{"id":5917,"date":"2017-11-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/camperstories\/a-canadian-couple-in-iceland\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T06:23:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T06:23:55","slug":"a-canadian-couple-in-iceland","status":"publish","type":"camperstories","link":"https:\/\/www.rent.is\/fr\/camperstories\/a-canadian-couple-in-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"A Canadian Couple in Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"

October 2017<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

For us, the land of fire and ice was the land of wind and rain, but we had a great time anyway!\u00a0\u00a0Our trip came about because my partner, C, got a 6 month work contract overseas and that contract included a 2 week vacation with some paid expenses.\u00a0 He had suggested somewhere warm, but Iceland had long been on my bucket list.\u00a0 We both love hiking, camping, and photography so it didn\u2019t take much to convince him to forget about Hawaii and to rent a camper van<\/a> for a week and tour around Iceland instead!\u00a0 We did some research, talked to some people that had been and came up with a rough plan.\u00a0 We knew we wouldn\u2019t have enough time to do the entire Ring road<\/a>, so we decided to focus mostly on one part of the country and we decided to make that the south of Iceland.\u00a0 Given the time of year we were going we knew a lot of campgrounds would be closed, but it appeared that the south had the highest number of year-round campgrounds<\/a> so that was a plus, and also I really, really wanted to see Dyrh\u00f3laey!\u00a0 It was about 90% of the reason I wanted to see the south.\u00a0 And I was definitely not disappointed, but more about that later. We booked our flights, waited a few long short months (I am not a patient person) and travel day finally arrived!<\/p>\n

I landed in Keflavik at an ungodly hour 6:30 in the morning.\u00a0 My partner was coming from Europe so I waited around the airport for him to land.\u00a0 It was quite dark when I landed so I couldn\u2019t see much.\u00a0 As the sun came up it started to get light out, I still couldn\u2019t see much as it was quite overcast and raining.\u00a0 So the most exciting thing I did was eat some Sk\u00fdr while I was waiting.\u00a0 Which is actually pretty exciting.\u00a0 The stuff is amazing, kind of like Greek yogurt but sooooo much yummier!\u00a0 I really miss it.\u00a0 Wish we could get it in Canada.\u00a0 Anyway, his plane finally landed and we were ready to start our adventure!!<\/p>\n

Since we hadn\u2019t seen each other in so long, we rented an Airbnb for our first night in Reykjavik.\u00a0 We wanted to spend some quality time together and sleep in an actual bed!\u00a0 Our gracious host accommodated us for an early check-in and we took a nap before heading out to pick up the camper van<\/a> (I know, I know, too much excitement!).\u00a0 By the time we woke up and headed out to pick up the van, the weather had gotten quite a bit worse.\u00a0 The wind had picked up and it had started to rain.\u00a0 We picked up the van and then hit a grocery store and the wind tried to take away my passenger side door in the parking lot!\u00a0 So we picked up some food, had picked up wine in the duty free at the airport (all of the advice is true, if you want alcohol, pick it up at the duty free, it is so much cheaper!) so we were set to spend a cozy night inside.<\/p>\n

The next morning we finally hit the road!\u00a0 Day 1 of the camper van adventure!\u00a0 We had decided to head north before heading back south so that we could tour around Sn\u00e6fellsnes peninsula.\u00a0 When we started loading the van we found a wet spot on the mattress.\u00a0 It seemed the wind had managed to help the rain find a creative way in through the roof vent.\u00a0 We shoved a plastic bag underneath it to catch any more drips and left the wet spot clear so it could dry.\u00a0 (I was a little bit cranky about this and worried that it was going to be an issue the whole trip, but it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t leak again the whole trip so the wind must have been blowing just right to allow the rain in).\u00a0 Then we headed out!<\/p>\n

