A road trip around Iceland will not be a disappointment if you’re looking for an unforgettable adventure travel experience. Our plan for the first day was to visit part of the Golden Circle and spend the night in the south of Iceland nearby Vík. If you have read about Iceland, you know that the weather can be challenging there, even during the summer. Well, Iceland welcomed our road trip with a rainy day and, despite our waterproof outfits, we were completely wet by the end of the night. In any case, the rainy day didn’t stop us. We continue with the planned itinerary, covering 300 km for 4 hours driving.
Day 1 itinerary:
- (09:30) Pick up the car and buy the food for the following days
- (12:30) Kerið
- (15:00) Geysir
- (16:25) Gullfoss
- (19:00) Seljalandsfoss
- (20:20) Skógafoss
- (21:00) Airbnb “Canvas Glamping 4 beds, South Iceland at Farmhouse”
In this itinerary, we skipped some places because of the weather condition or the time. But if you have more time, you can visit the Seljavallalaug swimming pool, Pórsmörk, and the abandoned DC plane on Sólheimasandur.
These days (2021), it is also trendy to visit Geldingadalir eruption, an active volcano since 19 March 2021 valley at the Fagradalsfjall mountain on the Reykjanes peninsula. So please be very careful if you choose to visit while active, mind your steps and be alert.
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An Iceland road trip means to change landscapes in minutes: finding in your way incredible volcanoes, icebergs, waterfalls, and (if you are lucky) magical northern lights!
The day trip started at 09:30 when we went to pick up the car. In this post you can check the experience we had renting a car with the Blue Car company.
Our first stop was at the Bonus grocery store to buy the food for the next two days (this is the best option if you want to save money). After that, we come back to the Airbnb, prepared and packed the lunch, and started driving to the Kerið crater.
*All the prices shown in this post are from August 2020.
Kerið or Kerid
- Free parking.
- Entrance fee*: adults 400 ISK (~ 2.70 €/ $3 ), children free.
- No drones allowed.
- Not food available.
- No swimming allowed.
- Time spend there: 30 minutes.
Approximately a 1-hour drive from Reykjavik, you will find Kerið, a volcanic crater lake located in the Western Volcanic Zone of south Iceland.
The caldera itself is approximately 55 m deep, 170 m wide, and 270 m across. Due to minerals from the soil, the water has a color of vivid aquamarine. Depending on rainfall and other factors, the profundity of the lake can be 7-14 m.
You can hike around the crater, take the stairs, and go down to the Kerið floor. Depending on this you will spend in this place from 15 minutes to one hour. Remember that swimming is not allowed.
We also planned to go to Brúarfoss, but we skipped this stop and had our packed lunch due to the bad weather condition.
Geysir
- Free parking.
- Free entrance.
- WC and restaurant.
- Souvenir store.
- No drones allowed.
- Time spend there: 1 hour.
Geysir is a geyser in southwestern Iceland and part of the famous Golden Circle route. It is less than two hours drive from Reykjavik, which makes it very accessible to many tourists. As the second place of the day, the Geysir was about 40 minutes driving from Kerið.
Geysir is rarely active these days, but the Strokkur geyser is and erupts every five to ten minutes. So get ready and prepare your camera to see this incredible spectacle. The area around the geysers can be slippery, but out of that is pretty safe.
Gullfoss
- Free parking.
- Free entrance.
- No drones allowed.
- Not food available.
- Time spend there: 30 minutes.
Gullfoss is a waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river. Located at 10 km from Geysir, this incredible waterfall is also very visited as one of the stops of the Golden Circle route.
The water from the Hvítá river (coming from the Langjökull glacier) falls first into a smaller cascade (11 m), later having a second drop of 21 m. The canyon walls on both sides of the waterfall reach up to 70 meters, descending into the grand Gullfossgjúfur canyon.
Seljalandsfoss
- Parking fee with automatic machine*: 400 ISK (~ 2.70 €/ $3 ).
- Free entrance.
- WC and a small cafe.
- Souvenir store.
- No drones allowed.
- Time spend there: 30 minutes.
Seljalandsfoss is one of the best-known and must-visiting waterfalls in Iceland. You will not regret it! A path leads you behind the waterfall, and it is fantastic. Just bring a raincoat!
The waterfall is approximately 60 meters drop and it is breathtakingly beautiful. From Gullfoss is about one and half hours by car.
Skógafoss
- Free parking.
- Free entrance.
- WC and restaurant.
- Camping area.
- No drones allowed.
- Time spend there: 20 minutes.
The last stop of that day was in one of the biggest waterfalls of the country: Skógafoss. Just 30 kilometers away from Seljalandsfoss, this waterfall has a width of 25 meters and a drop of 60 m.
On sunny days, at least one rainbow is present due to the amount of spray the cascade produces. Make sure you protect your camera!
Skógafoss can also be viewed from the top. There is a steep staircase with approximately 520 steps that will take you to the top.
Airbnb “Canvas gampling”
- Parking included.
- Shared Barn with kitchen, tables, chairs, bar, refrigerator, microwave, heat boiler, freezer, baking oven, free coffee machine, and wifi connection.
- Two shared showers and a bathroom for men and women.
- For every person, there is available a wool blanket with a heated bed.
- Breakfast can be added for 12 €*.
- We pay 90 € for a night for four persons*.
We had read on the internet that if there is a rainy day, you will get wet inside because of the canvas material of the tents. Unfortunately for us, the day was rainy, but we didn’t get wet during the night in our tent!
We arrive late in the night, after visiting the already mention places. First, we took a shower and ate in the Barn. Then, we put all the wet clothes inside the tent and some of the coats in the Barn. The night was cold, but with the heated bed, we slept comfortably.
The next day to our fortune was sunny, and we were ready for the second-day itinerary. But, unfortunately, due to the night’s humidity and the rain, some of our clothes didn’t dry. So we borrowed the hairdryer from the bathroom to at least dry the inside of some of the shoes: just to not continue with wet feet also the second day.
Check our Day 1 adventure in Youtube
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