Due to high demand in requests (jk one friend asked), we are going to provide a beginners guide to Iceland on what WE would recommend. We are by no means experts to the area of Iceland, considering we’ve been here for 5 days, but these are a few of the places we enjoyed during our stopover here. We’ll cover the basics and give you some do’s and don’ts.

First: Figure out what you want to do. Are you wanting to see all of Iceland or just set up home base in Reykjavik with day trips? I would suggest 7-8 days to do the entire Ring Road (what we hope to do on our next visit back) or 3-5 days if you want to stay in Reykjavik. For the sake of coverage on what we actually know, we will stick with the day trips.

Second: How long? As mentioned, its best to figure out exactly what you want to see first, then go from there. I would give yourself a full day for trips to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula (10-14 hours), a day for the south coast of Iceland (12-16 hours depending on what you do), a day for the Golden Circle and you can choose to squeeze in downtown or save it for another day. Then of course, you have to make time for the Blue Lagoon!

Third: Accommodations are important to book in advance as this place is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the World! The sooner you get here the better, as I imagine this place’s popularity growing even more with all it’s beauty and people having access to see it through social media etc. We typically recommend Airbnb as an affordable solution, but they also have hotels ($$$) and hostels (we saw a lot of “full” or booked signs out front). Since the rest of this guide is useless without a rental car, I’m going to assume you have one and I would recommend staying wherever is most affordable 🙂 We stayed about a 10-15 minute drive outside of the city for a fraction of the price and enjoyed the free parking downtown. We used icelandair as they have the free stopover option if less than 7 days. Therefore, we planned on going to London next and didn’t have to pay a penny more, by having a stopover in Iceland for 5 days. Great program to build their tourism, but only makes sense if you plan on visiting Europe next.

Fourth: As mentioned, get a rental. If you are just doing day trips around the area, get the cheapest car possible (it is essential to name him/her) as they made it up every hill, dirt road, or area we went during our entire trip. Also, make sure your CC has rental car insurance included or you opt for car insurance through your provider (we had a $3k damage deposit taken for a dent). DO NOT DO BUS TOURS (unless its for a Volcano, snowmobiling, etc)! You will feel like you are part of the Walking Dead getting off at every designated stop and not have the ability to enjoy the tranquility and peacefulness of the nature Iceland has to offer. There was probably a stretch that Jacke and I stopped every 1/4 of a mile to get out and explore a new area. It made our trip much more enjoyable, personal, and unique in doing so. Some areas do require four wheel drive or some sort of off-roading vehicle, so keep that in mind. However, we were able to do our day trips and had no problem without one.

How to get around: I don’t quiet understand the concept, but google maps can creepily know exactly where you are, where you want to go, and how fast you are going without access to the internet or wifi. I’ve had my iPhone on airplane mode since we arrived, but downloaded the areas of Iceland that we intended on exploring, BEFORE HAND.

(Menu -> Offline Areas -> Custom Area -> then move the map to your area of choice and download). 

This worked wonders and we didn’t have to pay for an overpriced GPS or phone plan. All the stops recommended below can be found simply by searching the name provided.

When to visit: We recommend the summer due to the much nicer weather (Sunny and around mid 50s to 60s), while allowing 20 hours of sunlight to explore! September to April for the most likely chance at the Northern lights, but that will limit you on some of the below activities.

What to do: I could throw out hundreds of different places or recommendations, but our top “must”…. Just get out and explore. We had a few of the bigger places we wanted to see, but honestly we saw just as many cool places driving around and exploring. I’ll break it down into more detailed days below, but basically, just get out and drive.

Day 1 – Snæfellsnes Peninsula (10-14 hours): The reason for the huge time span, comes down to what you want to do. Below is some of our stops (and some I honestly just don’t know the name of, but you will stop at anyways). We went on this trip knowing two of the below locations and ran into countless scenic destinations.

• Glymur – This is a hike to the second highest waterfall in all of Iceland. A moderate hike, but definitely worth the views (2-2 1/2 hours).
• Kirkjufell – One of the most iconic waterfalls in all of Iceland. Walking up to it isn’t as impressive until you turn around to the endless views of the ocean and Kirkjufell Mountain. visit the historic fishing village of Stykkishólmur while you are here, as we had our lunch by the harbor, on a random picnic table that we found. Simple, but so fun.
• Saxhóll Crater – Maybe it’s just us, but we found it mind-blowing to stumble upon an extinct volcano, and we walked up to see the massive crater and views around.
• Snæfellsjökull National Park – We drove up a mountain into a glacier. Enough said.
• Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge – couple hundred yard hike up to a beautiful gorge.
• Drive around the coast of the entire Peninsula – we passed countless beautiful churches and drove through dozens of small towns. There was something new at every turn and the scenery was full of wild flowers, sheep, horses, mountains, waterfalls, cliffs, ocean views, and beaches.

