ICELAND JULY 2024

~ICELAND JULY 2024~

TRAVEL TO ICELAND

Iceland offers direct flights from several locations, making it an easy stopover destination for travelers heading from the US to Europe. Many people take advantage of a layover here, spending a few days exploring Iceland before continuing their journey.

We flew with Iceland Air, which had great discounts for children under 12. Most flights to Iceland are overnight, and some travelers choose to book a hotel for the night before departure so they can rest upon arrival. We, on the other hand, decided to tough it out and went straight to the Blue Lagoon after arriving. It was the perfect way to relax and freshen up with a nice shower.

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TRANSPORTATION/TRAVEL IN ICELAND:

A popular way to explore Iceland is by renting a campervan, allowing the flexibility to visit various campsites around the island. However, with a group of five, we opted for the car rental and lodging route. If you’re interested in the campervan experience, check out my travel-loving friends at fivewanderingsouls.com with Ten Amazing Days on Ring Road: Iceland by Campervan

VEHICLE RENTAL:
Although Blue Car Rental might seem a bit pricier than other options, it’s well worth the extra cost. Their insurance covers everything, which is essential in Iceland due to the harsh weather conditions and rugged terrain.

Tip: No matter where you rent, make sure to get the full insurance coverage. Many rental cars experience some sort of damage (like scratches) when returned, just from the roads, weather, and wind. While some credit cards may cover this, if you don’t have full coverage, it’s worth paying for it upfront. I read several accounts of people facing huge charges for damage when they didn’t opt for full coverage. We went ahead and paid for the extra insurance with Blue Car Rental and had complete peace of mind.

Booking with Blue Car Rental was seamless. I reserved our car during their Black Friday deals, which offered great discounts. The service was fantastic, and their shuttle service from the airport was quick and easy. You’ll find that most car rental companies are located just a short shuttle ride away from the airport.

The WiFi option they provided was also excellent—it’s a small handheld device that you can take with you even when you’re not in the car. Definitely worth the investment for staying connected.

In my searches, I also came across Lotus Rental https://www.lotuscarrental.is/ which seems like another good option. A quick search will reveal plenty of other rental companies to choose from as well.

If you plan to drive on any F-roads, it’s essential to rent a 4×4 vehicle. F-roads are gravel roads that lead into the interior of Iceland, away from the Ring Road. These roads can be quite rough, with lots of bumps, potholes, and sometimes even deep water. We drove on F35 to reach the Central Highlands, and there’s another popular F-road in the south that takes you to Landmannalaugar, which is similar to the Central Highlands and also requires a 4×4. Keep this in mind when selecting your rental car.

WHAT TO SEE/TRAVEL ROUTE OPTIONS:

Link to the saved locations/points of interest on my Iceland google map:

Iceland points of interest on Google Maps

See the Itinerary at the end for more details on what we did each day!

HOW TO PLAN YOUR TRAVEL ROUTE IN ICELAND:
When planning your Icelandic adventure, the first decision is whether to explore the entire island or focus on a few specific areas. If you’re aiming for the full experience, you’ll want to drive around the entire island (often referred to as the “loop”), but if you prefer a more relaxed pace, areas like the South Coast and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula are perfect for a shorter trip.

The Loop: Clockwise vs. Counterclockwise

1. Counterclockwise Route
   Starting your journey in the south offers an exciting introduction to Iceland’s famous waterfalls, glaciers, and volcanic landscapes. This direction generally means longer drives with fewer stops as you make your way around the island. It’s a great option if you want to dive into Iceland’s dramatic scenery right away. I personally chose this route to see the South Coast first and found it worked perfectly for us, especially as we included the central highlands.
2. Clockwise Route
   The clockwise direction means a longer drive at the start, but many travelers prefer this if they want to ease into their trip with fewer stops while adjusting to jet lag. This route also gives you a slightly different perspective as you head towards the Golden Circle and beyond.

