Road Trip - Iceland

Traveling - At first, you are left speechless. Afterwards, you turn into a storyteller.

I would like you to be introduced to one of my favorite locations I visited during the last year: Iceland.
This will be a first start of a bigger trip and I would be really happy if you join in on this adventure.

 

Austria - Iceland - 14.03 - 25.03

 

By plane, we went to the beautiful island, which is Iceland. After the doors of our 4-hour-long flight finally opened in Reykjavik, we were already left speechless for the first time by the very different but breathtaking flair. The amazing but rather harsh land was presented in its best, but also the coldest way, with snow hitting our faces the moment we left the cozy plane.But no time should be lost as we wanted to see as much of Iceland as possible within our 10-day-long trip around the whole island. So we were transported by a shuttle bus to vipcars, where we were able to pick up our rental car, which took us around half an hour, but the car should prove very well how important a 4WD can be in the cold ice and snow. Which already brings me to my first topic!

RENTAL CAR AND WEATHER

As the weather in Iceland can hardly be predictable, changing from sunshine to deep snowstorms within minutes, or even seconds, a good look into available rental cars and insurances will be worth the effort! We decided to get a Dacia Duster and were not disappointed at all. Even though we are still not 100% sure if our rental car was sealed or if it had some holes here and there. Like the weather, the wind is also very rapidly changing from one moment to another. Over and over, you will be noted to pay attention to your doors, so they will not get ripped off your car by a gust of wind.

 

When checking out an insurance, be sure that your car is not only covered for rockfall. Iceland is a volcanic area, so you might consider covering as much as possible, including ash and sandstorms. Note: Like mentioned before, be very careful with wind and car doors as they are not able to be insured, and many people do underestimate the sheer power of wind when hitting your car's door like a sail! Also, be sure to check your car when you get it handed over and make pictures of it and already existing damages. Luckily, we had no problems with our Dacia and a very comfortable and safe ride all around the island.

PLAN OUT YOUR TRIP BEFOREHAND

To assure a smooth ride as well, I really recommend using quite some time for research. Be prepared for every condition, especially in the winter season! Do not find yourself surprised by the always-changing wind and weather. We never left our locations without a spare-everything. I really can emphasize on bringing spare clothes and even spare boots to each location. (Talking from experience - it is not fun to walk almost 2 hours to your car with soaked and wet boots because you got surprised by a bigger wave reaching out for you.)

 

So make sure that you always have something to change during your adventures! With the blasting winds, I was really happy to bring some kind of balaclava or storm mask with me as your face is otherwise exposed to the sheer cold for a long time and you will want to inhale all the beauty of the landscape rather than rushing for the next warm place to defrost your noses. 

 

Besides all the warm clothes, I really can recommend a good thermos flask to keep something warm to drink with you all the time. After an adventurous hike to the breathtaking locations and waterfalls, nothing feels better than a warm sip of tea or coffee!

During our trip, we never used cash at all! Everything we bought, even on the locations we visited, was paid for with our handy credit card. As we travelled around the whole of Iceland, we needed to spend some time in the car and on the road. In Iceland, this requires some careful planning, as you can spend hours on the road with no civilization in sight for a long time. This also means no gas stations. Whenever you leave a city or location, make sure to fill up your tank, so you don't get stranded in the wilds with an empty car. A big plus is the free coffee at many gas stations, so use this to fill up your energy too! :)

 

For long trips, make sure to prepare some lunch boxes. No civilization also means no fast food or coffee shops. If you get hungry, it's better to be prepared. During our trip, we really had a great experience with the grocery store called "Bonus", which can be found in almost all towns, so this is a big recommendation if you are looking for a reliable place to buy food.

 

Something special about Iceland is that most of the dinners and nice places to eat are the restaurants connected to the gas stations.

 

GOLDEN CIRCLE

After all this preparation, the first location we visited was the so-called Golden Circle.
It's a 300-kilometer-long route of Iceland that contains three of the most popular attractions: Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir area, and the Gullfoss waterfall.

 

The Geysir area really deserves its name as Strokkur, one of the geysers, delivers a burst of hot water and a beautiful natural spectacle every five to ten minutes, shooting up to 40 meters (130 feet). As the reliable activity of Strokkur guarantees a perfect shot, it's a valley worth visiting. The area is covered with hot springs, mud pits, and even other smaller geysers, Smidur and Litli-Strokkur. Since the area is free of admission and always open to visitors, it allows visits even under the northern lights.

 

Only a ten-minute drive separates the Geysir area from the Gullfoss. The Gullfoss is one of the most powerful waterfalls in Iceland, dropping water over 32 meters (105 feet) into the river called Hvita. Sadly, the beauty of Gullfoss was almost lost, as British developers sought to harness the force of the water for hydroelectric power. Luckily, this was prevented, and the natural landscape was saved by Sigridur, the daughter of the landowner of a farm adjacent to the waterfall. Gullfoss is enjoyable all year long, with ice and snow everywhere in winter or a near-permanent rainbow in the sunshine during summer.

 

After this amazing first day in Iceland, our trip continued to Selfoss, where we had booked an Airbnb location for our first night on the island.
We were able to warm our frozen bodies and had a nice shower, and after a really exciting first day, we couldn't wait for all the adventures yet to come.

 

The majority of the trip is still ahead of us, and I would be very happy if you joined us on the next part of the trip within the coming blogs.

But for now, we were happy to rest our tired bodies in a comfortable, cozy, and warm bed...