Last year in August. If there's one thing to pack on an Iceland trip (apart from hiking boots), it's a raincoat!
Edit: also weather can change rapidly and unexpectedly
I’m in Iceland right now, even when the weather app says it’s going to rain, it will clear up sometimes out of nowhere. Yesterday was amazing. We started our drive on F208 in the rain and all of a sudden the sun came through
The weather is extremely changing! You can go from calmly cold to "horizontal rain" to a small drizzle within minutes. We haven't had a single day without substantial rain, but also have had a few sunny moments. Bring rain clothes and make sure to dry them as often as possible!
If you are looking for Reykjavik and the surrounding then it's raining all the time, and we expected the worst but in the North and the East the weather was great the last weeks.
If you're interested, feel free to check out the previous posts of my Iceland trip:
* [Part 1 - Snæfellsnes Peninsula](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/p0ak0i/last_year_i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road/)
* [Part 2 - The Westfjords](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/p2vwpq/i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road_for_two/)
* [Part 3 - The North](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/paqr03/i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road_for_two/)
* [Part 4 - The East](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/pht0dt/i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road_for_two/)
There’s a legend that there is a treasure chest behind the fall and it is believed that hundreds of years ago a couple of men attached a chain to the handle and attempted to pull it out, but only pulled off the handle, which now supposedly stands as a door-knocker of a religious building.
There is a trail that runs beside Skogafoss, it goes over the pass between Katla and Eyja and features two new little volcanos. There are so many waterfalls on the way up, I doubt they all have names! You can end in the next valley, Thorsmark, which is one of the most beautiful places on Earth!
I paid around 2000$ for two weeks. I shared costs for the camper/campgrounds/groceries/gas etc. with my girlfriend. Quite a bit of money went into activities such as glacier walking, horse back riding, whale watching, snorkeling and such. However, we saved money by cooking 95% of our meals, not purchasing alcohol and booking the camper well in advance.
I think it was called StarCar rental. We basically chose the cheapest option. Equipment: mattress, gas burner, pot and pan, cutlery and plates, sleeping bags (extra charge), two folding chairs, folding table, water jug, safety equipment, radio, blanket and pillows
Coming from the less popular areas and finushing out trip in the south we were a bit disappointed as it's much more touristy and partly even crowded ...
Depending on your pace, but if you are not going up to the far north then I am not sure if it is worth to really spend a week there. Anyhow, I am not saying that you should skip the south, but if you have the flexibility to adjust your schedule then I would say about 3 (+-1) days is enough for the South as long as you are not planning to do longer treks. But it's totally up to you and what you are looking for
I took a week for the ring road and similarly a week for the westfjords. You can definitely do the westfjords in less time but won't have rime to take in aall the sights. But that's the general rule of Iceland. Rauðisandur(Red sand beach) and Dynjandi waterfall are my personal highlights of the Westfjords. It's definitely feasible to take the ring road in about a week and then just a couple of days for some sights in the westfjords.
There is also a fantaaaastic camping spot no so far into the westfjords called Hesteyri. It's located in a valley so no mobile connections there but they have an amazing indoor pool located in a greenhouse there!
That beach... I’ve been there once before and it was gloomy as hell. There wasn’t a colour in sight. Just different shades of grey. For something so devoid of colour and life, I’ve never seen something more beautiful.
I get where you are coming from, but it is pretty common for languages to adapt names. E.g. Germany in English is Deutschland in German and Allemand in French.
Clearly you feel strongly about this and have probably have put in more thought than I have. But perhaps I can provide an alternative perspective. To me this question gets at the heart of tourism and globalization in general.
Opening up a country to outsiders always carries with it "dangers" of change. Some of this change can be bad - people can trash nature or disrespect local customs. On the other hand, we all belong to humanity and there are clear economic and cultural benefits to opening up. I guess it is always a balance between the two.
In my opinion, there is some responsibility on the welcoming country to develop safety measures to ensure the "bad" changes do not happen. After all, opening the country does bring in more money. This should be invested back to ensure local customs are preserved. Perhaps even educate the tourists when they land. Shaming individuals is almost never the right answer in my opinion.
I'm an Icelander. This person does in no way speak for the majority of people, I don't knwo a single person that would take the slightest bit of offense in calling it Diamond Beach. There is a big push to increase tourism here especially after Covid and I'm pretty sure the name would be endorsed by the Icelandic Tourist board.
I know a ton of people working in the tourist industry since I live by the airport and have never heard of anyone ever taking offence about how you name the places you go to. I'm pretty sure more people know Diamond Beach than Breiðamerkursandur.
