Why You Should Road Trip Iceland

Iceland is still one of my favorite destinations I’ve ever traveled to. The crisp air, amazing landscapes, and kind people really make this a great vacation spot. Iceland is becoming more and more of a popular destination and with that is coming new travel deals to Iceland that encompass a few days in Reykjavik with a few day trips from there. I must advise you DO NOT DO THIS. Reykjavik and the surrounding area is great but it is only a small snippet of the amazingness Iceland has to offer. Here are my top reasons why you should road trip Iceland:

1. Go at your own pace – When you rent a car and do a road trip you can pull off where you want, stay longer at places you love, leave earlier at places you don’t. You don’t have to follow a schedule and you can do exactly what you want to do. We quickly learned the word “foss” in Icelandic meant waterfall so when we passed a sign that said “Urridafoss” we knew it was some sort of waterfall and pulled over. We were so happy we did to.
   
2. Small to no crowds – When you have a rental car you don’t need to go on tours. You can do them yourselves! We had a blast stopping at gorgeous waterfalls and hot springs and being the only people there. It made the scenery even more perfect.
3. See amazing landscapes – If you go to Iceland and stay in Reykjavik you will no doubt see some beautiful scenery but you will miss a lot too. When we started our drive we would stop and take a picture of each beautiful waterfall we came by, but by the 100th one we knew we couldn’t continue stopping. The amount of gorgeous waterfalls and mountains are unreal.
   
4. Get to know the people and culture – Because every night we were staying somwhere knew we really got to experience different types of Icelandic living. We stayed one night on a ranch, another night at a log cabin, and more. We got to talk with the owners who were from all different walks of life and got to eat traditional meals.
   
5. You can’t get lost – The awesome thing about road-tripping around Iceland is there is one major road, highway 1. It would be really hard to get lost. This road runs the whole way around Iceland and makes navigating a breeze.

Why you should visit Iceland, no words

Tips on Visiting Iceland

When we decided to go to Iceland many people asked “why”? 

Why not go somewhere warm?

What in the world is there to do in Iceland?

Let me tell you… Iceland is amazing. Natural warm swimming wholes, the most gorgeous scenery in the world, and some of the nicest people out there make Iceland a perfect destination. 

1. My number one piece of advice to someone who wants to visit Iceland.. RENT A CAR and Road trip! Don’t stay in Reykjavik(Ray-Ka-Veek) the whole time, try and see as much as you can. You will find that cars are expensive to rent in Iceland, but let me tell you.. it is worth it. Reykjavik is a really fun city, but as soon as you get out on Highway one the gorgeous scenery is never ending. I cannot even tell you how many waterfalls we saw. By about the 10th one we realized we couldn’t stop for every one of them… there’s just too many! Many homes are built just right in front of these falls. Like this one

Could you imagine that as your back yard? 

If you road trip you will also have the opportunity to see all the amazing scenery of Iceland. Like Dryholaey, Jokusarlon, the cute town of Vik, and much much more. 

2. Pack snacks. Iceland has some great food, we enjoyed all of our meals while there. The issue is when on the road, food can be hard to come by. We would go hours without seeing somewhere to eat. Generally your only option is gas station food which consists of hot dogs and ham and cheese sandwiches. 

3. Go during the Spring or Fall. While we were visiting the sun came up at 5am and set at 11pm. We didn’t have to worry about getting to our next destination before dark. We had plenty of time. Spring and Fall are also Iceland’s shoulder seasons. Not as many tourists are around, I felt like Ryan and I had the whole country to ourselves. There wasn’t one site that was packed with tourists. Although many people visit Iceland in the winter to see the northern lights, the northern lights are not guaranteed to show up. I would hesitate to plan a vacation around the northern lights only to never see them. 

4. Find Seljavallalaug. This was mine and Ryan’s favorite part of the trip. Seljavallalaug is the oldest pool in Iceland. It’s hidden back in a valley and built into the side of a mountain, without being told it was there you’d never know. It is filled with natural warm water. It’s not manned and is only cleaned once a year but the hike to it and the views from it are stunning. Make sure to find the time to search out this pool. You will not regret it. 

5. Road Trip Around the Entire Island. This is my biggest regret. Ryan and I did about half the island and went back the same way. I wish we would have gone around the entire island. There is only one road and it is conveniently named Highway 1. It takes you around the island, it makes it hard to get lost. There are so many amazing sights and I am convinced we need to go back and road trip the other half of the island we missed. 

Let me know your favorite parts of Iceland!