Miles Driven = Aprox 1,500 Miles Hiked = 55+
All the details and pictures of our 7 days in one post! Buckle up, and get ready for lots of Game of Thrones locations on the drive around Iceland's Road 1 (aka Thodvegur)!
Before you start this drive, make sure to bookmark this page as it is an up-to-date map of any and all road closures and unsafe driving conditions around the island.
Day 1
The one major benefit of living in Dallas is that most flights around the world are direct. We always do direct if we can, it cuts down on luggage not making connections, or us not making connections due to delays. Its roughly an 8 hour flight from Dallas to Reykjavik, and the time difference is 5 hours. We left around 8pm Friday evening, and landed bight and early at 9:15 the next morning.
The airport is small and easy enough to navigate, most of the major rental car companies are located on site. However if you are renting camper vans from North Bound or Happy Camper, or are using a smaller rental company, you will have to catch their shuttle to an off site location. After picking up Helga (the Nissan Pulsar we rented for the week), we headed out. In talking to other travelers along the way, the ones that went clockwise around the island from Reykjavik seemed a little less than excited about what they had seen thus far. We went anticlockwise around the island and had a blast from moment 1. We also did a tremendous amount of hiking at the beginning of our trip, so the fact that the Western side of the island (which is a little flatter) was at the end of our trip was helpful to us.
When we got to Iceland, we were told that the summer of 2018 has been the worst on record since monitoring began by the Icelandic Meteorological Office, more than 100 years ago. June saw less sunshine and more rain that any year previously. That being said, Iceland is still a gorgeous country, and rain or shine, we were determined to make the best of it.
Was our first stop, its a little ways off of Road 1 on 39, but not too far. It was caused by the eruption of a nearby volcano. The lava from which flowed underground out to the sea, once the lava flow was complete, the empty tube was left behind.
They offer two types of tours: Standard tours which are every hour on the hour, and Extreme tours which take place every 3 to 4 hours. The day we got there, they were setting up for the solstice festival, which is an EDM dance party. We didn't get to go as far it the cave as usual, but what we saw was well worth it just to see the lava formations.
About an hour or so down the road from the lava tube, these two water falls are located on Road 1. We got there early afternoon and it was already crowded. Most people only stop to see Seljalandsfoss
and completely skip Gljúfrabúi, which is a huge mistake. The walk over to Gljúfrabúi is only about 1 kilometer and well worth it. From the outside it looks like this
Day 2
Seljavallalaug Thermal Pool
After calling it an early night, we woke up at 7am the next morning and got on the road. Our first stop was Seljavallalaug. If you are coming from Reykjavik, from the ring road you would turn left onto road 242, which is just past the Iceland Erupts museum (which would be on the right). Keep driving until you see the sign for Seljavellir, you will see the new pool where you can park. The road was a bit washed out, but we made it just fine.
From the car park you have about a 15 minute walk to the older thermal pool, which is nestled in the bottom of the valley.
There is a trail that will take you a little bit of the way, but with all the rain Iceland has had this summer, the rest of the trail was washed away.
We followed the river bed and found it just fine. If you think you are going the wrong way, your not, just keep going. You will cross a stream first
and then come to the river. You will have to cross the river, but its not to deep. If you have waterproof shoes you will be just fine, and if you are lucky, this makeshift bridge will be there for you to walk across.
You wont see the thermal pool until you come around the last bend, so keep a lookout for the snoopy water tower. He leads the way...
We got there early enough that we were the first ones there. The fog hadn't even lifted for the day yet.
When we left several other people had started to show up. Please keep in mind that if you are going to Seljavallalaug, there are no trash cans. Whatever you take in, take back out. Don't leave your trash. Be smart and take a towel and a dry set of clothes or at least a plastic bag for your wet clothes with you.
Skógafoss
Our next stop was Skógafoss, which is not to far from Seljavallalaug. Skógafoss is beautiful and has some good hiking associated with it.
Once you make it up the steep stairs, the rest is pretty easy.
Solheimasandur Plane Wreck
11 minutes down the road from Skógafoss, you will find the Solheimasandur Plane Wreck. On November 24, 1973 a US Navy airplane (a Douglas Super DC-3) crash landed on the beach. The crew survived the impact, but the plane was abandoned and left to the elements. The trail out to the crash site is marked with yellow stakes.
The sign says the walk will take you between 3 - 4 hours round trip. Not including the time we stopped to take pictures, we walked it in about an hour and 45 minutes. It was very eerie and quite at the wreck and we felt as though we were in a post apocalyptic movie scene the entire time.
