Day 1, Three recommendations for you:
Iceland In A Week Off The Beaten Path
1. Before you enter the duty free area in the airport on your way out to the car rental shuttle, you will pass through a food court. This is actually for departing passengers, but they will serve you. I suggest grabbing some breakfast here. They have a variety of items hot and cold, well priced and you can eat up a little time before you head to the next stop.
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| Restaurants in the Reykjavik Airport |
2. Make a reservation for the Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon. You can check out endless posts debating the pros and cons of these spas. I chose the Blue Lagoon, it's iconic. But you can't go wrong with either one. And after a red eye flight, it's a dream. The Blue Lagoon has a luggage hold, but you will probably have a rental car anyway. You can make a reservation for 9am or 10am and they are fine if you arrive early. Plan to spend a few hours here.
Iceland In A Week Off The Beaten Path
3. If you are heading to Iceland between May and August, then you definitely want to see a Puffin while there. You can try scheduling a stop in the south to the Westman Islands, but plan for a whole day or if you have more than a week, there are a few popular spots in the north. OR you can book a ticket on the Puffin Express out of Reykjavik. It's a one hour express boat to a small island popular with Puffins. It's a sure thing. I booked it because we needed to stay awake and I figured that way we didn't need to chase spots during the trip or be disappointed when we didn't get to see them. You can book online through Viator.
Okay, if you still have time, you can buy some groceries at Costco and/or Bonus Grocery store or pick up dinner at a gas station and then get a good night's sleep and be ready to hit the off the beaten path road.
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| Hot dogs, pastries and more at the gas station |
Day 2: You can read all about the Golden Circle and Ring Road everywhere. But if you want to go off the beaten path where the tour buses aren't, you might want to spend a few days on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in the small town of Grundarfjordur. It has population 900 and is located in the shadow of Kirkjufell Mountain, made famous by Game of Thrones.
We chose to go kayaking in the bay with Vestur Adventures, but you can also hike or fish. After dressing up in warm dry suits, we paddled across the bay, checked out a waterfall and tried some Icelandic seaweed. Apparently it's a delicacy. When we returned to the dock, the guides served hot chocolate. Beautiful experience.
Iceland In A Week Off The Beaten Path
There are also plenty of hikes in the area including this one on the left of the road just before you enter the town. Watch for the gravel parking lot.
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| Gravel parking lot for the waterfall hike |
Then you walk to the gate and enter through a small door in the fence. Once you cross the field, you walk along the fence to the river and walk along the river towards the fall. Depending on the time of the year and waterflow, you will see how close the fall you can get.
There is a hostel in this town that has shared bathrooms and a kitchen. We cooked up a delicious pasta dinner.
Day 3 - We drove west around the peninsula to the town of Olafsvik. This is the only place in Iceland where you have a chance of seeing Orcas in the wild. We booked a whale watching tour with Laki Tours. Again dressed in warm dry suits, we headed out for a 3 hour tour with fingers crossed.
Day 3 - From Olasvik, we drove several hours to the Highlands. The main town is called Husafell and it's where you can find the largest Lava Cave in the world, glacier, hikes and a Natural Canyon Bath. You can book the tours through the Hotel Husafell. There is one hotel in this town, one guesthouse, one gas station and a small convenience store so come prepared.
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| Standing in front of the Lava Cave |
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| Inside the Lava Cave |
We spent two nights and a full day in Husafell. It was nice to relax before hitting the road again.
Day 4 - On our way to the Southern Ring Road, we stopped at the hot river in Reykjadalur Valley. To get to the river, you park in the lot where there is small store, cafe and bathrooms. You will pay to park when you leave. Then set off to hike about 1.5 hours mostly up hill. But once you reach the geothermal and hot river, it's worth it. The changing rooms are rustic so be prepared. But laying in the river with the mountains of Iceland surrounding you is amazing!
Day 5-7 - We explored the Southern Ring Road which is a must do though it is definitely NOT off the beaten path. There are several popular waterfalls and of course, Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach which I highly recommend. To explore this area and feel like you are off the beaten path, you might want to stay in guesthouses instead of hotels. You can book through hostel world or Chase or Capital One travel portals.
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| Guesthouse near Vik on the Southern Ring Road |
Most have shared kitchens and include breakfast. Don't be afraid of shared bathrooms either. The guesthouses are not your typical hostel.
Breakfast includes meats, cheese, yogurt, bread and oatmeal. Very filling!
Day 7 - Drive back to Reykjavik and perhaps make a quick stop at the place where the European and Asian tectonic plates meet. The Bridge is an alternative off the beaten path to going into the national park.
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