A summer in the sun in... Iceland!! (page 3 of 5)

So we continue our journey, always further west, and have a picnic at the foot of the Hoffellsjökull glacier tongue.

Then, the highlight of the day is Jökulsárlón, a lagoon filled with ice blocks that come from the immense ice cap of the Vatnajökull glacier, moving very slowly in the lagoon.

After 10 days of almost constant sunshine, unfortunately, our luck runs out—the sky is overcast, and the colors aren’t great. After seeing so many photos of Jökulsárlón, I was imagining an incredible number of icebergs, which is far from the case. That’s the downside of spending too much time online preparing the road book. 😕



On the other hand, the rest of the family, who’s discovering the site both virtually and in person, is loving it!!

Jökulsárlón is one of the most touristy spots in Iceland and is widely considered the most picturesque landscape in the south of the country. That said, you don’t really feel the crowd once you move a little away from the parking lot.

It’s chilly, hats are out, and so is the zoom lens to capture the details of the icebergs floating and inexorably heading toward the sea.

We take the car again to drive 1 km further to the parking lot right next to Diamond Beach.

It's on the right bank of the estuary where large blocks of ice wash ashore, slowly melting and eventually looking (from a distance) like diamonds.

The ice chunks are especially photogenic on the black sand beach.



The last stop of the day is Fjallsárlón, another glacial lake about ten kilometers west of Jökulsárlón, and much less crowded than its famous neighbor!

The walk along the lake and its icebergs is a must, as the site exudes tranquility.



We hit the Ring Road 1 again until we reach the Svinafell campsite, with a complete change in atmosphere and lighting!

We rented a cabin for 4 there, and by letting them know in advance, you can stay with 5 people, provided one of you sacrifices by sleeping on a camping mattress... Since we were too lazy to set up the tent, the main thing for us was to sleep in a solid shelter!





To wrap up this marathon transition day, what better than an excellent burger at Veitingasala, a place that doubles as a gas station, fast-food joint, café, mini-market, and souvenir shop...!

Day 12 - 07/17: Glacier excursion and Svartifoss

Today was the day everyone had been looking forward to, with a glacier excursion on Vatnajökull planned. It’s not cheap, so we decided to use the money Rachel earned from her last internship and Maxime from giving lessons at his stable. No reason they should travel for free...

Joking aside, the day trip costs 165 € per person, with no discount for teens. It might seem like a lot—it *is* expensive—but the excursion lasts 6 hours with Blue Iceland, compared to just 3 hours with the competition for barely less. My math-loving brain tells me that’s an excellent value for money! At least, we’re all hoping so... 😛

Since the excursion was scheduled from 10 AM to 4 PM, leaving from Jökulsárlón, and we’re always early risers, we had time to visit a glacial tongue, Svinafellsjón, 5 km from the campsite where we rented a cabin.

The scenery is enchanting despite the morning gloom 😇

Then, we headed back to Jökulsárlón, the meeting point for our excursion, where the icebergs had shifted quite a bit since the day before.

Definitely worth another photo shoot 😉!!



At 9:45 AM, we returned to the parking lot and started looking for a sign from the Blue Iceland tour operator: a truck, a stall, a logo, etc. But we came up empty. We finally asked the other tour operators set up there, and none of them knew who we were talking about... 🤪

Eventually, a guy in a huge lifted van asked who we were looking for. When we mentioned our tour operator, he pointed us to a Land Cruiser with a small Blue Iceland logo!

We’d been searching for one of those big lifted minibuses with wheels as tall as Tim, but ended up with a short-chassis Land Cruiser that was barely lifted!!

When our guide arrived, we discovered he was French, and we were the only clients that day. Basically, we got a private tour at the price of a group one—score 😊 😇!!

On the way to the foot of the glacier, Yann, who works for 66°North, taught us all sorts of things about tourism in Iceland... and, of course, how the glacier works.

At the end of the track, he equipped us with helmets, headlamps, and had us test the crampons we’d be wearing later.

After a fifteen-minute walk, Yann stopped at the foot of a crevice and had us descend, roped together, into the ice cave. So much fun!!

