Iceland is an ultimate road trip destination. Long tarmac roads bisect the undulating plains, plateaus and glacial ridges, horses run along the side of the highways across wide icy expanses, swathes of lichens and moss adds colour to an otherwise white turf, the colours of the sky changes every hour and smudges the snowy horizon, red roofed building and farm houses dot the landscape, icy glaciers loom in the further distance, and nature beckons you with a magical allure.
Throughout this Best of Iceland-Amazing 9 day Iceland Road Trip , the beauty of nature will enthrall you, building ever lasting memories to cherish. The nature and the weather changes swiftly in a matter of minutes. The icy shroud around you with its out of the world mountain and stony horizons lands you into a realm of disbelief.
Dazzling sunsets and breath-taking waterfalls will force you to stop and take a breather every few dozens of kilometers. The nature and the weather changes swiftly in a maytter of minutes. The snow shroud around you with its out of the world mountains and unbelievable horizons pushes you into a realm of disbelief.
ICELAND – BEST VISITED WITH A ROAD TRIP
A road trip helps you enjoy the landscape and nature best and cherish them in your memory. An idyllic stream can halt you, and so can a sudden rainbow over the closest icy cliff. You can have the luxury of stopping for a break to enjoy such fleeting beauties of nature. You should preferably book an SUV or a 4X4 vehicle if you do not have prior experience in driving on snowy roads and icy terrain.
There are a host of things which you can do in Iceland. nature forms a big part of your tour here, and you would be able to see, live and experience Nature in its raw and most intriguing form. As part of a travel plan, depending on the length of your itinerary and with a decent level of fitness you can enjoy Iceland in all its forms.
Most travelers who travel to Iceland prefer the southern part of Iceland which includes the Golden Circle. It also connects most of the iconic attractions and natures wonders of Iceland around this region. Northern Iceland is more desolate, uninhabited and isolated. The two main cities of Iceland are Reykjavik, the capital, and Akureyri the largest city in the north. The below map charts the sights and locations we visited in Iceland
The maximum speed when driving inside Reykjavik and towns is about 50 kmph while the maximum speed on highways is 90 kmph. Be courteous to the other driver when you are passing through single-lane bridges. You never hurry on Icelandic roads. For any road trip, you need to acquire the knowledge of changing your flat tires. Since you will be travelling miles and miles out into the outlands on your own, there are no immediate auto service garages that you may find.
The central part of Iceland is the Highlands area and is not navigable from October to May. It is here that Vatnajokull, the second largest glacier of Europe, covering 8100 square Kms is located. To the west lies the capital of Reykjavik, and to the eastern end of the country lies the small fishing harbour town of Hofn.The minimum time frame needed for a complete tour around Iceland is two weeks. This means driving all around the island nation on Iceland’s Route #1.
We began our Amazing Road Trip of Iceland after planning it for more than 3 months. This time we had planned for a Road Trip through the best of Iceland attractions in about 8 days. We began by flying in on Norwegian Airlines from Dubai, UAE and were looking forward to a tough trip under extreme Icelandic weather conditions. It was the 21st of March 2017 the winter slowly receding into summer. Three families, including five children from ages 8 to 16, were raring to go on this challenging trip, their excitement was infectious.
Amazing Road Trip – Iceland Part 1
We had booked ourselves on a flight from Dubai to Oslo and then from Oslo to Reykjavik with Norweigian Airlines. It was am eight hour flight for the first leg and a little over an hour for the second leg.
One thing about Norwegian Airlines they are a fabulously cheap low-cost airlines which flies non stop from Dubai to Oslo. Their cabin crew also helps by not really disturbing you as you rest on a red-eye flight. So as we boarded the flight in the middle of the night from Dubai at 2 am and slept for about 3 to 4 hours, the cabin crew slept with us too. And as morning approached and the sun shone with European brightness all around, the flight crew came out with their cart to sell their collection of Nordic items priced high as hell and chargeable tea/ coffee and snacks for the passengers.
Our flight was delayed by about 30 mins all along, and we had to rush through immigration at Arlanda Airport , Oslo as we moved into Schengen Territory. From Stockholm we flew an hour and a half into Oslo where again we had to change our flights to board into the final leg which flies to Reykjavik .
