Around Iceland in 8 Days with a Campervan

DAY 1: RENTING THE VAN AND DOING THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
DAY 2: HOT SPRING MORNING AND DRIVE EAST THROUGH WATERFALLS
DAY 3: GLACIER HIKE AND MORE ADVENTURES EASY
DAY 4: THROUGH THE FJORDS
DAY 5: NORTH TO MÝVATN
DAY 6: HOT SPRINGS & THE NORTH
DAY 7: BACK TO THE SOUTH & PARK
DAY 8: FLY OUT

CAMPING IN ICELAND

Around Iceland in 8 Days with a Campervan

An ambitious and slightly ambiguous idea for 1 American and 1 Japanese living in Europe for 8 years with pretty much no camping experience whatsoever. Looking northwest, Iceland had sat on our top 3 to-visit locations for several years, but never seemed to win in the debate on how to spend our summer holidays; the sea and sunshine always managed to take priority over what we imaged to be a bit colder and probably much icier adventure in the north.

Earlier this year, a college of mine showed me photos of her trip to inclined in a camper van. Now, there was an idea! Iceland- notoriously vast and expensive- seemed much more manageable when home and transportation turned into one cute solution that was just big enough for two without turning into one of those massive white caravan that take over all roads in Europe in the summertime. We picked a time- July. We picked a caravan- a new model! We picked a route essentially the entire Island, across the 1 Ring Road, in eight days. Let’s do this.


DAY 1: RENTING THE VAN AND DOING THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
Suspicions confirmed- the weather in Iceland in the summer is cold and pretty unpredictable. About 100km into our first day behind the wheel of our camper van, we had gone through two complete sun and rain cycles. We were keen on checking off a much of the Golden Circle and opted to pass through Þingvellir National Park as the rain poured down and make our way to Geyser and Gullfoss Falls, spending night in a campsite tucked in between the two for the first night.

Geysir erupting
Geyser- the name doesn’t lie. The ground spits and bubbles and spurts out huge gashes of steams and water at temperatures ranging from hot to scalding!
The fall Gullfoss
Gullfoss- water pours down the Hvítá river in multiple directions…can you see the people in this photo? These falls are huge!
Packing the Camper Van
Excuse the messy packing- amateur campers getting ready to cook up dinner for the first night!

DAY 2: HOT SPRING MORNING AND DRIVE EAST THROUGH WATERFALLS
Packed up the camper van and and started the morning with a short hike behind Geyser before taking a dip in the Secret Lagoon Hot Springs. Our plan was to check off several sightseeing spots
during a slow trip east to Skaftafell. We started at the Kerið Crater Lake, continued to Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrafoss, and finally Skógafoss. Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrafoss proved to be
two of the biggest highlights of the trip- the latter behind a smaller waterfall just behind Seljalandsfoss open to a bit of exploration!

Kerið Crater Lake
The 3,000 years old Kerið Crater Lake
Trekking behind Seljalandsfoss
Trekking behind Seljalandsfoss and getting wet!
Gljúfráfoss waterfall
Gljúfrafoss is accessible through small and slippery crevice in the mountain but it’s worth getting wet for!
Lavarock formations
Vegetation returns to the volcanic landscape

DAY 3: GLACIER HIKE AND MORE ADVENTURES EASY
Day was glacier day! We had booked a glacier hike up one of the glaciers near Skaftafell with a private tour company that took us up above the clouds. We were luck to have the sun open up as
we followed our guide up the glacier- untouched for several days due to bad weather preventing guided tours. Back at our camper by early afternoon, we headed east stopping off at the stunning
Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon before one last hot spring dip and a night in a small camping site near Höfn.

Hiking a glacier in South Iceland
Starting our hike up the Glacier. Still cloudy…
Glacier hiking in Iceland
The sun opened up as we finally hit the ice!
Glacier stream
That’s a lot of water!
Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
45 minutes away, the stunning Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Hot tub in Hoffell
Finishing the day at a small hot tub in Hoffell

DAY 4: THROUGH THE FJORDS
Our 4th day was spent driving across the Eastern Fjords that start just after Höfn and stretch up Iceland’s eastern coast. We used the morning to restock food at the supermarket in town before
tracking up the coast. We stopped off near Þvottárskriður where a large beach made of extra-fine black pebbles spread out like a small sand bar out into the ocean. From that point on we took the 1
until it diverged into inland and we continued on the Fjord route, driving across wide inlays of water up to the fishing town of Seyðisfjörður, where we spent the night.

