This will certainly be a long post. This trip has been one on my list for quite some time. I was fortunate to finally book this trip to Iceland. I was there from February 2nd- the 6th.
Preparation. It started with booking the trip around midnight or so around Christmas of 2024. It was late at night and I was caught on the web. I ended up booking a 5 day 4/night trip through Nordic Visitor and then planned out some of the other logistics. I was scouring the internet for what exactly to pack and bring to Iceland in Winter.
I would end up flying out of Boston, which was a nearly 5 hour drive from Northern Maine. This was done as Boston had a direct flight. So with that being said I ended booking a flight and putting a deposit on the trip, As I would take one step towards making a dream of mine an actually reality.
I would book this trip with the hopes of seeing the Northern Lights but would end up with much more as you will read in this.
Now we will fast forward to the day of the trip. It was Saturday and I had a 5 hour drive to Boston getting stuck in traffic and dealing with some last minute things. And so I flew from Boston to Keflavik international airport and went through customs.
Day 1 I ended up in Iceland during the morning(thanks jet lag) and waited anxiously for the bags to get unloaded. I ended up downtown at a hotel and had to kill a few hours. I checked the local area downtown and was supposed to do a night boat tour but it had gotten canceled due to poor weather. I was able to check out National Museum of history. It was tremendous with a well depth look at Icelands history. After that I walked around Reykjavik getting food and checking out local store. I was lucky enough to get early pictures of the Hallgrimskirkja which is a famous church in Iceland. Pictures do not do it justice and it as truly amazing.
Day 2 I picked up a shuttle after a delicious breakfast where I would get taken to the local car rental facility and my journey would begin during rush hour in Reykjavik. Day 2 would involve driving along the southern coast and chasing waterfalls. It was cloudy for most of the morning but when I got to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall I was blown away as it was clearing up. This waterfall is about 197 feet. You can tell by the below pictures how impressive it is.
After spending some time here and having food I hit the road to the next waterfall on my list Skógafoss. I drove through beautiful scenery and it felt like every hill had a waterfall. Skogafoss blew my mind and expectations.
After more driving I ended up taking an unplanned detour and was very surprised to find myself at the Dyrhólaey Lighthouse and viewpoint. I was also able to get some amazing storm views of Reynisfjara Beach which was a black sand beach.
It was very windy but it added to the atmosphere. I also watched 2 people get covered in water due to t he crashing waves.
After checking this out I finished up my drive to Fosshótel Núpar. The food was good and the room was nice. Unfortunately it was a cloudy and was not able to see the stars.
Day 3 I woke up to a beautiful assortment of food which I devoured in a buffet. I packed up quickly and went to the Skaftafel which was part of Vatnajökull National Park. I was very excited to be donning on crampons and going into a glacier again. We got onto a large 4×4 bus and headed to the unloading area. As you can tell by the pictures in was an incredible experience with perfect weather.
We were able to traverse part of the glacier and even go inside an ice cave. It was a magical experience I highly recommend. It was also cool to be able to spot some crevasses and even walk through one.
After the glacier tour I headed to Diamond beach. It did not disappoint.
Diamond beach and all of the ice and views didn’t disappoint. Quite a very magical place. It was also quite windy as well. After spending time here enjoying the moment and taking pictures I drove back to the next hotel which was a few hours away. For the majority of the drive back my views looked like this.
After getting to the hotel late I enjoyed a buffet meal. When I say it was awkward it was interesting. I didn’t realize I needed a reservation for the Buffet, I was lucky enough to snag one and I think out of 100 people I was the only one eating alone. The food was amazing though.
The next morning I started the long drive back. I was able to check out some Geysers. I also checked out some more waterfalls. After talking to a local about the storm I heeded their advice and started towards Reykjavík. Now I’ve driven in some Maine winters, but driving here with studded tires was fun and dangerous at the same time. Oh but before I get to far I also checked out a geographical features where the tectonic plates had moved. It had become a U.N. world heritage site. After doing this I drove through some horrid weather where you could easily lose the road and nearly go off which almost happen a few times.
I got back to Reykjavík and dropped off the car rental and headed back to the hotel. The next morning I was supposed to go to the famous Blue Lagoon spa, but due to weather conditions most of Iceland was affected and roads were shutdown. In fact here is a link about it.https://is.usembassy.gov/alert-extreme-storm-u-s-embassy-reykjavik-iceland-february-5-2025/
After that I headed to the airport and then back to reality. One week was not enough time. I do have an 8 day trip planned somewhere in September. Stay tuned.