As an Icelander I love hearing foreigners trying to pronounce the Icelandic names, especially the difficult ones like Fjaðrárgljúfur... You've managed to get a lot of stuff into 2 weeks. It takes a lot more than that to see everything, but I would recommend to anyone to stay at least one night in Ásbyrgi. It's my favourite place to go when I'm travelling in the country. It's actually not that far from Mývatn, so maybe people could spend 1 night in Mývatn and one in Ásbyrgi instead of 2 nights in Mývatn... I would also skip Höfn and stay in Skaftafell instead (that's where the waterfall with the black basalt columns is). It's easy to spend a whole day there hiking various trails. One other thing I see a lot in these Travel Guides / Travel Blogs is that people seem to skip the East Fjords completely (this guide doesn't actually skip it, because you went to Seyðisfjörður, but most videos do...). In my opinion that is a big mistake, especially for people who like to hike and connect with nature. It has all the same things as other parts of the country (the waterfalls and steep cliffs and so on) but a lot less tourists. The biggest problem with places like the Golden Circle is that it is cramped with tourists...
Would you please tell me the best time of the year to visit Iceland ? I am a photographer so definitely I want to explore nature and take lots of drone shots
Themiya Meemaduma From a photography perspective, there’s really no “wrong” time to go to Iceland. From late October to early April you have a good chance of the country being blanketed in white snow, which makes for beautiful photos. From late May to early September you have long days with plenty of golden hour and everything turns green and the flowers start popping. The from late September to early October you have beautiful fall colors which create very unique shots. The only time I would maybe avoid is late April/early May because at that point the snow is starting to thaw but the plants haven’t come to life yet, so everything can be a bit drab compared to other times of the year. But even then it’s still more epic than just about anywhere else you would go. :)
A local here, great video but a few alterations needed. I would skip the drive to Akranes if you are planning to visit Glymur. Drive instead through Hvalfjörður and the hike to Glymur starts inside the fjord. It is also a pleasent drive through there. If your planning to visit Hraunfossar and Barnafoss in Húsafell, drive there directly next instead of taking on the West fjords first. From Húsafell you can drive to Snæfellsnes, visit Krikjufell, and choose between a ferry over Breiðafjörður from Stykkishólmur to the West fjords or the long drive there. Driving from Látrabjarg in the Westfjprds directly onto the Northern part of the country is a better use of your time than driving all the way back to Húsafell for the waterfalls. One of the areas that deserves a visit is Jökulsárgljúfur, the canyons north of Dettifoss, and also Ásbyrgi. Driving more east to Egilsstaðir I would always recommend a campsite named Atlavík and Hallormstaðaskógur. Instead of taking on the northern part of the East fjords with a visit to Seyðisfjörður and driving south from there. You will join the main ring road soon enough but it is a more scenic route in my opinion. The drive south to Höfn is beautiful. Next up is Skaftafell and there are more things to see there than just Svartifoss although it is one of my favourite waterfalls. You can have glacier hikes and hike up Skaftafell and see the nature and the mountains close to the glacier with a view to the south west overlooking the black sand all the way down to the ocean stretching out as far as the eyes can see, with only a handful of glacial rivers crisscrossing the sands. Close to Vík is Hjörleifshöfði which is a small mountain popping up in the sands east from Vík. Hiking that proivdes a great view along to the east and west coast lines.. Especially to the east which drags well on into the horizon. A campsite 10 km east of Vík is called Þakgil which is a small campsite but located in spectacular landscape. It should be worth a mention. Þjórsárdalur as well. For the more adventure trail seeking drivers, then places like Kerlingarfjöll, Landmannalaugar, Hveravellir Dreki, Askja and Herðubreiðalindir are also in the interior of Iceland and accessible with the right vehicle and during the summer. The waterfall depicted in the video when you are talking about the Golden Circle, is Háifoss and is usually not in the traditional Golden Circle tour. The waterfall that is is always Gullfoss. But still a great video and I hope that you will be back someday for a longer trip than just two weeks.... :)
