Taking a road trip around the Ring Road in Iceland had been on our list for a while and thanks to Chase Credit Card Reward Points we were able to score a pair of free flights! Originally, we were going to leave Emma behind with the Grandparents but after Jenn suffered from separation anxiety after a long weekend, the decision was made to bring her along.
What part of overnight flights and 10 days driving around in a van while sleeping in the back doesn’t scream “bring your infant!”
What part of overnight flights and 10 days driving around in a van while sleeping in the back doesn’t scream “bring your infant!”
The flight started out a little rough, we missed our connection and had to spend 24hrs in the Minneapolis airport. At least we got to check the mall of America off our bucket list…
Once we landed in Iceland we secured our VW minivan, that would double as our home for the next 10 days. Next, we loaded up on food, wine, fuel and set out on one of the most epic road trips we have ever completed.
We drove completely around the island including the more remote, less visited Western Fjords
Iceland has a lot of waterfalls; like enough waterfalls that you can drive for 10 days around the country and never be out of sight of a waterfall for more than 5 minutes. Short waterfalls, tall waterfalls, wide waterfalls, waterfalls you walk behind, waterfalls that get you wet, waterfalls that cascade, waterfalls that free fall, waterfalls that… you get the picture.
The great part of road tripping around Iceland is that the scenery changes by the minute. You can be driving past a field of flowers, next a lava field, then green cliffs, and minutes later be at a glacier.
One of my favorite stops was Jokulsarlon Lagoon where chunks of ice break off a glacier, float out to sea, and then would wash back up on the black sand beach. And if that wasn’t enough, seals were playing in the water dodging in and out of the floating ice cubes.
Jenn’s favorite stop was Fjadrargljufur. Ironically we had seen a photo rotating through the screen saver on our TV several months back and thought it looked awesome. We took a photo of it and posted it to our travel friends asking where in the world it might be. The answer came back that it was in Iceland so we made that a mandatory stop.
The beautiful thing about having a van that we all 3 slept in was that whenever we got tired we would pull over in a beautiful spot and sleep for the night. Jenn would put Emma to sleep while I whipped up a 2 course meal (pasta and wine) on our camping stove.
Although parking where ever is somewhat frowned upon, it is overlooked as long as you aren’t popping random squats everywhere.
Besides waterfalls, Iceland also dominates most other world areas in their hot spring scene. Due to all of the geothermal activity, hot water is practically free. Every town, no matter how small, had a community hot spring that the locals frequented. We also ran across multiple remote ones in the countryside or on secluded beaches which turned out to be our favorite.
Iceland also brings the heat (literally) with geothermal activity. We explored multiple hot spots, from gushing geysers to smoldering sulfur steam vents.
Let’s not forget how Iceland throws its weight around in the Fjord market either. We drove around Fjords for days (and days) and never got bored.
Did I mention that Iceland has some epic waterfalls?
Couple other things we noticed while driving around, their language is ridiculously confusing.
They also have lots of beautiful horses that accent the landscape.
They like hotdogs, not sure what they are made of since I never saw one pig in Iceland, but that is beside the point. Possibly the horses, either way they are good!
Iceland is home to several large colonies of puffins (another possible meat source for the abundant hot dogs).
I feel like I mentioned it earlier, but I don’t think you understand the waterfall situation they have going on over there.
Our last stop of the trip was the iconic Blue Lagoon. We debated going based on the price and touristyness but decided when in Rome… We are glad we went but we enjoyed the local remote private hot springs much more.
Iceland was truly EPIC – easily in the top countries we have ever been to as far as diverse raw natural beauty. Although I was a little apprehensive about how it would go with Emma, I can easily say it went better than I could have imagined. The only thing we didn’t get to do (because we brought her) was a multi-day trek in the mountains which Jenn was secretly excited we skipped due to the uphill walking involved.