Adventures of Adrienne
Adventures of Adrienne

Iceland

Background

Iceland is a fairly small volcanic island near the arctic. It is quite literally the land of ice and fire. While you may find many cheap flight deals going to Iceland, it is actually pretty expensive once you land; the currency is a bit fishy. The Icelandic Krona is 120 Kr = $1 USD; with that exchange rate, you would think you can make it rain all the time, but you will be saving those fish coins hoping you have enough for a candy bar. The going rate for a bowl of soup (gas stations included) is around $20 USD. Be sure to shop around at the grocery stores and pick up some snacks/ food; it is cheaper and you don’t always know when you’ll get hungry on your road trip. Because I wanted to see all of Iceland, I chose to rent a camper and drive around the Golden Circle and the Ring Road. Beware that while you may not see any police ever, there are traffic cameras throughout the highway/city streets that capture your plates if you are speeding (the max speed in the country is about 55 mph), and they will send speeding tickets to foreign visitors months later.

The Golden Circle is a small section near the capital (Reykjavik) which features some Icelandic highlights- geysirs, waterfalls, volcano tubes, geothermal lagoons/pools, and volcano hiking to hot springs. Make sure you pack plenty of swimsuits if you want to take advantage of the island’s natural hot tubs. Note- Icelanders are serious about their hygiene; if you visit a lagoon or spa, you must strip naked and take a full shower before getting in. To really enforce their seriousness, you can only enter the lagoons from the showers of the locker room.

The Ring Road is also known as Hwy 1, which circles the entire island. You will find many more POIs along this road. It took about $80 USD each time I needed to fill my Subaru with gas, several fill ups were needed to drive over the whole country. Camping was fairly easy for me, there are camp sites all over Iceland that offer parking, showers, restrooms, and small kitchens. Many of these campsites are near major POIs.

Iceland is literally a photo op every 5 feet. I won’t bore you with too many words this time, just list some highlights to check out and show you my pictures. Feel free to reach out if you would like any tips or more info on my journey.

Enjoy!

  • Reykjavik

    • Sun Voyager

    • Perlan

    • Nautholvik Geothermal Beach

    • Penis Museum

    • Kvika Footbath

  • Blue Lagoon

  • Golden Circle

  • Into the Glacier (Book in advance)

  • Lake Myvatn

    • Grjotagja geothermal “bathing cave” (bathing prohibited though due to high temps)

    • Namafjall boiling blue mud pots

    • Myvatn nature bath lagoon

  • Rjukandafoss Waterfall

  • Glacier Lagoon

  • Diamond Beach

  • Reynisfjara Beach

  • Dyrholaey Peninsula

  • Solheimasandur Plane Wreck (google maps will take you to a pasture with a sign saying the plane wreck is not here. drive down about a mile further and you will see a large parking lot. From the parking lot you will have to walk about 3-5K until you get to the plane wreck.)