Even though it wasn’t really on the program, we were lucky enough to get to explore an ice cave. It’s melting, of course, but it’s amazing!



Since a big block is likely to fall in the coming days, the guide asked us to steer clear of it and said he wouldn’t take anyone else there for the rest of the summer.

The colors are just magical!!





Yann then led us onto the glacier.

Even though it was raining at first, the colors—a mix of white and basalt—were absolutely stunning, and the atmosphere was mystical!

The movie *Interstellar* was actually filmed on the Svinafellsjökull glacier. It’s easy to imagine being on another planet, and we totally get why this location was chosen...

We learned about how the glacier works—it’s a living, constantly evolving system—and saw moulins



and a little further on, runoff water and small crevasses.

Crevasses and pools





I’m always lagging behind the group—can’t help stopping to capture this experience...





At the very end of the hike, we reach the most spectacular section, just a few hundred meters from where the ice blocks break off. The glacier takes shape with numerous peaks, the crevasses are plentiful and deep, and we have to follow Yann’s path meticulously without straying.

We’re almost at the end with a breathtaking view of the glacier and the ice blocks breaking off into the glacial lagoon of Jökulsárlón. Yann always goes ahead to test the path, validate the route, then comes back to lead us along his tracks...

Afterward, we have a picnic with a five-star view of the glacial lake while Yann prepares the equipment for us to descend and get a closer look at a crevasse.

The sky even clears up for a few minutes, just long enough to capture the magic of a day that will certainly be the highlight of the trip.





Here we go—time to descend while roped up, and each of us gives it a try!

On the way back, since we're walking well, Yann wants to take us to the best viewpoint over the glacier and stumbles upon another improvised ice cave. A little free bonus, as he says.







Then the fog rolls in, adding to the mystical vibe of the place!!

and we make a quick return to the 4x4.

Along the way, we pass several groups of 10-15 people who won’t make it to where we went in just one hour. So, choosing the right excursion makes all the difference... Summer Treasure was ours ;).

Back at the campsite at 5 PM, we split into two groups: the first, with 3 people, chills at the campsite, while the second, with 2 people, decides to do another 4 km hike (200 m elevation gain) to Svartifoss. Since I’m not a snitch, I won’t name names.



To wrap up this unforgettable day, we grab another burger at the same fast-food place as the night before and crash hard at the Svinafell campsite !

This glacier walk was absolutely stunning! And the photos are amazing.

Wow! That day on the glacier was amazing, I’ll keep it in mind for next time 😄 and your photos are awesome 👍

I’m freezing but loving all these photos—pretty unusual for travel journals! 😉

Great job, Marati / Guilhaume! !

Hi Guillaume, The glacier excursion is really nice! I also wanted to congratulate you on the gorgeous photos in your travel journal—they’re absolutely stunning! 😎

Thanks Bluequark, Isabelle, and Nathalie for your compliments and encouragement 😊 🙂!

Welcome Kate, Thank you for your kind words 🙂

You’ve got to admit, it’s hard to take a bad photo with a backdrop as stunning as this glacier gave us 😉 !

Day 13 - 07/18: Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon - Vík - Pakgil

We leave Svínafell to head toward the Laki route.

The weather forecast is bad, with rain all day that’ll get heavier between noon and 4 PM.

So we make the most of the last rays of sunshine for the day.



Around 10 AM, we reach the start of the track leading to Laki. Since the sky is clear, we take the opportunity to visit Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon, which became famous thanks to a music video by a singer whose name I’ve forgotten.

As soon as we arrive at the parking lot at the foot of the canyon, the landscape is stunning, and the colors are amazing: the green of the grass contrasts with the gray and black of the rocks. Sometimes the Fjaðrá River is a turquoise blue—just not today.

Obviously, there are a lot of people, but since everyone is spread out across the different viewpoints, the visit remains very enjoyable.

The trail follows the canyon for a good kilometer, and we gradually gain a little elevation.



The view from the top of the canyon is the most impressive, with its magnificent cliffs, crevices, and the Fjaðrá River running through the center.