For us, going counterclockwise was the ideal choice—starting in the south and heading through the highlands, skipping the North and West, and then exploring the Golden Circle and Snæfellsnes Peninsula. If you’re not keen on exploring the North-West or Westfjords (which require a separate trip, or a puddle-jumper flight), this route works well.

If You Skip the Full Loop: Exploring Specific Areas

If a full island loop doesn’t appeal to you, I highly recommend focusing on the South Coast and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. These areas offer some of Iceland’s most iconic landscapes, from glaciers and black sand beaches to volcanic craters and charming villages. The only must-see location outside these areas is Stuðlagil Canyon (located in the East, near Mývatn), which you might want to consider if you’re willing to venture further.

If you’d like to explore the Central Highlands, you can access it from the South via Landmannalaugar, an area with similar terrain to what we saw in the highlands to the north.

How to Plan Your Days

When planning your trip, it’s important to consider how much driving you’re comfortable with each day and how many stops you want to make. There are plenty of routes available online, but I found it easiest to choose a pace that allowed us to do the most we could each day without feeling rushed. For us, this meant not overloading our schedule and still having time to savor Iceland’s natural beauty.

I also realized that Reykjavik didn’t require as much time as I initially thought. As a nature lover, I preferred spending more time outdoors, so I felt like half a day in the capital was enough for us.

Feel free to reach out if you have specific questions—there are so many route options, and it’s easier to help you figure out the best one based on what you want to see!

PARKING AT COMMON TOURIST SPOTS AROUND ICELAND:

Most of the tourist places (waterfalls, or any popular site) have parking and there is not a fee to be there but there is a
fee to park. There is often a sign in the parking lot with a QR code that will take you to pay
online. There is a Parka app for most of them, but also an easy park app that we uses a
few times. They do have cameras and I read that if you don’t pay in 24 hours of parking the
rental car company then charges you more. It seemed to cost 5-10$ at each location we
parked and I assume the money goes towards allowing all of us crazy tourists to come and
go while supporting the beautiful nature sites ☺.

SPEED LIMIT IN ICELAND: I read several places that there are cameras around the island (we saw most
near the towns) and if you are speeding they take a photo of your car and you get a very
hefty fine later. We followed the speed limits and haven’t gotten any fines yet but read they
can come later after you are done with your trip so we followed the speed limit ☺

LODGING AROUND THE RING ROAD IN ICELAND:
We had a pretty tight itinerary to see as much around the ring road as we could in 10 days
so we changed lodging every night. I thought this might feel crazy but honestly it wasn’t bad
at all and I enjoyed seeing all the different lodging options/areas. We were very efficient
with packing up in the morning and moving on. Some cottages/cabins allowed 4 but when I
contacted them, they were fine with us having a 3rd kid. Some offered extra bedding, but we
also brought our own blow up mattress which was fantastic to allow for an extra bed when
needed. Here is a link to the one we used and it was awesome- Self blow up mattress
We bought it when it was on sale and it blows up by itself when plugged in.

If changing locations every night seems too daunting or you prefer less moving around, you
could do a couple nights in the south and the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. The south is where
there is the most to see, and I would also highly recommend at least one night in the
Snæfellsnes Peninsula area. We loved the Arnarstapi area. See our itinerary for links to
the lodges/cottages we stayed at.

Here is a list of my favorite Lodges we stayed at around the Ring Road and why:
● Panoramaglass lodge-Frigg premium family in West Iceland. This was amazing all around for families. Very pricey but was worth every penny for us, if cost is not an issue I
would stay more than one night.

● Seljalandsfoss Horizons Great location for touring in the south and great
inside and out

● Myvatn Hlid cottages Great option in the north/east and had laundry
that they did for us overnight, was the only place with an easy laundry option. Great view and inside of
cabin

● Hestasport cottages (or on booking.com): basically to be close to the F road we
would be doing the next day. Great lodge with a geothermal pool right by the cottages and very
reasonable in price. Also had a great horse riding option nearby.

