Iceland has made headlines all over the world for all kind of things like volcano eruption from a volcano nobody outside Iceland could pronounce, a huge artist whose dress code confuses the Haute Couture crowd, the first woman in the world to be elected head of state in a national election, to fighting about cod on the deep, blue sea but most people also know of so many big Hollywood productions has been, in part, been shot in Iceland.
Now when you are traveling around Iceland in a camper van or a motor home, how about visiting these places and takes your own pictures to show at home. This might not be a full list of the movies and the locations but at least the biggest ones can be found here. Go on, tick those off your list, one by one!
Movies: Batman begins & Game of thrones
Batman was shot at Svínafellsjökull, a glacier part of Europe’s biggest glacier called Vatnajökull. In the movie there is an epic battle taking place on a frozen lake in Tibet which actually was Iceland. Game of thrones was also shot there among a lot of different places in south Iceland like Skaftafell, Smyrlabjörg and north of Vík in Mýrdal.
Camping: By Svínafellsjökull you will find 8 different camping places.Most of them are small and has room for 6 to 8 tents only. All campers are allowed to use the facilities there, free of charge! You can find all the information you need here: Camping in Svínadal and Camping in Vík
Movie: The secret life of Walter Mitty
This movie was shot in many fantastic places in Iceland so Ben Stiller got to see a few of many great destinations and now you have the opportunity too.
Camping: Most of the places the filming took place offers great camping. There are a few of them so you just choose which of them you want to camp at, or pick them all!
Garður: One of the places the filming took place is very close to the airport. It’s a small village called Garður and you can camp right by the lighthouse seen in the movie. Camping in Garður
Stykkishólmur: This village lies on the north side of the Snæfellsnes penninsula, a very cozy little village with a camping site with most amenities you want, like electricity for your motor home. Camping in Stykkishólmur
Grundarfjörður: Another village on Snæfellsnes, just 40 km/25 miles west of Stykkishólmur. There are two camping sites to choose from there, one is just by the sea. Camping in Grundarfjörður
Höfn: One of the bigger villages on the east side of Iceland. Not only is the ride the gorgeous but the place has so many things to offer, close to the glacier lagoon we all know and love but also great landscapes and great food. Camping in Höfn
Seyðisfjörður: This village is also on the east side, a few hours drive north of Höfn. Not only was the Ben Stiller movie shot here, the Icelandic series called Trapped was also shot in most parts here. Camping in Seyðisfjörður
Fjallsárlón: This lake is the smaller version of Jökulsárlón and lies 10km/6 miles west of it. Unfortunately there is no camping by the lake. You have to camp at either Skaftafell or Svínafell, You’ll find all you need for your camper van on both campsites.Camping in Skaftafell
Hveradalur: A famous geothermal spot. This camping site is off the beaten track and the camping site has no facilities except toilets. Camping in Hveradalur
Kálfafellsdalur: This is a long glacier valley surrounded by high mountains. We haven’t found any campsites in the valley.
Read more: Where to camp in Iceland
Movies: Flags of our fathers & Letters from Iwo Jima
Clint Eastwood and the crew went to Reykjanes penisula to shoot these epic movies. They found the soft, black beaches to be the ideal setting for this war movie. The beach name is Stóra Sandvík and is not accessible by car. You can drive to either side of it and walk the rest.
Camping: The closest camping site to Stóra Sandvík is in Gríndavík and they have everything there, for the kids, for the grownups and for the camper ans. Camping in Gríndavík
Movies: Die another day & Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Both of these movies were filmed at the famous glacier lake Jökulsárlón. The car chasing scenes in the James bond movie are epic while Lara Croft dogsleds through “Siberia”. James Bond also visited the same place in A view to a kill.
Camping: The closest camping sites are the ones at Svínafell or Vatnajökull. Camping in Vatnajökull
Movie: Prometheus
This movie was shot around Hekla volcano but the most memorable shot was the opening scene filmed above Dettifoss waterfall in north Iceland. (foss means waterfall)
Camping: The closest camping site to Dettisfoss would be Ásbyrgi. A stunning and a must place to see while up north. The site has everything you need like showers, electricity and so on. Camping in Ásbyrgi
Movie: Journey to the Center of the Earth
In this movie and Jules Verne book, Snæfellsjökull in west Iceland is the entrance to the earth’s center.
Camping: You are spoiled with choices when it comes to campsites around Snæfells glacier. You can stay on all sides of it, be it north, west or south of the glacier. Camping in Snaefellsnes
These are just a few of the movies shot here. We haven’t mentioned “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” which was shot in places where you can’t go by yourself or movies like Oblivion, Judge Dredd, Hostel, Star trek: Into the darkness, Stardust and Thor. The movie industry comes here regularly so this list will be longer and longer. We might even do a sequel to this post when the time is right. All we know is you will have a blast driving around in your camper van and discover these places while you are here and hey, why not bring your fishing rod while you are here camping: Read more at Fishing in Iceland.
Happy Camping! #WohoCamper
(Photo credit: Film in Iceland)
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