Dyrhólaey Arch & Hálsanefshellir Cave
20 minutes away, our next stop was the Dyrhólaey Arch
and Hálsanefshellir Cave on Reynisfjara Beach.
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
Our last stop of the day was Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, which is about an hour from Reynisfjara Beach.
Day 3
Svartifoss Falls & Vatnajökull Glacier
We started the day off with a hike up to Svartifoss falls which is in Vatnajökull National Park.
Also in Game of Thrones, is the Vatnajökull glacier, which the 'Wall’ is built on (with CGI effects)
Jökulsárlón Glacier & Diamond Beach
A 45 minute drive from Vatnajökull National Park, is Jökulsárlón Glacier.
The glacier is breaking apart, and the resulting pieces wash up on what is referred to as Diamond Beach.
Vesturhorn Viking Village
Continuing our trek on Road 1, we next stopped at the small village of Vesturhorn, which boasts a replica viking village.
Fáskrúðsfjörður
Day 3 came to an end in the village of Fáskrúðsfjörður, in a pretty little house that we found on Airbnb. The property had waterfalls located throughout, and several acres of trails that we walked around.
It was by far my favorite place to stay.
Day 4
Seyðisfjörður
After leaving Fáskrúðsfjörður, we stopped in the town of Seyðisfjörður. It is one of the bigger towns in the area as a ferry line from Europe drops off and picks up here. The town is really picturesque with several small cafe's and a grocery store, but this church was the main focal point of the town.
Dettifoss
The most powerful waterfall in all of Europe was our next stop. To get here you turn off of Road 1, onto 864, which is dirt road, and drive for about 45 minutes.
Námafjall Hverir
Once we were back on Road 1, we saw a sign for Námafjall Hverir and curious as to what it was, stopped. It turned out to be a series of fumaroles and mud pots.
The temperatures here are around 400 degree Fahrenheit (around 200 Celsius), and the fumaroles give off hydrogen sulfide gas and leave behind sulfur deposits.
Grjótagjá Cave
After the fumaroles we made a snap decision to stop at Grjótagjá Cave, and I'm glad we did. This thermal cave is most famously known from Game of Thrones as the setting for the infamous scene between Jon Snow and Ygritte.
Swimming in Grjótagjá was stopped in the 1970's after an eruption of the nearby volcano caused the water to overheat. With magma flowing about a mile under the surface of the cave, the heating can be very unpredictable from day to day.
Dimmuborgir & Lake Mývatn
Once we got back onto Road 1, out next stop was the volcano at Dimmuborgir. You can also see Lake Mývatn from the volcano as well.
We hiked for several miles at Dimmuborgir (which is also used in Game of Thrones as the setting for the Mance Raider's Wildling Camp). The trail is small and surrounded with sharp basalt and scoria rocks on either side, but it was well worth it for these views.
Goðafoss
Was out last waterfall and last stop of the day. This one is easy to get to as it is right along Road 1.
Akureyri
We called it a day when we reached Akureyri. Luckily we happened to roll into town right as the FIFA game between Iceland v. Croatia stated, and stumbled upon the town square where they had a big screen set up.
Despite Iceland's loss, the people and atmosphere were wonderful. We finished off with dinner at Akureyri Fish & Chips.
We stayed in a cute little Airbnb and our host and her puppy were incredibly sweet and welcoming!
Day 5
Bjorbodin Beer Spa
Our first stop of the day was 30 minutes north of Akureyri at the Bjorbodin Beer Spa. Yes, you read that right, the Beer Spa. I originally booked this mostly for my husband, thinking that I would go but wouldn't be that impressed. Let me tell you now, I was the most relaxed I have ever been in my entire adult life. After all of the rain and hiking we had done, this was EXACTLY what we needed. We started off with an hour long soak in the hot tubs overlooking Eyjafjörður
Then spent 30 minutes soaking in the beer bath, and no, you can't drink the bathwater.
The beer bath is a mixture of young beer, brewers yeast, hops, water, beer oil and beer salt. According to the information provided, the beer is in the early stages of fermentation, which means that it has a low pH, which is good for tightening and cleansing your skin and softening your hair. The brewers yeast is full of vitamin B, and a great source of protein, potassium, iron, zink and magnesium. The hops is full of antioxidants and alpha acids and the oils have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin and decreases the surface blood vessels. Hops also have a soothing and relaxing effect on the muscles and body.
After the 30 minute soak, you are moved to the relaxation room. Where a nice Icelandic lady tucks you in with wool blankets for a 30 minute nap.