Then, we hit the track. It’s raining. First river crossing—easy. As we go on, the sky darkens and the mist thickens. The heavy rain forecasted is confirmed. At the second river crossing, a ford about 40% of the way, the water level is manageable, but there are a lot of rocks at the bottom. We decide to wait for the next vehicle to make a decision, knowing there’s no signal and we still don’t have a spare tire.

A Hilux with a camper shell arrives. Crossing the ford, it gets really tossed around.

With this fog likely to block the five-star view we were expecting at Laki and the rain possibly swelling the rivers and complicating the return, we wisely decide not to continue—especially since the tire plugs might not hold if we get another flat.

No regrets, we turn around and head back to Route 1.

We arrive in Vík ahead of schedule, which lets us get a head start on the day’s plans!

Next stop: Dyrhólaey, very busy, which rewards us with a rather ordinary lighthouse, several arches, and a few puffins!





All in all, there can’t be more than twenty puffins.

Nothing like the spot in the northeast of the island, but we still enjoy it!

Dyrhólaey Arch and its panorama

But this spot is really worth it for its exceptional viewpoints over two beaches where swimming is strongly discouraged due to treacherous sea currents.

On the north side, Kirkjufjara Beach and its rocky pinnacles



The other side offers us a five-star view of "The Endless Black Beach," which lives up to its name!





Just a stone's throw from Dyrhólaey, on the other side of the dangerous Reynisfjara Beach—famous for being one of the most beautiful beaches in the world—we make an inevitable detour to admire the photogenic basalt columns and lava needles at the end of the beach.

It’s crowded. No surprise, it’s the most famous site in the Vik area!



After waiting a bit, we finally get our own souvenir photos with the columns all to ourselves.



Along the beach, at the foot of the cliffs, a basalt cave impresses us with its giant lava checkerboard 😮!



For a panoramic view of Vik and its church, head to the town’s cemetery, nestled in the heart of lush green hills!



After dinner at an excellent Vietnamese restaurant—where one of the chefs is French and offers great prices for the country—

we take the stunning track leading to Þakgil. Three-quarters of an hour of pure enchantment, hinting at even better things to come tomorrow 😉.

Once up there, we settle into a basic chalet with shared facilities, but what matters is not having to camp in this never-ending drizzle!

Day 14 - 07/19: Hike to Pakgil

This morning at 8:30 AM, at the campsite where the hike starts, the weather isn’t ideal—it’s drizzling, but the nearest weather station predicts the sky will clear in about an hour.

The trail starts with a steep climb that really works your calves right from the get-go. The upside? The views quickly become stunning!

We then move along a ridge.

The route is marked as 6.5 km to reach the viewpoint over the glacier, then 8.5 km to return via a loop. The different viewpoints are totally worth the detour, and we never get tired of the contrast between the black and green—even fluorescent green!

It feels like we’re on the Na Pali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii, even though we’ve never been there !!



Everything around us is green, but the shades of green are so varied!



Weather-wise, by around 10 AM, we can see the sky clearing behind us, but ahead, the rain is getting heavier 🏴‍☠️... It gets really tough by the end of the loop. On top of the fog and rain, the wind starts picking up.

In the distance, just over a kilometer away, we spot the glacier, which we could reach quickly.



But with the constant rain and fog, we decide to skip the short extension that would’ve given us a better view of the glacier and instead continue on the return loop.

Instead of calming down as expected, the fog and heavy rain persist, and all we can think about is getting down as fast as possible! For the first half of the return, we’re frustrated because we’re walking alongside a ridge with no view of the incredible scenery that was probably right in front of us...

As we descend, the fog finally starts to lift, and we rediscover the iconic landscapes of Pakgil!! On some steep descents, the muddy ground causes a few of us to slip!



We never get tired of these landscapes and panoramas—each one more majestic than the last!!





We’re still lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the glacier we’ve been walking alongside for a while, and eventually, we make it back to the campsite.

No question of doing another little loop I had planned—the priority is to warm up and dry our soaked gear, which was supposed to be waterproof and quick-drying 🙁. And of course, the ponchos stayed in our suitcases since the forecast was good... Moral of the story: never trust the weather forecast .

