My Iceland Itinerary(ies)

The picture that started it all: National Geographic Photo of the Day
September 4, 2012 - Litlanesfoss, Iceland
Photograph by Wild Wonders of Europe

I have spent some time researching and refining my tour(s) of Iceland, and have determined that if necessary due to time and budget constraints, my tour of Iceland can be broken up into 3 or 4 trips, each doable in 4-10 days.

Here are a few options that I think would work for touring Iceland:

Part 1: Reykjavik and the Golden Circle (4 days)
Day 1: Arrive in Reykjavik, check into hotel, wander around the city (if desired)
Day 2: Walking tour of Reykjavik, covering the Harbor, Lighthouse (Grotto), National Museum, and Hallgriskirche (samples only)
Day 3: Golden Circle Tour and then spend the night at Blue Lagoon Spa
Day 4: Fly home

Part 2: Westfjords (7 days)
Day 1: Fly into Reykjavik, then fly to Ísafjörður. Pick up rental car, check into hotel.
Day 2: Drive to Látrabjarg, spend the night in Breiðavík.
Day 3: Drive back to Ísafjörður, stopping to hike the Dynjandi walking trail and see the waterfall on the way.
Day 4: Ferry across to Hornstradir Nature Reserve, hike for the day, ferry back to Ísafjörður
Day 5: Kayak around the bay, explore the area - find a hot spring
Day 6: Day trip from Ísafjörður, explore the area... maybe check out the glacier??
Day 7: Fly home

Making no promises, but I might be turning into a backpacker...

Photo by Adarsh Thakuri

As a note, the proper reaction to a statement like that coming from me is "WHAAT!?!?! You, backpacking??? On Purpose!?!?!?!"

Seriously. That's what is going through my head right now.

Despite the fact that I am absolutely NOT a backpacker, I am planning on a 7-day trek through the mountains of Peru as a birthday present to myself the year I turn 40. I'm also planning a return visit to Paris that year, but that is completely irrelevant to this post.

So in preparation for the trek to Machu Picchu, I'm looking into what the best boots will be, what camera it makes sense to take, what backpack would work best... and then I found an article on backpacker.com that is called "The Perfect Circle: Hiking the Annapurna Circuit" and I'm reading it thinking "That would be a great follow-up to both Machu Picchu and my tour of Iceland..."

And then, it lists all these other famous backpacking treks you can go on, and how they can almost compete with the Annapurna Circuit, and lo and behold, I have a list of hiking trips and multisport vacations I want to go on! Also, now that I know that such a thing exists, I think my plan for Iceland fits the "multisport" vacation definition.

1. Machu Picchu
2. Annapurna Circuit

• New Zealand - I'm not sure that this qualifies as a trek, but at the very least, I've added it to the list of places I want to go, and I envision my trip here being a little more like the tour I have planned of Iceland, where you do a little bit of everything, including backpacking.
• Grand Canyon (low on the priority list - I was just there this summer)
• Sweden’s Sarek National Park
• Tour Du Mont Blanc
• Spain’s Valencia region - also possibly more of a regional tour than a strictly backpacking trek
• Italy’s Alta Via 1
• England’s Pennine Way

Iceland Highlights

Based on my research so far, it seems that a road trip of Iceland will be mostly waterfalls, hiking, and driving through scenery. The planned highlights will be whale watching, a boat tour of the Glacier Lagoon, and a day at the Blue Lagoon hot springs. Knowing me, if I'm not careful about how many waterfalls I plan to hike to, after 10 days, I'll be completely bored and tired of stopping just to hike to another waterfall. I have also noticed a horseback riding tour, which might be interesting, as long as I get a REALLY easy horse to ride, and there are some islands that it might be possible to visit by ferry for a day here and there. The trick when planning a trip like this is to make every day just a little bit different, and I'm a little concerned that if I follow the National Geographic tour, or even Rory's itinerary, I won't enjoy myself the entire time.

This will take some very careful planning.

Further notes:

• Gentle Giants whale watching from Husavik; 50-100 EU/person.
• Ferry to Grimsey - Arctic Circle. Departs from Dalvik at 12:00 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Departs at 16:00. (~71 CAD)
• Westman Islands - Ferry leaves from Landeyjarhöfnmore 4x daily; $32/person

National Geographic's Iceland Trip

National Geographic has a trip that you can take with them – a cruise around Iceland. It is a 10-day Itinerary, with an optional pre-trip extension of 3 days. To me, in combination with the knowledge that a Ring Road exists around Iceland, and at first glance, this translates fairly simply into a really great road trip.


National Geographic Itinerary (including the pre-trip extension)

Day -3: Fly into Keflavik airport. Stay at the Blue Lagoon Spa overnight.
Day -2: Drive to Reykjavik, check into Grand Hotel. Guided walking tour of the capital in the afternoon.
Day -1: The Golden Circle: Geysir/Strokkur, Gullfoss, National Park of Thingvellir, return to Reykjavik
Days 1 & 2: Walking tour of Reykjavik’s Old Town – highlights include: Hallgrimskirkja, National Museum
Day 3: West Coast of Iceland: Latrabjarg cliffs, Flatey Island; explore coast by Zodiac
Day 4: Isafjordur
Day 5: Northern Coast of Iceland: Siglufjordur – Herring Museum, Akureyri – Walking tour, botanical garden
Day 6: Myvatn and Husavik: Hverarond mud pools, Krafla geothermal area, Viti crater, Godafoss, Grimsey. Explore the coast by Zodiac. *Midnight sun of summer*
Day 7: Exploring the Langanes (East Coast of Iceland): hiking, coastal exploration by Zodiac…
Day 8: Djupivogur: Vatnajokull ice cap, boat ride through Jokulsarlon
Day 9: Westman Islands:
Day 10: Blue Lagoon, Fly out of Reykjavik.

After more in-depth analysis, the National Geographic trip, being a cruise, includes quite a bit of coastal exploration that might not be possible if you are doing a road trip. I’ll have to compare that with the road map, and will also compare it to the itinerary and sights that Rory mentioned in his blog.

Iceland - Officially on my list!

Part of the series: Planning

I have been wanting to add Iceland to my list of places to go for a long time now, but never could quite figure out where to start.

I found it today. It's called the Ring Road, and it goes all the way around the island, with lots of scenery to see on the way.

• Reference: Where the Hell is Rory

Rory's Itinerary:

Days 1: Fly into Reykjavik. Walking tour(s) of city.
Day 2: Golden Circle Tour: Thingvellir National Park, Gullfoss waterfall, Haukadalur, Kerio Volcanic Crater
Day 3: Reykjavik to Vik: Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Eujafjallajokull volcano, Skogafoss falls (hike up above falls), glacier (unnamed)
Day 4: Vik to Hofn: Laufskalavarda, Fjadrargljufer gorge, Gigjukvisl Bridge, Skaftafell National Park (Jokull Glacier), Jokulsarlon (glacial lagoon), Glacial River Bridge (information office, boat tour through lagoon, black sand beach)
Day 5: Hofn to Myvatn: Drive through Fjords along coastline, Geothermal pools @ Myvatn
Day 6: Myvatn to Akureyri: Drive around Myvatn Lake, Skutustadagigar, Dimmuborgir (lots of hiking paths), Hverfell crater (hike to top for view), Grjotagja, Namafjall, Dettifoss falls, Halfragisfoss falls, Husavik (whale watching), Godafoss falls
Day 7: Akureyri to Reykjavik: Western coast of Iceland

More to come.