Iceland 5: Skaftafell National Park

Top Tips
- You can see the seals and take a boat tour of Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.
- Skaftafell National Park has several hiking trails to enjoy. The Geologic Glacier Trail - the only trail that the Visitors Centre provides a free guide to - seems to be the least scenic.
- If you like off-roading, get a 4WD and drive any of the F roads. We randomly stumbled upon a few and they were all magnificently beautiful.

Driving along the Ring Road

Wednesday, September 4

The view from the Ring Road

Skaftafell National Park. 

On the way to the park we drove through a vast expanse of black sand flats. In the distance you can see a shimmering black-silted glacier extending into the valley.

We obtained a pamphlet guide for the main hiking route, the Geologic Glacier Trail (marked S1) to the Skaftafell Glacier from the Visitors Centre. Along the trail the pamphlet corresponds to numbered signs to give you a little information about the way some geological formations develop, and the history of the park.

Skaftafell Glacier as seen from the Geologic Glacier Trail (S1)

We drove further along the road a few minutes to another parking spot From here we walked up the S2 trail to a waterfall, ascending a steep path to several viewpoints of the waterfall and the black valley flats.

Hiking up the S2 trail in Skaftafell National Park

Driving into Skaftafell National Park

Driving along the Ring Road, west of Skaftafell National Park

A typical Icelandic town with adjacent waterfall

Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Our next stop was the Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon. This is smaller than the Jökulsárlón lagoon, and much quieter. Several people had taken picnics to enjoy in this scenic area. Of course no one was picnicking on the ice – there was a recent story in the paper about some folks that had a picnic on an iceberg in this area and it broke and floated away, so they had to be rescued.

 Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

We did stop at the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. Even if you see the Fjallsárlón on the way it’s still worthwhile stopping here. Boat tours are available at around $35/pp for a 40 minute ride on the lagoon, which you can arrange from the shore when you get there. We didn’t do the tour since we’ve been to Alaska and seen glaciers from the water before. The calved icebergs in this lake were much larger than the other lagoon, and there were several seals swimming in the lake.

On the way to our next guesthouse, we followed the F985 for the heck of it, which led to the Skálafellsjökull glacier. This 4WD road had a steep and steady ascent, taking us several planes up the mountain. For me, it was a bit of a nerve-racking drive watching how high we were getting. Eventually we were looking down over the vast glacier below the road. I was getting way too uneasy with the height at this point so we turned back.

The cliff face of the F985

View from above the Skálafellsjökull glacier on the F985

Lake on our randomly selected drive down the F985

Icelandic sheep, I wonder how they catch the sheep when they need to be handled, the sheep are sprawled everywhere that we could see.

Golden landscape on the F985

Accommodation

We stayed at the Guesthouse Skálafell, chosen for its convenient location along our route. This was a quaint family-run establishment, where we stayed in comfortable warm cabins on a farmstead. We were served a homemade 3-course dinner for an additional $40 each, which involved a self-serve salad bar, soup, a generous portion of lamb roast and a dessert of Skyr with fresh wild blueberries. Skyr is a skim milk yoghurt that is offered just about anywhere in Iceland for dessert. It’s thicker than Greek yoghurt but doesn’t have the Greek yoghurt sour tang. The yoghurt is clearly made in small batches as we saw plenty of individual variation among cartons, and the vanilla yoghurt has plenty of vanilla seeds in it so it's obviously naturally flavoured. We fell in love with the stuff, having it for breakfast, as a protein smoothie snack or for dessert almost every day.

Our cozy modest cabins at Guesthouse Skálafell

Previous: South Coast   Next: Dettifoss & Hverir

Iceland 4: South Coast

Top Tips:

- The Icelandair Hotel Klauster was unanimously our favourite hotel of the whole week. I would definitely stay in an Icelandair Hotel again.

- Dyrhólaey was my favourite attraction of the entire trip. What was planned to be a brief visit turned into a 3 hour sojourn and we could have easily stayed longer exploring this area.
- The scenic attractions seen today are too good for words, and these pictures don't come close to capturing their glory.

Lighthouse at Dyrhólaey

Tuesday, September 3

We checked out of the Grimsborgir Hotel after breakfast and made our way towards the next hotel, stopping at several attractions along the way.

