I visited Iceland in May 2010 .
I rented a car and after a few days in Reykjavik drove counter clockwise around the Ring Road. If you are going to be in Iceland for a week or so this seemed like the best way to see the entire country. Alternatively you could take buses between towns, however, there's so much to stop and see along the way that you'd be trading off a lot of flexibility. You could also join a four wheel expedition and head into the center and remote regions of Iceland rather than driving the Ring Road. Each small town along the Ring Road had a hostel and a few restaurant options. For day time meals I usually grabbed a hot dog with lots of toppings at a gas station - this may seem unadventurous but the fully loaded hot dog is supposedly a national dish.
For more details see the country summary below the videos.
I rented a car and after a few days in Reykjavik drove counter clockwise around the Ring Road. If you are going to be in Iceland for a week or so this seemed like the best way to see the entire country. Alternatively you could take buses between towns, however, there's so much to stop and see along the way that you'd be trading off a lot of flexibility. You could also join a four wheel expedition and head into the center and remote regions of Iceland rather than driving the Ring Road. Each small town along the Ring Road had a hostel and a few restaurant options. For day time meals I usually grabbed a hot dog with lots of toppings at a gas station - this may seem unadventurous but the fully loaded hot dog is supposedly a national dish.
For more details see the country summary below the videos.
REYKJAVIK AND THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE
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I spent a few days in Reykjavik - it's strange being in a national city with a population of only 200,000 people. The entire country only has 400,000 people. You can walk all over the place but depending upon your approach it can be a bit difficult to find the bar and nightlife areas.
An hour or two drive outside of Reykjavik is the Golden Triangle - there's a triangle shaped river / waterfall and a few geysers. South of Reykjavik is the Blue Lagoon - the destinations hub bub is a bit of a mystery to me. |
THE SOUTHERN COAST
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The Southern Coast of Iceland is an excellent stretch of greenery and glaciers. Because of the volcano, glaciers were covered in soot. The soot made the glaciers less slippery and you could hike on the glaciers without need crampons. As this is unsupervised I'd be careful about hiking too far.
Once I started driving I began noticing small churches in every town I passed. Each church is distinct but each follows a similar rectangular and steeple design. I became captivated by the churches and stopped to take photos at everyone - by the end of the trip I had quite the church photo collection. |
EASTERN FJORDS TO SNAEFELLSNES
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The Eastern and Northern sides of Iceland are a bit of no man's land. The isolation makes the trip worthwhile. On the northern coast there's a small town, Husavik, that's good for whale watching. The rest of the landscape shows off the surreal side of Iceland and it's location on the continental divide - lots of strange geothermal pools and mud bubbles.
On the Northwest side of the island - Snaefellsnes dominates the landscape. |
INTRODUCTION
If I have a week off between jobs and there’s a volcano erupting somewhere you know where I’m going. Iceland is close, so close that you won’t have enough sleep on the red-eye from NYC. It’s different, in a way that a country with a population of only 400,000 can be different.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Other than one night in the car I stayed in hostels. Almost all are affiliated with Hosteling International. At the time I think Reykjavik had two hostels and each town along the ring road had one.
FOOD
There’s a strange obsession with hotdogs - there’s a famous (because Bill Clinton ate there) stand in Reykjavik but when your traveling the ring road you’ll find this may be your only option. The hotdogs are a little crispier than back home but lots more topping options.
There are buses between cities but if you’re driving the ring road, well, you will kind of need a car. Gas payment was kind of interesting - the stations would take credit cards but you needed to enter a pin, so if you don’t have that setup you’ll need to pay cash or use your debit card - so make sure you have cash in the bank before leaving the US.
There’s no police (I think) but stick to the paved roads. Unpaved roads may seem like a short cut until you realize Iceland has a much harsher definition of unpaved roads - more rock than gravel.
CONCLUSION
Iceland didn’t overwhelm me while I was there, but the more I travel, the more places start to blur together, and it’s with this blurred vision that Iceland starts to look more and more like one of the most interesting places I’ve been to.
If I have a week off between jobs and there’s a volcano erupting somewhere you know where I’m going. Iceland is close, so close that you won’t have enough sleep on the red-eye from NYC. It’s different, in a way that a country with a population of only 400,000 can be different.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Other than one night in the car I stayed in hostels. Almost all are affiliated with Hosteling International. At the time I think Reykjavik had two hostels and each town along the ring road had one.
- From May til August the sun doesn’t really set - it’s midnight, you head into a bar and the sun is out; it’s 1am, you exit the bar and the sun it out; you’ve just missed sunset/sunrise. How does this relates to your hotel stay? Make sure there’s strong blinds in the windows (or bring eye cover) and bring ear plugs for people on unusual sleep patterns.
FOOD
There’s a strange obsession with hotdogs - there’s a famous (because Bill Clinton ate there) stand in Reykjavik but when your traveling the ring road you’ll find this may be your only option. The hotdogs are a little crispier than back home but lots more topping options.
- Exotic Animals - Minke Whale (yes), Puffin (no), and Fermented Shark Fin (a once a year, festival meal)
- Kaffitar - national coffee chain
- Reykjavik Nightlife - it’s good...for a city with 400,000 the per capita partying is very high, but your still in Iceland. Beer is (was) very, very expensive. Best to pregame (and even that was expensive) before heading out. It’s somewhat difficult to find the nightlife and club areas so ask around or pick up a local brochure at Kaffitar or the national book chain.
- Outside of Reykjavik there’s not too many dining options; each time may only have a few places, but you can usually find a good meal and have the restaurant all to yourself.
- Hallgrimskirkja (Reykjavik) - minimalist church with 360 degree views from the steeple
- The Iceland countryside is dotted with “cute” churches; each town has miniature churches and steeples which became a highlight while driving through otherwise monotonous terrain
- The Golden Triangle - waterfall
- The Ring Road - single lane highway that wraps around the country. The southern road has waterfalls, glacier access, etc.; the eastern road has fjords; the northern section is like moonscape; and I think by the western section I was gunning it back to Reykjavik
- Whale Watching in Husavik
- Glacier Walks - at the time the glaciers were covered in ash and you could hop right on and walk all over
- There’s alot of agencies in Reykjavik offering 4-wheel drives and trekking on the glaciers
- Blue Lagoon - you’re in Iceland and you’re going to boycott their number one tourist attraction? I won’t share why I have my thoughts other than the site should be called the Blue Hot Tub.
- Iceland Phallus Museum - it use to be in Husavik (?) but appears to have moved to Reykjavik - it’s a museum of animal penises.
- Jökulsárlón - iceberg stop along Southeast stretch of the ring road
There are buses between cities but if you’re driving the ring road, well, you will kind of need a car. Gas payment was kind of interesting - the stations would take credit cards but you needed to enter a pin, so if you don’t have that setup you’ll need to pay cash or use your debit card - so make sure you have cash in the bank before leaving the US.
There’s no police (I think) but stick to the paved roads. Unpaved roads may seem like a short cut until you realize Iceland has a much harsher definition of unpaved roads - more rock than gravel.
CONCLUSION
Iceland didn’t overwhelm me while I was there, but the more I travel, the more places start to blur together, and it’s with this blurred vision that Iceland starts to look more and more like one of the most interesting places I’ve been to.