Travel Guide: 9 Days in Iceland
Intro
Are you ready for an adventure of a lifetime? Traveling around Iceland in a campervan was an experience I will always hold close to my heart. It might be hard to believe, but I actually miss living in a campervan! A car, refrigerator, and a couch that turns into a bed all in one place – who could ask for more? The flexibility the campervan gave our itinerary (especially with the weather delays we experienced) made inconveniences much less stressful. We enjoyed our adventure in Iceland so much and we hope we can be helpful to plan yours.
Before You Go
We conquered the whole Ring Road in 9 days. Never truly being able to predict the weather in Iceland, I added a buffer day at the end of our trip that served in case we were not able to travel one day due to snow or wind. The government runs a website that keeps up-to-date road conditions across the island. This website became our best friend and was almost always pulled up on the browser on my phone.
We took our trip to Iceland in March. In Texas, March starts beautiful, mild spring weather, but in Iceland, you might experience all four seasons one day with sun, wind, sleet, rain, and snow. You’ll never know what you’re going to get and the weather patterns change year to year and also day to day.
Pros and Cons
Pros to Traveling in March:
Cheaper campervan rental
Smaller crowds
There is a chance to see the Northern Lights (Spoiler alert: We missed them!)
We used this website to check our chances every night.
No campground reservations needed
Ice caves are still open
Normal daylight hours (10-12 hours)
Cons to Traveling in March:
Many roads to popular waterfalls and attractions are still closed due to snow
A limited number of campgrounds are open during the winter months
Driving conditions can be unpredictable
Some of the “green” areas you’ve dreamed of seeing are completely covered in snow
Reservations
The biggest decision we had to make was which Campervan company to go with. We ended up choosing Cozy Campers and couldn’t have been happier. We booked 3 months out due to their limited fleet of vans. Customer service was amazing and we never regretted our decision. We debated whether it was necessary to get a 4WD (Four-Wheel Drive) vs a AWD (All-Wheel Drive) campervan. Some bloggers said that if you plan to stay on the Ring Road your entire trip, AWD would suffice. Other bloggers cautioned about the unpredictability of the Icelandic weather and suggested to go with 4WD just in case. 4WD vehicles are also required on some interior roads. Even though it was more expensive, we decided on the Cozy 3 Automatic 4WD to be safe. We paid for the extra insurance that offered gravel protection since gravel is the most common damage to a vehicle in Iceland. They checked over the van when we returned it with a fine tooth comb, so I am glad we paid for that specific insurance. We also rented the 4G wifi from the rental company. Out of our 9 days in Iceland, we only didn’t have signal for one day and that was in our most northern location. We used Google Maps on our phone using the wifi and it worked perfectly. We also bought an extra bottle of propane but ended up not using it. The only other reservation we made was for the Blue Lagoon.
Camping
Because it was off-season, we did not need to make any reservations for campgrounds. Many of the campgrounds open during the winter do not have attendants working, so payment was on the honor system via payment boxes. There would be between 4-10 other campervans at each campground which was nice. Sometimes showers were closed for the winter and limited toilets worked. Be prepared to go a day or so without showering. Most places had the kitchen area open to cook meals and wash dishes.
Packing
Check out our Iceland Packing List here. The saying in Iceland is “There is no bad weather – just bad clothes and bad attitudes.”
Money
The only cash we used was to tip our tour guide after our walking tour and pay to use the camping facilities when there were no attendants present. We got this cash at an ATM in Reykjavik. Everywhere else we used our credit card. To use your credit card at a gas station, your card required a pin. Set your pin up with your credit card company before you leave.
Our 9 Day Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive and Explore Reykjavik
At a population of 120,000, Reykjavik is one of the smaller European capital cities. I wouldn’t recommend spending a great deal of time devoted to exploring Reykjavik. It’s more of the doorway to all of Iceland.
Take a Flybus into Reykjavik from Keflavík International Airport
Pick up campervan
Explore the city
Sun Voyager Sculpture
Hallgrimskirkja Church
Free Walking Tour (Our tour guide was amazing and we learned so much!)
Random: We went to Crossfit Reykjavik because Rebecca does Crossfit and had to this Crossfit box. The entrance is down some stairs from the parking lot at the bottom level of the building. If you’re into Crossfit, it’s a must see.
Eat at
Breakfast: Sandholt
Coffee: Reykjavik Roasters
Lunch: Icelandic Street Food - This is a must stop! Free seconds on any soup and free dessert cannot be beat in Iceland.
Dinner: Le KocK - The fish and chips were amazing!
Stay at Tjaldsvæðið Laugardal Campsite in Reykjavik
Stock up on groceries at Bonus (They close earlier than most grocery stores in the states, so don’t wait too late)
Real Talk: We didn’t do many of these things the first day because our flight landed at 6:10am and we had jetlag, so we ended up napping for 4 hours before dinner. We did many of these things on our last full day at the end of our trip.
