Cold as ICE-land.
- Stephanie Hall
- Jul 18, 2018
- 7 min read
Okay, Iceland isn't really THAT cold. But with round trip flights from the U.S. to Reykjavik being dirt cheap as of late, Iceland is being heavily traveled to by Americans, so here are our recommendations from our winter wonderland adventure.
*Disclaimer: our trip to Iceland was in the end of February. There are some very important factors to take into consideration when traveling to Iceland in the winter.
1. Be prepared for some CRAZY weather and be flexible in your planning. Winter weather in Iceland can change quickly and roads can go from safe and deadly in minutes. However, Iceland is beautiful year round, so don't let it deter you from going.
It is dark longer than it is light out (think about it's location on the globe). However, we found the daylight hours aren't that much shorter than in the Midwest during the winter.
It isn't actually that cold! Average temperatures in during an Icelandic winter are 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Here is our sample itinerary for one week of adventure in Iceland. Much of our itinerary came as a recommendation from our friend, Caitey, after she spent ten days driving the ring road with her husband a few months prior. Thanks again, Caitey!
Day 1:
Fly into Reykjavik, Iceland. Many flights from the U.S. to Iceland fly overnight (as they do to most of Europe). We tried VERY hard to sleep on the direct 6 hour flight from Chicago O'Hare to Reykjavik, so we could spend our entire first day in Iceland exploring.
Car Rental: We rented a Ford Kuga (similar to a Ford Escape) from Geysir Rentals. They were one of the more affordable options we found on Holiday Autos, but still had good reviews. We had absolutely no issues and definitely rent with them again! The car rental companies are at the airport, but a small shuttle ride away. You can find the shuttle outside the arrivals terminal. We would definitely recommend renting a car with AWD/4 wheel drive if you go to Iceland in the winter, the roads are too unpredictable and the extra space for all of your winter gear is nice. Gas is very expensive in Iceland (~100 USD to fill a small SUVs tank), so another tip we were told was to rent a diesel vehicle. We did not as there were none available. Be sure to get a car with a GPS. Navigating Iceland is not too difficult, as there are not many roads, but the language makes navigation a challenge.
Stop 1: The Blue Lagoon. It's touristy, but it's a must see and it was perfect on a foggy, cloudy, post red eye morning.
TIP: Buy your ticket ahead of time. We purchased ours online before leaving and picked our time slot. We went with the comfort package and it was perfect. We got a drink, a mask and plenty of time enjoying the hot springs!
Stop 2: Find your housing in Reykjavik. We stayed in an AirBnB in the middle of Reykjavik and it was the most perfect stay with Elsa (yes, her name was Elsa). I recommend using AirBnBs for all of your travels because of how affordable they are and I love staying in local homes or with the locals themselves!
We spent the afternoon roaming around Reykjavik. It's actually a pretty small, walkable downtown area with many restaurants, bars and shops. Walk around the Old Harbor. Find Hallgrimskirkja church (open 9am-5pm). There is a small fee for entering, but ride the elevator to the top for a view of the city. Walk along the water. Find a wool sweater. We had fish and chips for dinner, there are many, many restaurants, and we opted to find one that wasn't a chain or international. Food and drinks in Iceland are also very expensive, so be prepared for it to be the largest portion of your budget!
Day 2:
We pre-booked the Silfra snorkeling tour in Thingvellir National Park, so we were up bright (actually dark) and early to drive an hour out to where our tour started! Our recommendation is dive.is, their guides were amazing and we had SO much fun. Think diving or snorkeling Silfra (fissure between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates) and finishing off with hot chocolate and cookies. Then, we would recommend exploring the park, which unfortunately we were not able to do due to some bad winter weather rolling in, however we read about many fun hikes and things to see.
We stayed in Fludir in another adorable AirBnB that we loved. Once you leave Reykjavik and begin to head west, things like gas stations, grocery stores, etc, get more spread out, so be prepared ahead of timeanother adorable AirBnB that we loved. Once you leave Reykjavik and begin to head west, things like gas stations, grocery stores, etc, get more spread out, so be prepared ahead of time.
Day 3:
We made up some day two afternoon activities that we missed out on due to the weather. Must do's include: Gullfoss (waterfall), the Geysir Hot Spring (erupts frequently), and Kerid Crater. FYI: Most places you stop in Iceland have a small fee for parking that helps maintain the sites. All of these sites are relatively close to Thingvellir National Park.
We also were not able to do the Secret Lagoon in Fludir, which we had heard great things about.
