Camper Trip around Iceland

„First we do it, then we love it.“.  That’s totally how beautiful Iceland is and also the people who live there. We, my boyfriend and I, met a guy at Düsseldorf airport where we came from and as chance would have it, he was our seatmate for three and a half hours to Keflavik Airport. For him it was not the first, and definitively not his last time visiting Iceland.

He gave us a lot of travel tips and showed us some pictures of very lonely but awesome places and a photo of his own built camper van, which could drive through rivers and up every mountain. At first, we were a little bit jealous and thought that it would be better if we had rented a more massive camper van to also be able to go on such an adventure in Iceland’s highlands. But now, I promise you, as long as you rent a campervan in Iceland, you can also do your own adventure as special as you have ever dreamed before.

Like most of the tourists we started our camping trip after 2 days at Reykjavik city center. What a special and cute city with so many sites to visit. Not one house looks like the other and the bars and cafés are a must while staying in Reykjavik. Before we took the ferry to the little island Viðey, we resist the cold and rainy weather outside with a huge cup of hot chocolate and coffee and one of the best nougat-filled muffins I have ever eaten before at Café Haiti directly placed at the Old Harbor. Feeling nearly alone but absolutely free on Viðey’s highest peak was for me personally the beginning of our self-determining and peerless trip around Iceland.

This feeling was absolutely one of a kind!

After having a quick pick up of our camper van we started our trip with the Golden circle, one of the most tourist dominated area in Iceland. Nevertheless we absolutely enjoyed every moment getting and being there. Because of the breathtaking landscape on our way to Þingvellir, our first stop, we needed more than 1 hour getting there. It is absolutely amazing how free you feel with the camper van by your side, stopping everywhere you like with everything you need directly close at hand.

We decide to make our own tour along the national park and that’s why we have seen much more than walking only the tourist routes.

Our next stop at the great Geysir Strokkur was awesome. We witnessed it blow more than 10 times, Geysir showing his magical natural force.

We took so many photos and videos because describing this without being there is too hard. While the weather was getting worse and very windy, we went on to (what we called him) „the monstrous Gullfoss“.

Believe me, the waterfall is exactly like we call it. Nearly one hour fascinated about the strength it expresses, we drove on to walk behind the waterfall Seljalandsfoss. Although the waterfall is not as wide as Gullfoss, walking and a little bit hiking behind the splashing water is so much fun and at the same time let you, from the bottom of your heart, smile like the sun.

A helpful hint, visit the Golden circle quite early in the morning or, best chance to do it in summer, when the night breaks, at dawn. The sunset makes it even more amazing!

After having a short but restful night on top of a little scenic mountain outpost, we started around 9 o’clock and drove  two minutes to arrive at the Black Sand Beach Reynisfjara. While we had breakfast nearby our camper van, we heard about the saga with trolls being fossilized through the sunlight and we were quite infatuated by watching the massive rocks which protrude from the water. Like a charmed moment, we enjoyed being there together and let our imagination about the trolls run free.

Going on to the glaciers in south west Iceland, we passed a lot of beautiful places, waterfalls, viewpoints and especially landscapes full of everything nature could offer. With the opportunity to use the free Wi-Fi in our camper van we were permanently in search of Hot Pots and special routes in the middle of nowhere. Therefore we had the chance to watch our first glacier lake totally on our own without any other people being there. Again it was breathtaking and the feeling of freedom and prettiness of the nature cannot be described anyway.

 

In the afternoon we went on and had a very American meal in Höfn, where we also bought some groceries and stopped by a gas station to refill the camper.

Some benefits of the camper van were on one hand the full camping equipment, the fridge for the groceries and on the other hand the eco driving mode which makes it a lot more economical to drive.

Taking a short cut when driving the Ring Road was the best to do on the east coast. We drove the 939 which reveals us the most adventurous section while driving the campervan and feeling like our seatmate did the same with his massive van he has shown us on the picture. During the road trip up to the peak of the mountain we found a peacefully looking waterfall and a bright sunshine, completely different to the weather in the valley.

 

At the end of the day we drove the last section of the long drive to Mývatn. We arrive there around half past twelve during midnight and watched (especially smelled!!!) the hot springs. After taking a relaxing hot pot bath (in a cave!), we found a great place to stay for the night.

On our way back, we made a quick side-trip to Akureyri and to the Seal Island. Beautiful to be there, but the weather on this day was not what we expected. Therefore we had a chilling day visiting a swimming pool in the city and eating the most expensive meat we have ever eaten before. At least we found a gorgeous place to sleep at the gates of Reykjavik.

On our last day we used the camper van to explore also the southwest part of Iceland within searching for some hot pots and visiting viewpoints for example the Bridge between Continents. We finished our trip bundled up while cooking some noodles with the camper van equipment at the southern seaside lightened up by a beautiful lighthouse.

Camper van supported me personally to make my dream come true. This journey I was waiting for more than 6 years and with the camper van it was absolutely perfect. We do not have any wishes left, only the one to come back to Iceland sometimes and have more time to drive around with the camper van. Not only the people who live there, especially the Camper van rent.is team was very nice and helpful.

Driving around Iceland couldn’t be better than doing it in a camper van. Stopping whenever you see something beautiful and eventful, taking your personal time to enjoy it, and go on whenever and wherever you want to go next.  This is what freedom and a joyful journey means to us!

So also we felt like the Vikings, first doing it, then loving it!

Read more: Adventure in Iceland

Happy Camping  #CamperStories