Hallgrimskirkja Church
Sun Voyager Sculpture
Day 2: Drive the Golden Circle
Before you leave town, grab breakfast and coffee at Braud & Co. They open early and I still dream of their cinnamon rolls!
Stop at Thingvellir National Park
See Öxarárfoss Waterfall
Option: Snorkel the Silfra Fissure- It’s the only place in the world where you can dive or snorkel directly between two continental plates. We didn’t do this due to budget, but it looks really cool.
Stop at Strokkur Geysir
Stop at Gullfoss Falls
Option: We stopped at the Hrunalaug Hot Springs which are natural hot springs on private property. During the summer there is someone taking an admission fee, but there is only a tip box during the off-season. It was one of my favorite things we did in Iceland. The water was warm and the atmosphere was dreamy.
Option: We decided to drive 2 hours of the beaten track to go to the 3rd highest waterfall in Iceland-- Haifoss. The road getting there was ROUGH to say the least, but it was a very beautiful, unique waterfall if you have time and a vehicle with high clearance.
Stop at Seljalandsfoss
The cave behind this waterfall was closed due to snow and ice, but it was still an incredible waterfall to photograph and take in (once the 4 tour buses left.)
Stay at Hamragarðar Campground – this one is right by Seljalandsfoss with a view of the falls.
Day 3: South Coast Day
Note: On this particular day, we had planned to start at Skógafoss, drive as far as Vik, and backtrack to the campground at Skogafoss to spend the night due to the limited number of winter campsites open. Unfortunately, after our stop at Vik, we turned around to return to the campsite and a police car was blocking the road. He informed us the wind was too strong and all the roads going north were closed. This was around 2:00pm, so we decided to push forward and drive to our Day 4 campsite. The severe wind changed our Day 4 and Day 5 plans.
Stop at Skógafoss
Trek to Solheimasandur Plane Crash (5 miles/2.5 hours)
It was a cold, rainy, and windy day which made for a long hike. We dressed from head to toe in waterproof clothes which made it bearable to get to the plane. I would say if you have been dreaming about this plane, the journey will be worth it. If the weather isn’t good the day you plan to do it and you’re on the fence about seeing it, I would say to skip it.
Stop at Dyrhólaey for a beautiful aerial view of the coast.
Stop at Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
Stop in Vik for food and gas
Stay at Skógar Campsite
Note: Due to road closures, we pressed on and made stops that were originally scheduled for Day 4
Option: Stop at Eldhraun Lava Field. Pictures of the green rock formations looked beautiful before we left, but they were covered in snow while we passed, so we didn’t stop.
Stop at Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
We were dismayed to find out this beautiful canyon was closed as we drove to the entrance. According to reports, the increased traffic given to this spot after the Justin Bieber music video filmed there caused a need for updated infrastructure. It is supposed to reopen in June 2019.
Stay at Skatafell Visitor Center Campground at Vatnajokull National Park
Once we got to Skatafell, we looked at the road conditions website and realized that all roads on the south coast were closed due to the extreme wind conditions. Our relief at making it to our home for the night was met with disappoint when we got an email saying that our glacier walk and ice cave tour the next afternoon had been canceled due to the high wind predicted for the next 24 hours. We decided that when woke up the next morning, we would check the road conditions and make our plans for the next day from there.
Real Talk: Due to the high wind conditions the entire night, we didn’t get much sleep. As our campervan lightly swayed in the 50-60 mph wind through out the night, I was Googling, “How hard does wind have to blow to knock over a car?” Luckily, we survived the night. :)
Day 4: Big Ice and Small Ice
Note: When we woke up that morning, the roads were open again. We called the tour company and they said all tours were still canceled for the day but that they could reschedule us for the next morning at 9:30a. We decided that the flexibility in our schedule and our desire to see an ice cave meant that we would change our itinerary to fit the new tour time. We did some of our Day 5 stops this day to make up for doing the tour the following morning.
Hike to Svartifoss (2 miles/1.5 hours)- This hike left from our campground and was a perfect way to start our morning.
Stop at Diamond Beach/Breiðamerkursandur
Stop at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Stop at Svínafellsjökull Glacier
We stayed another night at Skatafell Visitor Center Campground at Vatnajokull National Park
Day 5: Glacier Tour and Driving the East Fjords
Into the Glacier- Ice Cave & Glacier Hike with Glacial Guides at Skatafell (4 hours)
We had a great time hiking across the glacier and exploring an ice cave. Our tour guide was knowledgeable in both the history of Icelandic glaciers but also the technical movements to keep us safe. He said that we would probably be some of the last groups to see the ice cave for the season due to the warm weather coming.
