1. Because One Week is Too Short
While the entire ring road takes only about seventeen hours to complete, we encountered plenty of travelers during our cross-country road trip who had a rushed itinerary because they were banking on seven days being sufficient enough for their stay in one of the world’s most scenic countries…and let me tell you, we were sure glad we had four extra days during our trip to knock off all the places (a.k.a. waterfalls, waterfalls and…more waterfalls) off our lists.
2. Because You’re Going to Want to Stop and Take Pictures…a lot.
I can’t even count on two hands the amount of times we pulled over or flipped a U-turn to capture pictures of some of the most photogenic horses you ever did see. Countless valleys and canyons, out-of-this-world (literally-Iceland should take Pluto’s place in the solar system because it does not belong on planet Earth) mountains, icy black sand beaches, and hidden hikes dot this tiny entire country. And you’re going to want to take pictures of them. And in front of them. Naturally.
3. Because Reykjavik Deserves an Entire Day…or Two.
Despite what people say, Reykjavik is a major city, considering how small the tiny towns and seaside villages across the country are. Reykjavik might be small enough to conquer in a couple of hours, but it truly is a quaint and cute fairly populated city, well-deserving of more than a couple hours worth of attention. There are tons of awesome eateries in the country’s capitol city, plenty of shopping opportunities, and gift shops upon gift shops of all the Icelandic souvenirs your Scandinavian-hand-crafted-seeking-heart desires.
3. Because Shopping in Iceland is Actually Poppin’
Not to toot my own travel horn, but toot toot. New York. Paris. London. Milan. Been there, shopped that. As amazing as shopping in those cities are, I feel that the internet has made it possible to virtually shop major cities without ever even posing for a passport picture. In Iceland, however, there is fashion that’s only ever going to be available in…you guessed it. Iceland. And you’re going to want to give yourself at least a full day to shop some of the cutest Scandinavian style boutiques.
Reykjavik opened it’s first H&M our last day in Iceland, and you’d think you were standing in line for Space Mountain at Disneyland with how long the lines to the dressing room and registers were. Needless to say, the Scandinavian fashionistas of Iceland aren’t used to name brand clothes because they’re too busy already looking more style savvy in their local boutique finds than most Americans do on their good days.
4. Because Unplanned Adventures are Inevitable
Decision to flip around to hike hidden canyon: .2 seconds. U-turn to hike hidden canyon: 3 seconds. Hike to this canyon: five minutes. Explore hidden canyon: two hours.
Since Iceland seriously lacks any signage of some of the coolest scenic destinations, one way you can tell what’s worth exploring and what’s not is the amount of cars at any given destination-even if you don’t know what it is yet. We saw a row of cars parked at the base of this canyon, so we decided to flip around and see what people thought was worth stopping for. It ended up being the coolest canyon cave with a waterfall inside of the canyon!
Depending on how adventurous you are, you will be tempted to go on detours -and lots of ’em. I’d like to believe that Iceland can bring out the adventurer in even the most unmotivated of travelers, because Iceland makes you feel like a child again-exploring imaginary worlds, wandering into hidden cave waterfalls, and trekking through moss-ridden paths to top-secret beachside hot springs. Iceland is like the McDonald’s playground for adults-only one million times better.
So, since there are so many uncharted and unknown places to explore and “get lost” in, you’re going to want to take your time exploring them! There’s nothing worse than being stuck on a strict schedule with no time for explorin’. That may work fine in large cities, but there is so much Iceland to see!
5. Because You Have to Factor in Sleeping Accommodations
Whether you’re staying at the same Air BNB every night (yikes-long drives ahead), making home several different Air BNBs throughout your trip, roughing it in a tent, or rotating sleeping positions in your five-seater-European-soccer-mom-car (holla!), you’re going to want time to either drive there, or find a place to stay, and unwind from a long day of adventuring.
We opted to double our transportation as our home most nights (yes. yes we did get sick of that tiny white car by the end of these eleven days), and it worked out perfectly! Keep in mind, my friends and I visited Iceland in August and even those Summer nights were chilly enough to make me long for a hot tub, warmer sleeping bag or just to be anywhere else. So, if you’re visiting Iceland in the colder months (i.e. anytime that’s not summer), I’d opt for an Air BNB, which are not in low supply throughout the country. They are, however, in high demand- especially the places near the airport in Keflavik and in Reykjavik- so book sooner rather than later to snag the more affordable places that aren’t sketchy enough to make you want to sleep in your car.
6. Because 11 Days Means Greater Odds of Catching the Northern Lights
It’s a sad day when you depart the Keflavik International Airport and realize that you never caught a glimpse of the famous Northern Lights. Luckily, I never had to feel that way!
I was cozying up to my sleeping bag somewhere in the Southern Rim at about 12 a.m. when a scream woke me up. No, it couldn’t possibly be a creep peeping in in our window because Iceland was recently voted the safest destination for female travelers! My friend had been trying to fall asleep when a dimly lit green light danced across the sky. THEY WERE HERE! They were here and they were beautiful. There is no way to describe the enchantment and euphoria you experience when you have the opportunity to see these lights that shimmy across the sky like a sparkly green snake.
