Road trip of a life time: 5 days in Iceland

Celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary in Iceland….. lets do it!

The trip that was planned for 2021 but covid happened and baby number two happened. We had booked our trip to Iceland (planned and paid for) in 2021, however, sadly due to covid restrictions, we had to cancel our plans. When we realised that we could no longer explore Iceland, we decided it’s a good time to have baby number two and she arrived in November 2021. After her arrival it took us a few years (3 years) to save and be ready for our Iceland trip. With our ten year wedding anniversary fast approaching, I thought it would be a brilliant time to mark it with a trip to Iceland.

A little bit about Iceland:

Location: A Nordic island nation in the North Atlantic Ocean, just below the Arctic Circle.

Capital: Reykjavík (also the largest city).

Population: About 380,000 people.

Language: Icelandic.

Currency: Icelandic króna (ISK).

Geography: Known for dramatic landscapes—volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, lava fields, glaciers, and black sand beaches.

Tourism Highlights: The Blue Lagoon, Golden Circle, Northern Lights, Vatnajökull Glacier, and countless waterfalls and natural wonders.

Fun Fact: It’s one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world, with almost 100% of its electricity coming from renewable sources.

Day 1

Traveling to Iceland with our two backpacks and one cabin bag was a breeze. We didn’t have to check in any luggage and we were travelling light so going through security and onto the plane was completely hassle free. It was a considerably different to our EDT – Extreme Day Trip to Alicante flight last month (which you can find in another post)!  We watched a beautiful sunrise to kick start our travels. Getting out of the airport was really quick too. Since we knew exactly where we were going, the main agenda was to get our car from the car hire company and get comfy in the car! Once settled in the car, we decided to stop off at the local supermarket to get milk, cereal, fruit and other bits and pieces. We thought this would save us a fortune over the next few days and it totally did.

We went from Reykjavik to golden circle which included Þingvellir National Park (Thingvellir), Gulfoss and Geysir. We then stopped off at Fridheimar where we had the most delicious food, pasta and unlimited tomato soup!

We then did a quick stop off at Kerid before heading over to our accommodation. The accommodation was amazing and included a spotless kitchen, lots of shoe dryers, a sauna/hot tub and ample places to relax and unwind.

Day 2

We started the day bright and yearly and had our cereal/milk that we purchased the day before. We met a lovely family from America who we got chatting to. We discussed how travel changes after having kids and what they got up to. This was the first time I ever stayed in a hostel and i loved the experience of speaking to strangers and chatting about what they have been up to and enjoyed about the country! Definitely something I would consider when travelling in the future.

This was a very wet but wonderful day of admiring waterfalls! We saw the following waterfalls:

Seljalandsfoss/ Glufrabui and Skogafoss / Kvernufoss

After seeing these waterfalls, we headed over to the Plane Wreckage Solheimasandur Crash Site. This involved a 2 hour hike (there and back). We could have got the bus which cost around £15 pp, but since it stopped raining we thought we would get our steps in. I had not seen anything like it before so it was a different kind of experience. It was reassuring to know, no one was hurt or lost their lives when the crash happened.

We then headed over to the infamous Vikurfjara black sand beach and luckily the sun came out just in time! It made the experience so much better as we really got to take in the beautiful surroundings.

We then decided to to a last minute stop to Dyrholaey which really allowed us to absorb our surroundings!

We ended the night in Vik at Black crust pizza which cost us…. £66!! Ps. Iceland is expensive!!

Day 3

My goodness me, my favourite place Fjadrargljufur was also filmed in the series ‘Games of Thrones’! Despite being drenched in rain, the views were spectacular. The start of this journey did break my heart though. We saw a mum hit and shout at her child – we assume that he didn’t take her photo how she desired. I was tempted to get out of the car and say something but they ran to their coach and left.

We then stopped over randomly at this church! In Iceland you will come across lots of little, unusual places that are just beautiful in terms of the landscape and natural beauty.

We then went to Svinafellsjokull where my jaw quite literally hit the ground as I was in awe with what I saw. I had never seen glaciers and this particular moment will stay with me forever. I bumped into a guy who I started chatting to and we both spent ages chatting about how stunning Iceland is. He was travelling with his friends and they were doing a road trip all around Iceland!

By the time we got to the ‘diamond beach’ we were completely wet, head to toe!

When we got to the hotel, I was desperate to see the Northern Lights. I am happy to report, I saw a tiny glimpse! However, I must say, I now understand when they say ‘they are not that visible with a naked eye’.

Day 4

Ice cave tour and Snowmobiling on a glacier: A day of adrenaline and adventure! We paid a fortune for this trip but feel like it was totally worth it as it was everything and more. As we arrived, the guy greeted us with ‘Asalam Alaikum’ and explained that he has visited lots of Muslim countries and noticed me in my Hijab. I thought it was really sweet of him to greet us with that. This trip was truly fantastic from start to finish and definitely one to remember. We felt so lucky to be there and to experience it together.

There was a family of five with us on the snowmobile tour and we were surprised to see a 7 year old doing the snowmobiling tour. As we headed down, the organisers announced that the 7 year old had come out of the snowmobile! Fortunately he was okay and not injured, however, understandably he was too scared to get back on.

Following our adventures, we came across another unusual waterfall which required us to hike for around 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. However, I really struggled due to being exhausted! This would have been a beautiful hike, but one that I do regret slightly.

Luckily we made it just in time back to Vik to taste some delicious soup and pasta! Following our full bellies, we continued driving towards Reykjavík.

Day 5

We woke up to an amazing hot shower and a house smelling of fresh waffles! The host makes waffles every day and serves them fresh to all the visitors. There’s a range or syrups, honey and chocolate sauce as well as home made rhubarb jam.

We went straight to explore Reykjavík and wandered around drinking coffees, eating pastries and exploring all the incredible murals and street art. Street art is probably one of my favourite things to do in cities. We even saw a huge mural dedicated to Palestine. It was amazing to see that so much space, time and effort was given to this incredibly important cause. As we were starting to get hungry, we came across a Palestinain restaurant that served halal chicken. We knew we had to eat here and ended up ordering our lunch.

We then headed straight over to Blue Lagoon which exceeded our expectations. The journey there was out of this world. I know there had been a volcanic eruption recently and the roads still had smoke coming out of it!! Despite being super busy, it was really well organised and managed. We opted to purchase the package where we had 3 face masks and two free drinks. This was great fun as we enjoyed how interactive it was. We could have stayed here all day as it was incredibly beautiful and serene. However, we wanted to leave in good time to catch our flight.

Landed at 10.30, arrived home for 11.15pm

Tips

Take a flask and tea bags

Pre- book any excursions and plan your itinerary around it

Stop at a supermarket to get snacks/breakfast

Take an extra rain coat

You don’t need change unless you want to tip people.

Summary

Walked 90,000

Drove 842 miles 

Cost breakdown

Flights £210.62

Accommodation £563

Ice cave/snowmobiling £733

Car hire/car insurance £550

Petrol £173.61

Spending , food etc) £300+

Parking £50.35

Total £2,600 (might have spent a bit more here and there including taxi etc)

If you made it this far, thank you! I hope you found this blogpost useful. If you want to know where we stayed, which car rental place we used or who we booked the excursions with, I am happy for you to contact me! I have lots more photos and a reel on Instagram if you want to check it out!