Iceland is amazing. There is nothing like the scenery there + the chance to view the northern lights. TRIP COST FOR 2 Flight: $325/pp (DTW <> JFK <> KEF) Hotels: $1050 Activities: $815 Rental Car: $415 Misc: $1820 (FOOD IS SO EXPENSIVE!) Total: $5400 Per Person Total: $2700 Iceland Google Mapped: https://goo.gl/maps/qTEuWmHfDaDVfHbR8 DAY 1: BLUE LAGOON TO WEST ICELAND Blue Lagoon
Jet Lag
Ytri Tunga - lookout with seals
LODGING Hotel Hafnarfjall *booked "bungalow with sea view" - essentially a tiny house - LOVED! LEARNED LODGING OPTIONS: I ended up booking all our stays through booking.com or airbnb. We met a couple renting a heated camper van, the only downside to this is going outdoors to go to the bathroom. There are a ton of campsites around the island, making for a less stressful itinerary. Most days we barely ate lunch, because I jammed so much into the day, with sunlight only being out from 9-5. There were very many hangry moments in our days. Some Camper Vans we saw: Camp Easy & Happy Camper - but keep it in mind as an option! If I ever go to the Iceland again, I'd choose the camper van route. DAY 2: WEST ICELAND TO THE GOLDEN CIRCLE Since we took a crazy long nap yesterday during precious daylight yesterday, we explored a little more of the west today. Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge
Kirkjufell Mountain
FROM THE WEST TO GOLDEN CIRCLE Kerið Crater
Geysir Geothermal Area
Gullfoss
LODGING Airbnb - Austurey Cottages - another great tiny house! Other places to see in West Iceland that we didn't have time for:
DAY 3: SNORKEL THE SILFRA Snorkel the Silfra
DAY 3 CONTINUED: SOUTH ICELAND Seljalandsfoss
Gljúfrafoss
Skógafoss
Reynisfjara Beach
Fjaðrárgljúfur
LODGING Fosshotel Nupar This place is deceiving. Looks nice from the outside, the lobby, the dining room, the bathrooms, until you get into your own room. Great dinner & breakfast, and will knock on your door (if you opt in) if they see the northern lights! But our bathroom was gag-worthy, and I don't have high standards. Beware. Things we didn't get to because of time:
DAY 4: GLACIER HIKE / DIAMOND BEACH Glacier Hike
Svartifoss
There are more glaciers to see in this area, but we were glaciered-out after our trek
Diamond Beach
LODGING Gerdi Guesthouse DAY 5: DRIVE 5 HOURS TO MYVATN Vestrahorn
LODGING Icelandair Hotel Myvatn ^the nicest hotel we stayed in Things we didn't see due to time: Seydisfjordur - village with rainbow road Stuðlagil Canyon DAY 6: MYVATN - ARSKOGSSANDUR So, we found out why it was so windy yesterday. We woke up to being a winter storm. One day = not winter, today = winter. We couldn't see out our window. We didn't want to go outside, so we stayed in the hotel as long as possible. When we went to check out around noon:
Mývatn Nature Baths
Grjótagjá Cave
Akureyri
Bjórböðin - Beer Spa
LODGING Airbnb Igloo ^ absolute favorite place we stayed. We saw the northern lights in between storm clouds from our bed. Things we didn't see due to the weather:
DAY 7: DRIVE 5 HOURS TO REYKJAVIK + EXPLORE THE CITY Thankfully, no snow storms! I tried to break up the drive with a few stops in between Kolugljúfur Canyon
Grábrók
Reykjavík
Grotto Lighthouse
LODGING Hotel Fron ^Nice! Lovely location in the city center. *note 1 day of travel to get there & 1 day to get back were not apart of this - but plan for it! - 9 days total. HIGHLIGHTS:
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