For day 1<\/strong><\/span>, we had loosely planned some things that we wanted to see and I had\u00a0 done some google-mapping to figure out distances and drive times (the only time for the whole trip that I had done this in advance, btw) and I figured we could probably make it to \u00d3lafsv\u00edk for the first night.\u00a0 There was a cool-looking church there that I wanted to see.\u00a0 But otherwise, we were pretty much wide open for what the experience would bring us.<\/p>\n

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

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

First thing I noticed was the roundabouts.\u00a0 There\u2019s so many!\u00a0 We don\u2019t really have a ton in Canada, and definitely not on the highway!\u00a0 It felt like every time we got up to highway speed we had had to slow down for another roundabout!\u00a0 It was an adjustment for sure.\u00a0 The frequency of these lessened however, the further away we were from the cities.<\/p>\n

\"Driving<\/a>\u00a0\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

We made our first stop not far from Reykjavik at Esjustofa hiking centre.\u00a0 We hiked up a little ways and admired the view and took the first of what would literally be thousands of pictures between the two of us.\u00a0 A few miles further down the road we stopped again for our first views of the ocean and the waves crashing against the rocks.\u00a0 Pretty much everything was saw was just incredible.<\/p>\n

The clouds and the fog really just added to it.\u00a0 It made the whole landscape look mystical.\u00a0 And then there was the wind.\u00a0 It was powerful and it almost blew us away several times!\u00a0 I could lean back into it and be fully supported!\u00a0 It was really something else!\u00a0 So our stops were definitely brief and we were happy to get back in the van and continue driving.<\/p>\n

\"Esjustofa<\/a>\u00a0\"South<\/a><\/p>\n

We stopped at Akranes and took some pictures of the ship and the coastline and stopped again at Borgarnes for some amazing views!\u00a0 By this point we were already making mental notes on what we would want to see more of on our next trip!\u00a0 Borgarnes is definitely on that list. The views were amazing and there\u2019s so much history to explore there as well.\u00a0 And according to a friend, some pretty great restaurants as well!<\/p>\n

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

Our next lengthy stop was at Arnastapi.\u00a0 This is one of the things I had google-mapped prior to arriving in Iceland and I knew there were some incredible views waiting for us (including a holey rock!) and I was definitely not disappointed.\u00a0 Prior to actually arriving in Arnastapi, we were struck by the fact that several of the waterfalls (by the way, you will get waterfall fatigue in Iceland).<\/p>\n

\"Windy<\/a>There\u2019s so many and they\u2019re all so beautiful.\u00a0 You will want to stop for each and every one at the beginning.\u00a0 (That will pass) They were essentially flowing upwards due to the wind.\u00a0 We got out of the van and walked some of the path between Arnastapi and Hellnar.\u00a0 This path winds around the coast and it\u2019s beautiful but it also means that it is super, super windy!\u00a0 The wind was blowing us around and was whipping up the ocean leading to some pretty impressive waves crashing against the shoreline.\u00a0 I took as many pictures as I could, but most of them turned out blurry!\u00a0 I don\u2019t have any sort of protection on my camera lens so it was shortly covered in water droplets and salt so the autofocus was useless.\u00a0 And my glasses were covered in the same so I couldn\u2019t manually focus either!\u00a0 My partner fared slightly better as his camera has a lens hood and he doesn\u2019t have glasses but it was a challenge for sure.\u00a0 Also just so much fun.\u00a0 As cold and as windy as it was, it was still quite impressive.\u00a0 And it was sort of fun to be blown along the coastline.\u00a0 The path is far enough back from the cliffs that there was no danger of being blown off.\u00a0 We stopped for some coffee and cake and to warm up a bit before hitting the road again.<\/p>\n

