The Good, the Bad & the Beautiful

Considering venturing to Iceland in winter? DO IT! It is a beautiful place, with such friendly people and we had a blast while being there. Before heading into this winter wonderland, there are a few tricks we learnt that would greatly benefit you to ensure you have a great time. We've put these together in our Tips & Tricks, plus given detail on our daily itinerary, top highlights, costs and places we missed. So sit back and enjoy the read!

Also, who are we? Jordan and Cherie - two young adults from Australia that love travelling. We had always dreamed of seeing the northern lights and Iceland is one of the best countries for this, so away we went!

Weather

Icelands winter weather can be very extreme. January is the coldest month of the year, the temperature usually sits just below freezing. Why we chose the coldest month to visit, we have no idea. Iceland is a very windy place, so below freezing temps plus winds up to 40km/hr can get quite chilly indeed. Don’t let this deter you from visiting, simply wear lots of layers and wind/rain proof clothing and you are all set. We usually wore 3 layers both top and bottom, plus 2 pairs of gloves, a good scarf and beanie, and warm waterproof shoes. Being such a cold country, your skin will become very dry, so pack lots of moisturiser!

Northern Lights Unfortunately there is not always clear skies so this majorly affects the visibility of the Northern Lights. Not only do you need clear skies, the lights themselves need to have a high strength, which unfortunately isn’t always the case. You can check their strength on aurora service website. You can also opt to join a tour, which is what we did, and the tour guides will pick you up from your hotel and take you to an area they recommend for the highest chance of viewing. Depending on the company, most of them will re-schedule your tour for free on a different night if viewing wasn’t successful. Thankfully we were lucky and no rescheduling was needed. We booked through Reykjavik Excursions.

Daylight The days start to get light around 9am, but the sun doesn’t completely rise until around 10am, and the sun sets around 4:30pm but doesn’t get completely dark until around 5:30pm. These long sunrises and slow sets are handy when you need to drive a considerable distance to get to a certain destination. Keep these times in mind as it is not recommended to be driving when it is dark.

Driving in Iceland Yes weather can be extreme but don’t be afraid of hiring a car because of this - we had never driven in snowy/icy conditions before and we also drive on the left hand side of the road, not the right like Iceland, but hiring a car was one of our best decisions. You have so much freedom and can see so much more of the country, plus it is cheaper than tours. We survived without any issues, so you can too! We would highly recommend a 4wd over a 2wd, they are much safer in extreme conditions.

Car Hire and Insurance We booked a car through Rentalcars.com and originally brought insurance through them thinking this was the smart option. Geysir Car Rental was the company we actually collected the car from. Through the booking process we found out a deposit is required upon picking up the car and this is paid either via credit card or cash, no debit or travel cards accepted. This amount was 350,000ISK. Now we didn’t have a credit card and didn’t want to be carrying around 350,000ISK in cash so through many emails we found out the deposit amount can be reduced to 20,000ISK if insurance is purchased through Geysir directly, not the third party website. Geysir provided incorrect information in regards to the amount of insurance we would have to pay to lower this desposit - in writing they stated that it was only 20€ a day but upon arriving they reassured us we had to pay 40€ a day to get that cheaper deposit, which obviously put a ding in our finances as we did not prepare to pay more for the car. We showed them the email and they apologised and said that 40€ was their price and that the person who emailed us was wrong. Frustrated, we kindly asked them to ensure that they provide the correct information in the future as it is double the price they quoted. All in all, despite this mess up we loved our car (we had a Jeep Renegade), but we would definitely suggest taking a credit card.

Road Conditions Always check the road conditions at road.is before heading out for the day, it is updated every morning at 7am. The worst condition we drove on was slippery roads (the light blue), these roads where fine and we never had any problems while driving, but we always made sure we were cautious. Also check vedur.is for any alerts of weather conditions for that day.

If you plan to do the entire ring road, the weather in the North can get more extreme than the south, so roads sometimes will be impassable. Check the above sites to keep on top of road closures.

Highways have a speed limit of 90km/hr - if you don’t feel safe slow down. A lot of people seem to speed, they were always overtaking us, not sure if they are locals or simply crazy, but this is how people have accidents. We passed 3 crashes in one day, so it happens often.

