Iceland: Was it Worth It?

I’m an avid planner, but I wasn’t prepared for Iceland. This didn’t mean I didn’t spend hours pouring over maps, locations guides, researching secret spots, and crafting an intense daily itinerary. I most certainly did. Yet none of that mattered when we actually got moving, because I overestimated the population density, and underestimated the daylight hours. Early spring in Iceland felt like a good time to go. Snow had receded, and dark nights were still a thing. Yet our journey around Ring Road wasn’t at all what I expected.

We flew overnight from Washington, DC to the Keflavík Airport on Icelandair in first class. We had entered into a lottery for an upgrade and we actually received it. This was a huge breath of fresh air for us, because just a few weeks before we set off, our original airline WOW Air went bankrupt and abruptly closed. We had to decide if we were going to cancel the entire trip, or book international flights two weeks in advance. Icelandair was very accommodating to passengers of WOW and offered us a comparable ticket with a first class lottery. It was awesome how everything fell into place.

When we landed in the morning and got our rental car, we immediately hit the first few spots on our list that were in the vicinity of the airport. We visited places like the Reykjanesviti Lighthouse and Þingvellir. We spent the day exploring southwest Iceland before settling into our Airbnb in Hveragerði. The next day we’d start the southern portion of the Ring Road, from Hveragerði to Höfn.

The southern section of the Ring Road is by far the most accessible and amazing part of Iceland, with something epic every ten-to-twenty miles. There was so much to see. We didn’t even hit everything we wanted to, due to exhaustion from being out for fourteen hours of daylight. But what we did experience was absolutely wild in every way. From time to time we’d stumble across other tourists or campers, small and somewhat larger crowds alike. And it was on the southern road that I realized I had made a planning error.

When I first examined the map of Iceland, I saw many small towns and villages along the road. I operated under the assumption that in these villages I’d find small shops and restaurants. What I quickly discovered as we drove through these small towns was that while they were named on the map, they were often just a small collection of houses and farms. They didn’t have places to eat or buy food. We ended up finding chips at a small gas station to get us through lunch, and didn’t really have enough food or water for the day. Many places that would have been open in the summer were not opened as of yet, as we were just in early spring. I realized I should have looked to understand these villages better, because we didn’t have all we needed.

We hiked 15 miles that day, and Amanda ended up with a major blister due to hiking with wet feet from a hot spring in new boots. By the time we made it to the hostel in Höfn, we were desperate for food and some medical supplies. We ended up finding a pizza shop that night, and spent nearly $100 on dinner. Yes, Iceland is insanely expensive because everything is brought in. Literally everything. And fortunately she was able to get some patches for the blister on her heel. This made the next several days a bit more challenging, as we had several hikes planned. The hike that did her in was to the hike to the 1973 plane crash on the black beach of Sólheimasandur. Hiking 4 miles through sand was very unforgiving. That said, we also got to experience glaciers, waterfalls, iced beaches, and emptiness.

We departed the southern road and headed into east Iceland early the next morning. This was by far the most stressful day and drive I’ve ever experienced. Before I get into what happened, it’s important to remember that we’re traveling in the shoulder season of spring, where few things are open for the summer. What is already a very isolated place was even more isolated due to the tourism season not beginning yet. For the entire day we spent in east Iceland, we saw no one. No one.

But that wasn’t really the stressor. The stressor came a couple of hours into the drive. In the early morning we drove past herds of reindeer grazing in the fields, and then entered thick coastal fog as we drove along the shoreline cliffs of the rough eastern sea. I drive Big Sur here in California often, which can be foggy as well. The fog in Iceland was different. It was darker and more menacing, as if its history of claiming drivers along the windy cliff roads was its primary purpose.

It was soon after departing the coast that the real stress of the drive began. At some point, Google Maps had unknowingly re-routed me from the Ring Road onto a “shorter” route. I didn’t even realize this happened, as I was just following my GPS. We began ascending into the mountains on a gravel road and into enormously thick fog. The fog was so heavy and I was so focused on it that I didn’t even realize at first that we were no longer on our main road. Amanda was sleeping in the passenger seat, and I was locked on the wheel two-and-ten driving slowly. Immediately two headlights appeared coming straight at me in the fog as a large service truck flew past us, nearly running us off the road. In panic, I regained control and kept us moving slowly, glancing at the NO SERVICE notification on my phone as we continued on.

The gravel road began to become icy. There was snow all around us. There was no where and no way to turn around. The fog was still heavy. The GPS said 19 miles. All I could do was press on. I kept thinking that if something happened to us, how long would it be until someone would know? The closest village is hours away by foot. We have no way to contact anyone, and no food or supplies in the car. I was running these scenarios in my head as we continued on this intimidating drive. It truly was an experience I’ll never forget.

And as you may realize, we made it out. We eventually made it back to the main road, and into ‎⁨Seyðisfjörður⁩. I had never been so relieved to be back among people and payment. [Also, if you want to see Amanda’s blister, look closely at the photo below at her right heel.]

By the end of the day, we made it to Akureyri. We had planned to stay one night and continue on, but given the overall stress of the day, we extended our day into two days and took the entire next day to just relax and unwind in the small house we booked.

Since we had stayed an extra day in Akureyri, we scrapped our plans to drive into West Fjords. We also found out that the roads there are gravel, and I was done with gravel roads in Iceland. We opted to head to our next destination, the most popular part of Iceland: the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. We explored the peninsula, and found this quaint cafe in the side of a hill.

There was so much more we did and experienced, from a Christmas Shop in the north to dozens of waterfalls in the south. We met some cool people along the way, too. But I started this story off asking the question: was it worth it? That answer is in two parts. Yes, Iceland is epic and worth seeing. If you’re wondering if you should go to Iceland or put it on your list of places to experience, you definitely should.

But was the entire Ring Road worth it? I’m not certain I’d do it all over again, or at least, do it the same was I did it before. I definitely would have bought a ton of food and water in Reykjavík for the entire drive. I would have traveled when things were open, not in shoulder season. I would have spent more time in the south at the slower pace, and probably skipped the east altogether. I think I would only visit the north again if I had plenty of time and wanted to take time away from other parts of Iceland.

The Ring Road is not for the faint of heart. It’s not to be taken without serious planning and paying attention. Iceland was a reminder of how wild and untamed the arctic north is. Very few people live there because the land and the sea don’t want them there. I understand that, now. I may go back to Iceland, but probably not for many years, after I’ve done everything else I want to do first.

Want to see more? Check out my Iceland 2019 Gallery.