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

After spending so much time outside at Arnastapi in the, what was quite frankly miserable, weather (even though we did have fun) we were somewhat reluctant to get out of the vehicle again.\u00a0 We skipped Vatnshellir and the L\u00f3nsdrangar (which I am kicking myself for, but all the more reason to return!) but we did stop at Saxh\u00f3lar because who can resist climbing to the top of a volcano!\u00a0 We made it to the top\u2014and almost got blown right back off!\u00a0 I\u2019m not kidding.\u00a0 The wind was brutal up there.\u00a0 I am not a small person and I felt like I was getting thrown around like a rag doll!\u00a0 It was an experience I did not enjoy.\u00a0 I would recommend not going up in really windy conditions.\u00a0 It was honestly pretty tough for me to enjoy the view or anything else about it.\u00a0 \u00a0My partner however loved it.\u00a0 He got a few nice shots and then came down.\u00a0 It\u2019s a stop I would definitely recommend if the wind isn\u2019t bad which is probably most of the time.\u00a0 Just not that day!<\/p>\n

\"\u00d3lafsvik\"<\/a>\u00a0\"\u00d3lafsvik<\/a><\/p>\n

From there we mostly stayed in the vehicle enjoying the views until we reached \u00d3lafsv\u00edk.\u00a0 I got to see my church and there\u2019s a really beautiful waterfall coming down the mountain just behind the church.\u00a0 We got some really nice pictures here.\u00a0 While I thought we would stop here for the night, we continued on to what would be our final stop for the evening, Grundarfj\u00f6r\u00f0ur. We stayed at a small campsite and enjoyed a well-deserved soak in the local outdoor hot tubs.\u00a0 This was one of the most relaxing times we spent in Iceland.\u00a0 It was just the two of us outside, relaxing and enjoying the mountains.\u00a0 The wind was still quite strong, but very bearable when you\u2019re in a hot tub!\u00a0 Unfortunately, we were not smart enough to feed ourselves first, so once we got out of the hot tub and back to the campsite, we had to bear the cold and the wind outside to cook our food (pro tip:<\/strong><\/span> get a camper van that converts so you can cook indoors or stay at campsites with indoor cooking areas \ud83d\ude09 ).\u00a0 We made it through though, enjoyed our somewhat hot meal and hit the hay for the night.<\/p>\n

Day 2<\/strong><\/span> started by backtracking a bit to check out Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss.\u00a0 This is the mountain that has found fame in Game of Thrones.\u00a0 The waterfall is stunning.\u00a0 We spent quite a bit of time here taking pictures.<\/p>\n

\"Kirkjufell<\/a>\u00a0\"Kirkjufellsfoss<\/a><\/p>\n

We continued our way around the peninsula, sticking close to the coast.\u00a0 It was such a beautiful drive.\u00a0 It really amazed us how much the landscape in Iceland could change from one moment to the next.\u00a0 We eventually connected back up with the interior highway and started making our way toward the next destination: \u00deingvellir<\/a>.\u00a0 I plotted out a route that would take us past Reykholt and past Langj\u00f6kull glacier.\u00a0 I used the tourist map to plot out this route as it looked like the road past the glacier was just like every other road on the map but guess what?\u00a0 The tourist map LIES!!\u00a0 It was NOT like every other road, it was an F-road!\u00a0 Except it\u2019s not marked as an F-road at the beginning of the road.<\/p>\n

It was definitely an interesting drive with some amazing reviews.\u00a0 I had read somewhere that Iceland has stood in for Mars in a few films and I have no doubt that this is where it was filmed.\u00a0 It is very desolate but still quite beautiful.\u00a0 And \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 windy!!\u00a0 We ended up following the road up to the glacier, kind of drove up to it just to say that we\u2019d been there and then turned around and headed back.\u00a0 Which made me quite crabby as we were SO CLOSE to our final destination!\u00a0 It would have taken us about 45 minutes on that road to get to \u00deingvellir but we just didn\u2019t want to chance it as we were technically not allowed on that road.\u00a0 So we had to detour about an hour and a half back the way we came.\u00a0 The upside is we found some pretty great random waterfalls just off the side of the road that we went right down into.<\/p>\n