Speed cameras are scarce, but they do exist. Some days you will have perfect driving conditions but don’t be fooled, still keep to the limit. The country is expensive so imagine the speeding fines!

Log your travels Before starting your road trip, check out Safe Travels - watch the 2 videos to learn some handy road rules and log your travel plan. This is simply so someone knows where you are, so if you get lost or run into trouble, authorities will know where you may be stuck. Make sure you respond to their email when you have arrived at your final destination otherwise they will take it as you are lost and will send out a search party.

Fuel The major stations are N1 and Olís, these were in most towns during our travels. If you are heading on a road trip out of towns (maybe towards Hofn) then consider where you will fill up, so you don’t run out.

Maps/GPS Getting around the country will require some sort of maps, if you are old school there will be plenty of maps available at receptions in hotels, just ask. We heard you can hire wifi dongles, but we are not sure where to hire these from. Otherwise if you have an unlocked phone, we would recommend purchasing a sim that has data, this is what we did, just read below.

Another option is to use offline maps on your google maps app. With this you can download a certain section of a map, add pins of all of your locations and it will locate your positioning on the map even when you are out of range of wifi. This is also very handy when walking around Reykjavik city. If you need more info, have a quick google for instructions.

Sim cards Even if you don’t end up needing a phone for internet or GPS, we still recommend getting one that has some calls, just in case you run in to any trouble and need to call for help. The main carriers are Siminn, Vodaphone and Verizon, which you can purchase either at the individual carriers store or at any 1011. We purchased a Siminn sim for 3000ISK at a 1011 in Reykjavik, which had 5GB of data, 50 minutes of calls and 50 sms. 5GB of data was an ample amount for our 4 days of driving as we did only really use it for maps.

Food/Stores Eating out is expensive, a meal ranges anywhere between 2500ISK and 4000ISK, so try saving some penies and eat in. We had porridge for breakfast, sandwiches with jam/peanut butter for lunch, and either frozen meals from the grocery store for dinner (these were between 600ISK and 1000ISK and quite tasty) or eggs on toast. We would have liked to have made actual meals like bolognese for dinner, but meat is very expensive. Eating out is also very expensive, but trying the fish is a must, it is so fresh and worth every cent. Lamb soup is also very traditional so treat yourself with that too and experience the culture.

The major grocery stores are Bonus (logo with a pig) and Kronan (logo with a lemon). Bonus is the cheapest but there is not a huge difference between the two. Their opening hours are usually 10am-6pm. There is also 1011 which is open 24 hours, but it is more expensive. It is equivalent to a 7/11.

Money exchange If you are wanting to either exchange money into Krona or exchange Krona to another currency, the airport rates we found to be very good. We were pleasantly surprised by this because our experience with airport exchanges have been the opposite. You can also exchange money at Arion Bank, which are located in most major towns.

Card or cash? Credit cards are accepted virtually everywhere, but again, we did not have one so paid everything in cash. We personally prefer cash as it helped us keep track of our spending.

Side note - We found out about an app called Splitwise, which allows you to keep track of your spendings. This worked well for us as we were splitting our costs and was very easy to use. Just a hot tip to make your life simpler.

Transport Airport transfers - We went with Flybus (a service through Reykjavik Excursions) located next to the airport exit doors. You can buy a one-way ticket however if you need to get back to the airport, we would recommend to purchase the return as well, it will save you about 600ISK. This company drops you directly at your door, and picks you up from your door as well. Gray Line is another company you can go through, they are located right next to the Flybys kiosk and are either the same or have minimal difference in price.

Public Buses – Getting around Reykjavik is easy, you just need to buy a ticket before getting on the bus. These can be purchased at your hotel/hostel or at tourist information centres. A one way ticket is 600ISK.

Taxis - Reykjavik does have taxis however they are expensive, we avoided them. Talking to other tourists they said that they paid roughly $200CAD to get from the Reykjavik to the airport which is a 45min to an hour drive, is this reasonable pricing? That’s up to you.

