EUROPE: Iceland — Day 1 (And Introductory Notes)

The parentals have always been interested in going to Iceland. It’s known for their waterfalls, the glaciers, the northern lights… but like any other longer trip, it was put on the back burner until one day, Google Flights spotted a deal for $449 roundtrip from San Jose to Reykjavík.

Never mind that it requires two (albeit relatively short) transfers each way*. It was go time.

And so the tickets were booked, time off was requested, and off into planning world we went.

*since I held United Gold, I was able to snag E+ seats on all flight legs as well as lounge access in each airport we’ve stopped at, so it worked out fine enough.

Anyways let’s dive straight into overall takeaways and points.

Important notes about self-touring in Iceland

• I’d strongly recommend getting either a SIM card or a portable WiFi router. They’re both cheap, easily picked up at the airport, the former also often works in the rest of the EU if you are traveling onwards.
• You’ll most likely have to rent a car. For starters, the airport is a good 20 to 30 minutes drive from Reykjavík’s city center. Car rentals are relatively straightforward, but get pricey really fast. More on this later.
• A credit card with a PIN makes a huge difference. More on this in a bit as well.
• If you plan to also make a whole loop around Iceland, plan for at least 7 days. 7 days for us felt a bit tight but we did have enough time to do the things we wanted to do (though there were definitely a day of 400 miles of driving without stopping).
• Northern lights are even more of a Gacha event than cherry blossoms in Japan. Set low expectations here and enjoy it if it comes (and try again another time if it doesn’t). You tend to have better chances in the dead of winter just because the night is so long then and skies tend to be clearer. If you’re photographing the northern lights, be prepared with a tripod.
• Weather can be finnicky, and can quickly turn unpleasant. Be prepared with clothing. Peak season is late May to early September when the weather is warmest and the day is the longest, but also tend to be the rainiest time (lol). Late September to early October tend to be the best compromise between Not Being Too Cold while being a bit drier and also fewer people out and about.
• Bathrooms may require payment to enter (whaaaat). Hilariously, many of them will take credit card too.

Driving in Iceland

Iceland’s road system is numbered according to their category. One digit routes? Surprise, there is only one one digit route: Route 1. This is the Ring Road, and is almost entirely paved. Two digit routes? These are arterial routes and may or may not be paved. They’re still generally graded frequently though, and most cars can pass through, and are numbered based on their location. Three digit routes? These are still well-traveled roads for one thing or another, but it’s clear when you start driving on them that they are secondary for a reason. Proceed with caution.

Rental Cars

Ah yes, my favorite. For all the buzz around cheap flights to Iceland, you’ll soon be hit with three places where expenses feel ridiculously high:

1. Food
2. Lodging
3. Rental cars

To be completely fair, Iceland is remote and home to only something over 300 thousand people, so, of course, things are going to be pricey. Couple the constricted supply with a large demand, and, well, prices will be high.

Rental car companies honestly always feel a little shady with the number of upsells they try to get you to do. Iceland (unfortunately) kicks this up another notch. Expect all sorts of fees, some justified and some a bit more questionable.

Our car rental came out to about $770 for 7 full days, including:

• an extra driver (fee)
• standard collision damage waiver (included, reduces deductible to ISK 120000 for some damages)
• gravel protection insurance (included, reduces deductible to ISK 20000 for gravel damage to windshield, headlights, front bumper, mirrors, and car hood)
• sand and ash protection insurance (fee, but included with the liability waiver, reduces deductibel to ISK 90000 for sand/ash damage to paint, windows, lights, and other plastic parts)
• all-around liability waiver (fee, reduces deductible from all of the above to 0)

Even with the zero-deductible waiver, there are still items that definitely can happen and is not included, including blowing out the door from the wind. All the travel blogs do recommend getting the insurance, but with it costing about nearly US$30 a day, it depends how much risk you’re comfortable stomaching. If something does happen and you get it repaired yourself, the prices can also be shockingly high just because of how remote thing Most cars in Iceland run on diesel, but it’s good to double check so you don’t use the wrong fuel and land yourself in a huge headache.