\"Random<\/a>\u00a0\"Sn\u00e6fellsnes<\/a><\/p>\n

The landscape down into \u00deingvellir is incredible.\u00a0 Lava fields galore!\u00a0 I was excited for this area as it was the site of the first open air parliament in history.\u00a0 It was starting to get dark by the time we got there and I had discovered that there were naturally-fed hot springs at Laugarvatn\u00a0 so that was our next destination!\u00a0 After the fiasco with attempting to cook outside in miserable weather, and since it was still windy and kinda rainy, we decided to splurge on a nice (indoor!) restaurant dinner.<\/p>\n

We ate at Lindin restaurant in Laugarvatn and the food was so good!\u00a0 I had the Arctic char and C had the wild game dish which had goose, reindeer, and whale.\u00a0 I discovered when I got home that whale seems to not necessarily be a traditional Icelandic dish and that most of the demand for whales in Iceland is from tourists.\u00a0 So I felt a bit guilty in hindsight about that and would definitely stay away from whale in the future.\u00a0 After a wonderful dinner, we enjoyed being pampered and relaxing in the thermal baths.\u00a0 We ended up parking just outside a campsite for the night.<\/p>\n

\"Icelandic<\/a>Day 3<\/strong><\/span> was a very wet day for us!\u00a0 We got a very lazy start to the morning but still managed to beat the crowds to Geysir.\u00a0 There was a lot of fog that day which made for some pretty neat atmospheric pictures with the fall colours.\u00a0 And fun fact, there\u2019s a random wrestling statue in the Geysir parking lot.\u00a0 Couldn\u2019t really see a story or anything about it, but I really got a kick out of it.<\/p>\n

\"Foggy<\/a>\u00a0\"Gullfoss<\/a><\/p>\n

From Geysir we headed up to Gullfoss where we got absolutely soaked.\u00a0 It was raining a bit and after taking in the view from the top, we made our way right down to the falls.\u00a0 It was pretty amazing.\u00a0 And we were so very, very thankful that we had invested in good windproof and rainproof jackets and outer layers.\u00a0 It really made a huge difference.\u00a0 From Gullfoss though, we had some decisions to make.\u00a0 The furthest east we wanted to travel on the trip was J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n<\/a> and I thought we had the van for 5 days.\u00a0 Since we were on day 3, I knew that we needed to push east and go as far as we could go in that direction so we could see the glacier lagoon then starting heading back in order to get back to Keflavik for 5 pm on the afternoon of the 5th day to drop the van off.<\/p>\n

So I decided to forgo exploring more of \u00deingvellir so that we could get moving east.\u00a0 So we started heading south to meet back up with highway 1 and stopped in Selfoss to stock up on groceries.\u00a0 It was at this point that C mentions the dates we have the van for and I realize that we actually have the van for 6 days, not 5.\u00a0 Which means we could have stayed where we were to explore \u00deingvellir a little more, so I was super cranky for a good 20 minutes or so (because this day mix-up was obviously his fault, not mine for not being able to count \ud83d\ude42 ).\u00a0 But oh well.\u00a0 Yet another reason to come back!\u00a0 We pushed on to Vik and D\u00fdrh\u00f3laey and figured we would probably stay the night in Vik.<\/p>\n

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

We caught views of incredible waterfalls like Sk\u00f3gafoss and Seljalandfoss, promising ourselves we would stop on the way back.\u00a0 We stopped to take pictures of Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kull<\/a> and noted more things to stop for on the way back (that I have forgotten at this point because we did not actually end up stopping!) and made it to Dyrh\u00f3laey.\u00a0 There are two parking lots for Dyrh\u00f3laey, one road goes up and one goes down.\u00a0 We went up first.\u00a0 The view is breathtaking.\u00a0 You have a complete 360 degree view, the ocean and beach on one side, the mountains and glaciers on the other.\u00a0 It\u2019s just incredible.\u00a0 Words and pictures simply don\u2019t do it justice.\u00a0 And of course, this is when my camera battery died!\u00a0 It had been flashing red the whole time we\u2019d been in Iceland (because I was not organized enough to charge it before I left home) and it finally gave out.\u00a0 But like I said, pictures just did not do the place justice anyway.\u00a0 The rock itself was just as grand as I\u2019d expected.\u00a0 I would have really liked to have climbed on it, but it was blocked off and with the wind, it likely would not have been safe anyway.\u00a0 We went down to the second parking lot and the views were also incredible though these were mostly of the beach, the cliffs, and the ocean.<\/p>\n