Accommodation (Hostel/Airbnb) In reykjavik we stayed at Reykjavik City HI Hostel, which we loved. It is a little way out of the city, but there is a bus stop just outside the doors and it’s only a 10min ride to the city centre. If you have a car even better, there is free parking at the hostel. You can either get bunk rooms or private rooms. We experienced both, they were both clean and well maintained and served the purpose. If you do go with a HI hostel, we would suggest getting the membership card (you can purchase on arriving there, about 3000ISK). Every dollar counts right?

In Snaefellsnes we stayed at this Airbnb, and it was absolutely amazing. It was a little wooden cabin on a farm overlooking the famous Kirkjufell mountain (featured in Game of thrones). We got to experience the farm life by feeding the many sheep, ram and goats and they also have three adorable Border Collies. The hosts, Anna and Oli, were both incredible - we enjoyed many cups of tea and numerous chocolates while chatting away with them. It was an experience that you must try, we would highly recommend choosing this specific Airbnb. If you want more details feel free to leave a comment 😊

Be flexible This is actually very important. We had a tour booked but was cancelled due to weather so be flexible and roll with it, take whatever opportunities you can and make the most of it. We were lucky and met someone with a car and traveled around with him. Try doing this if you can.

Our trip in Iceland was only for 8 days but we packed it as full as we could to use up all of that time. We ventured around the west and south coast of the island and ensured we stopped at every breathtaking aspect that this country has to offer. So sit back, relax and read up on our daily travels and recommendations so you can plan a perfect trip like ours.

We finally arrived after 39 hours of flights and layovers at Reykjavik airport, nice and early. Hungry and tired is not a good mix so we kicked off our adventures by visiting the local 1011 and then headed for the city for some sightseeing. Nice place, cute houses, and all of it is fairly close so easy enough to trek around.

Our first stop was The Pond (literally named The Pond, creative bunch) which was completely frozen over except for a little corner where ducks and geese bathed.

Next was Hallgrimskirkja Church, the one that stands out in the middle of the city.

The inside is just as impressive as the outside, so definitely walk in. Little fact it has 5,275 pipes on the church organ, now that’s a lot of cleaning.

If you love heights then pay that little extra and head up near the bells and see Reykjavik. We enjoyed this as it gave great views of the mountains, but I wouldn’t say it is a must do.

If you’re up for a little fun, head to the Penis Museum (yeah that’s right, only in Iceland). The gift shop itself provided us with our daily dose of laughter.

Walking along the harbour ended our lovely adventure and back to the hostel we went.

Here is where our adventures got very spontaneous - our planned 3 day tour, leaving the following day was cancelled due to weather. Slightly saddened, we met a lovely couple that enlightened us about a tour that was leaving that night for the northern lights. Not being able to turn down a chance of seeing these natural wonders, off we went. After standing out in the cold for what seemed like forever, our spontaneity paid off and the sky lit up with a bright green glow.

Seeing as our tour was cancelled, we didn’t have a lot planned for today, but fate seemed to be on our side and we met a gentleman named Vai who was in the same boat as us. He was looking at driving around the Golden Circle. A light bulb lit in our heads and we asked if he wanted company for the trip. He was more than happy so just like that we were off! This was our plan:

Be prepared for immense beauty - the entire Golden Circle drive is stunning.

First stop was Thingvellir National park, about 30mins drive. The park area is huge and there are many stopping bays along the way so you can really stop anywhere you like. The views are spectacular, so treat yourself and stop, at least once.

Next up was Stroker Geyser, 55mins drive. We were unsure if this place was going to be as good as the pictures but we ventured forth and were met with an impressive show! The height that these geysers shoot to is incredible! They erupt approximately every 10 mins.

After being on the road again for 10 minutes, we found ourselves at our last stop, Gullfoss waterfall, and were nearly blown away, literally. This was our first taste of extreme Icelandic weather, so we made sure we took extreme care on the slippery ice and didn’t stand too close to the cliff edges. In terms of the waterfall - it was beautiful, very large and impressive however pictures never seem to give it enough justice, you will just have to see it yourself.

Our drive home provided much more beauty, but it was slow and cautious due to the weather and the numerous car crashes we passed, so please be careful!