In any case, the car rental shops are a short distance from Keflavik Airport - technically walking distance, but a rental car shuttle is also available and runs relatively frequently. Be sure to arrive on time for your reservation! On the other hand, if you arrive early, they’ll make you wait until your reservation time before they will show you your vehicle. We rented from Blue Car Rental as their prices were competitive and thier policies seem reasonable, but honestly. we didn’t have a strong opinion one way or another about it. It worked, the car’s condition was decent, and we didn’t feel terribly ripped off.

Directional Signs

Most signage should resemble what you’re used to elsewhere. There’s some to take a note of (or at least, the ones that is somewhat unique yet important):

You’ll encouter these most often. It’s the mostly self-explanatory, but the thing to note is the route numbers that are encircled by a solid or dashed border. Solid refers to the road it is pointing at — in the case above, turn right to Route 846, where you’ll pass by Dettifoss in 28 kilometers. The dashed border means that if you take the road it is pointing to (here, Route 846), you’ll reach Route 85 where you can get to Ásbyrgi. Most directional signs are some variant of this, but the distance to a location is always on the pointy side of the arrow, and route names (if any) are on the other.

Sometimes you’ll see very complex maps of the community on a large map. Since Iceland is so sparse, places are just named rather than having actual addresses, so these signs helpfully provide landmarks. Somewhat helpfully. Maybe.

literally just more official versions of the maps I draw on this blog, on a large sign

Caution Signs

You’ll see a lot of these. They’ll soon become your friends.

In any case, slow down. Gravel roads have a max speed limit of 60km/hr during good weather. Whoever gets to the one lane bridge first has priority. And for goodness sake take blind corners and hills slower so you’re not surprised if there’s sheep on the road. (No seriously, you really don’t want to hit the sheep). They show up when you least expect it (including Google Street View).

baaaa

Gas Stations

You can count exactly how many gas stations there are in Iceland. There are so few that you can map all of them out on Google Maps. This also means that there can be stretches of over a hundred kilometers without a gas station. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if your tank is under half full, pull over and get gas. (You may as well also stop and get some drinks or snacks anyways - rental car companies often partner up with one of the gas station chains and give you small gimmicks like a few Kronas off gas or a free cup of coffee).

One note for peeps in the US is that gasoline have green handles while diesel have blackhandles - the opposite of what we’re used to. If anything, check what it says (Diesel is, obviously, labeled as ‘Diesel’/’Dísel’).

In Summary…

Use your common sense, and while roads are generally maintained quite well, know your limits of what you (and the car) are comfortable with. Don’t speed (there are speed cameras!), don’t go offroad (this is highly illegal), don’t stop in the middle of the road to take photos (this is highly dangerous and illegal), and don’t drive into the ocean (that’s not covered by insurance).

Iceland’s Road Traffic Directorate produced a handy-dandy brochure summarizing what specifically to be careful of while driving.

Credit Cards in Iceland

For some reason (well, we know the reason is called ‘it’s easier to pay out fraud problems than implement Good Security Practices’), US banks almost universally do not enable PIN based authentication on our chip credit cards. If you’re paying for things in person, then you won’t have a problem as the store peeps will just sigh at our antiquated system and allow us to sign the receipt. If you’re getting gas though…you’re out of luck. Debit cards do work as they have a PIN associated with it, but make sure they allow foreign transactions before proceeding (and be careful of overdrafting.) Similarly, it’s safer to find manned gas stations during the day so you can go in to pay for gas.

Iceland also generally accepts contactless payment (hooray, Apple Pay / Google Pay / etc) at least. The gas stations may or may not take it though.

All in all though, Iceland is relatively cash-free. It’s nice to exchange some cash on hand just in case, but you don’t need very much of it at all.

Iceland Series

• Day 1 & Introduction (Reykjavík and Vicinity) ← You’re here!
• Day 2 (Golden Circle and the Southeastern Coast)

Wait. That’s a lot of driving.

