvellir National park was a great starting place for this trip where we were able to see a half-frozen waterfall up close and walk along trails and bridges over running water and volcanic rocks.
Geysir:
Next stop was the town of Geysir which coincidentally has…yup you guessed it, Geysers. My parents insisted we record each and every geyser erupt so there we stood next to boiling sulfuric water, in freezing temperatures, watching the water shoot into the air and fall as ice.
DAY 3- CHRISTMAS DAY
Glacier Hiking:
We scheduled a tour to hike up and on the Solheimajokull glacier which was now half covered in black ash due to the volcanic eruption of Katla in recent years. It was a beautiful hike that didn’t actually feel like a hike since you had lots to see and the glacier had little stairs carved out of the ice in some parts for easier access.
Basalt Columns
Once we had made our way back to the car, it was time for a more scenic stop. The black sand beach in Reynishverfi near Vik was known for its natural and beautiful basalt columns. About a hundred people were flocked all over the beach and climbing the columns but the white snow mixed with pitch black sand was still a worthwhile sight.
Skogafoss Waterfall
The waterfall was a hundred yards away from the parking lot with an adjoining river next to it, the powerful spray hit any passerby within a certain distance of the half frozen landmark. I saw 3 brides taking wedding photos within the 15 minutes I spent there, they were all accompanied by a photographer, their significant other, and a blanket carrier for in between each picture.
DAY 4- PICTURE DAY
The things we saw this day is still by far some of the prettiest sights I have ever seen in my life, I don’t know what could top it.
Glaciers #2 and 3
While driving, one side was a steep wall of rock/ice/glacier and the other was the ocean so whenever the opportunity presented itself we would stop for a photo-op with a particularly gorgeous glacier.
Diamond Beach
This is a must see in Iceland, especially during sunset when the sunshines through the ice chunks and lights them up like a crystal. I don’t know how the science works but all I know is that everyday these huge, smoothed, and patterned pieces of ice come from the sea onto this black sand beach and sit there, unmelting and unmoving until they disappear the next day. Some are broken into smaller pieces and far up the shore and there are some 15 feet in diameter that are submerged 50 feet out. The beauty of nature.
Glacier Pool
Right across the street from Diamond Beach is a glacier/attached glacier pool. from here we watched the sunset finally descend past our view on top of the small hill beside the icebergs. since sunsets in Iceland last for about an hour, we were able to experience both amazing places with leisure.
DAY 5- HIKING
The Hike
We hiked a lot of miles this day, all uphill, and all on a sheet of wet ice. Having previously bought crampons we thought we were safe from any disasters, we were wrong. Turns out walking on pavement with them makes the spikes break or pop off so we were all left w one spike on each toe at the end of the 2 hour hike. Not realizing this we kept going, losing more spikes along the way; by the end, I was the one with the most spikes/steadiest body so I was tasked with helping my dad (now spike-less) glide veerrrryyyyyy slowly across the ice to ensure he didn’t fall and then slide down the path. This made the hike way longer than wished for/ expected/ needed but we did it and were rewarded with a bird’s eye view of the town, Vik, the coast line, and beyond.
Northern Lights
The night we had been eagerly waiting for, hunting night. All settled into our small dorm style hostel for the night, we checked the aurora borealis forecast and saw that this night had good solar wind activity (more solar winds= more lights/brighter) so we suited up and trekked to the middle of an empty and very dark field (dark is key for hunting since you need to 1. be able to see the lights in order to know where they are and 2. in order to take pictures you cannot have any other light in range or it messes up the picture. IRL you can very faintly see the lights, but in pictures they turn out amazing and every shot is a surprise.
DAY 6 AND 7: MORE HIKING
yes, more hiking
Day 6 consisted of a very dangerous (or fun depending how you look at it) hike up a “mountain” covered in slick ice in order to see this gorgeous canyon. Now it wasn’t as big as the grand canyon but it was still cool and there was a platform you could walk over the canyon on, I didn’t: I am petrified of heights and falling from them.
Day 7 was maybe the hardest hike we did and definitely the longest. The sign said a short hike through some light show on a guided path and we’d be at the nice hot river with changing rooms and heated floors. hat actually happened was a 2.5 hour hike on a faintly to no labeled trails, through deep snow and freezing temperatures, and then we got to a shallow and crowded stream with a wall as the “changing room”. Good thing I already put my suit on, m pants weren’t so lucky and had to fully undress and stand in snow and freezing wind naked and then gently get in the river because it was only a foot deep. Just to prove how cold it was: I accidentally dipped my long ponytail into the hot water and then as soon as i took it out, I now had an icicle for hair. Oh and all our phones shut off due to cold temperatures. Very fun though! Would recommend to anyone who doesn’t understand the concept of naturally heated water running through cold places.
DAY 8 AND 9: REYKJAVIK
These were the final two days of the trip :((( and our last stop was Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, and possibly the only place we actually saw people on this whole trip. The town was small but very quaint and had lots of just things to see and do. So these two days were mainly us walking around and eating, a lot. My favorite stop was the big two story Fjallraven store. Fjallraven is a company, mainly backpacks, that is from Sweden but is sold in countries around and similar to it. have four of their backpacks because they are just the nest and they have so many colors I can’t help myself! I did buy another in Reykjavik but shhhhh I won’ tell if you don’t.
Bless (Bye in Icelandic)
xx Meg
Megan Guido 