camping road trip, iceland style

hi all! did you have a wonderfully warm and sunny august?  i’m back (home) in the czech republic and newly invigorated by this iceland trip, having unexpectedly experienced both sunny and warm weather on the trip. it was a fantastic month, but i wanted to share with you a little about our camping road trip!

we spent four days crossing iceland’s south coast, from reykjavik to jökulsárlón

and back, which including our interior driving near the southwest golden circle area put us at about 1,000km. why the south coast? well. i was not a newbie to iceland, but having never visited the south coast before, i felt as though it was an area i simply had to see at one point or another. the south coast is definitely the most touristed part of the country, probably because it contains so many interesting sights along the way, leading to the glacier lagoon as the crown jewel of iceland’s natural wonders. 

main focus of trip: hikes, hot springs, and waterfalls.

we spent most of the first day hiking around hveragerdi to visit reykjadalur, a valley containing a river about the same temperature as a hot tub! the hike to and from, plus the experience sitting in a HOT RIVER was one of my favorite stops along the way, for sure.

i have never done a camping road trip before. i mean sure, there’s camping trips where you hang out all day around your campsite just relaxing. then road trips, which are busy go-go-go affairs, usually culminating at a motel or guest house. combining both was quite interesting as i was definitely looking forward to the camping portion, but when you’ve got so many sights to see, relaxing sometimes takes a back seat! fortunately i carved out some time…

making coffee at a rest-stop… check out our “kitchen”!

the black sand beaches of dyrhólaey and reynisfjara with the beautiful basalt columns and powerful surf were mesmerizing! i didn’t even mind it was the one morning with grey, rainy weather because it seemed to fit with the black + white aesthetic.

and seljavallalaug – i have only been dreaming of this place for umm, years. you know that one place you’ve been wanted to visit forever that holds so much mystery and intrigue? to actually be there after seeing so many photos and watching videos was truly dreamy for me. [this pool was built in seemingly the middle of nowhere in 1923 and is still maintained to this day, even though it’s dark and eerie – my favorite] the fantastic weather takes away from the creepiness a little, but we do what we can.

so, we came to iceland thinking that dannng, it’s gonna be cold! one afternoon that really illustrates how un-cold it was is our second day, having lunch at fridheimar farm. here we are, sitting outside dining on the most frickin’ delicious tomato soup i’ve ever had in my life, in a tank top… unlimited bread…. are you picking up on how good this day was, yet?

{a recent conversation about the tomato soup at fridheimar}
hey alex! don’t you think it was the best tomato soup of your life?
no.
why not?
there was no grilled cheese sandwich.
i’m just talking about the soup!
oh, well then yes.

in fact later that day i couldn’t help but jump for joy in front of a waterfall. life can’t get much better than iceland, sunny, with temps in the sixties.

one thing i didn’t expect, however: jökulsárlón. i have to say i almost skipped this sight, thinking that perhaps the glaciers wouldn’t be very impressive in the summer or something, but as soon as i saw my first glimpse of the lagoon, it took my breath away. it was so much more than i was expecting!

i was surprised at how natural it was, expecting the shore to be built up and touristy. we went at about 6pm, and with most of the tourists gone, it was definitely the right choice. the light that time of day is wonderful too! i could have just stayed there for hours watching this big icy pool; the icebergs calve into smaller versions, the birds caw and the seals swim around. it was real wildlife, like something from national geographic, and it was truly incredible.

“is this the iceberg you are looking for? or should i bring another?”

memories include

– getting my fill of doritos (j/k, that can never happen) which are not available in czech republic
– reading the newsy-paper in the evening
– making spaghetti with a saucepan that couldn’t contain more than a liter
– driving forty minutes to realize the road we wanted to take was for four wheel drive vehicles only (but it was a pretty drive!)
– seeing that one huge glacier on our way to skaftafell in southeast iceland and freaking out
– alex seeing the northern lights! (did not wake me up)
– opening the camper door in the morning to reveal sheep right outside our door
– hiking to svartifoss in a tanktop and feeling like i was in tahiti, not iceland
– morning where everything went wrong + my rain jacket broke!
– free coffee at olis!
– alex finding it difficult to drive with the stunning scenery around (but on the other hand, the man did not wake me up to see the northern lights, so i’m trying to feel bad, but…)

all in all, it was so cool to get out on the road in iceland to have that freedom to see anything and stop anywhere… i can’t imagine it not being part of our trip!

logistics

we rented with kukucampers, which i can recommend. when camping in iceland with a camper-van sans toilet, staying at a designated camping area is basically a must. here’s a quick run down of which campsites in case it might be of help to anyone… (all sites cost around 1200-1500isk, pppn)

hveragerdi: small campground, great restrooms/showers and an excellent shared kitchen area with a stove and leftover camp food & spices.
skogar: right up against the waterfall which was cool, but a crowded backpacker vibe. least favorite facilities, showers 300isk, coldest temps we experienced.
skaftafell: a little more $ than the others, but worth it for the brand new facilities. spacious, not crowded, water spouts & picnic tables at some sights, excellent showers (500isk). great location – my favorite site of them all.
hamragardar: fantastic location right near sejlalandsfoss (below), relatively spacious, good facilities (but locked 12:30-6:00pm) , free showers, shared kitchen, washing machines available.

be aware that an icelandic law changed in july 2016 prohibiting camping outside of a campsite, other designated camping place, or without permission of a landowner.

have you ever done a camping road trip before or traveled in a camper van?

i’m hoping to edit some of the videos i took into a bigger video – stay tuned!

ps, this week we’re celebrating four years since the adventure began! i’m really feeling it this year as it’s also an olympics and election year… getting all those feelies again.

this post is a part of wanderful wednesday.