When you rush through your Iceland adventure, you might just miss this magical experience!
7. Because You’ve Got to Get Your Blue Lagoon On!
The Blue Lagoon. It’s probably the most recognizable Icelandic tourist attraction on social media for wanderlust-ful, travel-bugged Icelandic explorers.
I’ve seen a lot of speculation on social media, blogs and forums on whether the man-made luxury hot springs are worth the trip. While the visit emptied my wallet of a solid seventy dollars, my answer is heck. yes. Not only is it worth it, but it’s worth at least half a day, in my opinion. If you treat the Blue Lagoon like a bullet point on your itinerary, you’ll wish you had longer there.
The lagoon is huge- and they’ve currently finished an expansion- with tons of neat nooks and crannies to explore. The water is that perfect temperature. You know, the temperature that’s not as scalding as a hot tub that you have to keep jumping in and out of, but just warm enough that you could spend hours in the water and not get cold. No matter your ticket type- there are four levels of tickets, standard, comfort, premium and luxury – you’ve got access to the white Silica mask that you see everyone sporting like high-class, bikini-clad ghosts throughout the lagoon.
Some people do have twenty-hour layovers in Iceland on their way to Europe through the country’s many low-budget airlines; and I’d say even if you’re tight on time, the unique and relaxing experience the Lagoon offers is definitely something worth taking the time to see, as it’s only around thirty or forty minutes from the Keflavik International Airport.
8. Because There’s a lot More to Do Than You Think
I figured Iceland would be a barren beauty of an island with nearly zero inhabitants and even less bustling metropoles to explore, but just a simple Google search of Vík, Akureyri and Seyðisfjörður will prove otherwise. Basically, I thought we’d be eating PB&J sandwiches and granola bars for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not entirely false, but there is so much more life (and places for foodies to eat-yay!) to Iceland than I ever imagined.
Each of these tiny towns was such a pleasant surprise with it’s warm, English Speaking (Always. You will almost never have to worry about a language barrier in Iceland) people, and even warmer PIZZA-there are no shortage of great pizzerias in Iceland!
There were plenty of parks, fun architecture to see, and great boutique shopping in Seyðisfjörður and Akureyri, and we spent an entire day and a half exploring both, and it was magical.
So, not only are you going to want to take your time exploring the natural beauty of Iceland’s rugged green terrain, but you’re going to want to set aside some free time to wander through the country’s quaint, picturesque hillside towns as well!
9. Because Iceland is Not the Tourist-Free Land of Your Dreams.
Note to self: this is the 21st century, and no matter where you go, there will most likely be Chinese and American tourists (hi) there to photo-bomb your pictures, ask you to take their pictures, and roll their eyes when you ask for your picture taken.
Iceland is incredibly dreamy alright, but refer to reason number 8: I thought Iceland would be an uninterrupted, untarnished and nearly uninhabited country where my friends and I could roll up to an empty lot in our 4×4 and take on the Skógafoss for a couple of hours with not a single shred of humanity or civilization in sight. Not quite.
There are mobs of tourists at most of the waterfalls, and you most likely will have to wait to get your picture taken in an ideal spot behind several other travelers with the same idea, especially in the summer months anywhere along the Golden Circle. We hit a couple of spots before 8 a.m. and there were a lot less tourists!
10. Because Everything Takes Longer than You Plan for
Visiting Iceland in August was ideal for fulfilling our girl band road trip expectations because of great weather conditions, but we still encountered several confusing roadblocks that rerouted us and set us back a couple of hours.
First of all, it must be understood that while Iceland is a booming tourist destination, it is not a bustling metropolis complete with 100% accurate map routes 100% of the time (unless you go the old fashioned route of a paper map but ain’t nobody got time for that), or locals in every nook and cranny who can help you with directions.
11. Because Icelandic People Are Awesome
Telling people’s stories is something I live for. It will be my job someday (fingers crossed). So naturally, I like to ask questions. A lot of questions.
It’s a little nerve-racking to talk to a stranger, particularly when you suspect there will be a language barrier (I don’t know if that’s better… or worse??), but it’s a rare find to come across a local anywhere in Iceland who isn’t over the age of 80 who’s not completely fluent in English. And like I said…they’re awesome.
Icelandic people are ultra aware of what’s going on in the world, even though they live on a 828-mile long island in the middle of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans with literally hundreds of miles of drive time between major cities. They know so much about their own history, folklore, and about the amazing natural wonders of their country, so they are the perfect people to talk to for your truly authentic Icelandic experience.
I met so many amazing people on our way through the nearly 900-mile span of our trip, and I became more and more comfortable asking people to share their knowledge about their culture, country, and cuisine; and it was all the better to have the time to stop and talk to the locals without worrying about where we were going next!
So go ahead…ask a local what their favorite place to eat in town is and try to pronounce it. I dare you.