No problem. The black sand beach starts a little east of Höfn i Hornarfirði and goes almost all along the south shore of Iceland all the way west of Þorlákshöfn. The beach is almost continuous except for a few small mountains or cliffs that sometime protrude into the sea. The noteworth ones are Ingólfshöfði, Hjörleifshöfði Dyrhólaey Reynisfjall and Pétursey. I think that the last one does not protrude into the ocean. All of them except for Reynisfjall stand isolated from the main part of the mountains lying just a few kilometers north. and there is nothing but sandy plains connecting them to the "mainland". I have to say though that due to efforts in conservation and seed planting, much of the sand is turning into grasslands, except for the area closer to the sea. If the sea level rise just a few meters most of the would turn into small islands. The sand beach on the south coast stretches out along the coast so far, I highly recommend hiking up one of those cliffs for the view. The easiest one is probably Reynisfjall which is directly over Vík í Mýrdal. Hike it from the east side from the town. There is small trail leading up there. To be more specific about the location where they were when the beach was filmed, My best guess is just across the road from Jökulsárlón. That lies just about 40-5ökm west of Höfn í Hornarfirði and about 20km east of Skaftafell. I hope that helps.
I love your videos, and can see the pure passion, hard work and personality that you put into each and every one of them. This advice is amazing, and I hope to visit Iceland someday. You are one of the truly heartfelt RU-vidrs on this platform and I hope your channel continues to thrive. God bless, Canadian brother. From England 🏴 🏴
This is so beautiful and you have showed so much more of iceland then most people do. The Blue lagoon looks pretty and all,but it's boring when that's pretty much you all you ever see.
Good to see my planned itinerary is fairly doable. Managing to go back to Iceland again in a week, and exploring for 2 weeks. I'm sure I won't see everything I have planned out, but gives me another excuse to go back (and this will be my 4th trip :P)
Thanks for the tips in this video. Too bad I didn't have 2 weeks to do the whole circle. If I have the chance again, I would definitely visit Iceland again and spend two weeks based on the tips in this video.
Do you have a written list of your itinerary (Vinh's Itinerary)? Would love to google some of these places but it's tricky to get the right spelling!! Thanks!
@Noahvde - great inspiration & tips! I'm currently planning my first Iceland trip, late this year or early next, and this is definitely one of the best informative and also inspirational videos I've found... (also planning near or about 2 weeks exactly) Out of curiosity.... how much do you think you spent in gas (ballpark approximation!) on your trip around the ring road? I'm trying to budget and that is one area I'm having a hard time nailing down. (the combination of me straight sucking at math + converting litres to gallons + kilometers to miles + dollars to krona + not exactly knowing the mileage of my potential vehicle or other variables = me just beating my head against a wall hahaha) Thanks!!
Ack! Amazing video! I love watching videos about Iceland! I agree, it truly is "magical"! I first learned of this country from Nikki and her bf Alex Cornell. You should see their video as well. Cant wait to explore this country someday! More power to you!
we talk befor i changed my name ! ive bin to Havasupai Falls this may . . . maybe a next trip for you ! am not a vlogger but i made a video about it ....we talk about cine2 on your sony vlogging camera ;) its a 40 min video about hike to Havasupai Falls in 4K cine2
Very nice video, very good pictures and editing. Pity you missed out on road 633 in the westfjord and al the fun on F roads like crossing rivers. If you are intersted on my channel are some 2min videos of those sight.
What was your budget for this trip if you don't mind me asking? I'm trying to figure out if we are staying in our tent and backpacking it approximately how much it will cost per week
Omfg I was at skogafoss and the other foss at around the same time as you were (according to upload date - 14 days). And i did the exact same reverse flowing video of the same waterfall at the same angle!!!!!!!!