Iceland is one of the coldest inhabited places on earth. Situated below the Arctic circle, it is known for its dramatic landscapes: from erupting geysers, dormant volcanoes, lofty waterfalls and tranquil lakes to sprawling glaciers and raging oceans. It can be visited in both winter and summer. The two main cities of Iceland are Reykjavik, the capital in the west where we were flying into and Akureyri a smaller one to the north.
Smokers – here’s a heads-up : There are no smoking rooms either at Stockholm or Oslo Airport. As my wife Anita started to look into the Duty-free collectibles at Oslo, I squirmed looking at the hefty price tags with the currency conversions running through my mind. In Norway, don’t be surprised to find a sandwich cost 30 US dollars . They always feed them to traveler. 🙂
MAIN ACTIVITIES IN ICELAND
In winter, people visit Iceland for the ‘Northern lights’, for ‘Husky dog sledging’ ( northern Iceland) and for ‘Glacier walks’, while in summer travelers travel for the ‘Midnight sun’, ‘Whale watching’ and ‘Horse Riding’ and ‘off-road Highlands driving’. Summer begins on the first Thursday after May 18th and lasts till September 31st. Prices are exorbitant then as most travelers prefer the comparatively bearable weather conditions during these months. We were travelling on the second of March, between the dates of a new moon and the Equinox which enhances your chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis or Northern lights.
Planning had started some seven months back, and we had booked our flights, hotels and our car rentals over the course of time. Scouting for apt locations,working out the route and logistics plan, dates and daily activities slowly took shape. We were carrying our heavy jackets, handy with us and had packed some woolens, gloves and caps in our carry-in bag in order to be prepared for the first blast of cold immediately after reaching Reykjavik.
We were a three-family team on a 10 day Road Trip across (South) Iceland. Travelling to this extremely challenging country with five children, we had taken extra precaution and gathered as much information as we could. “No late Surprises” was the motto I worked on. As I sat sipping coffee during this final leg of our flight into Reykjavik, I chatted with a particularly friendly Icelandic passenger . He had a bit of quick advice for me: ” When in Iceland, cover your purse“. Well, what he meant was that everything touristy is costly.
Looking at the icy cover below as the plane swayed and banked towards its touchdown I felt the cold inside me. I quickly asked my fellow passenger about any local Icelandic drink that I can taste, and he suggested ‘Brennivin’ also known as Black Death.
As the Norwegian Airlines flight banked and swayed over Keflavik Airport we were greeted with breathtaking sights below. Everything we could see below was veiled with an icy cloth, undulating hills and bluish lakes interspersing the horizon. Iceland looked out of this world from 10000 feet above. It was a long preparation with which I had come here and I couldn’t believe I was really touching down into one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The Norwegian flight from Oslo landed at Reykjavik around 12.20 in the afternoon. The mood in the group was one of elation. Kids were overjoyed and so were we.
For the latest about Iceland’s weather and climatic conditions you can visit the Icelandic Met office here : https://en.vedur.is
Iceland’s National Drinks: Brennivin and Reyka.
In Iceland with subzero temperatures, alcoholic drinks keep you warm. Purchase your drinks from the duty free store at the Keflavik airport as it is costlier outside in the city. The most well known Icelandic drink is a Schnapp ( clear distilled liqueur, similar to a brandy) named Brennivin, or affectionately called Black Death. We also bought a bottle of Icelandic Vodka, Reyka. More details for the connoisseur can be found here. One point to remember, the duty free store stays open based on the flight timings. DO not hang around the Airport unnecessarily as there is a high chance that you mayfind a closed Duty free shop at KEF airport !! 🙂
From my experiences of previous road trips undertaken across US and Europe, I know GPS Devices are NO MORE a necessity for Road Trips! We planned to use Google Maps extensively for our commute, and so mobile data is an absolute necessity. The other App we had loaded in our smart phones was HereMaps. It is a backup support when you are facing challenges with Gmaps. This App is always a safe alternative. You need to preload the country map and same can be done for Google Maps too.