Dining options near Reykholt and Fludir: Fridheimer Farm (has very limited hours, but looked cute!) or Cafe Mika (had great, huge pizzas).
Then head west from Reyholt to Vik with many other great stops along the way.
Seljalandsfoss- a stop with right off the highway with a few waterfalls along the way and a scenic walk. Gljufurarbui waterfall is the waterfall furthest from the parking lot hidden behind a rock. We spent lots of time trying to figure out how to get to the base of the waterfall and found you must wade in the small creek to get into the cave under the massive waterfall (SO worth it, one of the highlights of our trip). **You will get wet**
Seljavallaulaug thermal pool in Skogar. The pool is nestled in a valley below Eyjafjallajokull. There is a small parking lot to park and you must hike about 15 minutes along the river to the pool. There is a bath house there to change (which was disgusting, but available). The pool itself is cool because it is a natural thermal pool, however it isn't all that warm, and being it is outside, the bottom is very slippery and mossy. However, we really enjoyed our stop.
Skogafoss is another large waterfall (there is a theme to this road trip) off the highway. You can stand at the base of this huge, loud waterfall, or climb up a number of stairs to get to the top of the falls to hike around a bit and get a view from the top. On our way back to Reykjavik, we actually took a break in our drive to do this hike.
Last stop on our way into Vik was the Black Sand Beach or also known as Reynisfjara. Check the weather ahead of time, because the beach is dangerous when windy and the waves and tide have taken people out to the ocean. However, the beach is beautiful and worth the stop!
Our Vik accommodation was a hotel. All accommodation, in Vik tended to be a little more expensive as Vik is the only "bigger" (still tiny) town in the area. There are some cute, small restaurants around town and a church up on the hill with great views. Stop at Halldorskaffi for dinner!
Day 4:
Vik to Hofn. Make a stop along the way at Fjardrargljufur canyon, it is a little bit off the main road, before the road you turn on becomes an F road. The hike was amazing, with lots of views and waterfalls along the way.
Then head to Skaftafell National Park. As you drive, the closer you get to the park, you begin to see the glacier in the distance. It is even more amazing close up!
In Skaftafell, there are many hikes and activities to do. One of the faster hikes (only had so much time) we did was Svartifoss, a waterfall hidden at the end of the trail. It recommends crampons if there is ice on the trail, which we did not have, but we would also HIGHLY recommend them as it was VERY slick for the end portion of the trail. After, we also walked to one of the access points of the glacier in the park. It was a paved path from the visitor center, an easy walk and incredible view!
Our next stop was the Jokusarlon Lagoon, which we got a second look at the following day with our glacial hike. This lagoon is at the foot of the glacier and the lake has floating pieces of the ice in it. The lake changes every day! Diamond Beach is directly across the road from the lagoon and has many pieces of washed up glacial ice on it.
Our stay in Höfn was a small bed and breakfast next tothe harbor. For dinner, we headed over to Pakkhus for langoustine. It was expensive, but an experience!
Day 5:
Glacial hike day! One of my very favorite activities we did was hike the glacier. We had a tough time picking a company, but were very happy with our choice! Glacier Hikes are only offered during the winter. But, there are many other options if you are visiting during another season. We would recommend Jokusarlon lagoon cruises, kayaks and other tours to get closer to the glacier and into an ice cave. We pre-booked our hike with Ice Guide, which was a smaller company, which we enjoyed the smaller group. We did the Ice Cave Excursion, that lasts 4.5-6 hours (ours lasted 6 hours). It is ranked as moderate to difficult, it was definitely do-able, just a long day! We were able to hike across the glacier to the lagoon, into an ice cave and back. Definitely a highlight!
Public swimming pools are a social place for locals, so we checked one out that evening, mostly for the hot tub.
Day 6:
The long drive back from Hofn to Reykjavik. We reserved a hike in the middle of the drive to break it up. We explored behind Skogafoss, which was about halfway back to the city. Our evening in Reykjavik was pretty low key with dinner and a drink.
Day 7:
Some time spent in the middle of Reykjavik before heading back to the states!
There it is- our 7 day itinerary in Iceland. We drove half of the Ring Road, but like I said earlier, it is possible to drive the entire Ring Road, it would just take a little more time to stop at sites and to explore.
We had the trip of a lifetime and would recommend everyone and anyone to head over to this little island to see it all has to offer. If you have any questions, reach out and we can go into greater detail!
Happy hiking!
Steph and Taylor
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