While we did nearly the whole loop of Iceland (we didn’t have the chance to make it to the northwestern part unfortunately) in 7 days, there were definitely days of a lot of driving. In fact, on most days there was a lot of driving. Please keep this in mind when making your plan. Here is how we broke down our travels:

• Day 1: Airport - Reyjkavik - Þingvellir National Park - Reyjkavik: about 135km, 2 hours of driving
• Day 2: Reyjkavik - Golden Circle - Reynisfjara Beach: about 330km, 4 hours and 45 min of driving
• Day 3: Reynisfjara - Fjaðrárgljúfur - Svartifoss - Jökulsárlón - Hofn: about 300km, about 4 hours and 10 min of driving
• Day 4: Hofn - Dettifoss - Mývatn: about 400km, about 5 hours and 35 min of driving
• Day 5: Mývatn - Goðafoss - Helgafellssveitarvegur: about 450km, about 5 hours and 55 min of driving
• Day 6: Helgafellssveitarvegur - Snæfellsjökull National Park - Hraunfossar - Borgarnes: about 340km, about 4 hours and 45 min of driving
• Day 7: Borgarnes - Víðgelmir - Blue Lagoon - Keflavik: about 270km, about 3 hours and 45 min of driving
• Day 8: Keflavik - Airport: 10 minutes

Is the driving exhausting? Yes. Was it worth it? Definitely yes. The views for the most part are quite good throughout, but there were also stretches of highway with noone and no notable points of interest for hours. If you have more time, by all means, you should take it more leisurely. I just wish I could take more vacation.

Day 0

I guess if you’re transiting through Houston you have to go see the statue of the man named after the airport.

We did a somewhat ridiculous flight hop from San Jose International Airport, to Houston Intercontinental Airport, to Newark Liberty International Airport, before finally arriving at Keflavik (Reykjavík) International Airport. However, we had lounge access via Priority Pass (and United MileagePlus) to The Club at SJC, the AMEX Centurion Lounge in Houston via the Platinum Card, and to the (honestly pretty rundown) United Club in Newark. With the each flight segment not exceeding 6 hours, it gave us a chance to stretch and walk for about 90 minutes each time. This kind of flight path is not for everyone, but it was dirt cheap, checked off segment requirements for MileagePlus, and my family and I got free drinks and food in lounges. In the end, we would have arrived 15 minutes after the direct flight at 7:55 AM Icelandic time, so… shrug.)

I feel like every time I get food in Newark it always disappoints me, even if I have my expectations set as very low

Other than the gently insane routing, the flight was uneventful and no upgrades were had as they were all busy routes (even the 6am flight from SJC, boo.)

Day 1

Did you know that Iceland once had roughly a quarter of it covered in forest? Note the once, as even with tremendous efforts to try to regrow trees, it still stands at a little bit above 1%.

welcome to iceland. the landscape is a metaphor for the hopes and dreams of millenials.

Okay, cynicism aside, the stark landscape is what people look for when they come to Iceland, because wow! Glaciers! Ocean! Cliffs! It really is like nothing else. Movie studios love it. On the other hand, soil erosion and desertification has become a large problem, negatively impacting agriculture and bolstering greenhouse emissions.

…

Moving on.

clean, modern, and well planned out. wow.

Keflavik Airport, about 30 miles out from Reykjavík, was constructed relatively recently to handle all the new flights that come in and out with the rise of IcelandAir and the now-imploded WOW Airlines. As such, it’s modern and streamlined so you can pass through customs, pick up your luggage, and be out relatively quickly.

You’ll get to say hello to the giant puffin. (You’ll see this puffin e v e r y w h e r e).

And be welcomed by artistic statues.

Once we finished the ordeal of picking up our reserved rental car, we made our drive along Route 41 into the city. While a freeway for most of its length, people are good about following the speed limit (because speed cameras exist, haha.) Set that cruise control on cruise and glide into the city cen- is that a Costco??

Turns out, there is one single Costco for not just Reyjkavik, but all of Iceland. Since our car rental only came with half a tank of diesel (and we were supposed to also return with half a tank. annoying.), we stopped at the good ol’ Costco gas station as well. Thanks Costco for taking our outdated credit cards without a PIN. (Of course, your Costco membership is valid at any Costco in the universe.)

first meal of in Iceland is Costco Pizza. A whole pizza was about 14 USD, a good 40% more expensive than ones in the US.