Black Stone beach
Walking barefoot across the stone beach
Fjords of Eastern Iceland
Winding across the fjords of eastern Iceland
The lovely roads of East Iceland
Just two people, a lot of glacier water, and a big camper van!
The village Seyðisfjörður
Looking down on Seyðisfjörður

DAY 5: NORTH TO MÝVATN
After a early rise in Seyðisfjörður and a kick stop-off at a local bakery in Egilsstaðir, our journey continued through northeast Iceland towards Mývatn lake, stopping first at Dettifoss, the most
powerful waterfall in Europe, and Námaskarð, a bubbling pit of sulphur springs that singled our entrance back into Iceland’s volcanic side. Just over the hill from Námaskarð, Mývatn lake showed
a more serine side to Iceland’s volcanic past, the lake and its surrounding rolling green hills regrouping over an eruption that occurred over 200 years ago.

Northwestern Iceland
The volcanic landscape of Northwestern Iceland
Massive Dettifoss
The massive Dettifoss- can you spot the humans?
Hverir geothermal area
Smoke, sulfur, and acid by Hverir
Lake Mývatn Camping
Mývatn Lake as seen from a camper van window
Lake Mývatn Countryside
Life restored to ancient volcanic craters

DAY 6: HOT SPRINGS & THE NORTH
Starting the day early to get ahead of the other tourist in the area,we made our way to the Mývatn Nature Baths, getting there just as they opened, enjoying a warm soak with beautiful views of the
lake. From there, we took a small hike through Dimmuborgir, an area next to the lake that featured oddly-shape rock formations. As the area began filling up, we left the town, driving west as we
looked to slowly make our way back to the Airport over the next two days. We opted to spend the night at a small campsite in Sæberg, and drove across northern Iceland along the way, stopping
north of Skagaströnd to search for seals oh the shoreline before calling it a night.

Mývatn Nature Baths in the morning
Alone at the Myvatn Nature Baths at exactly 10:05AM!
Dimmuborgir by Lake Mývatn
The mysterious volcanic structures at Dimmuborgir
A Camper pit stop
A quick camper pit stop on the side of the road for lunch in nature
Húnafjörður
A windy drive towards Húnafjörður at 9PM
Sæberg Camping hot tub
Sæberg Camping’s scenic hot tub!

DAY 7: BACK TO THE SOUTH & ÞINGVELLIR
Our last full day in Iceland! We didn’t have enough time to properly explore the West, so we choose to head back to Þingvellir National Park for a proper hike in the area and camp out there
for our last night. Þingvellir National Park is a pretty historical place in Iceland and after we walk across most of the well-marked places, we found ourselves in an isolated hiking trail following deep cracks in-between the two tectonic fault lines. This was a beautiful and quiet hike which proved to be a great way to finish off our one week adventure in Iceland.

Horses crossing the Ring road
An impromptu stop on our drive to let the horses cross
Icelandic beer
Our last camper dinner complete with the local craft beer!
Þingvellir National Park
Þingvellir National Park, caught between the American and Eurasian tectonic plates
Silfra diving site
Testing 2 degree water before deciding not to jump in!
Fissues in Þingvellir National Park
A quiet hike through the centre of Þingvellir

DAY 8: FLY OUT
With a few hours open in the morning before we were due to drop the camper van off, we decided to check out the south-western tip of Iceland before finishing the drop. After a quick stop-off at
Gardur lighthouse, we cleaned up the camper and dropped it off, wrapping up an amazing adventure in a very special place. Traveling Iceland with a camper van was the right choice; we definitely couldn’t have enjoyed the trip without it!

Garðskagaviti Lighthouse
Garðskagaviti, a Lighthouse in Iceland
VW Caddy Camper
Our lovely camper van from Rent.is

 

Thank you camper van! What a ride!

 

Read more: Puffin Tours Iceland in a Camper Van

 

Happy Camping!  #CamperStories

ICELAND TRAVEL GUIDES

North Iceland Travel Guide The Diamond Circle Travel Guide

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