Iceland is one of those attractive destinations that not only does not disappoint, but exceeds the expectations of the most demanding traveler. Every kilometer traveled on the island is a real luxury. A continuous change of landscapes that takes you to sets from thousands of movies or to other times, if not, to other worlds.

In this article we are not going to give you a detailed travel plan or a closed itinerary, we only want to comment on the basic notions necessary before preparing the trip since it is a destination with many peculiarities.

The best formula is to do a Road Trip of the desired duration, or the one that we can afford with the holidays that we have available. Highway 1, known as the Ring Road, goes around the island running quite close to the coast. Without straying many kilometers from it, we can reach most of the island’s points of interest.

The international airport is in Keflavik, half an hour’s drive from the capital, in the southwest.

Many recommend renting a 4×4 vehicle but, but in the summer months, most of the roads are accessible for all types of vehicles. Only those identified with the distinctive F, are restricted to the circulation of 4x4s. And it is not only a matter of being daring, it is a very strict regulatory issue. Any incident / accident that we have while driving on these routes with an unauthorized vehicle will be left without insurance coverage and the costs in Iceland with these issues are to make us take it very seriously. So if you don’t travel many days, you won’t need to use the F roads.

If your budget does not include the 4×4 option, don’t worry because you are going to enjoy the island enormously, even with the most basic car. The driving will include sections of unpaved road, even on the “great Ring Road” and curious sections such as single-lane bridges where you have to give preference (or they give you it) and, the most incredible, although less common, tunnels of a single lane, full of mirrors and areas to withdraw and give way (or to be allowed to) that never cease to surprise tourists accustomed to different types of roads.

When asked how many days do I need to visit Iceland, the answer is not easy. A large majority of the points of interest are concentrated in the south at a distance no more than 300 km from the capital, but mainly in the Golden Circle, the region near Reykjavik. Timewise, as you can imagine from what we have already commented on the roads, nothing comparable with the highways of other European countries, but I would say that with 5-6 days you can do the entire south of the island without problems and return to home having had a great experience. But the best plan is to go all the way around the island along the entire Ring Road. This allows us to visit the Diamond Circle, which, similar to the Golden Circle in the south, is a region that concentrates many points of interest just at the opposite end of the island.

What I call “up” and “down” routes (the east and west of the island) are somewhat poorer in terms of famous places, but if you have time to enjoy them, they constitute an experience that continues to enrich the experience because you are also finding other waterfalls, fjords, cliffs and an equally attractive landscape.

I leave the possibility of crossing the center of the island for a separate blog, but this remains, in my opinion, for travelers with much more time and more adventurous due to the characteristics of the roads in this region.

Beyond the roads, I’ll tell you something about the accommodations. The prices are much higher than in Spain, and even than in the rest of the European continent with the exception of very, very touristy places or some of the centers of the big capitals. The luxuries are far from being at the expected level for the price, but the quality, in general, is. The most perfect representation of the Nordic ideal of functionality.

And since we are talking about prices I am going to give two tips in this regard, one about accommodation and the other about food.

Let’s start with the accommodations. Be suspicious of those that are especially cheap if the rest are not, assume what the average price is and choose in that segment. You should also know that in Iceland it is much more common than in the rest of Europe to offer shared bathroom. Perhaps for many of you who are reading this is not an option, but for reasons that are not relevant, for two nights we stayed in an accommodation of this type and it is far from the idea of a shared bathroom that we can have. To sum it up in an “elegant” way…. : the entry barrier of the cost of a trip to this country will make you share a couple of bathrooms with another family very similar to yours and with whom you will chat in the common spaces about your travel experiences and you will get good ideas for your route. And it will not be at all a bad experience as it might seem for those who do not usually choose this format.

Another very popular alternative in this country is the motorhome trip, which is very practical due to the flexibility it brings to the itinerary. If this is your preferred option, I think that all the comments in this article are just as useful with the exception of those referring to accommodation.

We continue for the food. Iceland is expensive. I think that has already become clear. But beyond that, it does not have a tourist infrastructure where to eat or to buy something to eat in each place of interest (waterfalls, glaciers, beaches… ..). Important for those of us used to arriving at a castle in the middle of nowhere or a viewpoint on a cliff and finding a bar where to buy food, soft drinks, although many times they can be expensive, and continue traveling … like this I recommend that you load the car with food suitable for consumption at any time, without the need to cook, or a refrigerator and enjoy the freedom without being aware of the clock or finding a restaurant .

In 10 days we only had lunch twice in a restaurant: one almost obligatory in a fast food place on the day of the route from south to north and another, delicious and inexpensive, in the port of Husavik where we tried exquisite soups and fish dishes.

And speaking of the clock, one of the country’s pluses in summer is that it doesn’t get dark. The rhythm of the trip is up to you. Almost 100% of the attractions are places in nature, without doors, without tickets…. Do not limit yourself with food, which is not limited by the environment. My advice is: breakfast and dinner in accommodation or nearby places and be self-sufficient for lunch, unless you find a place where you want to eat, but that will arise…. And if you bring groceries, as suggested, as less perishable as possible, you already have them for the next day if you haven’t consumed them.

These “no-night” days make it possible for you to continue sightseeing as long as the strength allow it and it is not uncommon to find yourself at eleven o’clock “at night” still seeing waterfalls or going out again after dinner to continue visiting points on our list.

But in a way this is really not an expensive country, it is very important to clarify that in Iceland the main costs of the trip are the plane, the car and the accommodation (more expensive than fuel or supermarkets may be) … but you do not have to add the ticket prices for museums, climb the tower, visit the castle … which add up to a lot in other destinations. Raise your hand if you have not been to a destination where you spent more on tickets than on accommodation … So your final budget will be the one you have had when hiring the entire trip plus fuel and supermarket at a slightly more expensive price than in the origin. As an exception to this we have some activities and thermal baths. Among the first, the following stand out: a route with crampons on a glacier, a zodiac tour of Lake Jökulsárlon among small or not so small icebergs, and whale watching near the port of Husavik. For thermal baths we have free options in the middle of nature, some simple ones along the route or the famous Blue Lagoon, very close to Reykjavík.

Regarding fuels, here’s another tip that I think is important. Iceland has very little population, a little less than 370,000 inhabitants (in an area slightly larger than Andalusia….) They are concentrated around the two places that we have mentioned (Golden and Diamond Circle) so most of the island is almost a desert with fewpopulations far from each other or with scattered houses, hundreds of meters from each other. Translating this into service stations, you can imagine how long there is to drive between one gas station and the next. So, even if your tank is half full, it is important to stop to refuel and fill again whenever you find one and you are not in one of the two population centers that we have counted. Maximum taking into account that not a few of them consist only of a couple of pumps with different types of fuel, without any “human” attention or anyone close to support, and that if the circumstance occurs that our foreign bank card of an error, we will not be able to refuel …

Nor should we be overwhelmed, because with this simple trick, it is practically impossible to find ourselves in trouble (and this comes by someone who has a bad habit of refueling after the third reservation notice …!)

I finish how I started… Iceland is one of those attractive destinations that not only does not disappoint, but also exceeds the expectations of the most demanding traveler.

I visited it in summer 2019 and, despite the fact that I am more about adding destinations than repeating experiences, I said that I would return and, preferably in winter, to enjoy the contrasts and, if possible, the northern lights. The pandemic has taken away my options but we have had clients who have visited it after the onset of COVID and, complying with the demanding but not too complex entry requirements, they have very much enjoyed the route that we designed tailored to each case.

If you want to enjoy a unique vacation in this special destination, write to us at info@mytravelyourtravel.com

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