{"id":5385,"date":"2017-10-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/camperstories\/exploring-iceland-in-a-vw-camper-day-8\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:35:32","slug":"exploring-iceland-in-a-vw-camper-day-8","status":"publish","type":"camperstories","link":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/fr\/camperstories\/exploring-iceland-in-a-vw-camper-day-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Iceland in a VW Camper – Day 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday 14th of September, 2017<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

We left our campground in Akureyri in the morning and headed to Hv\u00edtserkur to see the \u201cdrinking dragon.\u201d\u00a0 According to our tour guide books there is a legend that Hv\u00edtserkur is really a petrified troll.\u00a0 When we got to Hv\u00edtserkur, it was just a short walk to a lookout point where you could see the basalt stack.\u00a0 When we got there the tide was out so there were people down on the beach.\u00a0 We looked around and didn\u2019t see any signs telling us not to go down, so we headed down the trail next to the lookout point so we could get on the beach and get some up close photos. The climb down the hill was quite difficult. It was steep with little footing opportunities which made going down tough, but coming up was not as bad. There was only about 15 people total there while we were there. We stayed for about 30 minutes and took a decent amount of photos.<\/p>\n

\"Hv\u00edtserkur<\/a><\/p>\n

On our way out of the parking lot at Hv\u00edtserkur we Face Timed with our parents and showed them a little bit of Iceland\u2019s scenery in real time.\u00a0 They really enjoyed seeing all of the sheep along the road and thought the dirt road was really bumpy, but we told them we had experienced worse roads than the one we were on.\u00a0 They were impressed!\u00a0 Since we made a last minute decision to go to the Westfjords, the majority of the day was spent looking and Googling for cool scenic pull-offs on our drive or to the Westfjords.<\/p>\n

Our next stop after Hv\u00edtserkur was at the Koluglj\u00fafur canyon.\u00a0 Driving up to Koluglj\u00fafur canyon we wondered if we were heading in the right direction because it didn\u2019t seem like a canyon would be nearby.\u00a0 We found out that we were indeed heading in the right direction when we arrived at the canyon and waterfall<\/a>.\u00a0 This place was really pretty but because of the sun\u2019s position creating a lot of shadows and a busload of tourists in every shot it was difficult to get a good photo of the area.\u00a0 It was lunch time so we decided to wait out the tourists and eat our lunch.\u00a0 Perhaps after lunch we would have better luck with the photographs!<\/p>\n

The 4×4 camper<\/a> worked out great again for our roadside lunches and today was no exception. We were able to use the table, chairs, and gas stove to cook up our frieze dried meals while people around us stood to eat their sandwiches.\u00a0 It was a beautiful day for a camper van picnic!!<\/p>\n

\"Camper<\/a><\/p>\n

After lunch we walked across the one-lane, wooden bridge to explore the waterfalls on the other side of the bridge and were able to get some photos that captured the beauty and peacefulness of Koluglj\u00fafur canyon.<\/p>\n

\"Koluglj\u00fafur<\/a><\/p>\n

Back on the road and headed towards the Westfjords!\u00a0 We were running dangerously low on beer and while passing through a town found a beer store.\u00a0 The store was unique in that it was located inside of a hardware store.\u00a0 We have never seen a beer store inside of a hardware store!\u00a0 Regardless, we were happy to find an open store so we could stock up again.\u00a0 There was a limited (but good) selection. We got a six pack and some singles and we averaged $6.70 USD per beer, which we thought was a little pricey!<\/p>\n

We continued driving after the beer store and finally made it to the Westfjord region which was absolutely beautiful and stunning!\u00a0 We didn\u2019t get many photos of the region while driving because the roads were very narrow and we couldn\u2019t find a safe place to pull over to take some photos. We planned on staying at the campground in Bolungarvik and eating a freeze dried meal but decided to stop in \u00cdsafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur for some dinner.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong> 10 Don’t do in Iceland<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00cdsafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur was a very pretty city in the Westfjord region.\u00a0 It seemed like we were driving for a very long time and didn\u2019t encounter any traffic and very few residences so we were surprised to see the size of the city considering how far north we were in the Westfjord region.\u00a0 We had dinner at Edinborg, a very nice restaurant right near the water. We got there around 6:00pm and there was hardly anyone in there so we thought it was closed. We got a cheeseburger and catch of the day, Halibut.\u00a0 The portions were very large! The wait staff was great and the environment was comfortable. Everyone spoke English so we had no problem getting everything ordered. They also had a good bottled beer selection available. On the way to the bathroom there was a very strange sign hanging, in a frame, on the wall that said \u201cDo not spit on the floor!\u201d Apparently there is an indoor spitting problem at this fine establishment? The place got much busier towards the evening before we left.\u00a0 We were pretty tired from our long drive so after dinner we decided not to explore the city.\u00a0 We found a campground in \u00cdsafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur that accepted our Camping Card so we headed that way.\u00a0 The people running the campground were very nice and the facilities at the campground were very clean.\u00a0 This campground was much different than all our previous campgrounds because this one had trees! It reminded us of campgrounds we are used to staying at back at home where the camp spots are a little more defined and tree-lined. There was a nice waterfall and a stream through the campsite as well.<\/p>\n

\"Camping<\/a><\/p>\n

There were no Northern lights<\/a> but we got some good photos of the night sky.\u00a0 We took the opportunity to relax this night some and we stayed in the camper van<\/a>, drank some of the beers we bought earlier in the day and played cards. We raised the roof up and we were able to sit on the bed and play cards very comfortably! This would also work out really well if you got caught up in a rain or thunderstorm and needed to stay inside for a while.<\/p>\n

\"4x4<\/a><\/p>\n

Overall it was a beautiful day.\u00a0 The weather was warm and sunny all day about 10-12 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n

\"Exploring<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\"Exploring<\/a>\u00a0\"Exploring<\/a>\u00a0\"Exploring<\/a>\u00a0\"Exploring<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a>\"Exploring<\/a>\u00a0\"Exploring<\/a>\u00a0\"Exploring\u00a0<\/a>\"Exploring\u00a0<\/a>\"Exploring<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong> Mommy the Camper Van<\/a><\/p>\n

Happy Camping!\u00a0 #CamperStories<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iceland Travel Guides<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"North\u00a0\"Westfjords<\/p>\n

\u00a0