Shannen Manlangit thanks Shannen! It was super easy to navigate. Downloaded some offline maps on the cell phone, grabbed some music and an aux cord. Good to go. Also drive on the left hand side which was nice. Roads are dead and generally nice, quite a bit of gravel if you leave the ring road but depends on your route. Get gravel protection and wind shield insurance IMO
Gr8 video.. short.. crisp and describes the route and places to see.. shared and subed.. would be great if you could also list out the names/plan for each day in the comments.. some of the names are tough :)
Amazing video! Thank you for making and sharing your vacations in iceland :-) Me and my girlfriend are going to iceland in June. But we only have 7 days. Do you think, that 7 days is enough to make it around the island and see enough of it?
Hey! Your video is really great and informative! If you could help me with a few queries I would massively appreciate it! Do you maybe know any companies or tour operators that can arrange excursions such as Northern Lights, Glacier Hikes, Ice Caves, Scuba Diving? Do I need to book all of these before I leave or can I just rock up and find a company in a hostel or hotel once I arrive? Cheers! Stephen
I slept in the car basically every night but Mike decided to sleep in the tent basically every night. Both worked but I felt that it was too windy to sleep in the tent. I found it warmer in the car
Hi. Nice Vlog and thanks for the tip by the way, what were the 2 waterfalls you mentioned on your day 5 at 2:31? I didn't catch the names. Also do you have any recommendations for a stop/city where we can check a hotel/airbnb in between Latrabjarg to Akureyri that is not a camper place like gladheimar? thanks :) :) I am also planning a roadtrip around the country as well.
the large towns between Látrabjarg and Akureyri are few but there could be a few hotels with basic acommodation in places like Flókalundur, Reykhólar, Búðardalur, Laugarbakki, Blönduós, Varmahlíð, Sauðárkrókur and from there its a short drive to Akureyri. If you decide to take on the Westfjords and head north from Látrabjarg, check for Tálknafjörður, Patreksfjörður, Þingeyri, Ísafjörður, Bolungarvík Súðavík and then heading south from there Hólmavík. From there you have a relatively short drive from the Westfjords onto the Northern part of Iceland and can look for acommodation in Laugarbakki, Blönduós, Varmahlíð and Sauðárkrókur. You can also drive the Tröllaskagi route to Akureyri and be off the Ring road. This route is paved and is a well maintained road to drive on in the summer. Check for acommodation in Hofsós, Siglufjörður, Ólafsfjörður and Dalvík. Dont put too much faith in Airbnb outside of the capital area (Reykjavík) and Akureyri. But in most of the places I listed in somewhat of a two choice routes there should be some accommodation available inside a building and not in a tent. Bon voyage
Hi Bradley, just note I am not the OP, just an Icelander. but the waterfalls in question are at least Hraunfossar and I cant quite catch the other one. His oronounciation is so awful its almost cute. I know that Hraunfossar are depicted in the video at the same time. Translates to Lava Falls, as they are small creeks running into the canyon from the lava field on the other side. Just a short walk upriver is Bjarnafoss, often called Barnafoss, as there is a story about two children who were following their parents or other caregiver to the next farm and decided to cross over that waterfall on a natural stonebridge. The bridge collapsed and the two children perished. This happened a few centuries ago at least so it has kind of turned into a myth. But it would make sense that the OP mentioned those waterfalls as they were driving to Húsafell and I kind of cant remember any other noteworthy waterfall in the vicinity. I could be wrong though.
Super thanks andrifsig :) :) Sorry I did not realize that you were not the OP...my bad. I appreciate so much your recommendations and tips as well. My itinerary is almost complete thanks to this guide as well. I have to pick up many itinerary from different people and I am consolidating all the possible routes, sites and sleeping location to fit my needs and budget of course :) But super thanks for the info. much appreciated :D
No problem, just remember to stay on the road if you are doing some challenging offroad trails. Going offroad off the trails is strictly forbidden and can harm the nature. Remember to pack windproof and waterproofs. The wind is what surprises most tourists here. Otherwise stay safe and have fun....
nice video bro.. one question how do you cook for the 2 week.. its there any public/rental kitchen along the road since you stay in car and tent. thanks in advance