Another very windy day in in this beautiful wonderland, how people don’t blow away surprises me. So in true tourist fashion we headed out, but played it safe and headed in to the city for some shopping. As we are not big spenders, we resorted to window shopping - keep in mind this is Iceland and its expensive! All the stores we found were very quaint and worth a look through.

Not being able to pass up food, we ended up at an Icelandic Bakery and ordered a Kleina, which is an Icelandic doughnut, but instead of cinnamon they use cardamon. It was delicious!

As the Tips said, Iceland is known for their fish, so we couldn’t pass up trying it, so we headed to Icelandic Fish and Chips restaurant for lunch and shared a Cod BLT. Wow it was incredible, seriously the best fish we’ve had! It was so tender and full of flavor! Not the biggest meal but it was so worth it. Sadly, we didn’t get a photo as we were clearly too excited to eat, but trust us, it was great!

Like us, Iceland apparently has a love for Ice-cream, so we were destined to get along well. A shop called Valdis is their famous go to place, however it wasn’t very exciting, it was just your average old scoop shop. BUT not to fear all you ice-cream lovers, we did actually find some absolutely delicious dairy substances but more about that later.

Keeping with our spontaneous side we again teamed up with Vai and headed towards Vik. We were aiming to get to the Vatnajokull Ice Caves, but realised we were a little over enthusiastic with that idea. The drive there alone would be 4 hours, with 5 hours of daylight... the maths didn’t quite add up. Adjusting our plans, we headed to Skogarfoss waterfall instead, only a 2 hour drive.

Seeing as we were heading out this far we booked at another HI hostel (Skogar HI Hostel), which turned out to be at the base of this giant waterfall, what are the odds. Due to this we didn’t stay for long as we would venture here in the morning.

Continuing towards Vik, there is a famous plane wreck that we attempted to see but time prevented us doing a 45-minute walk to it, so sadly we drove on. 30 minutes later we reached Reynisfjara Black Beach, which was breathtaking. The sun was still very low over the horizon so the reflections on the water gave an unforgettable view.

Just a cautious side note, this beach is quite dangerous due to the random strong waves, and has very often claimed lives - please don’t become fish food. None the less, the beauty was very distracting and time was slipping away.

Next stop was a long 2.5hr drive to Jokulslarlon Glacier Lagoon. An amazing place with an absolutely astonishing view, nothing can be compared to it.

It was so peaceful, complete silence surrounded you, and the water was crystal clear and still.

We could have stayed here for a very long time admiring this natural beauty but daylight is required to see the glaciers, so back to the hostel we went before dark.

And the wind was back, in force I might add. Even though the waterfall was only about a 5min walk from our hostel, we cranked the heater and drove there. The waterfall is very impressive, it would be great to get really close (pretty sure you can in summer) but with the amount of ice surrounding it we kept our distance

We walked up the flight of stairs that led to the top of the waterfall and damn we got hot, felt like de-layering, but as soon as we stepped onto the observation platform we needed them again.

Frozen and satisfied we began our 2-hour drive back to Reykjavik.

Now it was our turn to drive the Icelandic roads. Our car rental was a fun experience to deal with, but we cover this in the Tips, do read them before booking a car. Jordan put on his learner plates (not literally) and began to drive the icy streets.

Surviving our first experience of winter driving, we headed to a small shop that Cherie had been eyeing-off the whole trip. She has a eye for sweet things, so we checked it out. Best decision ever because we found THE most INCREDIBLE ice-cream EVER! Skubb it was called. We tasted pretty much every flavour, then brought 3 scoops to share. It was absolutely divine. Our flavours were Roasted White Chocolate, Salted Caramel and Dairy.

Jump over to our highlights for more info on this must go to place.

Finally, a beautiful sunny day and thank goodness as we were driving to Snaefellsnes! Excited and ready we set out on our 4 hour trip.

When heading to Snaefellsnes from Reykjavik you have the option to take the long way, which follows the water’s edge around Hvalfjordur, or you can take the tunnel under Hvalfjordur, which shaves 30mins off your trip, but it has a 1000ISK fee. Liking our money and it was such a perfect day, we took the water’s edge route and oh boy it was a great decision. The views of the mountains towering over the clear water with the sun just peaking over their tips was spectacular, to say the least.