Day 2 – Southern Coast of Iceland: This was our favorite day as it has nonstop jaw dropping moments, but a little more touristy than the previous road trip.

• Seljalandsfoss Waterfall – First stop on the trip brings you to a waterfall that actually lets you walk underneath and around it. A must on this trip.
• Skógafoss Waterfall – Another iconic fall (our favorite) that you have to see! We were lucky enough to have it to ourselves for a brief moment and also recommend seeing it from above.
• Sólheimar Glacier – Did not make it here, but was highly recommended by our local Airbnb host.
• Airplane Wreck – If you are okay with a little walk and want to see a plane crash… hit it up. Again, we didn’t make it here.
• Dyrhólaey – Imagine standing on top of a cliff and overlooking black sand beaches, the ocean, mountains, glaciers, fields of green grass, purple fields flowers… yea, stop here. Also has the biggest arch I’ve ever seen.
• Reynisfjara/Black Sand Beach – Basalt stacks located on Black Sand Beach. Cant visit one without the other and they are both worth it 🙂
• Vík – We just stopped for gas, but seems to the biggest town south of Reykjavik.
• Eldhraun Lava Field – Miles and miles of lava fields covered in green moss.
• Fjaðrárgljúfur – This canyon was our favorite stop of the trip and worth the extra drive to get here (about 50 minutes south of Vik). This canyon is out of this world!

Day 3 – Golden Circle (5-8 hours): If you read our previous post, we weren’t the biggest fans of this, but the stops are still worth a visit.

• Thingvellir National Park – This is where the the tectonic plates shift… filled with tourists 🙂
• Geysir – Pretty cool Geyser that goes off every 10 minutes or so…Extremely touristy with a restaurant, gift shop, etc.
• Golfoss – Massive waterfall. Pretty Cool. Best part of the “Golden Circle”.
• Kerid Crater Lake – We stopped here and paid the $4 each, but I’ll save you the trouble and say pass. It looked nothing like the pictures.
• Fridheimar – Tomato farm with quaint, cool greenhouse restaurant, etc…you can buy their tomato vodka, sauces etc… On a pretty day in the summer, this could be very charming and fun, but very overpriced in our opinion, however, we are traveling on more of a strict budget than most.

Day 4 – Reykjavik: I’d recommend spending your evenings here if you aren’t exhausted from the other day trips. It has a lot to offer for such a small capital and we’ve never met such nice locals. Below is what our Airbnb host recommended, as he has lived his entire life in Reykjavik and works in tourism.

• Perlan (360° view over Reykjavik)
• Austurvollur & Althingi (Parlament House)
• Tjornin, the small lake where the City Hall is
• National Gallery of Iceland & Frikirkjan (church)
• Reykjavik 871 Museum
• Landakotskirkja, only catholic church in Iceland
• National Museum of Iceland
• Hallgrimskirkja – A massive church overlooking the city. You can actually go to the top of it and get a panoramic view of the entire city
• Icelandic Phallological Museum (if you have the taste for it)
• The Sun Voyager
• Harpa – a modern concert & meeting hall (known for it’s architecture).
• Reykjavik Art Museum
• Vikin Maritime Museum
• The Whale Museum

Blue Lagoon: The reason this is in a category of its own is, 1.) it’s something everyone must experience here, 2.) There is no perfect day to squeeze this in. This is something that you want to do either first thing in the morning or late at night (9:00 pm as it closes at midnight in the summer). It is near the airport, so you could attempt to visit this as you arrive or leave if you are in a time crunch. I would suggest giving yourself 2-3 hours here to enjoy yourself, have time for a mask, and drink if you choose the later of the two options. We found the evening more enjoyable as we were able to enjoy the sunset with a few drinks. Also, do NOT forget to book in advance online as this can sell out.

Side Note: We went to the Iceland Phallological Museum (aka Penis Museum) and it was traumatizing/cool. There was literally a Sperm Whale penis the size of Jacke and apparently they could only get a 1/3 of it for the display box/cage. I thought it was going to eat her.

Food/Alcohol: you are on your own. We’ve heard mixed reviews about the food here, but decided on cooking most of our meals as eating out was very expensive. If you wish to dine out, be prepared to drop bookoo money on meals and alcohol. Also, they only sell alcohol in liquor stores and I believe the hours are from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm (8:00pm for some), but not on Sunday’s (and I thought Indiana was the only lame place left doing this).

So there you have it! Iceland is most definitely worth all of the hype and should be a must on everyone’s bucket list. We recommend coming sooner rather than later, as this islands popularity is only going to grow. Feel free to ask any questions you may have via email, comment section, text, Instagram DM, etc. and we will try to help you out as much as possible!