The Duty-free shop at Keflavik Airport sells SIM cards too and we picked up sim cards from the local Icelandic Telecom Operator NOVO. The Novo card came with 1 GB data package for around 20 Euros and intra-Novo calls were free.
Good for usThree families in three cars and we have free communiccation between us then. 🙂.
Setting up our Novo Sim cards , we collected our luggage. Next we moved into the Arrivals Lounge to look for our car rental centre from Greenmotion. No one seemed to be waiting for us, and we called up the help-desk number. A quick smoke beckoned me outside the Airport Terminal at this point, and a gust of icy cold wind greeted me squarely on my face. Happy Iceland, the temperature was minus 1 degrees in Celsius !
Soon an Icelandic gentleman approached us with the Company board showing our names. Got him !!! It was time to get down to business of getting hold of our rented 4X4s.
While you rent your SUV or a Motorhome , do remember to always purchase a comprehensive insurance cover during your trip. The risks of damages from snow, sand, sleet, gravel, ash and strong winds are high. I would suggest you to book your car only from those who have offices inside the KEF Airport Terminal, like Avis or Hertz.Camper-vans and Motor homes are for the more adventurous roadies, to travel between May and October. There are many parks available to pitch a camper and use the water and washroom facilities, but during winter it is better to check ahead to identify the ones which stay open based on your route.
There are two airports in Reykjavik. Keflavik (KEF) is the larger one which flies international routes. Remember, you always fly into Keflavik Airport and NOT to Reykjavik airport which is the domestic and smaller one . Reykjavik (RKV) is mostly used by chartered and other private flights and flights into Greenland, further north west .
Leaving the rest of the team at the Keflavik Airport, we went off to the GreenMotion car rental agency’s office about 2 kms from the airport. If your booked car from Hertz, Europcar or Avis , you can pick your car from the Airport parking itself. I had booked from Greenmotion.
The rental staff at GreenMotion Office tried and moderately succeeded in selling us their local insurance. We had bought complete car insurance from the rentalcars.com and I was fine with that. The complete insurance from GreenMotion which costed around 400 euros . Once done, delivery was hassle free. They advised us to be careful of leaving car doors open, as very strong winds can cause accidents in Iceland.
When you rent a car you should also buy the complete insurance for your car. Nature is so dominant here in all its forbidding forms. Sand and gravel insurance is almost a necessity here in Iceland. Thus always go for a comprehensive and complete car insurance policy. Accidents can happen from narrow mountainous roads, blizzards and sleet, to sand, snow, boulders and steam along the way. In most cases, car rental agencies try to take you for a ride if you do not have full insurance.
This airport is located about 45 kms west of the capital and is a nice 35 minute drive. We had already booked cars from Rental cars four months ahead ( almost thirty percent discounted)! Since driving in Iceland can be tricky, my advise, pick a four-wheel drive or an SUV. Our plan was to stick to the Golden circle route in Iceland initially, and then move to Iceland Route #1 till Hofn on the south-east coast of the country.
We soon got down to plot our course from Keflavik to Uthlid Cottages and started within a few minutes. Driving on Icelandic roads towards Reykjavik seemed pretty cool. There was little traffic on the asphalt smooth roads. Clear road signage and great landscape around calmed my jittery nerves on the first day of the road trip. You keep soakingwith the sights around, low lying mountains soon greeted us from afar, traces of snow around the edges of the road as well as on the slopes of the hills around.
The coast lay on my left and the beautiful city of Reykjavik appeared soon at a distance. A bleak ,cloudy sky and some very light rain greeted us on our first half hour. Traffic was very less this mid-afternoon and soon we took to the highway. Our next stop was Bonus Supermarket to stock up necessities. We planned to cook our own meals as a group for first few days.
A little research had told us that Bonus Hypermarkets with the logo of a Pig’s head was the cheapest. Soon we saw one on the left side of our drive. The icy rain was pattering on the windscreen, temperatures were dipping south. Once we parked, everyone ran from the parking lot to the warmth of the store inside. We picked up our food and supplies for the next three days and also bought some knickknacks for the children .