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

From here we drove a little ways down the highway to Vik and checked into the campground.\u00a0 Then we went for a walk to the beach.\u00a0 I love Vik beach.\u00a0 This is yet another area where I would have loved to spend more time.\u00a0 It seemed like there was a lot to explore in the town, and I would have loved to have enjoyed a few sunsets and sunrises here.\u00a0 As it was, the sky had cleared a bit and we managed to enjoy our first real sunset in Iceland on the beach!\u00a0 The sky was also clear after the sun went down so we got to see some stars.\u00a0 No Auroras though.\u00a0 It clouded over again and rained in the evening.<\/p>\n

Day 4<\/strong><\/span> dawned cloudy (again) and we hit the road to head east to J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n.\u00a0 Entering the land of the glaciers was pretty neat.\u00a0 You drive along the coast for most of it and then through lava fields.\u00a0 C wondered aloud how long the lava had been there for it as it had moss growing on it, so I googled it (WiFi in the camper!!) and it turns out the last eruption had been in the 1700s.\u00a0 So geologically speaking, about 5 minutes ago!\u00a0 We didn\u2019t stop very much on this drive until we got to the glacier lagoon.<\/p>\n

\"Eastbound<\/a>\u00a0\"Driving<\/a><\/p>\n

I knew that there was a big parking lot and that it also opened up to the ocean, but I started getting glimpses of something on the other side of the hills we were driving beside and seeing little parking lots on the side of the road.\u00a0 Soon I got a big glimpse and I literally gasped (which scared C a bit!) and I told him to pull over.\u00a0 We walked up the hill and were greeted with an incredible sight of the glacier coming down the hill and the icebergs in the lagoon.\u00a0 Again, one of those views that pictures just don\u2019t quite do justice to.<\/p>\n

\"J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n<\/a>\u00a0\"Duck<\/a><\/p>\n

The sky had finally cleared a bit for us too so we had the incredible blue sky reflected in the water.\u00a0 And amazingly, managed to be the only people on that little beach for a short while which was so nice.\u00a0 We took our time, took about a hundred pictures or so, and then continued on to the main parking lot and then to \u201cDiamond Beach\u201d where the glaciers rest on the beach as they\u2019re carried out to sea.\u00a0 All the different sizes and shapes of icebergs and the waves coming in around them was so neat to see.\u00a0 And made for some pretty cool pictures, too.\u00a0 We really enjoyed our time here, but we had to find a place to stay for the night!<\/p>\n

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

We headed back west, stopped at Fjalls\u00e1rl\u00f3n glacier lagoon.\u00a0 It was much less crowded, so quiet and peaceful.\u00a0 The landscape is striking as the glacier comes down and feels so close, and there\u2019s what looks to be an old volcanic crater right beside it.\u00a0 So beautiful.<\/p>\n

\"Fjalls\u00e1rl\u00f3n<\/a>\u00a0\"Fjalls\u00e1rl\u00f3n<\/a><\/p>\n

We continued back west, spoiled by the full-on sight of a setting sun!!\u00a0 No clouds or anything!!\u00a0 The mountains looked like they were on fire!\u00a0 We stopped at Skaftafell campground in Vatnaj\u00f6kull National Park<\/a> to camp for the night.\u00a0 This was the type of campground we were used to coming from Canada.\u00a0 Surrounded by trees, individual planned plots and a hut with washrooms and showers.\u00a0 Oh, and amazing views of a glacier and mountains!\u00a0 And if you\u2019re up for a hike, there is a path that leads to Svartifoss waterfall right beside the campsite.\u00a0 The best part was that it was the first evening we had that was somewhat warm and not windy!\u00a0 We thoroughly enjoyed cooking our dinner outside (chicken cordon bleu and pasta with red wine!) and just enjoying being outside.\u00a0 We thought we might do the hike in the morning, but we were lazy and we did not!<\/p>\n

