Iceland in 3 Days
What can we say about Iceland, or any country, after just three days? For our 25th anniversary we treated ourselves to a stopover in Iceland, just long enough to know that we want to come back for months, not days. A friend asked us for one word to describe Iceland - I’ve managed to winnow it down to three:
1. Fresh
While in winter months “raw” might be more appropriate, these long northern summer days were refreshing and clear. After Minnesota humidity and thunderstorms, wearing longsleeves and slipping into geothermal hot springs was a treat. The air was clean, the rivers clear, the ocean bluffs strong and foreboding. The people we met also felt strong, clear, connected, Happy (and wearing the most beautiful sweaters, even in summer).
We drove across long expanses of flat lava-flow, now tentatively covered by tenacious grasses and plants trying to build topsoil before the next eruptions, then up into those black volcanic hills and narrow valleys to the edge of glaciers. Strolled through sheep farms, atop spongy moss hilltops reminiscent of Alaska tundra, and along beaches of fine black sand. Picnicked beside powerful waterfalls (no need for pretend waterfalls here!) enjoying smoked salmon & egg on dark lava bread. Everywhere we felt alive, rejuvenated, in harmony and at Peace.
2. Loverly
Twenty-five years ago Sarah and I vowed to Live Fully with each other, and each moment in Iceland was a vivid confirmation of that ever-unfolding promise. We slept on a wind-swept farm in a glass “Aurora Igloo”, watching the slow sunset glow long into the night. We ate lavishly: lobster (soup, tail, gnocchi), tender Icelandic lamb, fresh fish (cod, char, ling, flatfish) and a traditional rhubarb-filled “Happy Marriage Cake (Hjónabandssæla)”. Two of our three evenings were in geothermal spas, including (at Sky Lagoon) a full cold plunge/sauna/steam/scrub treatment, and fruity drinks in a huge infinity pool lagoon overlooking the ocean.
We stopped at random historic spots and overlooks, took gravel backroads, meandered. We held hands, often (at the wedding, cousin Robert’s sage advice was to always hold hands in the shopping mall, but Iceland’s a pretty good place to do it as well). We gazed, lovingly, marveling at who we have become together and how rich the next 25 years will be. Iceland was the perfect backdrop for this sappy, rich romance.
3. Expensive!
To live this life on the road, we need to carefully budget, cook our own meals, house-sit, and strategically invest in the occasional treat (here’s my former post on “How to afford a long trip.”) But for three days of anniversary celebration we threw all that into the Arctic wind, converting several years of credit card bonus miles into a Pretty Woman don’t-ask-the-price extravaganza.
In three days of Iceland, not including airfare since it was a free Iceland Air stopover, we spent $1,897 (USD) - more than ⅓ of our usual monthly budget . That breaks down into AirBnB ($1,040), Food ($366), Geothermal Spas ($274) and Car rental/gas ($217). I know $632/day isn’t the definition of luxury for some travelers, but for this frugal voyager it was a major Gulp! moment, made possible by the “bonus” money of credit card cash-back funds and the deep desire to fully celebrate my beautiful wife and our beautiful life.
So to answer my opening question, I don’t believe we can accurately describe Iceland after 3 days except to say how it made us feel - alive, in love, and luxuriously treated.
If you’re planning on going to Iceland for 3 days, here’s a simple description then much more descriptive photos of where we found ourselves. Honestly, not much original, but it’s so beautiful you don’t have to be clever to enjoy Iceland.
Day One: Golden Circle (4 hours driving, 20,000 steps)
We were classic tourists today, never straying from the main tourist circle in our tiny little Kia Lotus Rental car. Gorgeous 3-hour hike past hot bubbling lava pools and steaming geothermal fissures into the Raykjadalur Valley to soak in geothermal hotspings (with hundreds of other visitors speaking almost as many languages). Visit to the picturesque rural Skalholt Church, where the last Catholic Bishop in Iceland was executed in 1550. Quick walk (after a quick nap in the parking lot) around the rim of the extremely blue and deep Kerið (Kerid) Crater Lake.
After a delicious snack at the charming Skjól Bistro, the powerful Gulfoss waterfall was well worth the extra jaunt up north (be sure to walk the lower path right up to the falls). Then it was time to slow down for a languid swim/soak at Secret Lagoon, “the oldest natural pool in Iceland,” followed by an epic anniversary dinner and homemade chocolates at Restaurant Mika in Reykholt. Then the final sunset drive to Hella - we had arrived in Iceland at 7am with just a few hours’ sleep on the overnight flight, and now the time change was irrelevant as we slipped into a delicious 11-hour slumber in our glass igloo.
