At last, I've found some time to write about the second part of our Scotland-Iceland road trip we did almost 5 years ago. The first part was about Scotland and the wonders of Aberdeenshire, The Highlands & Isle of Skye. And this part is all about Iceland.
So, we ended our Scottish journey at Edinburgh airport at the end of the afternoon where we returned our car, checked in and took off to... Iceland for another amazing week.
As we only had a week in Iceland, I decided to drive most of the ring road to see as much as Icelandic wonders as possible. Due to lack of time, I had to skip the western part and I finally came up with the following tour:
We landed in Keflavik airport late in the evening and we stayed at the Airport hotel which is only 100m away (2 minute walk). Although Iceland is just below the Arctic circle, it was still half-night at midnight and we can already feel what the midnight sun could be.
Day 1: the Golden Circle (240 km)
I picked up our rental car (Toyota RAV4) just in front of the hotel. Renting a car in Iceland is a no-brainer to be able to sightseeing all its wonders but it's also quite expensive. Compared to the road trips we made in the US, it was nearly 3 times more expensive for a single week. And I strongly advise you to take the full insurance set (gravels, ashes,...) as some places are are windy with volcanic ash (see below) or with gravel roads (the Fxxx roads). I could not believe the rental car owner when he told me to always hold the door of the car when opening it due to some extreme winds blowing at some places. But I experienced it once and I was lucky I held the door firmly to avoid it being blown off by the wind!
We started our journey in Iceland counterclockwise with the so-called "Golden Circle" which is the marketing term of the tourist route looping from Reykjavik and highlighting three famous attractions: the Thingvellir National park, the splendid Gullfoss waterfall and the Strokkur geysers.
As you can see from the pictures, the weather was really nice (sunny and 20 °C).
From Gullfoss, we drove North East on the F35 gravel road up to the Blafell mountain where we could step in the snow in this sunny and warm day of July!
At the end of this first exciting day, we stayed the night at the Fosshotel Hekla in Brjansstadir.
Day 2: Brjansstadir - Eyjafjallajökull - Seljalandsfoss - Gljúfrafoss - Skogarfoss - Reynisfjara (250 km)
Today, we're leaving the green grassy area of Iceland towards Reynisfjara, the world-famous black-sand beach found on the South Coast of Iceland.
On our way, we drove road 261 to spot some nice waterfalls: Thordarfoss and Gluggafoss.
Then we drove on the gravel road F261 at the rear of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano which last eruption in 2010 partially blocked the North European air traffic. The landscape is breathtaking with the area full of volcano ashes and the shiny ice cap covering the caldera of the volcano.
After this lunar landscape, we stopped by the impressive Seljalandsfoss waterfall. Take some time to walk behind it and don't forget your raincoat!
At a short walking distance is the Gljúfurárfoss waterfall where you have to step into a cave to see it.
Before heading to the black-sand beach, we stopped by Seljavallalaug and its outdoor swimming pool (free of charge), one of the oldest swimming pools in Iceland.
After this refreshing bathing, we drove to another famous and stunning waterfall: Skogarfoss
At the end of this thrilling day, we reached Reynisfjara's black-sand beach to stay one night in a very nice cottage next to the sea and with splendid views over the Mýrdalsjökull glacier (note: pictures have been shot at midnight).
Day 3: Reynisfjara - Kirkjubaejarklaustur - Skaftafell - Jokulsarlon - Hofn (300 km)
In the morning, we took some time to walk the black sand beach and see the beautiful basalt rocks.
After the walk, we headed to Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon filled with icebergs. And the road was again full of surprises.
At first, we were stopped by a short sand/ash storm. Another good reason not to forget the sand and ash protection for the rental car.
Then we drove thru the impressive Eldhraun Lava Field which is the largest (or second largest - both in Iceland anyway) lava flow in the world caused by the deadly eruption of the Laki volcano at the end of the 18th century. It has a thickness of about 12 meters, is is 565 square kilometers large and is covered with fragile moss.
After that, we drove F206 to reach the Fagrifoss waterfall but we had to turn around as our car could not ford a river. On our way back, we stopped at the Fjarðarárgljúfur canyon which we nearly missed if there weren't two cars parked along the road. That canyon is a must-see but was little known when we get there. Apparently, since then, Justin Bieber and GoT season 8 shot some videos there and it went viral.
On our way to Skaftafell, we stopped at the Foss a Sidu waterfall (not the most impressive but one of the nicest one in Iceland) and, next to it, the Dverghamrar Foss.
Then we arrived to Skaftafell and walked to the Skaftafellsjökull glacier tongue spurting off from Iceland's largest ice cap, Vatnajökull.