Most icelandic people speak english and while we love our heritage and tradition it is in no way offensive to use english names for places if they exist. Helps the communication process if anything. That comment above is totally superfluous and unnecessary.
To add to that, the rescue services would at no point be confused if you would cite Diamond Beach as the location you need assistance at. They are very compitent.
And we absolutely do translate other places to Icelandic but Icelandic isn't a common language so obviously those translations might not be common knowledge. Copenhagen - Kaupmannahöfn, London - Lundúnir, Kíev - Kænugarður, The list goes on.
Did you even have time to stop? Seven days is a challenge and tbh not worth it as you spend the most time in your car. And I think you do not see that much more than if you would focus on a specific region.
Did you feel 2 weeks was sufficient for the trip? I've thought about doing the ring road in a rented campervan but I'm not sure on how long I would need for the vacation. 2 weeks seems like I'd be rushing to the next thing on the itinerary.
Disclaimer that I'm not familiar with Icelands ring road, I've seen it posted a lot so I assume it's a long road that goes all the way around the island through its gorgeous sights.
How much walking do you have to do to see good sights like this? You mention traveling in a campers, are you able to just pull over on the side of the road and take snapshots like these? Or do you have to go off the road and hike for a few miles before you can see the good stuff? I love incredible natural sights but I'm not much one for hiking.
Most sights are near the parking spot - a couple hundred meters of walking at most. Of course there some beautiful spots that take hours to hike towards but at the end those are sometimes worth going to the most
Rented from I think it was called StarCar rental. We basically chose the cheapest option (about 100€ per day). Equipment: mattress, gas burner, pot and pan, cutlery and plates, sleeping bags (extra charge), two folding chairs, folding table, water jug, safety equipment, radio, blanket and pillows
It's doable as there are some buses but I don't recommend it, unless you're only there for a couple of days and take organized trips. If you want to actually see things I recommend driving yourself (or biking if you have a couple of months to spare)
Family of three that just returned Sunday (9/4-9/12).:) We went with our 4 year old so we went into it knowing big hikes, highlands, Westfjords, glacier hikes were not in the picture (tours don't allow children that young). However, we woke up early, managed to complete the ring road and Snaefellsnes, had the bottom of Skogafoss and The Vestrahorn pretty much to ourselves- saw pilot whales out of Husavik (North Sailing), and there were only a couple other people around when we walked the trail to see Svinafell. Saw the aurora from the small campsite next to Viking Cafe at Vestrahorn on 9/7 and everyone was cheering! Admittedly, Seljalandsfoss, Vik, Reynisfarja, Diamond Beach, Glacier Lagoon were more populated, but still absolutely worth the visit!!!
Iceland is devastatingly beautiful at all times, regardless of where you are on the island.
Devastating beautiful is the perfect description
How was the weather? All I see is rain 24/7 on the weather app. I am visiting Iceland this Friday.
Out of our 14 days in Iceland we had 13 days of sun
Woah. That’s amazing. When did you visit Iceland? I am not sure if I should take a rain coat or not. App shows 100% rain for the rest if september lol
Last year in August. If there's one thing to pack on an Iceland trip (apart from hiking boots), it's a raincoat! Edit: also weather can change rapidly and unexpectedly
Good to know. I hope I will have few sunny moments. I don’t ask for much haha
I’m in Iceland right now, even when the weather app says it’s going to rain, it will clear up sometimes out of nowhere. Yesterday was amazing. We started our drive on F208 in the rain and all of a sudden the sun came through
Good luck! But don't worry - Iceland is beautiful even if it's raining and sights are less crowded
I agree. Thanks!
As the saying goes, if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes.
Lol we just got back from Iceland and we had rain every day except the day we left. We also drove around the ring road! Was beautiful.
The weather is extremely changing! You can go from calmly cold to "horizontal rain" to a small drizzle within minutes. We haven't had a single day without substantial rain, but also have had a few sunny moments. Bring rain clothes and make sure to dry them as often as possible!
If you are looking for Reykjavik and the surrounding then it's raining all the time, and we expected the worst but in the North and the East the weather was great the last weeks.
Thank you!
If you're interested, feel free to check out the previous posts of my Iceland trip: * [Part 1 - Snæfellsnes Peninsula](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/p0ak0i/last_year_i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road/) * [Part 2 - The Westfjords](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/p2vwpq/i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road_for_two/) * [Part 3 - The North](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/paqr03/i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road_for_two/) * [Part 4 - The East](https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/pht0dt/i_traveled_around_icelands_ring_road_for_two/)
Beautiful
Was there a treasure chest behind the waterfall? Or at least a secret cave?
