6 lessons learned travelling in Iceland

When you go down for landing on Keflavik Airport you can, in clear weather, literally see the adventure you have ahead of you. From the air, the Icelandic almost ”moon-like” mesmerizing landscape is spreading out under you giving you a thrilling ”zing” of excitement in your stomach. If you take our advice and book yourself a camper van from rent.is your adventure will start from the moment you place your foot on the island.

We got the keys to our car and left the rental office approximately 1 hour after landing ready to begin our week-end of true nature-experiences. Just grab your bag from the luggage strap, take the shuttle to the renting offices, fill in the forms of insurance and you are on the way. While out on the road you can take a deep breath and just sit back and relax and start enjoying your vacation.

We, Simon and Hanna, a Swedish couple looking for an adventures stay in Iceland didn’t have so many details planned for our vacation. But thanks to the free WiFi in our car – we could update ourselves about the roads, sightseeing’s, camping spots and restaurants along the way. A truly modern way of travelling!

Since the Icelandic roads have at it most the speed limit of 90 km/h you get to see a lot during driving around. Outside Reykjavik you will beside of the landscape also see a great deal of ”wild” animals. We say wild since there are out in their best habitat. Sheeps are all around the countryside. Up far on the hills (higher than yourself can climb), in their pastures, outside their pastures and in the roadside ditch. We were lucky not to meet a sheep travelling on the road but drive quietly whenever you glimpse what may be a sheep’s head.

Driving from Keflavik we steered the camper van to the Golden Circle. Along the way we saw a group of tourists standing alongside a paddock with Icelandic horses. We parked the car and joined the group photographing and patting the horses. But eventually one of the horses must have mistaken one of Hanna’s fingers for a carrot and took a firm bite so Hanna’s finger was stuck between the horse front teeth. Luckily she was quick to pull it out and Simon and Hanna went on to Geysir. Hanna, with a pulsating quite red finger and Simon trying his best to hide his glee.

Read more: How to drive in Iceland

When you reach the city of Borgarnes driving the road 1 north west from Reykjavik, make sure to turn left and start your adventure of Snæfellsnes Peninsula. This area is easy to discover driving around up and down the hills. You will see volcano beaches, explore caves and take breath-taking pictures of Kirkjufell to add to your social media profiles. We sure took the most beautiful pictures here.

At the Snæfellsnes peninsula we drove by the cosy cities Grundafjördur and Ólafsvik. But the best spot we found was Stykkishólmur. We are so happy that we took the time exploring the whole peninsula.

Read more: Popular destinations in Iceland

Driving on the countryside you see a lot of things and sometimes you pass something that catches your interest but you keep on driving. Hit the brakes and take a break! We made a U-turn when passing a small farm where we found delicious homemade ice-cream for sale and a lot of farm animals to pet before returning to the roads.

  

Imagine you are standing in the front of a boat, with your arms stretched out like the scene from Titanic. You are smiling and the excitement of a child is glistening in your eyes – you are going Whale Watching! And then you get sea sick. Seriously. Hanna had been looking forward exploring the wilderness of sea animals in Iceland and she would not miss the opportunity to catch the sight of a whale by any chance. Breathe in the fresh air and look at the horizon the friendly tour guide said to her. Simon, steady at his feet added the secret ingredient – Icelandic salty liquorice.

And what a helping hand the liquorice was! With something salty to chew on, Hanna quickly recovered and could start focus for the glimpse of a whale. She didn’t have to wait long…

Read more: How to book a camper van

After our 4 days stay at Iceland we left the beautiful island with enough stories and pictures to hold a minimum 2-hour inspiring lecture for all our family and friends. Hopefully we will inspire them to also explore this amazing place full of adventures.

While on the airport we got to know about a truly great way to visit the island again. The flight company we chose offers travellers crossing the Atlantic to do a stop-over at Iceland on their way to another destination. This means that you can when going to Europe from USA or the other way around plan a stay in Reykjavik or so with no additional cost for your flight ticket. Isn’t that amazing?

So for the next time we go abroad we will make sure to do a stop on the way to see our dear island again. Hopefully this will be in the summer time so we will have the chance to see the blue while playing in the bay of Húsavik or just plan a horse ride for a week and discover the valley of the thieves. Either way we feel that Iceland has a lot more to offer for us to discover. We hope it won’t take too long until we see the mountains again. Until next time Iceland, until next time…

 

Read more: The Icelandic Experience

Happy Camping!  #CamperStories