Crashed DC-3 Plane

DC-3 Plane

Giant slabs of ice, gushing waterfalls and lava explosions what more do you want when traveling to an island. When planning my trip around Europe there was one place I could not leave off the list, it was Iceland. There is so much to see and so much to do. We travel during the winter season with the hope of seeing the northern lights.

Tip: Two things to remember when travelling in winter; it snows a lot so you need a car that can get through the snow with ease. We hired a 4x4 CR-V Honda to get us around the island. Otherwise there are multiple day trips that leave from Reykjavik. Secondly there is only 6 hours of sunlight in the winter, so use your time wisely.

Black Beach of Vik
Skógafoss






Day 1
At 9.30 in the morning we got on the roads quickly as we wanted to reach Vik by daylight. We reached the black beach of Vik which was stunning to see during sun rise. We stopped at the local service station to grab some early lunch before moving on to the next location. Most of the time I try to eat healthy but my god food was expensive. Most of the time I ate the hotdogs at the service station café as they were cheap and tasty. We set off towards Skógafoss but decided to take a pit stop at the crashed DC-3 plane, which is about a 4mile (2 hour) walk from the road. I would say it's more of a photography dream as it was pretty average to see in person.

Skógafoss was next on the list. The hike up to the top of the waterfall was worth it, despite how unfit I am. The views of the waterfall and the beach in the distance were spectacular. Iceland is remote to many waterfalls along the ring road. Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss would have to be one of my favorites in the south. As we were leaving the sun was starting to set, I would advise reaching your accommodation before the sun sets as the roads become pitch black.
We stayed in the most adorable cottage in the the middle of nowhere. Hörgsland Cottages; one bedroom cabins with a bathroom and a very decent breakfast the next morning.

Núpsstaõur
Skaftafell Glacier
DAY 2
We decided to have a bit of a sleep in and set off just as the sun was rising. First stop was the Skaftafell Glacier. If you book with Ultimate Icescape you can climb the glaciers, but it does come with a hefty price. We made our way back to the car for some quick lunch before venturing of to the exciting part which was the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. I must say this was the most spectacular tourist destination we had seen so far. The giant pieces from the glacier floating in the water were something out of Titanic. The only downfall of this place is that it is so famous and there are hundreds of tourist also wanting to get that spectacular shot.

Höfn on the south west coast of Iceland is where we spent our second night in a little bed in breakfast which we had all to ourselves, we tried searching for places that had kitchens so we could cook dinners to save a bit of cash.

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Day 3
We mainly spent the day on the road driving back to Reykjavik. We took a break at Fjadrargljufur Canyon which has now been closed because of too much foot traffic, which is a shame. Fjadrargljufur Canyon was made famous after Justin Bieber released a video for his single, part of the video was shot in this canyon. Once we arrived at Reykjavík we booked in to our Airbnb, then decided to explore the city and enjoy the night life.

Fjadrargljufur Canyon
Hallgrímskirkja
Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre
Day 4
We headed off before sun rise to do dog sledding (I was most excited about this). We went with a company called Dog sledding Iceland, it was pricy but was it so worth the money. When we arrived we were told we could go and meet the dogs, so we walked around patting all the dogs discussing which one we would take home. We were told to go in side to get our bright orange waterproof jumpsuits on that they provided while they got the carts ready for us - the snow wasn't thick enough for the sleds. We got to learn the hierarchy process of assigning the dogs to the sleds. We spent 30 minutes out with the guide who told us a lot of information and how they care for dogs. After the sledding they took us around to meet and play with the puppies while they made fresh hot chocolate to warm us up after spending an hour outside in the cold weather.
It is an experience I will never forget.

Dog Sledding Iceland
Dog Sledding Iceland













Next on the list was the Blue Lagoon which was the best decision we made after dog sledding. What a better way to warm up then bathing in a geothermal 37–39 °C lagoon. When talking to people they always ask “is it worth it? Because its expensive” but I always say pay the money it is so worth it! After relaxing for 2 hours you feel refresh, calm and energised - its exactly what we needed.


Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir National Park




Day 5 
The last full day of the trip was to travel around the Golden circle. We drove through Þingvellir National Park where you walk between two continents, I wish we had more time to explore this place there were lots of walking tracks which I would have loved to do. Next we headed towards the Great Geysir with boiling mud pits, exploding geysers and the lively Strokkur which spouts water 30 meters (100 ft) into the air every few minutes.
The last stop on the tour before the sun set was the breath-taking Gullfoss (Golden Waterfalls) where a narrow path provides close-up views of the massive, two-tiered waterfall below.

Strokkur
As the sun set driving back along the Golden Circle ring it was the perfect night and the last night to hopefully see the aurora borealis. We parked up and sat in the car with hot soup and garlic bread and waited for an hour to see that faint green shadow in the sky… finally it appeared. It was interesting to see to the naked eye but once I got my camera set up we got some pretty cool shots.
The northern lights are the main reason why most tourist travel to Iceland, but don't make that the pin point of your trip. The northern lights depend on a clear sky and no light pollution, if you do want to have a chance to see them travel between late December and early February. A great website to follow is the Aurora Forecast.

Golden Circle, Northern Lights

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