Off To Iceland

I have written a post on Iceland in the past and discussed various options for exploring that “hot” destination- one of them being a self drive vacation.  And the time has come just go- and explore…….leaving on Thursday June 8th, I will be exploring with several others the Golden Circle Plus for a few days- 5 nights/ 6 days…….so here are some of my plans and hints!  Be sure to follow my Facebook page for more pictures.

Itinerary

The Actual Itinerary will be quite open in some ways- each day there will be different sights to see along the way…..the number of sights we visit may depend on factors like interest, traffic, weather, etc. etc. Currently there are only two activities for which we have paid.

  • June 9th- Collect luggage and cars, and either eat around/ at the airport, or head to an open restaurant a short distance away for breakfast.

Then head to the Bridge between two Continents just a short drive south of the airport……from here head to the Blue Lagoon in order to arrive between 9-10 AM.  I suspect we will be there until early afternoon at some point. Check in at the guesthouse is not until 4 pm……so they may or may not allow us in earlier…….and we may want to stop after if we are energetic enough at Selantangar, an Abandoned Village due to Lava etc. The first stop overnight is at the  Frumskógar Guesthouse, Hveragerdi.

  • June 10th- Head out towards the coast and VIK. Along the way there are a number of sights to see in the area as we drive towards our second stop- and south towards Vik……. i.e. Landmannalauger (bathing pool amongst the lava towers), Saga Centre, Markarfljot Valley, Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Skogar Museum, Eyjafjallajokull glacier
    and horseback riding near our hotel. Two nights at this hotel: Hotel Eyjafjallajokull, Hvolsvollur.
  • June 11th- This is our second scheduled activity day at the Ice Lagoon touring in a Zodiac……this is about a 3 hour drive there and a 3 hour drive back……of course if we see things we want to look at along the way to take some great photos, we will……..we may also want to check out some of the sights from the day before…….
  •  June 12th- Head northeast towards Gulfoss- we stay close by…….along the way and in the area, we can explore the following: Gulfoss Waterfalls, The Geysir Hot Springs Area, Haukadalur Church, Haukadalur Forest, Bjarnafell- hike to overlook the Geysir, Laugarvatn Fontana – Spa & Wellness center, Pingvellir National Park. We will definitely not be able to see all of this on the way to Gulfoss, so the following day I am expecting to go to at least the last two spots above on the way to Reyjkavik……overnight at the Geysir Bed & Breakfast, Haukadalur.
  • June 13th make our way slowly but surely towards Reyjkavik- where we will check into our hotel and stay overnight-the Nordurey Hotel, Reykjavik.

Some Need to Know Information About Iceland……..

  • It could be cold enough for snow……they have had snow in June before. A friend just came back, and she said the wind was brutal in places- particularly closer to the coast…….she was glad she had a hat and gloves……so remember, no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing……

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/is/14-day-weather-trend/-/reykjavik and this https://fullsuitcase.com/what-to-pack-iceland-summer/

Further to this, if you wish to walk behind any of the falls, you will get wet…….so maybe wind pants as well to protect your pants.

  • I figure we can shop at food stores, etc. along the way if we need lunch/ snacks/ etc. If there is a breakfast buffet, make a sandwich to take with you……sandwich bags may come in handy lol…….totally up to you!
  • Their water is extraordinarily pure- be sure to take a water bottle to refill…..
  • If you like to have some wine, etc. along the way after your day of travel, you may want to consider stocking up at the duty free before boarding the plane. You are allowed any size bag of duty free on WOW air.
    http://www.dutyfree.is/en/Allowance-calculator
  • Definitely be prepared for almost 24 hour light- take eye shades in case there are not blackout curtains if you are unable to sleep if it is light.
  • In terms of cash, she said that most places takes credit cards- she took very few ISK…….I may take $100 worth- it is unlikely to go far lol…….

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