We stopped in Borganes for groceries and a quick snap shot of the scenery.

This is the last cheap place for groceries before Snaefellsnes so it is a good idea to stock up.

Before diving in to an explanation of each stop, we just want to say how beautiful the drive around Snaefellsnes itself is. We made many stops along the way, each of them just as wowing as the other.

If you do decide to stop please chuck your hazard lights on, it helps other drivers passing by.

Our first planned stop was Gerduberg cliffs, which we found, but were unable to find the road that led to them. It didn’t look super exciting, so we took a photo from the main road and kept driving.

When driving the countryside you will pass many farms, and lots and lots of Icelandic horses. You must stop and pat them, they are adorable! Very furry and friendly.

Next up was Budhir, a cute little black church in the middle of nowhere, we were not very excited about this stop, but it was actually really nice.

Then onto Bjarnofoss waterfall - it was nothing overly special (well in comparison to Skogarfoss) and seemed to only have an entrance through private property, so we took a picture and continued on our way.

Next was Arnistapi, a viewing platform on the side of the cliffs.

It was a quite windy day but a perfect place to get some nice pictures of the cliffs and water with the sun.

There is also a cool stone statue that looks like Davie Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Next was Hellnar which was just a small town. We had read that it was a good stop however we did not find a terrible lot there. There is viewing point on the edge of the cliffs, but very similar to Arnistapi.

Londranger basalt cliffs was our next place of choice, another viewing platform looking over the impressive black cliffs.

Last was Dtritvik, Snaefellsnes’ black beach. This was by far our favourite stop of the day. Not many people were walking down to the actual beach because the main path was quite slippery, but there was a hidden snowy path beside it that everyone seemed to overlook. It is a stone beach rather than sand, which personally we prefer, and the sound of the waves washing up the stones then pulling them out again was oh so peaceful.

The sun was very low over the water which called for some great photos!

We lay on the shore admiring the view for a good while, until we decided we should probably head to our accommodation before we ran out of daylight.

We were staying in an AirBnB in Grundarfjordur, right next to the famous Kirdjufell mountain.

As stated in the Tips, we would 100% recommend staying here as the cabin had everything you need - great views, great location, super cute dogs and super lovely hosts.

The lovely wooden cabins were so great that we spent the morning just admiring the views.

Then it was back onto the road for more sightseeing - we headed to Kirkjufell Waterfall, a strenuous 1min drive away.

This fall didn’t look like much from afar, but up close it was both fascinating and beautiful. There was a layer of ice that encased the cascading falls, something neither of us had ever seen before.

The path around the fall is quite slippery, so watch your step. Or, create amusement for yourself like we did and lay back and slide down - oh it was fun!

We drove through the local town of Grundarfjordur and headed to Stokkisholmur, 30mins drive. This side of Sneafellsnes is even more white and mountainous then the side we drove yesterday, but visibility was quite poor for us to take any good photos.

The harbour in Stykkisholmer is supposed to be beautiful but seeing as we couldn’t see much we sadly we can’t confirm that. If you do end up arriving in this town, there is a little hill behind the harbour that you can enjoy these views from. In case you did have the munchies during the night, there is a Bonus in this town for your convenience.

Returning to our cabin, we sat back, placed our feet up and enjoyed the view with fresh tea. Snaefellsnes in winter is very much a place of relaxation.

The time had come for our dreamy trip to be over. For the drive back to Reykjavik we decided to take the tunnel.

It wasn’t anything special but hey, gave us time to stop in at Grotta lighthouse before dropping the car off.

Still feeling like we hadn’t made the most of the deliciously fresh fish, we ventured to one more restaurant to enjoy one more delightful meal. We wound up at a lovely place called Hresso in downtown Reykjavik.

To top of the meal we purchased a huge cinnamon bun covered in caramel from the bakery.

We had read many reviews on the Blue Lagoon, some good, some not so great, and we concluded we thought it was a bit of a tourist trap, so instead of doing the tourist thing we went to the local geothermal pool, Laugardalslaug.

Sadly it was now time to head to the airport, but before leaving we could not resist one more guilty serve of ice-cream from Skubb.

