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Iceland Vacation Guide
Iceland vacation has been in my bucket list for the longest time and finally we planned a 12 day trip to this Nordic Island Country. Check out the post to know how we planned our self drive Iceland vacation in Summers.
Booking to and fro tickets to Iceland
Whenever we start to plan a trip, we decide the number of days we want to do the trip for and then book the to and fro tickets to the place. Booking in advance lands us in much better deals and flexibility to choose from the options. Now for a Vacation in Iceland, this was really important as the number of days would decide how much farther we could go from its capital Reykjavik (as KEF or Keflavik international Airport is the only destination to get into Iceland).
There are airlines connecting a number of cities in both Europe and USA to Keflavik Airport including Iceland Air, Wow Air, Delta, Lufthansa, Euro Wings etc. From any other country one of these destinations needs to be a stopover. We decided on a 10 day itinerary to cover the ring road and booked our tickets from Mumbai to Brussels and onward to Keflavik, while our return was via Munich. During this we had flights on Brussels Airlines (Mumbai to Brussels), Iceland Air (Brussels to Keflavik) and Lufthansa (Keflavik to Mumbai via Munich). As I write Wow Air has also announced direct flights from New Delhi to Reykjavik (KEF).
Planning the Itinerary
Once the air tickets were booked, we started our research on the places to visit during the days we were in Iceland. I usually order a book from Lonely Planet before visiting a place. It serves a basic backbone to the trip and gives the broad idea of the things we want to do.
Then keeping those pointers in mind, we plan our vacation. This time was no different and we ordered our copy of Lonely planet Iceland.
After doing much research on internet, we came up with this 10 day Itinerary to Iceland.
Day 1: After a fairly long flight from India we reached Reykjavik and settled in. We landed around 3PM local time, got our rental car and drove to our Airbnb near downtown Reykjavik. We bought some basic groceries at a Krónan store nearby for our daily breakfast.
Day 2: We walked around the harbor area in Reykjavik and then headed to Selfoss where we had a lunch reservation, on our way to Blue Lagoon, one of the must go places in Iceland. For dinner we had booked ourselves at Matarkjallarinn Food Cellar to try out some local cuisine.
You can also spend more time in Reykjavik and see places in the downtown and directly head to the lagoon and come back if you so wish.
Day 3: We decided to do the Golden Circle on Day 3, we did the trip leisurely and covered Thingvellir National Park, Geysir, Gulfoss Falls and Kerid Crater. We enjoyed our lunch at one of the most prominent green house farm; Friðheimar restaurant serving tomato based menu, while for dinner we had North Atlantic Langoustine menu at Fjorubordid Restaurant, Stokkseyri. We left around 10AM and were back around 10PM, if you want to cover a couple of more water falls on the way, you can start a couple of hours earlier.
Day4: When in Iceland, you must experience Icelandic horses. While you would definitely spot them during your drives and can even go close so few of them, riding them was a great experience for all of us, specially my son. So on day 4, we started to drive up north from Reykjavik. We enjoyed our time at a local horse breeding farm, Hestaland and all of us learnt a few tips on riding. Keep about 1.5 hrs for the experience. We had our lunch overlooking the sea at Borgarnes and then headed to our Airbnb about 30 kms into the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. The home was just on the seaside and had an amazing view to the sea.
Day5: We further drove North in Iceland and saw craters, which once spilled out the lava, experienced a local dairy farm (Erpsstadir Cottage), seal beach. We also tasted local ice cream made with fresh milk at the farm. It was amazing to see how the cows lined up all by themselves to get milked at the fully automated milking booth. Before getting to our next stay we got some groceries at Blonduos which was the nearest town. By the way this Airbnb had some really old reputed Atlas (probably from 1985) which my son totally loved reading!
Day6: We were lucky on the day as the weather held up while we went for our Whale watching in Akureyri. Before heading for the trip we had our lunch at Mulaberg restaurant in town. The whale watching was about 3 hours and we saw Humpback and Minke whales. Once through the trip we had some nice cakes and coffee at Kaffiilmur, which has one of the best cakes in town. Then we headed to our next stay at Brunastadir Farm. This was a spacious farm house with dogs, goats, sheep and more and of course a hot tub which was perfect after a long drive. The drive up from Akureyri however needed a bit of skilled driving as the road is narrow and passes through steep hills with sea just on the side.
Day 7: This day was mostly spent in driving through the beautiful volcanic rocks landscape in Northern Iceland. Our first stop was Godafoss, another one of beautiful waterfalls in this country. Although we had initially planned another Whale watching at Husavik with North Sailing company (amongst other tours, they offer one in traditional Icelandic schooner, a old sail boat), we could not go for it as the weather was pretty bad and it was raining continuously. Stopping by at Hverir was a different experience with silica & sulphur mud pots spewing out foul smelling fumarole gas. On the way we also spotted a few turf houses. Our next stop was Hallormsstadhur forest area, this area is perfect for people looking for hikes, the forest overlooks a lake is gives number of spots for that perfect holiday picture.
Day 8: We are not the most avid hikers, however we did do a short 7 km hike in the forest area, which was very enjoyable. We then set on towards our next destination at Djúpivogur, luckily not too far. Djúpivogur is a small village in eastern Iceland with nice access to black sand beach, bird watching etc. We spent a relaxed day here in our Airbnb which was attached to Framtid apartments overlooking the harbor.
