Travel: Iceland Ring Road

For some people, a holiday driving the ring road of Iceland might not sound very exciting. However, this was a long held ambition of ours and it turned out to be the the best holiday I have ever had. It took me nearly a month to plan it (obviously involved a spreadsheet or two) and I may do a separate post on that, as well as on the practicalities of living out of a suitcase for almost two weeks.

Day 1: Outer Reykjavik and Hvammsvik Hot Springs

Driving time: about 1 hour from Keflavik to Reykjavik then 45 minutes each way from hotel to Hvammsvik

We booked a Suzuki Vitara four wheel drive from Blue Car Rentals with the most amount of damage waiver and breakdown cover that was possible - and were glad of it! During our journey we had a very near miss with a couple of wandering sheep, and endless stretches of very rough road where the actual ring road was being resurfaced. After driving from Keflavik to Reykjavik, we already had a flat tyre, which was replaced very quickly!

Our first stop was the Perlan Museum on the outskirts of Reykjavik, which has several really great interactive exhibitions, such as the ice cave and a volcano show. We were really lucky to be part of a trial group testing out a new virtual reality trip inside a volcano, which was very thrilling (and hot). It's a good place to visit to get you in the mood for the ring road trip, and you get some great panoramic views of the city from the observation deck.

What better way to set the tone of the holiday, than by going to a hot springs on the first evening. We had pre-booked this, although it wasn't too busy when we visited. The springs at Hvammsvik are in a very natural setting, and you can even hop out of one of the pools, across the beach and into the sea. And yes, I did, and yes it was cold! There was even a seal swimming not too far away!

We visited three springs in Iceland and this was my favourite. The food here is also excellent - I had the vegan soup which was absolutely delicious and very generous.

One tip for the springs is that it is expected that you have a full naked body wash with soap before entering the pools. Not a cursory dip under the shower in your swimsuit like you might at a municipal pool in the UK! You may also wish to opt to rent water shoes here as the ground can be quite rough.

First night was at Hotel Laxnes, which on first glance looks like a motel. However, we had a large corner room with balcony and it was absolutely fine. The hotel is pretty quirky with old Singer sewing machines in the corridor. It doesn't do food in the evening, but there are plenty of eating options (although maybe not fine dining) in the vicinity. Because we had an evening slot at the hot springs, we ate there.

Day 2: Golden Circle: Thingvillir, Geysir and Gullfoss

Driving time: Approximately 3 hours from Mosfellsbaer around the Golden Circle to Hella

Can you even say you've been to Iceland if you haven't done the Golden Circle? Luckily we were staying in Mosfellsbaer which is just the right place to start early on the Golden Circle. 

Thingvillir is the site of the original parliament and is also where you can see the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. There are lots of lovely walks in the area and it is easy to escape the crowds.  

This waterfall is called Oxararfoss (foss means waterfall, and there are about 10,000 in Iceland) and is in the Thingvillir national park.

Further on, you travel to Haukadalur, which is is the site of the original geyser, Geysir which is now rarely active. However, you can see the wonderful splendour of Strokkur (directly below) which goes off roughly every 5-15 minutes in a great whoosh of steam, like having a warm spritz of eggy water.

Others were bubbling cauldrons of water but still equally impressive. Unsurprisingly, the whole area smells pretty sulphurous but is absolutely fascinating.

The final stop on the circuit was Gullfoss, which doesn't look so impressive in my photo, but is a hugely powerful double drop waterfall. My husband has been in the depths of winter before and I can't imagine how wonderful that must have looked.

You have to pay to park at Thingvillir and Geysir but not currently at Gullfoss and there are clean toilets at all three sites.

We stayed at Hotel Stracta in Hella and had been upgraded to a two bedroom apartment with hot tub (which we didn't use). The hotel is pretty large and the apartment is how I imagine a nicer version of Butlins being. Nice and clean and comfortable.

Day 3: Seljalandsfoss, Skogar Folk Museum and Eldhraun Lava Fields

Driving time: approximately 3.5 hours from Hella to Hnappavellir

Not far from Hella is another spectacular waterfall, Seljalandsfoss which you can actually walk behind. Much as I really wanted to, like many natural features in Iceland (and rightly so), there are few safety rails and it looked really slippery. Because I have osteoporosis, I am much more risk averse these days.

Skogar Folk Museum was another must-see destination, and is a brilliant collection of old artefacts, including entire buildings, such as a school house, farm and church. It is a very eclectic mix - two headed lamb anyone? Hmm.