Here is a quick break down of our spending for two adults:

• Accommodation - 83,526 ISK (2 nights Airbnb, 6 nights Hostel)

• Car - 45,565 ISK (not including deposit)

• Fuel - 4,617 ISK (for 3 days of driving)

• Food - 2,090 ISK per day (this was including three nights of eating out)

• Transport - 15,400 ISK (Airport transfer and 6 x public bus tickets)

• Other - 18,800 ISK (tours, activities, sim card)

1. Golden circle

This is always promoted in Iceland and deserves its hype. We enjoyed the drive and stopped at numerous locations to take pictures and enjoy the breathtaking scenery. Strokkur Geyser and Gullfoss waterfall are definite must sees. The wind can get a little crazy so if it’s a windy day please be careful, there is a lot of ice.

2. Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Natural beauty doesn’t get any better than this. We very quickly got lost in the beautiful silence and calm that surrounds this lagoon.

3. Reynisfjara Black Beach

We had seen it before in Game of Thrones but now we got to stand on its shores and watch those bubbly waves roll in. It is an amazing beach that is so peaceful and pretty. We ventured onto the rocks and basked at the impressive rock formations.

4. Arbnb in Snaefellsnes

We never thought we would love accommodation enough to put it in our top highlights but this cabin was incredible. We are very much adventurists and don’t normally like to spend much time indoors, but it was oh so cozy and the view through the floor to ceiling windows was too hard to resist - absolutely stunning.

5. Food

Even though we didn’t eat out a lot, we still loved the food. Here are a few places you must try:

• Icelandic Street Food - they sell Icelands’ renowned Lamb Soup - it’s a traditional meal for them, served inside an open top bun, plus, unlimited free refills, perfect after a long day of adventuring.

• Icelandic Fish and Chips - we think fish anywhere in Iceland would be incredible, but here we had a cod BLT and oh, my, goodness, it was an unexpected delight. This sandwich was scrumptious and absolutely made our day!

• Skubb - the ice-cream here was by far our favourite. It was unbelievable. They don’t go easy on scoop sizing! And even have the option to add mix-ins! Plus, it is all organically made and produced on property.

6. Skogafoss Waterfall

Besides Gullfoss, this was one of the larger and most impressive waterfalls we visited. You can walk very close to the fall and see how breathtakingly large and majestic it is. Even on the coldest and windiest of days, you forget about how your fingers and toes are about to fall off and be completely captivated by it’s beauty.

7. Laugardalslaug geothermal pool

This is a great substitute to the Blue Lagoon, or an addition to the Blue Lagoon if you really like geothermal pools. They have 6 different pool/spas, all with temperatures ranging between 5 and 44°C, plus a kids pool, a salt water pool and a slippery slide. Even the big kids will love the slide, we certainly did!

There were a few places we either missed out on seeing or had heard from other travellers were good attractions, so here they are:

• Vatnajokull Ice Cave - as mentioned, we had planned to visit this ice cave but it is 5 hours drive from Reykjavik, and we only had a day and half to venture the South Coast. Two full days would be plenty of time to include this natural wonder so definitely add it to your list. It is an activity you can only do in winter.

• Sólheimajökull Glacial hike - another activity you can only do during winter, so make the most of it!

• Hraunfossar and barnafossar - these are waterfalls very close to each other between the Golden Circle and Snaefellsnes. We had planned to visit them on the way home from Snaefellsnes, but unfortunately weather did not permit.

• Kerið Crater - this is a lesser known destination, but very much underestimated. We saw photos from a fellow traveller who visited here and it looked spectacular.

• Secret Lagoon - this is natural hot spring, and also located on the Golden Circle loop. It is much quieter than the Blue Lagoon and much nicer on your pocket, only 2800ISK as an entrance fee.

• Sólheimasandur Plane Wreck - as mentioned in our day to day itinerary, we had tried to visit this location but time restricted us because of a 45min walk from the car park.

And that concludes our Iceland Winterland adventures...

We absolutely loved our time! We hope that this blog and all the tips help you plan the best possible trip to Iceland, and you have an amazing time like us. If you have any questions about our blog or Iceland, do not hesitate to leave us a comment, we will respond 😄