Day 5<\/strong><\/span> was the push back west and the \u201clet\u2019s see everything we missed\u201d day.\u00a0 It started out sunny and clear where we were but as we drove west, it quickly became cloudy and foggy and not very pleasant!\u00a0 Since the weather was kind of yucky, and we were getting tired of yucky weather, we did not stop nearly as much as we had initially planned.\u00a0 We appreciated the view of a lot of waterfalls on the way by, but we did stop at Fja\u00f0r\u00e1rglj\u00fafur canyon for some pretty amazing views.\u00a0 While you\u2019re walking up the hill, don\u2019t forget to look back and appreciate the lava fields as well.\u00a0 It really looks quite neat.<\/p>\n

\"Fja\u00f0r\u00e1rglj\u00fafur<\/a><\/p>\n

We also stopped at Hj\u00f6rleifsh\u00f6f\u00f0i cave, which I thought was neat but C thought was pretty \u201cmeh.\u201d\u00a0 I do think that the beach itself would be pretty neat if, you know, you\u2019re there on a day that you can actually see it.\u00a0 So much fog on this day!\u00a0 So much!!<\/p>\n

\"Icelandic<\/a><\/strong>We then stopped in Vik for some pretty great food and beer at Su\u00f0ur Vik restaurant and then got some coffee from the grocery store.\u00a0 The coffee made me so happy.\u00a0 It was so needed!\u00a0 And it had a smiley face on it which made it pretty much perfect!\u00a0 Our next stop was going to be Reynisfjara Beach<\/a> but with the gross weather (for the 4th out of 5 days so far!) we skipped it and headed on to Sk\u00f3gafoss.\u00a0 These falls are incredible.\u00a0 I had a pretty big grin on my face the closer we got.\u00a0 And close did we ever get!\u00a0 I went as close to it as you can possibly get (and got yelled at by a small French child \ud83d\ude42 ).\u00a0 I got soaked, but it was so worth it.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t even describe the feeling of being so close to such a powerful force of nature.\u00a0 We also went up the 300 and something stairs to the top which I highly recommend doing.\u00a0 The water running through the canyon makes for some pretty great photo ops and the path keeps going for some pretty spectacular high views.\u00a0 By the time we were done though, it was getting pretty late in the day.\u00a0 We were still coming up to Seljalandsfoss and I had read that there was a pretty cool falls up behind Seljalandsfoss in a cave that I really wanted to check out.\u00a0 Google told me there was a campground nearby, so we figured we would stay there the night, hike in the morning and then head back to Keflavik.\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 The campground may be a wonderful and beautiful campground in the summer, but not super functional in the fall when it is wet and muddy.\u00a0 Most of the camping appeared to be on the grass which was barricaded off (because it\u2019s wet and muddy, makes sense) which left room for about 4 vans to park on the gravel.\u00a0 All of which were taken up.\u00a0 So, this was not the campground for us.\u00a0 So we decided that this was again something that would have to wait for next time and we pushed on west.\u00a0 Google told me there was a campground in Selfoss that had outdoor hot tubs, so we phoned and confirmed they were open and westward we went!!<\/p>\n

\"Selfoss<\/a>Selfoss campground was lovely, had hot (free!) showers and a really nice cooking\/eating space, complete with a cat!\u00a0 We took our sweet time here, especially in the morning of day 6.\u00a0 Day 6 was by far our laziest day.\u00a0 I think it was noon by the time we hit the road!\u00a0 We were pretty close to Keflavik so we were really able to take our time, which was nice.\u00a0 We drove around the Reykjanes peninsula.<\/p>\n

