Iceland: this is how it came to be. So this year a friend of mine who happens to be an amazing videographer and content creator, asked if I had any plans for December, around christmas time.
Hmmmm ”Why?” I wondered..
Well his plans were to go to either Iceland, or Norway depending on the weather and prices. I always wanted to be in another country during Christmas so I actually knew right away I was in!
And here the idea of creating amazing content together was born.
This also would be my first cold destination trip, so I needed to look into what I should bring and what’s necessary for this icy, possible snowy place. And after collecting everything on our checklist we were good to go!
Before going to Iceland
I definitely recommend to bring crampons, it made it so easy for us to walk on all the ice, and they are pretty easy to wear over your own shoes!
Also I brought some Ski-pants, and I loved wearing them even though it wasn’t that cold but they’re windproof. And don’t forget your thermal underwear. The temperature can change quick, depending on where you are. Just keep checking the weather and bring an extra sweater along in your car, just to be sure.
Fun fact: Did you know, Iceland is the most safe country in the world!?
Iceland: the start of the trip
A one way trip from Amsterdam to Keflavik, the 3 hour flight took us straight to Iceland.
Arriving to this amazing landscape already grabbed my attention. From the airport we would be picked up by the people from the car rental, and as soon as they arrived we could pick up our rental car and this road trip officially started.
TIP: If I would come back here again I would definitely rent a small van instead of a car. It has a small bed in the back and you can easily camp anywhere in Iceland. Seems like the best, cheapest and most beautiful (and fast) way to explore.
Arriving in the cutest wooden cottage, we settled in, freshened up and made our plans for the next day. We Googled some websites with great tips about Iceland’s to-do’s and must sees.
Iceland: day 1
Iceland has hundreds of waterfalls and on the first day we had three of the most beautiful planned: Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi and Skógafoss.
The first two were within walking distance of each other. They were all beautiful and unique in their own way. At Seljalandsfoss you usually can walk behind the waterfall but unfortunately that path was closed.
Then a 500m walk further we found Gljúfrabúi, it’s a beautiful hidden waterfall and it gives you amazing views! For the little dare devils among us, go inside the ”cave”, yes you will get a bit wet but it’s absolutely worth it! After visiting these waterfalls, it was just a short drive to Skógafoss, one of the most popular waterfalls in Iceland.
You can walk up the stairs at Skógafoss and the view from there is just mind blowing. There’s a beautiful hike waiting for you behind the waterfall. This path is where a two-day hike is waiting for you with lots of waterfalls along the way. But it’s up to you how far you go.
Iceland: day 2
For today we planned to go visit Vík, Black Sand beach, and Dyrhólaey.
Vík is the southernmost village in Iceland with around 300 inhabitants. It’s also the perfect base for a number of sights in the south. One of those sights is the DC-3 aircraft wreck. Due to a fuel shortage, the aircraft had to make an emergency landing in 1973 on the vast black plain of South Iceland.
In recent years the aircraft has transformed from a secret spot into a fairly busy photo spot. Get up early to have the plane wreck all for yourself. From the parking lot it is a 1 hour walk to the plane wreck. It’s very impressive seeing this aircraft at this beautiful, all black sand, scenery in the middle of nowhere!
After this we drove up to Vík, to enjoy the view over this cute little town and grab some foo. From here it was a short drive to the Dyrhólaey viewpoint. It’s a nice hike up-hill where you have the most amazing views all over the rocky shore, and the black sandy beaches. Absolutely mind blowing.
Iceland: day 3
Diamond Beach, Jökulsárlón, Fjallsárlón and Fjaðrárgljúfur. Today we have a beautiful road trip ahead, it goes through one of the most beautiful areas of Iceland.
A trip of almost 300 km, with just amazing and fantastic views over vast plains, mountains and glaciers along the way. We decided to start at Diamond Beach because that would be our main visit for today, and since we didn’t have too many hours of daylight we did’t want to miss out. This beach is full of pieces of ice that sparkle in the sun. That is why this beach has been named Diamond Beach.
Right from the Jökulsárlón, the largest glacier lake in Iceland, the pieces of ice from this glacier float directly from the lake into the sea. These large and small pieces of ice wash up on the black beach. Both in the lake and on the beach these pieces of ice are here all year round. Sometimes there are more than other times, depending on the weather and tides.
We took an amazing shot from the air with the drone and the view was just sick. Also we spotted two seals swimming around in the cold ocean. From here we crossed the street because on the other side there is Jökulsárlón. This glacier gives amazing views and is full of huge pieces of ice that can be both blue and white. I was just amazed about how blue the ice can be. After enjoying the view, it was just a short drive to the other glacier Fjallsárlón.
Unfortunately we didn’t make it to our last stop to visit Fjaðrárgljúfur. We were already losing daylight so we had to skip this one. But if you do have time, I’ve heard its a must see. This 100 meter deep canyon is more than 2 million years old and extremely photogenic. There are different viewpoints from which it looks as if you are on a different planet. So definitely worth a visit.
Iceland: day 4
Today we have the Golden Circle on our schedule. Our end destination today will be Reykjavik, and the Golden Circle is a round of sights near Reykjavik so a perfect trip to do before ending in the city.
Our first stop was Gullfoss, a giant waterfall of 20m wide, it has 2 layers, is very popular and one of the highlights in Iceland. Walking up towards the waterfall, the sound and the view is unreal. You can go up by stairs to watch the waterfall from a higher point, this is absolutely worth a moment of silence and to just take the view and sounds all in.
So after doing that we continued our trip and the next stop was Geysir, a geothermal area where the Strokkur geyser sprays water up to a height of 20 meters every 5 to 7 minutes. A very special natural phenomenon to see.
And last but not least we made a stop at Kerið. This volcano crater collapsed 3000 years ago and has now been filled with water that has acquired a particularly green-blue color. Right now the water was frozen but still very extraordinary and again just mind blowing.
The last few kilometers to Reykjavik had started. We decided to park close to the famous Hallgrimskirkja church, to also see this beauty. Stroll around in the nice small streets of the city to visit some Icelandic stores, and then finally to find a place to enjoy a nice Icelandic dish.
Iceland was definitely one of the greatest experiences of my life so far! I’ve seen a lot of places but nothing like this. The landscapes are mind blowing, nature that’s so amazingly beautiful that it almost looks unreal. It sometimes really felt like we were on a whole other planet.
I will definitely be back here one day to road trip the other part of Iceland.
Photo’s by: Radjied de la Combé
Over de auteur
Nicole Staal
Hey hallo! Ik ben Nicole Staal en sta bekend om mijn altijd super spontane vakanties/trips. Zelf ben ik momenteel in between jobs, bezig met reis ambassadeur worden voor een travelagent en natuurlijk met het schrijven van mijn eigen (travel)blogs en ebook! Ik hou ervan om mensen te inspireren te doen waar ze gelukkig van worden mocht het nu reizen zijn of iets anders. Just do it and follow your passion! Ik vertel vooral wat mijn ervaring was in bepaalde plekken, wat te doen en eventueel niet te doen etc! Zie mijn website voor mijn reisverhalen !