Our plan was to have a picnic on the black sand beach at Vik, however the weather gods had other ideas and it decided to absolutely tip down. So we had a quick car picnic and dashed out between bursts of rain onto the beach. There are warnings about the beach being dangerous, and the powerful undercurrent has claimed lives before.

From Vik, you drive for miles and miles past this really beautiful, other worldly mossy lava field called Eldhraun. My photos don't really do it justice, but it was one of the many highlights of our trip. There are a few pull ins at the side of the road, and a larger picnic stop when you have almost reached the end of it.

After passing the mossy lava fields, you start to get glimpses of the glaciers from the Vatnajokull glacier national park.

We stayed in the gorgeous Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon in what would have been an ocean view room had the rain cloud not been sat literally on top of the lagoon. The lounge was very cool and there is a lovely corner window where you can sit in very comfortable chairs and enjoy happy hour (basically, it is the only way you are going to be able to afford wine in Iceland)!

Day 4: Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon 

Driving Time: Approx 1.5 hours

At Jokulsarlon, there is a glacier lagoon filled with icebergs that have calved from the glacier. It is another truly spectacular place. You can see the icebergs from the car park, however to get the full experience, we had pre-booked a zodiac tour right into the lagoon and towards the glacier itself.

Luckily, you are given a set of really warm overalls and floatation vests, as the zodiac is very small in order to be able to get as close as possible to the icebergs. 

The blue colour in the icebergs is apparently down to the pressure of the water squeezing out the oxygen. When we arrived for the tour, it was raining quite hard, which really made the icebergs stand out, but the rain dissipated as the tour progressed.

Closer to the glacier, it was really interesting to note the eerie sounds that the ice made as it cracked and moved. There was also a bit of mist on the water at times, which made it a magical experience. The link to the zodiac tour is here, and the same company also offer amphibious boat tours which visit the icebergs in the lagoon but don't go out to the glacier.

We had planned to stop at Vestrahorn mountain, but missed the turning and then plunged into a tunnel, so that's on the list for next time! 

This was the barn not the apartment!

Our accommodation was a self-catering apartment on a farm near Stafafell. Although it looked a little rough on the outside, it was perfect inside and had the most fantastic views over the river to the other side of Vestrahorn. It was so lovely to sit with a cup of tea (Vinbudin the state run liquor store was not open on Sunday and they don't sell wine in the supermarkets in Iceland).

Day 5: Eastern Fjords, Seydisfjordur, Reindeer Park & Vok Baths

Driving Time: Approx: 3 hours

Our first stop was for a quick bracing walk up to one of the lighthouses. I can't remember which one this was - some of them are a bright orange, like a gigantic highlighter has been plonked there. 

By the time we arrived at Djupivogar, I was desperate for a coffee and a wee. One of the great things about Iceland is that all the public toilets are super clean. We didn't find coffee, but we did happen upon the granite egg sculptures at Gledivik harbour, which are the work of Sigurdur Gudmundsson.

Eggin in Gledivik

Djupivogur 

Djupivogur Harbour

From Djupivogur, the ring road continues to track the edge of the Eastern Fjords - very pretty roads with a lot of one lane bridges (Einbreid Bru) - some of these are pretty long too. Whoever is closest to the bridge has the right of way.

One lane bridge

We passed Reydarfjordur which is where the series Fortitude was filmed before heading inland towards Egilsstadir via a 7km tunnel, which was pretty exciting. Spoiler alert: there are many more exciting tunnels in the days to come!

Egilsstadir was where we were based, but I did want to take a look at Seydisfjordur. Whilst it was beautifully sunny in Egilsstadir, we had to drive over a mountain to Seydisfjordur. It was steep, with a lot of switchbacks...then it rained and the thickest fog descended. It felt like the most dangerous drive ever, barely being able to see a couple of metres in front of the car, but there was no real option to turn around. On we ploughed.

Seydisfjordur is famous for its rainbow street, and it even looks pretty in quite murky weather! It is another small fishing town, but this one is the port for the ferry from Denmark. 

We had lunch then a little stroll around the pretty town, where there were a couple of seals just playing around in the harbour.

I love the colours of the houses in Iceland, but the houses in Seydisfjordur seemed even more vibrant.

Having made the journey back to Egilsstadir (and done the necessary trip for wine at Vinbudin), we were still too early to check in to our cottage. About a mile from the cottage was a reindeer park. We had passed a few signs watching out for reindeer in the previous two days but this was looking like our only chance to actually see some.

The reindeer park at Vinland is pretty small, but don't let that put you off. You can actually go into one of the pens and, if the reindeer are up for it, they will let you pat them. Their coat is actually incredibly thick and spongy.