Seljalandsfoss

Our first stop, about an hour away, was the Seljalandsfoss waterfall. You can take a circuit to walk directly behind this elegant waterfall, making it a popular tourist destination. There’s another path reaching to the left from the waterfall, heading out to see a few smaller falls in the area. It leads to another waterfall that you can climb to the top of – the track is wet, slippery and has some chains set up for stability of those that wish to walk it, but it warns that it’s not suited to everyone.

It began raining yet again, so we missed climbing to the top of this waterfall. There is a food truck at the Seljalandsfoss parking lot, selling soup and sandwiches – at around $7 a sandwich, it’s about as cheap as we can find in Iceland so not a bad option, but we didn’t eat here.

Skógafoss

Moving 20 minutes east on the ring road, we arrived at Skógafoss waterfall. Not to be outdone by Seljalandsfoss, the Skógafoss is a breathtakingly powerful waterfall. There is a stair trail to the top of the waterfall, and at the top you can continue to walk in the plateau fields alongside the river.

The fields at the top of Skógafoss

We ate lunch at the cafeteria restaurant next to the falls – it was $10 for the soup of the day and bread, and you serve yourself as many refills as you like. It was pretty decent, and the bread was freshly warm from the oven which was welcome in the always ominous weather.

Dyrhólaey

After another 20 minutes drive we reached the next stop. Dyrhólaey is definitely one of my favorite sites from this entire trip. If you’re not sure what to see in Iceland or about coming to this area, you absolutely must put this on your list. I really think this would be worth a round trip drive from Reykjavik.

We spent about 3 hours there without realizing the time was passing, and I could have easily spent more time there. This place is stunning. Most famous for its rock formations protruding from the ocean, Dyrhólaey has so much more beauty to offer. We climbed the peaks overlooking these marvelous structures, and descended to the black sand beaches to watch the fierce ocean waves crash against the jagged cliff face.

On the way out from the main parking lot, there is a left turn to an unpaved road that goes up a hill. Be sure to take that, it will lead to the tallest peak in the area, with stunning views of the lighthouse and the black beach extending for miles into the distance.

While driving back to the main ring road, we saw some people had parked beside a marshy area (just in front of the road bridge), and crossed close to the cliff base to walk along the black beach that is seen from the lighthouse – a great idea if you have the time and energy.

Accommodation & Dinner

It took almost an hour to reach the Icelandair Hotel Klauster from here. This hotel impressed us, and I would absolutely stay at an Icelandair hotel again. The rooms were basic as usual, but comfortable and the beds were soft and cozy. The reception staff offered to call us at night if the Aurora showed, which unfortunately it didn’t.

We ate at the hotel’s restaurant. Being the country’s specialty, I ordered the lamb, which didn’t disappoint. My favorite, after trying bits from everyone’s plates, was the Fire and Ice dessert – presented in a glass cone balancing on top of a pool of Blue Curacao and ice (representing the lake), it featured a fresh strawberry topped with vanilla icecream (representing the glacier), with freshly poured warm rhubarb soup (representing lava). It was a masterpiece. The prices here (about CA$45 for a main) were definitely justified by the quality of the food – and this was unanimously the favorite meal of the whole week.

Previous: Landmannalaugar   Next: Skaftafell National Park

Iceland 1: Reykjavik & Southern Peninsula

It's been a while since I've posted, but that happens when you're travelling. There's always that week before you go away where things just get hectic, then of course there's the travelling which is worth all of the extra craziness, and then the time to sadly settle back into the work routine after you get home. So here I am settling back into my blog routine as well. With some fresh material from my recent travels.

I've gotta say, you can prepare all you like, but you can never truly know what to expect when you touch down in a place. Even with all of my information gathering for the journey to Iceland, we still hit many surprises along the way - some good and some not. I'll do my best to highlight these points along the way.

9 Day Iceland Itinerary 

Top Tips

- Rumor has it that since the global financial crisis Iceland has become much cheaper for tourists. I'm not sure how true this is, but don't be fooled into thinking Iceland will be inexpensive. At it’s best, supermarket items cost on par with Canada and America. In some areas, food will cost 2-3 times what you’d expect to pay elsewhere, and more than you’d even expect to pay elsewhere in Europe.
- Fuel currently sits at $2.50/L. Keep this in mind when deciding on which car to rent.
- The Blue Lagoon is close to Keflavik airport, if you’re renting a car you may want to go straight there after your flight to relax before arriving in Reykjavik.
- Most accommodations in Iceland feel very basic compared to their price.
- If you’re mainly following the ring road around Iceland you can easily get away with a regular car. A 4WD is only necessary if you plan to take F-roads, although it could make some dirt roads more comfortable.
- Bring a windproof/waterproof coat. It may be summer, but it’s still cold. Waterproof pants are worth having for all of the waterfalls you will visit.