Bonus Supermarket : We stocked food and necessities on our way from the Bonus supermarkets which comes with a pig logo. Buy groceries from Bonus Hypermarkets. Food is not only costly in Iceland but unavailable for long stretches. There is also an absence of eateries / restaurants along highways. You may be driving thirty kilometers till you see the next town which might not even have a store or a restaurant. Thus, the advise is to always stock food and quick bites with you.
We had booked ourselves at Uthlid Cottages for the first three nights of our trip. Uthlid Cottages is a drive along the Iceland Golden Circle Route up to Thingvellir National Park and then about 35 kms ahead towards Geysir. We had booked cottages with kitchens as the plan was to prepare food at home.
Snowy peaks, Aqua Lakes and Green lichens ,Towards Uthlid Cottages
The road stretched into endless valleys and undulating long winding curves. There was snow on the sides of the road and all around us. Soon we left inhabited locality and were out in the open wilderness. Miles and miles of overwhelming nature lay around us, completely devoid of human civilization.
The sky above was a dull grey, pale and translucent shroud. Open fields of lichens and flat brown grassy shades ran parallel to the road. Every few minutes the backdrop changed to a completely new look. The sky, cloudy and gloomy at times ,kissed the top of the mountains, with its fog and mist. It was hard to control ourselves from stopping every few minutes and ultimately we gave in at a particular bend with a couple of visually striking green- topped houses with an alluring lake and misty mountains as its backdrop .. We just had to celebrate Nature.
The more we drove, towards the higher altitude of Thingvellir National Park, the ice and snow blanketed us from every side. It spread like a continuous omnipresent sheet, covering everything with white. The vegetation slowly disappeared and in turn snow covered both sides of the highway with hilltops of strange shapes and sizes guarding the road on either sides. Soon we approached a bend where again I felt completely immersed with the snowy terrain around us. We were on the Golden Circle route till now , approaching the national park when we took a breather. By then we started seeing flakes of snow pouring down from the skies. 🙂
We planned to reach Uthlid Cottages, before sundown, around 7 pm. The first day at an unknown territory does not warrant unnecessary risks . All of us were dressed in layered clothing ( more of this later) and woolen head gears protected the face and neck from chilling winds that started to blow as the afternoon progressed. A long drive of more than a 100 kms lay ahead and it forced us to take to the highway soon. The landscape unfolded with every turn of the road and we feasted our eyes with the un-spoilt beauty of nature all around us.
Towards Uthlid from Reykjavik: Iceland Road Trip : A Travelogue
Uthlid cottages lies in an unspoiled location out in the wilderness, but geographically close to the big attractions of Gullfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir National Park. Again, Google Maps route was accurate enough and brought us to the door of the Guest House Reception around six thirty in the evening .
Another good thing about this Uthlid Cottages – the reception also operates as a small cafe and grocery where you can pick up your daily necessities. The hotel owners booked us in, and showed us into our cottages. We had booked two adjacent cottages, the larger one accommodating two families while the smaller one was good enough for one. The larger cottage, completely wooden, had four rooms with attached bathrooms and a large dining space with a complete kitchen. It also had a patio at the back which opened to an empty blank horizon covered with snow and faraway undulating rocky structures. The bonus was an in-house built -in Jacuzzi .The family was overwhelmed. The inside was cozy and warm, with heated tiles and a see-through roof.
All of us were tired from the long 14 hour flight duration of over 7000 kms and the 130 plus kilometers of drive, while the wet chilly weather was a worry. They say, when in Iceland never get demotivated by the weather, it can totally change in a couple of hours and so we prayed for the next day to be a sunny day . We unpacked, unloaded our bags and had a general feel of the place. It was time to say Cheers to Iceland and cook food for the evening.
The accommodation management staff had informed us that the chances of sighting the Aurora Borealis was minimal this day, and low hanging cloudy skies further decreased the chances . The Northern Lights is always on the top of the expectation for most of Iceland’s tourists. Would our calculations for this solar phenomenon work ? Would we be lucky on this trip ?? You can always Hope !!:)
For dinner, it was delicious home-made Indian food : we had steaming hot rice, dal, vegetables and spicy chicken gravy !! What more do you want ?