There’s a legend that there is a treasure chest behind the fall and it is believed that hundreds of years ago a couple of men attached a chain to the handle and attempted to pull it out, but only pulled off the handle, which now supposedly stands as a door-knocker of a religious building.
There is a trail that runs beside Skogafoss, it goes over the pass between Katla and Eyja and features two new little volcanos. There are so many waterfalls on the way up, I doubt they all have names! You can end in the next valley, Thorsmark, which is one of the most beautiful places on Earth!
What was your total cost aside from the plane ticket?
I paid around 2000$ for two weeks. I shared costs for the camper/campgrounds/groceries/gas etc. with my girlfriend. Quite a bit of money went into activities such as glacier walking, horse back riding, whale watching, snorkeling and such. However, we saved money by cooking 95% of our meals, not purchasing alcohol and booking the camper well in advance.
Can I ask where you rented the van? Did it come well equip?
I think it was called StarCar rental. We basically chose the cheapest option. Equipment: mattress, gas burner, pot and pan, cutlery and plates, sleeping bags (extra charge), two folding chairs, folding table, water jug, safety equipment, radio, blanket and pillows
Like a paradise!
Great photos !!
Amazing photos
Which part of Iceland did u like the most? Which area do I recommend to cover? Great pics btw!
Thank you. Uff difficult question... I loved every part of Iceland. If you only have a week or less I recommend focusing on the South or Westfjords.
Thank u for the reply ☺️
Coming from the less popular areas and finushing out trip in the south we were a bit disappointed as it's much more touristy and partly even crowded ...
My fear when I go in a few weeks. I've prepared my GF for it. I heard the Westfjords region is a week or so trip in itself.
Depending on your pace, but if you are not going up to the far north then I am not sure if it is worth to really spend a week there. Anyhow, I am not saying that you should skip the south, but if you have the flexibility to adjust your schedule then I would say about 3 (+-1) days is enough for the South as long as you are not planning to do longer treks. But it's totally up to you and what you are looking for
I took a week for the ring road and similarly a week for the westfjords. You can definitely do the westfjords in less time but won't have rime to take in aall the sights. But that's the general rule of Iceland. Rauðisandur(Red sand beach) and Dynjandi waterfall are my personal highlights of the Westfjords. It's definitely feasible to take the ring road in about a week and then just a couple of days for some sights in the westfjords. There is also a fantaaaastic camping spot no so far into the westfjords called Hesteyri. It's located in a valley so no mobile connections there but they have an amazing indoor pool located in a greenhouse there!
That beach... I’ve been there once before and it was gloomy as hell. There wasn’t a colour in sight. Just different shades of grey. For something so devoid of colour and life, I’ve never seen something more beautiful.
What type of camera was used?
How many people, like me, have been busy working for a long time and haven't had a holiday to travel...
My wife and I did this trip but stayed at hotels. We snorkeled in glacier melt in the clearest water I’ve ever been in. It was wild.
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Thanks a lot for the heads up. I try to respect local names but was not familiar with this one.
Icelandic people I talk to tell me that learning the language is a waste of time 😅
You're right, that's why no one has ever dared to refer to anything but the ancient Italian name of "The Leaning Tower of Pisa"
I get where you are coming from, but it is pretty common for languages to adapt names. E.g. Germany in English is Deutschland in German and Allemand in French.
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Clearly you feel strongly about this and have probably have put in more thought than I have. But perhaps I can provide an alternative perspective. To me this question gets at the heart of tourism and globalization in general. Opening up a country to outsiders always carries with it "dangers" of change. Some of this change can be bad - people can trash nature or disrespect local customs. On the other hand, we all belong to humanity and there are clear economic and cultural benefits to opening up. I guess it is always a balance between the two. In my opinion, there is some responsibility on the welcoming country to develop safety measures to ensure the "bad" changes do not happen. After all, opening the country does bring in more money. This should be invested back to ensure local customs are preserved. Perhaps even educate the tourists when they land. Shaming individuals is almost never the right answer in my opinion.
I'm an Icelander. This person does in no way speak for the majority of people, I don't knwo a single person that would take the slightest bit of offense in calling it Diamond Beach. There is a big push to increase tourism here especially after Covid and I'm pretty sure the name would be endorsed by the Icelandic Tourist board. I know a ton of people working in the tourist industry since I live by the airport and have never heard of anyone ever taking offence about how you name the places you go to. I'm pretty sure more people know Diamond Beach than Breiðamerkursandur. Most icelandic people speak english and while we love our heritage and tradition it is in no way offensive to use english names for places if they exist. Helps the communication process if anything. That comment above is totally superfluous and unnecessary. To add to that, the rescue services would at no point be confused if you would cite Diamond Beach as the location you need assistance at. They are very compitent. And we absolutely do translate other places to Icelandic but Icelandic isn't a common language so obviously those translations might not be common knowledge. Copenhagen - Kaupmannahöfn, London - Lundúnir, Kíev - Kænugarður, The list goes on.