I felt like I came away with every fact there is to know about reindeers, the staff were so informative. For example, did you know that reindeer ankles click when they walk, or that they cry when they swim so that the salt doesn't get in their eyes, or that their eyes change colour, or that they can gorge on blueberries and get a bit drunk? Believe me, there is plenty more where that came from. Can you tell that I am a little bit in love with reindeer?

That evening we had booked another geothermal pool, this time the Vok baths on the edge of a lake. This time I wasn't brave enough for a lake plunge! This pool felt very chic and modern in comparison to Hvammsvik which had an earthy, naturalistic feel. Again very lovely. This one also had an onsite restaurant which was more mainstream than the bistro at Hvammsvik, but nice nonetheless.

It was getting dark by the time we finally got to our cottage on the lake at Egilsstadir. It was a very cute A frame house with a view of the tiny airport and sounds of ducks and sheep nearby. I actually wish we had spent a little more time in this little place.

Day 6: Krafla Lava Fields and Husavik 

Driving time: Approx. 3 1/2 hours

The landscape heading north west really looked autumnal.

Our first stop was the lava field near Krafla. You can't miss it - you can see the steam miles off, and then the smell of sulphur hits! There is a charge for the car park here, and the toilets. Although the fumaroles and bubbling pools are partially cordoned off, like much of the rest of Iceland, you are left to explore at will...or maybe at peril!

Lake Myvatn was lovely to drive by but we didn't really have time to stop this time. We were heading off the ring road to Husavik which is seen as the whale watching capital of Iceland. First port of call was this fab little restaurant for a bowl of hot lamb soup, followed by a caramel apple cake, which was good because it is cold up north! 

The whale museum is worth dropping in to and if you have a whale watching trip booked in either Husavik or Akureyri, you can get a discount. You just don't realise how large the whales are until you walk alongside their skeletons - and this museum has lots. 

After a bit of retail therapy (it has a very nice Icewear shop), we drove over to Akureyri where we had an apartment booked for the following two nights. We had another very long tunnel to navigate and this one incurred a toll charge which you can pay online after the fact.

Augusta, the Akureyri Icewear cat

Akureyri Church

Our apartment was at Halllandsnes and overlooked the fjord to Akureyri. It had a fantastic kitchen and living area and what we needed most: a washing machine and tumble drier!!

Day 7: Whale Watching

Driving time: 0 hours

It was important for us to have an almost completely non-driving day (it was about 10 minutes to the whale watching). We had pre-booked a whale watching trip with Elding which was for three hours. This trip was just within the confines of the fjord. 

Strangely, the first destination for the boat was to the hot waterfall and spring that was literally on the drive to our apartment. It was great to see it from a different angle.

And we did see whales, or should I say we saw one humpbacked whale four times. But Elding seemed quite ecologically responsible and decided that we should move away from the whale so as not to distress it. 

The boat had multiple decks for viewing, as well as an indoor seating area plus somewhere to buy hot chocolate, which seemed like an essential accompaniment to a cold water activity.

For the afternoon, we kicked back and relaxed at the apartment before having a stroll to the hot spring before settling in for the evening.

Don't you just love the stop signs in Akureyri?

Day 8: Mulagong tunnel, Trollaskagi Peninsula, Glaumbaer, Blonduos

Driving Time: Approx 3 hours

Snow fell overnight on the high ground around Akureyri but luckily we had already planned to travel around the Trollaskagi Peninsula to our next destination. There is an app called SafeTravel for Iceland which is a must if you are planning any driving really. It indicates which roads to avoid and for what reason. It became an essential part of our daily routine to check the app. 

Travelling up the Akureyri side, we were on the continual lookout for whales, as the road followed the same direction as the previous day's whale watching trip (we didn't see any).

The valley between two tunnels

This became a day of tunnels including the Mulagong tunnel which is a one lane tunnel about 3.5km long. This was driving on another level (and all credit to my husband who did all the driving). There are pull ins, and coming from the Akureyri direction, we didn't have right of way so had to pull in every time. It was difficult to judge how long you could play chicken for until you reached the next pull in! I believe this tunnel was featured in Murder at the End of the World.

We arrived at Siglufjordur which is a very pretty little fishing town, and is where they filmed the TV series Trapped. Greeted by another clean and warm public toilet, we were also quite keen to have a coffee. Despite the large inviting sign, the cafe below was closed. In fact, everything looked closed, which was a shame because it looked like such a lovely place.

This lighthouse at Sudanes was about the closest we would come to the Arctic Circle.

