I almost caved a few times and tried to hire a travel agent or join a 3-5 day trip, but I knew that I would want to control our timing and explore random spots we found along the way. Andrew and I have always made our own itineraries since we began traveling 20 years ago and so I figured why stop now.
I’m going to leave out the stuff we wouldn’t recommend for the things we would:
Upgrade from the most basic car to a better car, you’ll be driving a good deal and you want decent tires as there are MANY gravel roads (that aren’t even the “F Roads” even the “driveways” to really nice hotels.
We LOVED our Pakgil ATV trip with Katlatrack in Vik. We can’t believe they let us do the things we did. We drove super fast through very deep rivers, over beach dunes, all up in the mountains to this secret waterfall. It was AMAZING. Andrew made joyful sounds that I have never heard in 20 years and kept squeezing my hand and beaming the entire 3.5 hours. He was on CLOUD 9. There was someone else on the trip who had a go pro clipped to their suit (which they give you to wear over your clothes) which I thought was a super cool idea.
It was a great investment to spend time with Einar to go into the Highlands in his tricked out Land Cruiser with snorkel for the day. He showed us places we’d never find without his help, the super cool neon moss you can only see in certain places at certain times of year and helped us get to the top of the mountain even if we were a bit winded. It was also just a wonderful gift to spend 12 hours with an Icelander and learn about their culture, values and experiences. This is also when we were told to only visit June-early September (and Oct-early Nov if you’re a photographer and like “interesting light…but much shorter days) 1. There is so little daylight and 2. The northern lights are rather finky here and tourists are often disappointed in this. Good tips from the pro himself who lives off tourists visiting, but wants people to have a great time.
Hotel Umi was beautiful and a great spot to rest and take in the rugged landscape…but that long gravel driveway…that’s one of the times our dinky car was not super great.
Black Crust Pizza in Vik is super yummy and worth a stop, if you do an ATV/”Buggy” tour they are literally in the same space.
ROK restaurant in Rekykiavk was very good and was highly recommended to us by our guide Einar. We called the night we got back from our tour with them and they fit us in at 8:15 PM. The food was amazing and the cozy vibes were great too.
I waited too long to book a zodiac or kayak tour on the “big” glacier lagoon so we took a tour on the smaller one, the Fjallsarlon glacier. I think honestly that might have been better, because there is so much more parking there, you can get much closer to the glacier face (which is really cool) and there are so few tourists compared to the big famous Glacier by Diamond Beach. You still have to go to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon for sure (which is right by Diamond Beach) but if you wait too long or decide you want to see the peaceful Glacier, this one was a great experience!
In order to do ALL this in 4 ½ days we got our car the morning we landed and started driving. We spent very little time in Reykjavik which was just fine with us. We didn’t come to Iceland to see the city, we wanted to see the natural wonders and boy did we ever. We never had lunch at a restaurant, instead we ate in the car every day as we were driving…simple sandwiches and fruit we got from the first day at the grocery store and then from gas stations etc. One day we did eat a hot dog, but truly we had breakfast at the hotel in the AM and dinner at the hotel or restaurant, but during the day we were out and about.
I hope this helps you plan a great trip to Iceland. Plan ahead, things book up fast as the “summer” is truly about 3 months and you really do want to try and go then.
Hiking Boots
It’s ABSOLUTELY imperative you have good hiking boots that are waterproof if you plan to do very much in Iceland. First off you’ll be glad for the ankle support as their idea of walking trails can essentially barely be there and you’ll be stepping on rocks, in streams and walking down steep hills with very little traction. Secondly, you will get wet. Really wet. So you need to test out the waterproofness of whatever shoes you’re bringing. Shoes that don’t cover your ankle (even if waterproof) are still so much more likely to cause water on your socks, etc. I realize wearing these things on a plane is really NOT fun, but when I laced them up and was 2 hours into a difficult hike I was so glad I had them and not my ON sneakers I tried to hike up Swiss Mountains in.
Hiking Socks
I love these socks and they aren’t cheap but they really work perfectly. When you will be on your feet for 6-10 hours each day then you want to make sure you get this part right. The Thorlos brand really knows how to make socks. SHOP HERE
Wet Bags
If you go to Iceland you’re going to get wet. Probably more than once. I would recommend bringing Ziploc Bags for wet shirts, etc. but also having some of these true wet bags will really help you keep your suitcase from smelling funky. SHOP HERE
Waterproof Fleece Bags
These pants were amazing and lived up to the hype on Amazon. I think they’d make great ski pants/winter wonderland pants. I wore them 3 days back to back and I can say they were pretty water resistant for me, although when I knew we were going to be around lots of water then I put on my waterproof pants on top of these. SHOP HERE
Columbia Long Sleeve Layering Shirt With Hood
I really like this long sleeve shirt with a hood, it was a great base for keeping me warm, but I also wear it hiking or even if I am walking property with clients for real estate. It’s thin, which makes it easy to pack! SHOP HERE
Waterproof Rain Pants
Speaking of rain pants, these worked perfectly and are a great price. SHOP HERE
Waterproof Socks
I was skeptical about these, but they worked well and were pretty comfy too. They do seem to trap odor more than other socks though. I only got one pair, because they are pricey, but if you know you’ll be getting wet at waterfalls and walking through streams then these are a great idea.
Super Absorbent Towel for Geothermal Hot Spring
I really liked this size 47x23 and that it came in a case that was basically waterproof but had those small holes to help it dry out just a bit. It folded right back up as soon as we were done using it. If you have a really big person in your family like I do you could go up one more size. SHOP HERE
Sleep Mask
The midnight sun is a very real thing in the summer and even though our hotels had blackout shades the sun was still sneaking in. This was also nice to have on the plane ride too. SHOP HERE
Back-up Battery Charger
This is my favorite one after trying many different sizes and shapes throughout the years. It’s tiny, very light and will fit in your purse and will power your phone for one full recharge. SHOP HERE
Rick Steve's Iceland Travel Guide
This helped us a great deal, especially taking the scenic route described when driving the Golden Circle. There was hardly any traffic and we saw some beautiful things along the way. SHOP HERE
Water Bottle
This is THE BEST water bottle on earth and I wouldn’t go anywhere without it. There is plenty of free, clean water in Iceland you can get right out of the tap, so bring a water bottle with you or buy one there and save tons of money. SHOP HERE
Luggage
For a long time I was a fan of Away luggage, but for a hard shell I’m a real fan of Beis these days. This luggage has super smart compartments and pockets and the cushioned handle is a bonus. I really love the wet bag that is included and it’s also nice that it can be compressed or you can expand the zipper while you’re vacationing and then right before you go back to the airport you can stuff it all in and compress it again. Especially in a country where the rain and wind are such an issue I really recommend taking a hard shell case with you. SHOP HERE
TURTL Neck Pillow
I found this really helpful, but Andrew didn’t find it very beneficial. I’m unsure if that is because he just can’t sleep on planes or if his head was just to heavy :-) It did help me get an extra hour of sleep on the way over and for the relatively low cost, I felt like it was worth trying because we got a rental car and drove right away upon arrival. SHOP HERE
Things I didn’t bring I wish I had:
A Baseball Hat
I bought one there because it was easy to purchase, and it helped block the sun and wind when I put my rain jacket up over the hood.
Good Quality Waterproof Camera Case
At Gullfoss and at the Blue Lagoon our cameras were exposed to lots of water. We bought an expensive one at the Blue Lagoon which is how I ended up with this photo. LOL. The environment is just plain wet, plan ahead you’ll thank yourself.
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