On the way back to Vik, as soon as the sky clears, the landscapes take on another dimension.



We can’t help but feel regret over the terrible weather for this Þakgil hike... but apparently, Iceland is magnificent in all weather. I’m not personally convinced 😕.

Back in Vik, after another lunch at the Vietnamese restaurant, we head to the Lava Show, the world’s only attraction with real lava. After a 10-minute presentation and video, we get to see a demonstration of silica lava flow—at 11,000°C, no less!—with different manipulations showing the characteristics of lava.

The heat radiating off it confirms it’s best not to get too close to molten lava, and that the safety barrier is absolutely necessary!

We loved it, even if it was short!



Next, we head to our charming cottage, Mid-Hvoll Cottages, near Vik, which is heated to the max—even in summer—thanks to geothermal energy. We’re forced to step out onto the terrace just to cool off a little...

Day 15 - 07/20: Waterfalls of the South

Today, our drive to Landmannalaugar will be dotted with a whole series of waterfalls.

The first one we’re heading to see is a hidden gem that’s often overlooked by tourists, yet it’s very accessible and located right next to the famous Skogafoss waterfall. We park in the (paid) parking lot of the Skogar Museum and take a recently developed trail along the Kverna River.

At the end, the setting is enchanting, and all you can hear is the sound of water crashing against the rocks.

You can walk behind the waterfall without getting too wet, for a unique viewpoint.



Back at the parking lot, we *could* visit the Skogar Museum, which is about to open. But since we don’t know if it’s worth the detour—20 € per person, so 100 € for the five of us—no one’s really keen to take the chance. We settle for the views of the open-air museum from the parking lot. Since the museum wasn’t open yet, we would’ve loved to wander among the traditional Icelandic houses with their turf roofs.

But we didn’t count on the quick reaction of a security guard, who appeared out of nowhere and pointed us toward the exit after we’d barely taken a few steps inside the unfenced area...

No big deal, we enjoy it from afar 😛...



The next waterfall, Skógafoss, is located at the end of a huge campsite. The big plus? For once, parking and access are free, even though Skógafoss is a major tourist site in the South!

60 meters high, 25 meters wide—pure magic! These massive dimensions explain the impressive mist cloud it creates . We keep our distance so we don’t get soaked first thing in the morning!

A path to the right of the waterfall lets you climb up for a view from the top. After 400 steps, we’re rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.

This path isn’t just for seeing Skogafoss from above—it’s also the starting point for the famous Laugavegur trek. On the way down, we run into dozens of hikers setting off on the adventure!

No crazy treks like that for us—we’re just continuing our relaxed road trip to the South’s various waterfalls, still under a stunning sky.

The next waterfall, Seljalandsfoss, is a super Instagrammable spot thanks to the chance to walk behind it for unforgettable photos!

We expect crowds, and our predictions are confirmed...

A little long exposure shot:

Walking behind the waterfall, the contrasts of the blue sky, green meadows, and water are super photogenic. A rain jacket or at least a windbreaker is a must to avoid getting soaked.

Sure, there’s the waterfall spectacle, but we also get a kick out of watching a good-looking guy stop every ten meters for dozens of selfies from every angle, then get photographed by nearly ten different people . I end up taking his picture about ten times too... Oh well!

What a sight, though!!

The trail then leads us to Gljufrafoss, hidden at the end of a small canyon. To get there, you have to hop from rock to rock along the little river, then be willing to get your camera or phone wet for the shot!

A wide-angle lens is a must for the photo. For my part, I stick to my phone to avoid getting the lens damp. But what a shot 😎!!!

To mix things up and take a break from our usual waterfalls, I scheduled a visit to a DC3 for us. Instead of heading to the well-known DC3 by the beach—overcrowded and with a long approach walk—I opted for the DC3 at Eyvindarholt, which is much less visited and easily accessible by car. 😉

The only development there is a paid parking lot in the middle of nowhere, even though you can park anywhere along the road without damaging anything. The cherry on top? A surveillance camera in the parking lot to fine those who don’t pay the 750 ISK. Like another tourist car, we parked along the access track a few dozen meters away.