And the icing on the cake for this day was when we reached Jökulsárlón and its gorgeous lagoon full of icebergs!
At the end of this wonderful day, we stayed near Hofn at the very nice Arnanes Country hotel.
Day 4: Hofn - Djupivogur - Reydarfjordur - Eskifjordur (250 km)
Today we entered the Eastern part of Iceland with some nice fjords and small coastal villages.
We drove next to the Vestrahorn mountain (and its Brunnhorn and Eystrahorn brothers) which is quite impressive along the sea but unfortunately we forgot to stop at Stokksnes where very nice pictures of the mountain could be taken.
We stopped at the Fáskrúðsfjörður village which was the main hub for French fishermen off East of Iceland. The town is famous for its French heritage and has a strong connection to its French counterpart, Gravelines. This lighthouse was next to the old French Hospital which has been relocated and rebuilt in the village.
Next we drove to Reyðarfjörður.
At the end of the day, we reached the charming village of Eskifjörður where we stayed in one of the Mjoeyri cottage with a wonderful view over the fjord. It was also funny to play with a young black fox which had been adopted by the landlord's dog.
Day 5: Eskifjordur - Egilsstadir - Dettifoss - Asbyrgi - Husavik - Aðaldalur (330 km)
Today is one of the longest drive of the week as we're driving up North to see some geothermal wonders tomorrow.
But we didn't want to leave Iceland without watching puffins so we headed first to Borgarfjarðarhöfn. The road 94 is a gravel road and it was quiet slippery as it was raining. But the travel was worth it since we could see some puffins on the small peninsula next to the small harbour.
In Bakkagerði village, we drove next to the Lindarbakki cute little red-painted turf house.
After a long and a bit boring drive, we finally reached Dettifoss which is reputed to be the most powerful waterfall in Europe. To me, it's the most impressive waterfall I've ever seen (much more impressive than Niagara Falls): it's loud and imposing. And you understand its size when you spot the tiny people on the east side of the river bank.
To reach our final destination of the day, the nice and quiet Langavatn farm house near Myvatn, we drove the road 85 along the North coast with beautiful views over the sea and the virtual arctic circle.
Day 6: Aðaldalur - Myvatn - Skutustadir - Krafla - Namaskard - Dimmuborgir - Godafoss - Akureyri - Sauðárkrókur (280 km)
We're only 30 minutes away of Myvatn geothermal area. There, we walked along the Hverir pools of boiling mud, hot springs and hissing chimneys and we then we climbed up to the Stóra-Víti crater with its amazing blue lake.
Although the weather was really cold (4 °C, compared to the 20 °C when we started our week in Iceland), we decided with my son to have a bath at Myvatn Nature Baths, a set of geothermally heated pools and steam baths with a temperature about 36 to 40 °C and water packed with minerals, particularly sulphur, which is said to be good for respiratory and skin problems. And it's worth the experience.
After that, we walked to Dimmuborgir, a large area of unusually shaped lava fields, and the Krafla fissure zone, both still in the Myvatn area.
Then we drove to another spectacular waterfall: the Godafoss.
On our way to our hotel on the circle road, we got caught by the police as I was driving above the speed limit. The policeman was kind but the fine a bit less.
We also stopped at Glaumbær to see the old turf farm houses and the church.
We stayed the night at a nice hotel in Sauðárkrókur.
Day 7: Sauðárkrókur - Skagafjordur - Reykholt - Borgarnes - Borgarfjordur - Hvalfjordur - Reykjavik - Keflavik (390 km)
This was the last full day in Iceland and the longest drive to reach Reykjavik from the North.
We spent the last afternoon walking in Reykjavik.
At the end of the day, we returned the rental car and stayed the night at the Airport hotel which is only 100m away (2 minute walk) from Keflavik airport.
Day 8: Back to Home
Early in the morning, we flew back to Brussels and drove back home after two wonderful and intense weeks in Scotland and Iceland.
Overall we drove 4000 km over two weeks (1600 km in Scotland and 2400 km in Iceland) but the the greatest part of a road trip is not the destination but the journey.
Definitely, two destinations we will visit again in the near future as we skipped some places and wanted to spend more time in other ones...
The Hidden People...
In the subheading of this blog post, I mentioned that Iceland is the land of hidden people. Hidden people are part of the folklore in Iceland. They are supernatural beings that live in nature. They look and behave similarly to humans, but live in a parallel world [Wikipedia].
I don't remember exactly where (I think it was in a café at Fáskrúðsfjörður) but I bought "The little book of the hidden people" which is a small book of twenty stories of Elves from Icelandic folklore and a nice reading to understand a bit the Icelandic myths and legends.
This featured blog entry was written by frncks from the blog Travel Memories.
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