Since publishing my COMPLETE ICELAND VEGAN FOOD GUIDE (2021), I’ve received tons of requests for me to share what we actually did on the trip besides eating. I’m super excited to finally share this with you!
This should go without saying, but just in case, Iceland Summer and Iceland Winter are polar opposites. Before planning your trip, consider the weather and daylight hours. As much as we love the cold and snow, we found ourselves very limited with the 5-hour daylight back in December 2019-January 2020.
On our Summer 2021 trip, we got to experience SO much more with the 24-hour daylight. And we would do it all over again! Just so you can get an idea, the first time around we were only able to do Reykjavik, the Golden Circle, and Vík in 10 days. This time we got to do the entire Ring Road in 10 days, plus a couple of extra days in Reykjavik.
If you want to see what I ate, check out last month’s blog post: COMPLETE ICELAND VEGAN FOOD GUIDE (2021).
Here’s a look at our 17-day Iceland Trip:
Reykjavik
Reykjavik is the perfect walking city. Here we visited lots of museums as well as sightseeing; everywhere you look is like a painting. When you get to Iceland, make sure you spend a couple of days there before heading out for the rest of your trip, and also a couple of days winding down before going back home.
Things you can’t miss:
- Hallgrimskirkja
- Perlan Museum
- Sun Voyager
- The Icelandic Punk Museum
- Aurora Reykjavík
- Golden Circle
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
This area is just 2 hours away from Reykjavik, you can either make this a one-day trip or the beginning of the Ring Road road trip. After our visit, we drove to Blönduós for our stay for the night.
- Ytri Tunga
- Búðir Black Church
- Svörtuloft Lighthouse
Akureyri
From Blönduós, we headed to Akureyri next. We had breakfast and walked around the city until it was time to check in to our Airbnb for the night. Then we went to the first collaboration of the trip at The Beer Spa to enjoy a relaxing time!
- The Beer Spa
- Akureyri Botanical Garden
North East and East
If I had to choose one of my top places in Iceland, it would be the east! Specially Seydisfjordur, it holds my heart. To get there you have to drive down the road where Walter Mitty longboarded down Do not skip the east during your Roadtrip!
- Krafla Crater
- Mývatn Nature Baths
- Hverir
- Stuðlagil Canyon
- Seyðisfjarðarvegur
- Seydisfjordur
South East
This is THE place to see glaciers and hike them. This being my 3rd glacier hiking experience, and my 2nd in Iceland, I can confidently recommend Glacier Adventure for your glacier hike, as they’re an environmentally conscious company and vegan-friendly!
- Höfn
- Breiðamerkurjökull (Vatnajökull National Park)
- Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
- Diamond Beach
- Fjallsárlón
Vík & South West
Truly our favorite part of the island. Vík is just such a beautiful tiny town that you can’t miss during your trip. We loved Vík so much the first time around, that we made this the end of the road trip and stayed there in the same rental and for 4 nights! We got to do SO much, including a 9-mile hike in Fimmvörðuháls to the Bridge (and back), which can’t be done during the winter, and swam in the famous Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool!
- Vík i Myrdal Church
- Reynisfjara Beach
- Dyrhólaey
- Solheimasandur Plane Wreck
- Solheimajokull
- Skógafoss Waterfall
- Fimmvörðuháls (to the Bridge or to Þórsmörk)
- Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool
- Seljalandsfoss
Thinks to keep in mind when planning your Iceland Trip:
It’s important to note that this trip was thoughtfully planned. I don’t believe anyone should go to Iceland without a plan or in a “go with the flow mood”, this is the best way to guarantee you’ll waste time and money. You’ll also need proper time to rests between cities and areas of Iceland. Staying up enjoying the 24-hour daylight might be tempting, but roads are long, and driving tired can be dangerous.
Roadtripping around Iceland is not possible without a proper car; I strongly suggest renting a 4×4/AWD even during the summer. We saved money by renting a Cactus Citroën, but it ended up costing us time, as most non-main roads in Iceland are gravel/dirt and required non 4×4/AWD to drive really slowly. But on the brighter side, it did give us 50 miles per gallon of gas.
As for accommodation, we stayed in Airbnb’s and one guest-house. Many people choose to do the Ring Road road trip in vans, however, that is not our style at all. During our 10-day road trip, we stayed in a different rental every night with the exception of Hoffell (2 nights in a guesthouse) and Vík (4 nights).
I hope this blog post helps you plan your trip to Iceland for late-Spring, Summer, or early-Fall. As always I’d like to make a disclaimer: out of respect for the country that you’re traveling to, only travel if vaccinated and to places with high vaccination rates. Take the necessary precautions (get tested, wear a mask, follow restrictions, etc.) before, during, and after your trip. In my opinion, traveling unvaccinated is big Christopher Columbus energy and we ain’t about that life here.
If you have any questions feel free to send me a DM on my socials or leave me your questions below.
All of the photos in this post were edited using my presets, coming out this Saturday (10.02.21). Mark your calendar!
The COMPLETE ICELAND VEGAN FOOD GUIDE (2021) is also on the blog🤩
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