● Highland Base Lodge: If you want to see the highlands this place is fantastic.
You can pick a less expensive hut or they have some expensive luxury hotel/lodge options as well.

● Arnarstapi Center: loved this for its location near the beautiful cliffs and
they have a variety of lodging options depending on how many beds are needed. They have adorable
cottages but they only sleep 2 people so we went with the hotel family room option which fit us great.

If you are looking for a place in a very specific area you can start with Booking.com but also
I found things just by zooming in on google maps and they usually show all lodges. There
are so many great options we didn’t use simply because of the location we decided to look
into but I remember seeing so many unique great options!

We didn’t stay at too many hotels since we had 5 people and parking and bringing bags
in/out was easier with a cottage option.

TIPS FOR VISITING CERTAIN AREAS IN ICELAND:
● If you are looking to capture a perfect photo of something, I would highly recommend
staying close to it so you can be there either at sunset/sunrise or at least before or
after many other tourists are there.
● We only ran into extreme crowds in the Golden Circle and at Godafoss. Both of
these locations bring a ton of tour buses. The Golden Circle was the worst, most
likely coming from Reykjavik, and Godafoss comes from tours coming off cruise
boats landing in Akureyri.
● The south also has some tours to the waterfalls and Glacier lagoon but for some
reason it didn’t seem as bad. Nowhere near the crowds you might find the US
national parks these days. If you want no crowds then go to places early morning
before 8am or after 6pm when the tour buses are not running. The worst was the
Golden circle-the only spot I loved in the Golden circle was Bruarfoss so if you
skipped that for crowds I don’t think you would miss much.
● Reykjavik was less family friendly if you wanted to stay in the center and tends to be
very expensive. If you don’t care about staying in the center I would recommend
staying out of Reykjavik for cost and more unique lodging options. I felt like we could
have seen Reykjavik in a half of a day but I enjoy nature over the city so if you like
the city feel maybe you will want more time here.

LAGOONS:
This question seems to come up a lot. So man options there and from what I read they are
really all awesome in their own way. It was a great option for being able to take a shower
and work off some jet lag right after we arrived (at 1am our time, 6 am Iceland time). We
picked up our car and headed right there.
If you don’t want a touristy feel then you can always seek out the ones that are off the
beaten path. The main ones are geared towards tourists and I thought the Blue Lagoon
was super cool. Some say it’s too touristy and busy, but if you go early or late that helps
and I thought it was awesome and I don’t usually like touristy things or crowds. Sky Lagoon
could also be a good option near Reykjavik but kids are not allowed so check ages are
allowed. Otherwise there are lots of geothermal pools throughout the Island easily found
with a google search.
My favorite geothermal pool off the beaten path was Seljavallalavg Swimming
pool- It’s in the south between the two famous waterfalls Skogafoss and
Seljalandsfoss. There is a parking area off the ring road 1 and a short hike there.
They don’t have any
“water closets” (bathrooms) but here is a changing area. Just bring a towel and
swimsuit and camera for amazing photos with a backdrop of the valley behind.

PACKING LIST RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ICELAND:
● Waterproof case for phone near waterfalls or lagoons

● Portable phone charger- I bring this on all vacations now and is great to have when
you aren’t able to charge during the day (and maybe like to take lots of photos or use
the phone for directions and map)

● Plugin adapter for US to Iceland (and bring a converter if you have anything you
need to charge that would need the converter). We brought one of each, the phones
work with the adapter, but things like our plug in blow up mattress or toothbrush
charger needed a converter.

● I appreciated having a foldable cooler to put store bought food in when needed. We
didn’t have any ice to keep it cold but it helped keep it organized. I had also brought
a few pieces of disposable silverware which was great for making the PB&J’s.

