Iceland. It’s a place I’ve been itching to visit since I was 13 or so. And yes, I fell in love with this country after taking my first riding lesson on an Icelandic horse. I’ve ridden before, but that time it felt totally different – and just right. But you don’t want to hear about my riding history. So, after dreaming of driving through the scenic landscape of Iceland and wishing for it to happen as soon as possible, I finally made it happen.
The Arrival
The time has finally come in 2022. To be honest, I was surprised that I didn’t cry when I first breathed in the fresh Icelandic air. Because I couldn’t hold it when I saw a rhino in the wild for the first time, but that’s a whole other story.
It was the beginning of July 2022. And yes, I know it isn’t the cheapest month to go to Iceland since it is the beginning of the high season. However, there was a particular reason for coming at this time, but I’ll tell you about that later. And just beforehand I travelled with my boyfriend, that is why I’m going to continue saying we or our or something similar. Our flight landed at about 1 am since because of a delay. As our pick-up time for the car wasn’t until 6 am, we had some time to stroll through the duty free shop and exchange some money. After that, we looked for a nice little spot in the airport and sat down with our luggage. We tried to sleep for a bit. I was really glad that I insisted on bringing a big warm blanket with me, as it was really useful straight away. At 6 am we got picked up and got to meet our car for the next 10 days. It was a small Dacia Dokker Camper. After inspecting it and the staff treating us with two sleeping bags. Shoutout to Starcarrental for the smooth pick up and the helpful tips. We set off on our adventure. And since I planned a rough route beforehand I knew our first stop straight away. The Bonus in Borgarnes. Honestly I think every roadtrip in Iceland starts with a stop there, at least mine. We grabbed some food and carried on driving.
Fire and Water
Our first stop was Glanni. It was pretty spontaneous, as we hadn’t planned to go there. We saw a sign, though, and thought, you know what, let’s just follow it an see where it takes us. So we took the exit and ended up on a parking lot with a sign directing us where to go. There were a few other people there, but not too many. So we got out of the car and followed the path. And it took us to a little platform overlooking a beautiful little waterfall. I’ve got to say, this moment just couldn’t have been more perfect. It wasn’t too windy and even though the sun wasn’t shining, the water was glistening. I felt like the luckiest girl ever to experience that. We took some pictures of the waterfall and a lovely old lady also took some of us to remember too. After that, we carried along the path and came across some stunning scenery and riverbeds. We just enjoyed our time here and soaked up all the peace and quiet and the views.
Our next stop was only a 5 minute drive away, so we hopped in the car and arrived at: Grábrók Volcano. This was our first planned stop. It was a little bit more busy in comparison to Glanni. Well, there’s a massive crater right next to the Ring Road with a parking lot right in front of it, so you can’t really miss it. And so it makes sense that more people are stopping there as well. We also stopped and started walking to the top. And now I have to tell you a little secret about me. I am not exactly the sporty girl at all and my stamina is pretty poor. Well basically non-existent. So I was a little hesitant walking up this hill. But I made it and it was surprisingly easy. And honestly it was so worth it. The view from the top was amazing, with the Borgafjörður countryside right below us. The walk took us about an hour, but we also spent some time at the top.
We hit the road again, listening to podcasts and music. 1 hour and 11 minutes later, we arrived at our next destination – Kolugjúfur Canyon. I’d seen some pictures of it beforehand and was really excited to see it, also because it’s not too far from the main road. However, I have to say that even though it was nice, I was not that impressed. It was a cute waterfall, but nothing compared to Glanni. I’m probably a bit biased, because it was the first waterfall I saw in Iceland and it was a surprise, so it’s hard to beat. Even though we weren’t that impressed, we spent some time walking around before we carried on with our journey.
Campsite search
We had something special planned for the next day, where we had to be at a specific place, so we kept on driving for a bit longer. We didn’t look up any campsites in advance because we wanted the freedom to stop whenever and wherever we wanted. But then I started to feel a bit peckish and these delicious chocolate cookies from Bonus weren’t enough to keep me going. We had a look at some places to stay and found a really nice campsite in Hofsós. It was a big grass field with a small building that had a shower and a toilet and a heated kitchen. We parked for the night, cooked some pesto pasta and then went to bed.
Today’s Route & Facts
- Keflavik Airport to Hofsós
- Main attractions: Glanni, Grábrók Volcano, Kolugjúfur Canyon
- Highlight of the day: Glanni
- Hours spent in car: 4h 30 min
- Kilometers made: 367 km
- Days more to go: 9
- Snacks eaten: I’m not even going to try to count how many, because there were a lot!
Tomorrow’s Plan
More water and hopefully a childhood dream comes true. We’ll be getting our things together nice and early so we can fit in two of the three activities we’ve already booked.
But more another time.
M.
Have you been to Iceland before or are you planning a trip soon? Leave a comment – I’d love to know your favourite spots.
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