It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when planning a trip to Iceland, given that there’s so much to see!
If only planning a short stay in the land of fire and ice this itinerary will be the perfect way to experience what Iceland has to offer despite the time constraints.
Day 1 – Reykjavík walking tour
Day 2 – Reykjavík museum crawl
Day 3 – The Golden Circle
Day 4 – Mountain Hike
Day 5 – Bonus day trip
Day 1 – Reykjavík walking tour
Keflavik is only a short drive from Reykjavík, so you’ll have plenty of time to explore the capital. I must admit I never spend too much time in Reykjavík as I prefer Iceland’s raw nature, but I still like to spend a day or 2 here every time. Just pick up your rental car at the airport and drive to Reykjavík. Maybe you’re lucky enough to have allocated parking with your accommodation, if not there are plenty of paid carparks around town, the most central one being close to Hallgrimskirkja.
From here you’ll be in the heart of the city!
Start your visit by entering this futuristic church and taking a lift to the tower. It’s advised to book in advance, but you can get tickets on the day. From the tower enjoy a panoramic view of the city before walking down the pedestrian rainbow street, aka Skólavörðustígur. This street runs from the famous Hallgrímskirkja church down to the main shopping street, Laugavegur and it will satisfy all your shopping needs.
This road not only celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, but also showcases the artistic and cultural spirit of Reykjavík, with art installation scattered all along the road.
You can conclude your sightseeing tour with a short walk to Harpa concert hall, this iconic glass honeycomb building by the harbour.
Day 2 – Reykjavík museum crawl
On your second day in Reykjavík you can start your day with a stroll and a stop at a café off the busy tourist streets. We went to this place close to our accommodation called Hygge Coffee & Micro Bakery, which also offers tasty gluten free brownies.
If you’re interested in literature and history, close to this coffee shop is the Saga museum, a small place about the history of Iceland presented in the most impressive series of wax figures. Can be a bit gory, so not really appropriate for children. The exhibition only takes 30/40 minutes to go through, but definitely worth it.
After breakfast, head over to Kolaportið, a very famous and popular flea market for locals and tourists alike.
To top off your day, you should definitely go to the Lava Show. This is a truly unique experience, and you’ll be able to see real lava up close.
Another museum worth visiting if you have the time is Perlan, an interactive and interesting museum about Icelandic nature.
Day 3 – The Golden Circle
After a couple days in the city, it is time to fully experience this beautiful country and drive along the Golden Circle. And if you start early enough, you might even be able to soak in one of the oldest pools in Iceland. So pack a bag, a “nesti” (which is just packed lunch in Icelandic) and lots of energy for your first adventure in Iceland.
Start by visiting Þingvellir National park. If you wish to also experience snorkeling/diving in Silfra, plan for 4 or 5 hours here, as the snorkeling alone takes between 2.5 and 3 hours.
If you’ve been snorkeling, after dipping in very, very cold water, enjoy a hot chocolate and take the path along the rift to Öxaráfoss. In the afternoon, keep on driving until you reach Geysir, the most famous geothermal area. Geysir itself is dormant, but the neighbouring geyser called Strokkur ‘erupts’ every 15/20 minutes, so you can’t miss the show! While you wait, you can have a walk along the well defined paths and take in the most outworldly scenery.
Once you’ve seen enough eruptions, you can move on to the final stop on the Golden Circle, Gullfoss Waterfall. You can’t get close to the waterfall, but there are a few viewing platforms from which you can take some pretty good pictures.
This marks the end of the tour, but if you still have time, on your way back to Reykjavík you can check out the Secret Lagoon for a relaxing time in a natural geothermal pool.
Day 4 – Mountain Hike
I’m sure you can’t get enough of that Icelandic nature, so for the rest of the holiday you’ll be driving on less travelled roads.
Day 4 will take you to another level of adventure with a hike you will hardly forget. The hike to Glymur waterfall is of moderate difficulty and you’ll have to wade rivers and walk on a log bridge if you want to do the whole loop (they remove the log at the end of October, which also marks the end of the “safe” season to climb). There’s a lot of steep climbs and loose rocks, so make sure to wear good shoes and dress in layers, and take water shoes if you have them; flip flops will also work. I really advise you to do the whole loop, as the Eastern side offers some spectacular views.
If Glymur feels too demanding, a very popular activity among locals and tourists is to hike Mt Esja, only about half an hour out of Reykjavík. Once surmounted, the view from the top of this 914-metre high mountain is breathtaking.
There are many different routes up the mountain, but there is a well defined path that can take you to the top. This is divided into sections based on the difficulty of the climb. If you keep following the path marked easy/moderate it will take you around the mountain, instead of straight to the top. In any case you’ll end up to a point marked with a big rock, called Steinn (literally ‘stone’ in Icelandic), which is just 200 metres from the top. The climb gets a bit more challenging after that, but you can still get a great view from here.
Fun fact, this year an Icelandic running enthusiast boasted 300 climbs up to the Steinn and back before she goes most of those before going to work, so definitely a doable climb!
Day 5 – Bonus day trip in Reykjanes
Depending on the time of your flight, you might have some time to kill before it. At the time of writing, the Blue Lagoon is open again with regular hours, but make sure to check in advance, as due to recent seismic activity opening hours and routes can change very suddenly. For now, you can easily get there by driving down Grindarvíkurvegur route 43. If you do have 4+ hours before your flight, you can also enjoy an extra little tour of the Reykjanes peninsula before enjoying a restorative swim in this iconic spa.
I have not been in the area since the 2023 eruptions started, but always check road.is and the Reykjanes website for the most up to date safety information and road closures.
For this short road trip, you can follow Nesvegur route 44 and encounter many sights currently safe to visit. These are all marked by planets, so keep a look out for these unusual markers.
You can start by walking to Hafnarberg Sea cliffs if you’re inclined to walk through a “desert” by following old cairns all the way to the cliffs (be careful with kids, as there’s no safety rails, in classic Icelandic style). Make your way back to the carpark and continue driving to the Bridge between two Continents, another spot when you can stand right in the middle of the tectonic plates.
Next stop is Stampar, an old series of craters formed between 1000 and 2000 years ago. You can climb up the crater closer to the road and just walk around this moon-like area of reds and shades of grey from the past eruptions.
Finally, what for me was the highlight of the Reykjanes peninsula, the Gunnuhver Hot Springs. Legend says that the springs are haunted by the ghost of a woman, named Gunna, who was trapped here 400 years ago, and that when the spring erupts you can still see her ghost trying to escape. I haven’t seen the ghost… but walking through a cloud of steam through which you can’t even see an inch in front of you was surely a weird experience.
Personally this place reminded me of something taken out of Lord of the Rings… Mordor to be exact! It is an incredible landscape, shaped by the geothermal pools and their high sulfur content which has created outwordly colours. There are two platforms: one across the main pool Gunnuhver, from which you can see the boiling water of the spring, hear its vigorous noise, and feel the steam on your face; the other platform is on top of a hill, a short walk from the spring, from which you can have a good view of the area.
I hope you enjoy this taster of Iceland and hopefully it may inspire you to go again for a longer holiday, which is what happened to me! I’ll be writing a 10 and 14 day itinerary soon, so keep an eye out for new posts.
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