Now that I’ve checked off another country in my list of “Costcos I’ve been to outside of the United States”, we drove to our hotel to see if we can check in early and drop off luggage (unfortunately not). However, we met up with my relative who arrived a day earlier and dropped off things in their room in the same hotel, split some pizza, and made our way out.

Þingvellir National Park

Þingvellir (a close-ish approximation is for pronunciation is Thingvellir) National Park lies about forty kilometers away from Reykjavík, and for over eight hundred years acted as the location for the gathering of the Icelandic parliament. With rifts created from the junction between the North American and Eurasian Tectonic Plates and plentiful vegetation and water nearby, Þingvellir was selected for its good pasture, firewood, and a suitable site for meetings with slopes and flat plains against a rocky cliff.. During the two weeks each year that this assembly gathered at Þingvellir, it was was a center for social life and culture, as hundreds of people made their way over - chieftains and their accompanying farmers, merchants, labourers, and people of different backgrounds. Even after the parliament moved indoors, it still remains an important cultural and historical site today.

There is a fee to park at Þingvellir National Park - your license plate is scanned and you can pay at a kiosk in the visitors’ center. (Be sure to do this immediately so it’s not charged to the rental car company, which then charges you on top of an administrative fee). Once paid though, you can park at any of the lots in the park. Lot P1 is closest to the visitor’s center, and you can walk down the continental rift (named the Almannagjá Gorge) toward the Law Rock (Lögberg) where the assembly once gathered. Cross the ridge to the right and you can see Þingvallavatn, the largest natural freshwater lake on Iceland.

There is a small church built here, but otherwise it is just a large expanse of wetlands and cliffs. It’s vastly different from what would have been the annual assembly with many hundreds of people and activity everywhere.

You can cross back toward the rift via a boardwalk, where you come to the site where the assembly was held. The precise point of the Law Rock is not known today - theoretically it is where the flagpole now stands. Turning right takes you to Öxarárfoss (about 15 minutes by foot), or you can loop back to the parking lot and drive to the next parking lot.

Öxarárfoss is a short walk from parking lot P2 up one of the rift ledges. Standing at 13 meters high, the Öxará River actually cascades over two cliffs, but usually people go see the upper one. During the winter, the waterfall completely freezes over, creating a unique spectacle. It’s technically possible to climb (i.e. people have done it before), but obviously the average person shouldn’t attempt that.

On the road to parking lot P2, you’ll pass by the rift again. It really just keeps descending…and descending….and descending……

Overall, it’s a relatively easy-going walk around the area, and when the crowds are thin, quite relaxing and beautiful.

Þingvellir National Park @ Selfoss, Iceland
Review	A site of geological and historical interest! A relatively short and easy walk around the points of interest, and good views throughout.
What to Expect	As Þingvellir is part of the Golden Circle, when it gets busy it can get Really. Busy. I would definitely recommend coming during off-peak times so you don't have to worry about crowds. The water is very cold. Generally the paths are accessible, along the main path, but making your way to the lake requires stairs.
Verdict: 5/5 — Wow you get a waterfall too

Reykjavík City

Driving back into Reykjavík, we check into our hotel room, move things, and then drive into downtown to see the largest city in Iceland.

A shot of Reykjavík’s skyline from the Perlan, an art museum.

As a quick aside, did you know that Iceland has one of the highest (if not the highest) number of museums per capita in the world. I only mention this because our hotel was a short walk away from the Icelandic Phallological Museum (which you can conveniently visit via phallus.is) and claims to be “the only museum in the world to contain a collection of phallic specimens belonging to all the various types of mammal found in a single country.” Okay, cool. (We did not go in, though, but apparently people rather like it on TripAdvisor.)