The most interesting stop to me was the H\u00f3psnes peninsula.\u00a0 This is a location that has had a lot of shipwrecks throughout the years and the debris of many are still there.\u00a0 There are signs describing many of the wrecks.\u00a0 And if you walk up some of the boulders, you get some pretty amazing ocean views.\u00a0 It was pretty eerie especially because (surprise, surprise!) it was overcast and a bit foggy.\u00a0 It\u2019s a detour I definitely recommend taking.\u00a0 We continued on stopping at Mi\u00f0l\u00edna\u00a0 bridge and Gunnuhver geothermal springs before making our way to Keflavik to check into our B&B (which was lovely!).\u00a0 We dropped the van off at the airport and enjoyed our final night in Iceland relaxing on a balcony with a bottle of wine.<\/p>\n

\"H\u00f3psnes<\/a>\u00a0\"H\u00f3psnes<\/a><\/p>\n

We loved Iceland and will definitely be back.\u00a0 We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and while we would do a lot of things the same on a return trip, there are also some things we would change.\u00a0 So the following are tips\/advice\/things I would possibly do differently:1.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. PLAN!!\u00a0 We kinda sorted half planned our first day and we knew how far east we wanted to go.\u00a0 That was about it.\u00a0 The rest of the time was spent on Google maps in the vehicle seeing what sights were nearby and looking up campsites.\u00a0 While this was nice in many respects because we didn\u2019t have a timeline, it also meant a lot of time looking down at my phone instead of at the scenery, worrying about finding a place to stay for the night, and spending more time driving than doing anything else.\u00a0 So if nothing else, I would recommend at the very least having a few campsites in mind to sleep at the end of the day.\u00a0 If you depend on only one, there\u2019s a good chance it could be full by the time you get there.\u00a0 Many of the campsites we stayed at filled up rather quickly, and that was at the end of October.<\/li>\n
  2. Take more time!\u00a0 (If you can) We planned our trip around Icelandair\u2019s stopover program that allows you to stay for up to 7 days with no additional airfare.\u00a0 We could have easily spent the entire 17 days we had off just in Iceland.\u00a0 Not sure our bank accounts would have agreed with that plan this time around, but it would have been amazing to have more time to explore.\u00a0 We saw some amazing things but didn\u2019t have a lot of experiences, and spent almost 0 time hiking which is something we really enjoy doing.<\/li>\n
  3. Consider what kind of trip\/experience you want to have and choose the appropriate vehicle. Our next trip would likely be with a 4×4.\u00a0 There are many things that we would have like to have seen and done that required 4 wheel drive.\u00a0 Also, if you don\u2019t like cooking outdoors or in a room with a bunch of strangers, you should definitely make sure you get the appropriate type of camper van!\u00a0 Our van was a bed in the back and didn\u2019t convert to a seating area, so no cooking inside our own space!\u00a0 It was either outdoors, a communal kitchen, or restaurants for us!<\/li>\n
  4. Clothes!!\u00a0 Bring appropriate weatherproof clothes and layer up!\u00a0 We had both invested in windproof\/rainproof jackets before we left and it was definitely the smartest thing we did.<\/li>\n
  5. Take time to actually appreciate the experience! Take the time to stand still at the base of the waterfall and just appreciate it.\u00a0 Take the time to breathe the mountain air, to enjoy the wind, to sit on the beach.\u00a0 Watch Strokkur erupt with your eyes and not just your camera!\u00a0 There were definitely a few times where we were caught up in getting the picture or getting to the next place that we didn\u2019t fully appreciate the experience.\u00a0 I loved the moments where I just focused on the land and enjoyed the experience.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Mi\u00f0l\u00edna<\/a><\/p>\n

    Ours was definitely the trip of a lifetime, but hopefully not the only trip to Iceland we take in our lifetime!\u00a0 We can\u2019t wait to go back!<\/p>\n

    Read more:<\/strong><\/span> There are no good pictures of Iceland – Part 1<\/a> & Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n

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

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

    \"Sn\u00e6fellsnes<\/a>\u00a0\"South<\/a><\/p>\n