The main things we skipped due to time and/or crowds were: Silfra (snorkeling between 2 tectonic plates), Thingvellir National Park (early history and geological sites), and Haukadalur Geysir and hot springs walk.
Day Two: South-West Coast (2.5 hours driving, 18,000 steps)
After gloriously waking up at 10:30, we spent the day meandering down the coast from Hella to Vik and back. Seljalandsfoss waterfall is postcard-perfect, especially from the cave behind (wear a poncho!), then a 20-minute walk to the left along the mossy mountain-base leads to another mystical Gljúfrabúi waterfall hidden up inside a tight canyon. Along the way is an old cave that used to be used for political meetings.
Next came the powerful Niagara-like Skogafoss Falls, And from the parking lot of the adjacent Skogar Museum (and treat-filled Freya Café) we hiked 20 minutes up to the much-less-touristed and equally breathtaking Kvernufoss Falls, where we also watched “Fulmar” birds (like seagulls, but members of the albatross family) swooping through the canyon up to where there mates were nesting in the cliff nooks. Between the main falls parking lot we found the hidden red-with-white-polka-dotted Mia’s Country Van with the best fish&chips in Iceland at
Rutshellir Caves was a quick interesting walk into one of the many man-made caves (for hay storage and a smithery) and earth-bermed root cellars in the region. Another detour took us to the base of Sólheimajökull Glacier, where we sadly did not have enough time to join a group climb (and which sadly has retreated 1.2 km over the last 80 years). Then we spent a long time hiking around the rugged Dyrhólaey Arch, lighthouse, cliffs, and nesting grounds for puffins.
Another amazing dinner, at Suður-Vík restaurant in the lovely fishing village of Vik, after which we strolled along the Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. According to local folklore, these large basalt columns were once trolls trying to pull ships from the ocean to shore. However, these trolls were dim and went out too late in the night; dawn broke on the horizon, turning the trolls into solid stone. Another legend tells of a husband whose wife was kidnapped and killed by two trolls. The man followed the trolls down to Reynisfjara where he froze them, ensuring that they would never kill again.
I got to witness a man proposing to his teary partner on the same beach where Jon Snow did battle on Game of Thrones. Tourism to Iceland has quadrupled thanks to that show. Next trip (yes, we’ll be back for a much longer camper-van trek around the whole island) we’ll go up north to the Grjótagjá cave pool where Jon Snow lost his virginity.
Day Three: Hella back to Reykjavik (2 hours driving, 10,000 steps)
Today we finally turned off the main tourist road and stumbled across Urriðafoss, the country’s most voluminous falls that we had all to ourselves while munching on more smoked salmon lava bread sandwiches. After many farmland gravel roads we discovered an historic Loftstaðahóll fishing cairn (to show fishermen where to come back to land) after trudging through a random field almost out to the seashore. Other visitors have dramatically described it as “the best pile of rocks with a stick in it that I’ve ever seen!” and “Who would have thought a pile of rocks with a stick would be so mesmerizing!”
The coastline between Stokkseyri and Eyrarbakki has unique lava rock pools and formations, sadly not recommended for swimming. The sleepy fishing village had a few fabulous arts and crafts stores, a community center worth visiting, and a creepy not-worth-visiting “Wildlife Museum” stuffed with stuffed animal heads and full carcasses the owner had shot from around the world. Eyrarbakki was a more lively delight, including perfectly preserved/restored “Húsið” house from 1765, the is-it-a-store-or-a-museum “The little old Shop of Guðlaugur Pálsson”, and another legendary lunch at Rauða Húsið.
Having satisfied the rural Off-the-Beaten-Track itch, we rolled into the capital Reykjavík where 63% of Iceland’s 377,689 people live. We easily covered the vibrant, colourful, compact downtown in a few hours of walking, eating and perusing stores along Rainbow Street, pedestrian-only Laugavegur street, and the towering Hallgrimskirkja Church with the very clean simple aesthetic that characterized all the buildings and restaurants we visited. And our submersion into the Sky Lagoon spa just outside town, though it lacked the vocanic mud smears and thrilling threat of real explosions of the more famous Blue Lagoon, was the final last hurrah of the most perfect place to celebrate an anniversary - fresh, loverly, expensive Iceland!
Subscribe now to get an email notification when a new post is published.
(Be sure to check your inbox to confirm your subscription.)
Currently in...
Philadelphia
Heading to...
Costa Rica (Monteverde) till Christmas, then Thailand (Chiang Mai), Vietnam (Hoi Ann, Feb-Mar). Please share any sites, people or ideas by email.