Downtown Reykjavík generally resembles most any other smaller European city

While pleasant, Reykjavík is a pretty normal small city. The most notable structure is probably Hallgrimskirkja, a striking cathedral located on a hill near the civic center of Reykjavík. It is built relatively recently (1986), but took some 41 years to complete. It is one of the tallest structures in Iceland, and its architecture is inspired by the basalt cliffs and glaciers of Iceland.

Hallgrimskirkja @ Reykjavík, Iceland Hallgrímstorg 101
Review	A well-known church that is an iconic part of Reykjavík’s skyline. The tower can give you amazing views of the city, though it was closed when we arrived. The organ inside is also the largest in the country! Very cool.
What to Expect	Admission to the tower is 1000 ISK. Otherwise general admission is free.
Verdict: 4/5 — Honestly has more spaceship vibes than a church. Neat though.

Before making it up, we were trying to decide on what to do for dinner. Iceland isn’t….particularly well known for their cuisine, and while it’s honestly decent, it is astonishingly expensive. However, Iceland is surprisingly well known for their hot dogs, and, wow, they’re quite good (and much more affordable.) When comparing a $60 per person meal vs a hot dog for just a few dollars, well, the hot dog wins.

(We were originally planning to go to The Lobsterhouse - Humarhúsið as they are well known for their seafood, and the food indeed looked amazing, but my uncle and aunt from Taiwan were understandly frightened by the price. Maybe I’ll try it another day, as lobster is apparently A Thing to try in Iceland…)

While wondering around and just checking things out, we passed by Reykjavík’s city hall next to a small lake. You should get a photo with the Monument to the Unnamed Bureaucrat.

mmmm capitalism

In the end, we decided to make do with ramen, which was definitely a bold choice in, of all places, Iceland. (Narrator: it actually wasn’t too bad.) After wandering the streets a bit more, getting some supplies from the Bónus Supermarket, snacking on some ice cream, we retired back to the hotel to rest.

Food

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur @ Reykjavík, Iceland Tryggvagata 1
Review	A small stand that sells hot dogs that you know should be pretty good as there are always people milling around and buying them. It’s been running since 1937! They’re pretty dang good even if they look pretty plain.
What to Expect	It's a hot dog. Set your expectations for that of a hot dog.
Verdict: 4/5 — Hot dog and soda. Apparently an iconic Icelandic snack.

Hi Noodle @ Reykjavík, Iceland Frakkastígur 9
Review	A very small shop that sells Japanese ramen. For about 14 to 16 USD, you can get one of the three classic staples - a tonkotsu base, miso base, or tantanmen, (well, also a vegan version of miso). It’s actually not bad! Obviously you can’t compare it to ramen in Asia, but the flavors were on point, the noodles were a good texture, and service was fast and friendly. Again, though, the shop is really small and probably sits at most 8 people at once.
Verdict: 5/5 — Good noods, and really warms you up in the cold. It’s also not too expensive! I would actually go here again.

Ísbúðin litla Valdís @ Reykjavík, Iceland Frakkastígur 10
Review	I mean, an ice cream shop that was a short hop away from dinner? Heck yes. The ‘ice’ in ‘Iceland’ obviously stands for ice cream. Ice cream….in the cold… Yum (after all, it doesn’t melt). Jokes aside, it’s a pretty decent ice cream place.
Verdict: 4/5 — Not particularly mindblowing, but it is pretty good with a good selection of flavors. The shop is pretty cute as well.

Lodging

22 Hill Hotel @ Reykjavík, Iceland Brautarholt 22
Review	Unassuming, simple, and affordable, albeit some distance from the downtown. Staff was friendly and polite, but also don’t go beyond what they need to do (which is fine.) Free street parking. Rooms are on the smaller side, but not out of the ordinary compared to business hotels in other parts of Europe. The elevator was not reliable during our stay though and there were times when the staff had to manually operate it (just…take the stairs, it’s fine). Beds were decent in our triple room, the bathroom was unremarkable but there was plenty of hot water. Neighborhood felt a little bit more tired, but it was fine.
Verdict: 4/5 — No frills, but that’s okay! Clean and a short drive from central Reykjavík.

Day 2

Day 2 continues here!