Day 9: This day was pretty happening and probably one of the best. The weather had opened up and we had a nice sunny day (which was fairly rare in Iceland). The drive from Djúpivogur to Reykjavik is pretty long, but very scenic with great must do spots on the way. Right from watching glaciers to huge icebergs floating over the water to passing through one of the most active volcanic zones to some the best waterfalls, southern Iceland is a charm. Jökulsárlón is a must visit place; this was the first time I saw real Icebergs floating from the glaciers into the sea, it was a mesmerizing experience. Reynisfjara beach with its black sand beach and basalt rocks is one of the most picturesque. The rainbow formation at Skogafoss was perfect in the sunny weather.
Last day was spent walking around Reykjavik.
Booking airbnb for Iceland vacation
The next step was to book the stay. Ever since I have started to stay in Airbnb's, hotels are almost out of my planning.
I love how you get connected to the local people and culture when staying in a real house than in a room which is just about same almost everywhere.
So this trip was no different and we started our hunt for interesting Airbnb options.
Here is a list of places we stayed at and a little about why we chose to stay here.
Applying for Visa
Indians need Visa to travel to most countries in the world :( and this is the saddest part of traveling. Doing all that paper work and then follow up can be intimidating sometimes but it's all a part of the adventure :)
So after our stay were booked, it was time to the most important part of this travel and that was applying the form for getting the Iceland Visa.
Detaills.....
Booking car rental
There are many companies providing rental car services in Iceland like......
Iceland Packing List
Iceland is a rugged place and if you are planning to do the ring road, you must we well prepared. A good pre planning is a must before you start to drive the ring road.
Here is a list of essentils you must carry with you
Cloths - Climate in Iceland is very unpredictable. So even if you are travelling in summers, you must be well prepared for a rainy and cold day. The best to work this out is to dress up in layers like an onion. This way, you can keep removing the layers according to your comfort.
I suggest keeping good thermal inners, jeans and t shirts or leggings, a warm jacket and then an overcoat. Also a pair of swim suits is a must because you would want to soak in the hot pools all around Iceland.
Since we were staying in Airbnb and had options to wash cloths, I kept few under garments and cloths and washed them when we were half way of our trip once.
I kept warm mufflers and shawls to give a makeover to my basic jeans and plain sweaters.
A few pair of socks and a raincoat is a must carry too. We didn't carry raincoats even after reading it several times and trust me when they say it rains a lot in Iceland, they mean it :). The rain is not harsh but it can drizzle through out the day continuously and if you are not carrying a raincoat, chances are that you will end up sitting inside a room all day.
Shoes - A good pair of walking shoes which are waterproof is a must in Iceland. I also kept my boots to wear over jeans and dresses when we were in the drier areas.
Toiletries - Since we were staying in airbnb, I kept an entire kit of toiletries which included Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body cream.
Do not forget to keep a good sunscreen since the sun rays are very harsh in this part of the world.
Visa and Papers - Keep your Passport, Visa and print outs of all the Airbnb or hotel bookings. Detaills
Food and snacks - Some places in Iceland are very secluded and there are hardly any store near by to buy grocery or other essential. So make sure to stock on some food and snack from the bigger towns.
Talk to your host and ask them to suggest the places from where you can stock up on essential before reaching the stay.
We took a few ready to eat packets from India and stocked up on snacks in Reykjavik.
The stores close at around 6-7 PM so make sure to visit them before hand.
Water is clean to drink everywhere in Iceland. So do carry a bottle with you and keep refilling it with tap water wherever you go.
Others
I kept my kindle loaded with books because there is nothing like relaxing and reading amidst the nature.
I also kept my travel log diary to keep a log of the travel.
Neck pillows for the long air travel.
Camera, charger and batteries because who doesn't want to capture the beauty this place offers.
Medicines - Do keep a kit with essential medicines like a pain killer, muscle relaxant lotions, bandaid etc
Phone and Internet in Iceland
Points to keep in mind for Iceland Vacation
Internet can be tricky in some parts of Iceland. So do keep a physical map with you in case GPS and data stops working and you in the middle of nowhere.
Cost of Iceland Vacation
Iceland is one of the costliest countries in the world. Gas is costliest here and that increases the cost of everything else in return.
The tickets for 3 of us costed 2L from India but with the launch of new.......
Visa cos .....
Car rental.....
Airbnb.....
petrol.....
Food....
Tours & Tickets.....
Miscellenous
Things no one will tell you about Iceland
Traffic police is very vigilant in Iceland. So if you are driving yourself, make sure to read all the rules before hiring a car. We ended up paying Rs 40 K for a over speeding ticket :(
You get Naan bread and a delicious Icelandic Flatbread which is very close to our roti at Kronan. So if you are planning to take some ready to eat curry packets, you are sorted for the bread.
We drove through the golden circle and ring road and although the roads are quite good in most parts, there was one patch on the ring road near ........ which were quite adventurous to drive. Steep slopes and not very good road is what I am talking about.
However they were in the process of building the road in that patch and hopefully by the time to plan your trip, it will be in good condition.
You will not be able to see Northern lights if you are travelling in summers. Many people asked me if I saw the lights, but guys, it's only a winter phenomenon.
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