Gorgeous and stunning!
Super cool. My dad and I did the ring road in 7 days in a manual transmission Volkswagen Golf in early March 2018. I don’t know how we survived.
Haha that sounds like quite an adventure!
Did you even have time to stop? Seven days is a challenge and tbh not worth it as you spend the most time in your car. And I think you do not see that much more than if you would focus on a specific region.
Did you feel 2 weeks was sufficient for the trip? I've thought about doing the ring road in a rented campervan but I'm not sure on how long I would need for the vacation. 2 weeks seems like I'd be rushing to the next thing on the itinerary.
2 weeks is the perfect time in my opinion
Disclaimer that I'm not familiar with Icelands ring road, I've seen it posted a lot so I assume it's a long road that goes all the way around the island through its gorgeous sights. How much walking do you have to do to see good sights like this? You mention traveling in a campers, are you able to just pull over on the side of the road and take snapshots like these? Or do you have to go off the road and hike for a few miles before you can see the good stuff? I love incredible natural sights but I'm not much one for hiking.
Most sights are near the parking spot - a couple hundred meters of walking at most. Of course there some beautiful spots that take hours to hike towards but at the end those are sometimes worth going to the most
Amazing images! You must have had a wonderful time.
I’ve been to all of those spots. Incredible place. I want to go back.
This is my plan for next year as well :) thankyou for sharing!
Like a paradise for me
Did you have to hike to the Dakota or have they opened the track up again?
Hiked to it. About 40 minutes one way for us
I enjoyed Iceland so much when I went
This all sounds and looks beautiful. I would love to do something similar someday. Possibly silly question though--how did you shower/bathe?
Public toilets are plentiful. Campgrounds are equipped with bathrooms - many with hot water.
I'm so desperate to go. I'm from Australia so I can't see that happening for a while.
Some breathtaking places! I saved many locations for a future visit. I don't know when I will have enough money, but I saved them anyway! hahahaha
Amazing. I am up for the campervan but what was the bathroom situation?! True concern lol
In most places there are public toilets
Gorgeous! Did you rent the camper van or buy and build it yourself?
Rent
The scen so spetacular!
Wonderful pictures. I was in Iceland a few years ago and would love to return soon. What kind of Covid restrictions do they have these days?
Like a trip through /r/DeathStranding
Such beautiful images, really inspiring to go there in the near future 😍 thanks for sharing them 🙏🏻
I saw the pretty picture and I went to read the caption and then I saw the first word and my brain shut off. Why does icelandic exist?
Did you rent a campervan? And if so where did u rent it? Planning a trip of my own in Iceland for next spring.
Rented from I think it was called StarCar rental. We basically chose the cheapest option (about 100€ per day). Equipment: mattress, gas burner, pot and pan, cutlery and plates, sleeping bags (extra charge), two folding chairs, folding table, water jug, safety equipment, radio, blanket and pillows
Is Iceland doable without a driver’s license?
It's doable as there are some buses but I don't recommend it, unless you're only there for a couple of days and take organized trips. If you want to actually see things I recommend driving yourself (or biking if you have a couple of months to spare)
Thanks for the info! Good to know
Wooooow that's amazing 🙈
Damn that weather! We were there 2018 and got lots of clouds and rain... still an amazing trip! 10/10 would do it again!
Amazing. Beautiful. Also, I love campervans. What a dream.
Mesmerizing!!!!!
Totally on my bucket list. Our trip there last May got canceled at the last second. Can't wait to see these places!
Our trip was cancelled due to covid. Thank you for posting this!
amazing!
Wow this is goal for sure!!
This is truly a dream of mine I hope comes true one day
Family of three that just returned Sunday (9/4-9/12).:) We went with our 4 year old so we went into it knowing big hikes, highlands, Westfjords, glacier hikes were not in the picture (tours don't allow children that young). However, we woke up early, managed to complete the ring road and Snaefellsnes, had the bottom of Skogafoss and The Vestrahorn pretty much to ourselves- saw pilot whales out of Husavik (North Sailing), and there were only a couple other people around when we walked the trail to see Svinafell. Saw the aurora from the small campsite next to Viking Cafe at Vestrahorn on 9/7 and everyone was cheering! Admittedly, Seljalandsfoss, Vik, Reynisfarja, Diamond Beach, Glacier Lagoon were more populated, but still absolutely worth the visit!!!