Trip Style: Self directed
Transportation: 4WD rental
Average accommodation cost: CAD$270/night
Travel dates: August 31 - September 8, 2013


Saturday, August 31

Reykjavik

Today was a day of first impressions. We arrived in Iceland around 7am, and took a taxi to our car rental, which was less than 5 minutes drive away. The airport staff recommend that you ask the taxi driver for an estimate before getting in, because you will probably be surprised at the cost. Yep, almost $20 for a 3-4 minute drive. My parents who arrived a day before Mike and I, had taken a shuttle into Reykjavik instead, and this option was $20 each one way, with the shuttle ride taking about an hour – so unless you’re renting a car in Keflavik this is a much more cost effective option for getting into Reykjavik from the airport.


Something important to consider when deciding on a rental car, is that fuel costs twice as much as in Canada, currently sitting around $2.50/L.

Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavik 

We picked up our car – what seems a 90’s model Suzuki Grand Vitara. I’ll write a bit more on the rental later, it was quite a memorable experience.

Coming into Reykjavik we used the GPS to find our hotel to park, before browsing the streets of the city for the rest of the morning. The city centre is pretty small and for the most part can be seen in a day if you’re willing to walk a bit. There’s of course museums you can spend more time in, but most of the city’s tourism seems to involve day trips to nearby attractions.

Browsing Reykjavik city centre 

We browsed the boutique stores, eyeing the coats that looked glorious in the shocking cold change from our usual summer weather. This stroll lead us to the beautiful parliament house, and from here we returned to the hotel via the Hallgrímskirkja church.

Gardens at the Parliament House in Reykjavik

Blue Lagoon

In the afternoon we drove out to the Blue Lagoon, which is one of the most popular hot springs in the country. The place is a bit overpriced for what it is – costing €40 for admission, and more if you need to rent a towel. Mike and I spent about an hour in the pool, the temperature was just right. The lunch at the café was pretty well priced for a tourist attraction.









After visiting the spa, we headed past Grindavik on the 425 towards the tip of the peninsula. I can’t remember the exact name of the place but the GPS coordinates for this attraction is N 63 49.15, W 22 40.938. If you’re following the 425, you should see a sign directing to this attraction – it’s a geothermal active area, where hot sulphuric steam escapes from the ground.



There’s a few places like this in Iceland, but if you’re short on time and in Keflavik or Reykjavik area, this is an easy one to get to. We saw geothermic areas at Geysir and Lake Myvatn too that were nicer than this one on the southern peninsula.




When we got back to the hotel, we tried to get a recommendation for dinner. Well, it seems that restaurants in Reykjavik tend to book out, so if you have a particular one in mind you need to make a reservation at least more than a day in advance. The restaurant the concierge recommended was fully booked, so we ended up walking around looking for a place to eat. In the city centre, generally we found menu prices to be pretty expensive (are you noticing a theme yet?). Steaks were over $70, burgers were around $20, and eventually we settled on the Gamla Old Island café that served us traditional meat soup for $15 – this was almost the cheapest soup we had in the whole country (we ate soup almost every day for lunch –the cheapest was $10 but it also allowed for refills). The café also served some desserts – the best one was a cold pancake filled with jam and served with whipped cream.


Accommodation
We spent the night at the Fosshotel Baron. We got stuck by the elevator and that was a bit noisy. The accommodations were very basic, and for the price the hotel felt to lack in quality. My parents noticed that though the hotel advertises it has a TV, none of the channels work – we only had access to one religious channel. The hot water in the bathroom smells strongly of sulphur – much more so than the faint aroma we experienced in every other hotel. They had a squeegee in the bathroom because the shower had no boundaries, and you had to squeegee the water from the tiles into the drain after showering. Honestly, on our last night in Reykjavik we stayed at the Hotel Centrum (for cheaper than the Baron) and it was infinitely better than this hotel. The only thing lacking at the Centrum is parking, but free street parking is available on weekends.

Next: Þingvellir, Geysir & Gulfoss