Black sand dunes

The turf village at Glaumbaer was a great location to explore. It gives a glimpse into the lives of people living in turf houses in the 19th century. It is actually very surprising how warm and quiet they are. I'm much more interested in the history of normal people than of aristocracy, so this was particularly interesting to me.

And Glaumbaer was made even better by having its own cat! There's something very Icelandic looking about this cat.

When we arrived at Blonduos, back near the ring road, we were told that due a large party of people arriving that we had been upgraded to the church. Unsure, quite what was meant by that, we nodded along. This is what was meant: literally the whole church!

This was how it looked inside, looking down from the parapet. The photos don't really do it justice - it was truly sumptuous and lovely and warm - there was a fierce wind blowing outside.

The only downside was that we were hoping for the chance to see northern lights, and the only non-stained glass window was in the bathroom. When I got up in the night, we did see something that looked like silvery grey cloud and quickly dismissed it as no aurora activity. The following morning, we were told by another guest, that they were the northern lights!

Greenland Sea

Day 9: Icelandic Settlement Museum, Snaefellsness Peninsula, Budir

Driving time: Approx. 3 1/2 hours

The drive from Blonduos to Borgarnes was not so interesting as some of the other scenery that we had passed. Borgarnes is quite a large town and there is a Settlement Museum there with a couple of exhibitions: one about the saga of Egil and the other is about settlement. Both are interesting and there are audio guides in English to take you through. There is a fee to enter. The museum also has an excellent restaurant where they have a wellness buffet.

From Borgarnes, you can take the road into the Snaefellsness Peninsula which is said to be a taste of Iceland all in one area. I was most excited about staying here because I had the Hotel Budir on my radar for a long time (it is billed as a boutique, gastronomic hotel).

The hotel is situated right next to the picturesque little church at Budir, and overlooks the beach, and has a backdrop of waterfalls, with the Snaefellsjokull featuring in the distance. In other words, it is a perfect little spot.

After a wander on the beach, we found the best spot in the hotel to have a glass of wine (happy hour) and watch the water. We were spoilt by having a seal come and play just in front of us for a short while.

Dinner at Hotel Budir was absolutely delicious (as expected), but we were most looking forward to the chance of seeing northern lights. The sky was clear but the aurora index was only 2 so the chances were slim. However, at about 10pm we started to see the glow...

You could see the Milky Way so clearly too - it was breathtakingly beautiful. I know the northern lights can be a lot more spectacular than this, but for me, just seeing this was enough.

We were treated to a glorious sunrise at Budir too.

Day 10: Reykjavik

Driving Time: Approx 2 1/2 hours

After spending so much time in the glorious natural landscape of Iceland, it was a little bit of a disappointment to end it in Reykjavik and its endless souvenir shops. Ironically, had we just gone to Reykjavik for a long weekend, I think I would have loved it. 

Anyway, we went to the National Gallery of Iceland, which is situated in two different buildings. The first had just one exhibition showing and that was a mesmerising film about landscapes. Had this been 15 minutes longer, I think I would have nodded off - it was so relaxing and the sofas were very comfortable.

 

The other building housed more traditional art on the themes of land, water etc and also had elements of a science museum. It made for a really interesting concept.

The cathedral is pretty iconic, but we didn't go in.

We went to Kol for dinner, which does do a tasting menu, but I opted for the vegan option of Tomato BBQ Cauliflower: Cauliflower, confit grapes, granola, blueberry vinaigrette, beetroot and hazelnut crumble, hazelnut and celery root crumble, and fennel salad! Then my husband in his wisdom decided to order the dessert sharing platter (thinking that it would be a selection of mini puddings) - nope, there were three full sized desserts, and we tried our very best with them!

We stayed in Hotel Von which I would describe as perfectly lovely but perfunctory hotel.

Day 11: Blue Lagoon

Driving Time: 45 minutes

Annoyingly, British Airways changed our flight from the Sunday to the Monday. Having booked all the hotels ourselves for the ring road trip, we didn't really want to change our plans too much so had a bit of an "in limbo" day on the final day.

But we thought we would book a last minute trip to the Blue Lagoon. It is probably the most well known of all the hot springs and pools but again offers a very different experience to the other two we had visited. 

The approach road was in Grindavik where there was a recent volcano eruption. You could see the new roads that had been laid, and the lava was spilling onto them.

Our package in the pool included face masks and two free drinks. Believe me that two glasses of prosecco can make you a bit giggly in the middle of the day, but it's not a bad way to end a holiday.

The photo below was from a pool outside the Blue Lagoon, but you can really see where it gets its name.

And this marks the end of our wonderful trip to Iceland. I feel like it won't be our last trip there, it is a truly special place.

Love 

Mrs Jones x