● We brought a large foldable bag that we used to keep all jackets and rain gear in for
easy access since the weather can change all day.

● Depending on the time of year, bring warm gear- In July we did bring out ear bands
and gloves once or twice, but could have probably been ok without. Girls were happy
to have them when they were chilly. It wasn’t super cold (40-60 deg each day) but
when its windy and/or misty it can feel colder.

● What to wear: every day I wore a tank/T-shirt, athletic long sleeve layer and light zip
up or puffer jacket. Depending on temp/wind/rain we always had our rain jackets on
hand if needed. There were times when we were able to be in the tank/t-shirt and a
few times I pulled out the puffer jacket. I always had leggings (capri or full length
depending). People often recommend a quick try hiking pant which would also be a
great option. Wear comfortable active clothes with lots of layer options and you
should be good! I did pull out rain pants once and had the girls in them if they were
cold or we were doing a lot while it was raining or by a waterfall. The great thing
about Icelandic weather is you don’t typically sweat that much so you can easily
re-wear things!
Side note- doing laundry is hard to come by and we only had one lodge have an
onsite option so plan accordingly!

● Shoes: Waterproof trail running shoes or a light waterproof hiker is a MUST! We
each brought two hiking/trail runners. This was helpful if one got wet. These my absolute favorite waterproof trail runner: Salomon Speedcross
I love these for running on snowy trails in the Midwest in the winter too!

I had a hard time finding a good waterproof option for the kids and ended up
with the kids speedcross and they worked great

FOOD!
I was extremely impressed with the food. And know that we are not “foodie” people. While on our adventures
we eat so that we are not hungry, but we don’t seek out special food options or restaurants.
We typically ate out once daily and then did snacks from the grocery store for the other
meals. Several of our lodges had breakfast options so at times we would do the breakfast,
but no meal was ever under 100$ and typically more. Some type of bread, and peanut
butter and granola were always in the car with us. You will often see a Kronan or Bonus in
towns and those are the grocery stores.
We only had one not-so-amazing meal in all the places we ate.

Here were our favorite restaurants if you happen to be in those areas:
● Vojafjos: In Myvatn, and there is a cow parlor
attached and you can watch them milk the cows and visit them while you wait for
your food. The food here was also amazing and their specialty is farm-to-table.
● Kaffi Krókur (no website) Aðalgata 16, 550 Sauðárkrókur, Iceland: this one is located
in Saudarkrokur in the north. We happened upon this randomly looking for
something while in the north and the food was just amazing!
● Black Beach Restaurant (no website): this is located at the Black Sand Beach near
Vik. It’s a common beach visited with the basalt columns and was super convenient.
The food was amazing! Sometimes we didn’t know if the food was amazing or if we
were just hungry and didn’t want another snack from the car bag ☺.

Is it as expensive as people say?
Car rental, food and gas were the most expensive/surprises for us. The food was the
biggest surprise of feeling crazy expensive. You will pay 20$ or more for anything you order
at a restaurant, even for a bowl of soup ect. Gas was also more than we are used to and
rental cars in general are pricey. You don’t really know how much you are spending
because it’s listed in Krona but we kept the conversion easy access on our phones. You
need to eat and the car needs gas so those ended up being more than expected but
necessary. Otherwise I didn’t think the lodging was too crazy and you can often find flights
at a reasonable cost.

ICELAND ITINERARY

This was our daily itinerary. Each day was full, I wouldn’t have added anything to any of the days, nor did I feel it was too much.

As discussed, you could change this to fit your preferences for length and locations. If you had fewer days I would recommend sticking to the sites in the south, west, and the Snæfellsnes peninsula. I enjoyed the center area of Highlands, Kerlingarfjöll, and Hveradalir, but you could head to areas similar to this in the south instead. The Golden Circle was ok and easy to get to, but I loved all the other areas so much more. There is beauty everywhere and the kiddos loved hanging out in some of the simplest spots we found.