Option: Stop at Vestrahorn/Stokknes. We had seen amazing pictures of this beach and mountain on Instagram. When we got to the spot, the wind was blowing very strongly again and the clouds were covering up the famed mountain. It wasn’t meant to be.
Driving along the Eastern Fjords
This was probably my favorite scenery of the entire trip. The road wrapped around the coastline and showed off the mountains, cliffsides, and ocean in the most beautiful way. The weather was not good this day and we had a long way to drive, otherwise, I would have wanted to stop every 10 minutes to take in the beautiful scenery.
Stay at Egilsstaðastofa Campground
Note: ICELANDIC HORSES! Anytime you see horses close to a fence and there is an area to park, I would recommend stopping to see and pet these magnificent animals. They are world renowned for their easy temperament and pure breeding.
Day 6: Northern Iceland (& a lot of driving)
Option: Stop at Dettifoss and Selfoss. I had planned for us to stop at these waterfalls, but both roads to the waterfall were closed.
Places to stop in Myvatn
Hverir Geothermal Area
Grjótagjá Cave
Myvatn Nature Baths – They call this the “Blue Lagoon of the North.” We didn’t stop here because it wasn’t open when we were in the area and we knew we would be going to the Blue Lagoon at the end of the trip.
Stop at Godafoss
Stop in Akureyri for groceries and gas
We grabbed lunch at Greifinn and we were impressed with their pizza and burgers
Stop at Glaumbær Turf Houses – This was a 30 minute detour, but we enjoyed seeing these traditional houses up close.
Stay at the Gladhemar Cottages and Campgrounds in Blönduós
Real Talk: Our days 4 and 5 were basically running across Northern Iceland. Depending on the the weather and road conditions when you visit Iceland (and your interests), I might recommend spending more time exploring the northern area off the Ring Road.
Godafoss
Glaumbær Turf Houses
Day 7: Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Stop at Kirkjufell/Kirkjufellsfoss
Stop at Djúpalónssandur Black Sand Beach
Stop at Londrangar Cliffs
Stop at Gatklettur Arch Rock and The Stone Bridge in Arnarstapi – The Arch Rock is a quick walk from the parking lot. The Stone Bridge is about a half mile walk to the left from the Stone Arch. I think many people see the Arch Rock and get confused thinking it should be the Stone Bridge. When we returned to our car, a guy came up to us with his phone looking very confused and asked us if we knew where “this picture” (of the Stone Bridge) was. We pointed him in the right direction.
Stop at Buoakirkja Black Church
Stay at Bjarteyjarsandur Campsite – This was one of my favorite campsites because it was located on a farm. It had a big kitchen and sitting area, free wifi, coffee in the morning, and the cutest puppy I almost took back to Texas.
Day 8: Our buffer day/back to Reykjavik
Note: Like I mentioned in the beginning, I added this day to our itinerary in case we became stuck earlier in the trip and needed an extra day to make up time. We did many of the things mentioned on Day 1, including the free walking tour and eating at Icelandic Street Food. We walked around some shops, ate more baked goods at Braud & Co (I really can’t brag on them enough), and made sure our van was clean and ready to turn in the next day.
Option: Go to Gardur Lighthouse for beautiful views (We decided not to do this, but the pictures look really nice!)
Stay at Campsite Grindavik - Tjaldsvaedi - This was probably the nicest campsite we stayed in Iceland. It was brand new and had great facilities. It is also close to the Blue Lagoon where we would be going the following morning.
Day 9: Blue Lagoon and flight home
Blue Lagoon
Go the Blue Lagoon
We went with the cheapest package (Comfort) which provided entrance to the Blue Lagoon, a silica mud mask, use of a towel, and one free drink.
We spent around 2 hours there which felt like a good amount of time. Some bloggers said they spent up to 4 hours there but that seems a little long to me.
WARNING: We took pictures using an iPhone and kept it save from the water in a waterproof phone pouch that hung around our neck in the water. After leaving, we discovered that the iPhone was no longer functioning properly. After sitting for at least 5 hours, the phone started to semi-work and got back to at least 90% functioning by the following day. Rebecca ended up having to replace the phone because a few of the keys stopped working. We hadn’t read about this happening to anyone else, so we wanted to set the warning here to be careful.
Return the campervan
Take the Flybus back to the airport (It was recommended to get to the airport at least 2 hours before your departure time and it’s a 45 minute trip from the city.)
That’s It!
This was our adventure through Iceland! While we had some weather issues in the beginning and phone malfunctions at the end (that nearly drove Rebecca to madness before the long plane ride home), we loved our overall itinerary and time in Iceland! We would love to go back someday during the summer to get to experience the differences, but 9 days in March felt like the perfect time for our first visit!
Questions, comments, or tips to add? Let us know below.
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