When I tell you that we have never been more relaxed...My entire body felt like jello in the most amazing way and our skin was so soft. We spent another hour or so in the restaurant after our nap, grabbing lunch and enjoying the view.
They also had the BEST fish & chips we had during our entire trip. Trust me on this, we ate fish & chips just about every stop.
Akureyrarkirkja & Hafnarstraet
Before leaving Akureyri, we stopped by the Akureyrarkirkja (the main church from the FIFA picture) and the cute little shopping street of Hafnarstraet.
Kolugljúfur Canyon
Once we left Akureyri, we had a long 2 and a half hour drive to our next destination. We stuck close to our Airbnb for the night, so we didn't venture out too far. That being said we still went to quite a few sites, starting with Kolugljúfur Canyon.
Borgarvirki
Our next stop was to the Volcanic Plug located in Borgarvirki. The plug served as a Viking stronghold in times of war.
Hvitserkur
We followed that up with the sea arch Hvitserkur
Geitafell
Lunch of seafood soup at the Geitafell Resturant. I'm pretty sure the entire town of "Geitafell" is the restaurant...
Illugastaðir
We finished off the day by trying to seal watch at Illugastaðir. Although the seals seemed to be out for the day.
Day 6
Kirkjufellsfoss
We started day 6 off with a drive around the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. In order to get there, you take route 54 off of Road 1 (54 is paved). Our first stop was another Game of Thrones landmark. Mount Kirkjufell and Kirkjufoss, which steal the scene in Season 6 when Bran has a vision of the Children of the Forest creating the first White Walkers .
Arnarstapi Sea Arch
From Route 54, there are two ways to reach the Arnarstapi sea arch. The first is Route 574, which was closed to anything but 4x4's when we went, the other is a packed road called Utnesvegur. Utnesvegur wasn't too bad for Helga, so we made it just fine.
At this point in our day, the weather got pretty bad on the windy roads
so we cut our trip short and didn't get to Vatnshellir Cave or the Hellnar Arch (which is also along this road). We ended the day in Reykjavik, and ate at (surprise surprise) the Fish & Chips Wagon. After the resturant at the Beer Spa, this was the 2nd best we had the entire trip.
Day 7
Þingvellir National Park & Silfra Fissure
We started another day bright and early with a drive out to Thingvellir National Park. Our goal for Day 7 was snorkeling the Silfra fissure with Dive.is. It was nothing short of amazing! I wore the silk long johns I talked about in the "What to pack for Iceland" post, with some thick leggings and a long sleeve shirt on top. They also put you in an insulated jumpsuit before placing you in a ducksuit.
From there you get some nifty gloves and a head covering that smushes your entire face.
The last step before you enter the 35 degree water is to get your flippers, goggles, and snorkel. I look super cute here with my cheeks all smashed between my mask and suit.
Once you enter the water, you have about 30-45 minutes to explore. The water here is about as blue as I've ever seen. They say its so clear you can see about 300 feet around. The only thing that limits you from seeing farther than that is your own eye.
I stayed pretty dry through the entire thing. The only part of me that got wet was my head, due to the fact that my hair was sticking out the back of the head covering, which broke the seal. My husband stayed dry the entire time. After your dive, Dive.Is provides you with hot chocolate and cookies to warm up!
We spent some time after that hiking around Þingvellir National Park. Which is the site of the first Icelandic Parliament.
The main crevice also happens to be another Game of Thrones spot. It serves as the backdrop for the entrance of the bloody gate into the Eyrie.
Reykjavik
After our time in Þingvellir we drove back to Reykjavik, where we had lunch at Brass. Seth has fish & chips, and I had a truffle burger, both of which were really good!
After lunch, it was off on a whale watching excursion with Elding Tours. They give you some pretty sweet thermal flotation suits to wear for the trip.
The entire trip turned out to pretty interesting as a whale named Charlie hung out with us most of the day.
The rest of the day we hung around Reykjavik.
The Harpa Concert Hall
Hallgrimskirkja
Where we lit a candle for our family that is no longer with us.
Sólfarið - The Sun Voyager
Austurstraeti & Laugavegur Roads for Shopping
Reykjavik Fish & Chips
Plus tons of cool graffiti!
Day 8
Was the day we flew out. Despite our flight being delayed, spending an extra 10 hours in the airport, and eating Joe & The Juice smoothies and sandwiches about 5 times...
we had a wonderful time in Iceland and can't wait to go back!
Next time it's Northern Lights and Ice Cave tours!!
-Until the next adventure!
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