We noticed that Iceland has some similarities with Bali, where the entire tourism system seems designed to squeeze as much money as possible out of tourists—and it’s pretty unpleasant. Some might say that with the sharp increase in tourism in recent years and the misbehavior of some visitors (many of them French) who go off-trail and damage natural sites, authorities had no choice but to take such measures. But maybe there’s a middle ground to be found...

Anyway, the wreck is easy to find. It’s a nice change from waterfalls!



We then left the Ring Road 1 to venture into the island’s interior.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover the powerful Hlálparfoss waterfall, with its double cascade merging and basalt organ cliffs on either side. The site, a little off the tourist highway, was almost deserted!



Next, we fell in love with the Gjáin site, a lush green haven with small waterfalls and pools surrounded by basalt rocks. The place is so peaceful and seems to be a favorite for Icelandic families’ weekend outings!





At the end of the trail, we relaxed for a while by a small lake surrounded by basalt organs, where a waterfall flows in.



Our last stop of the day was dedicated to the duo of waterfalls, Haifoss and Granni.

From the parking lot, a short 100-meter walk takes you to the top of the canyon. The first waterfall you see on your right is Granni, a stunning series of cascades crashing into the canyon below.

But Granni isn’t the loudest. Moving a little further, you discover the mighty Haifoss, which, at 122 meters tall, is Iceland’s 3rd highest waterfall. Its flow is much stronger than Granni’s, and the waterfall drops in one breathtaking plunge 😇.



The top of the canyon offers an extraordinary panorama of the valley. What a sight 😊!!



The day was gently coming to an end, and we still had to take the smooth F225 track to reach the Landmannahellir campsite. We’d initially planned to sleep at Landmannalaugar, but since our SUV isn’t ideal for crossing the last ford just before the campsite, we decided to look for an alternative and avoid hauling all our camping gear for 500 meters. By staying at Landmannahellir, just 40 minutes from Landmannalaugar, we played it safe. At least we’d have time to charge our phones morning and night using the car’s USB port!

The landscapes we drove through were absolutely stunning in the late-day light 😇!





We only had to cross a small ford with a maximum of 20 cm of water, and the Landmannahellir campsite left us speechless. The setting is idyllic, and there were very few people!

On top of the scenery, clean facilities, and a gentler price, the advantage here over Landmannalaugar is that we were certain we could pitch the stakes of our large tent! All positives, so we highly recommend this campsite!

I just caught up on my backlog—VF "forgot" to notify me about new messages 🤪. Still gorgeous photos, even under a gray sky or that layer of clouds (which gives it a special charm).

Hi Guillaume,

I just had a great time reading your wonderful travel journal, which took me back about twenty years and introduced me to places I didn’t know about. The photos are stunning. Thanks for sharing. Liliane

This last walk was gorgeous... saving it for next time 😊

Oh wow, time flew by! I just discovered your travel journal now that you're almost at the end. I just caught up on everything 🙂

Like you, many of us have often wanted to take the plunge and finally postponed a trip to Iceland. You have to do a lot of mental prep before diving in, knowing that your vacation might end up wet and cold! I remember a 7-hour layover at Reykjavik Airport (on the way to the US) where it did nothing but rain with only 11°C in the middle of July 🏴‍☠️—that really put us off, and we told ourselves we weren’t ready!

But when you get lucky enough to visit this amazing country under good conditions, it’s pure magic. Everything is so beautiful and wild. Your photos are stunning and make me want to go back to explore these spectacular landscapes more deeply.

After a few failed attempts, especially in South Africa (I just reread your journal from the Cape for a new trip next summer), I’m so happy to see you finally kept your promise to see whales 😎 For us, it was puffins we kept missing in Iceland, and we ended up seeing them this summer in Norway. You really need persistence!

Your journal helped me add several spots to my favorites list if we ever decide to return to Iceland in the summer. And it’s not over because Landmannalaugar is really tempting me. These places were unreachable during our too-short stay in April.