Iceland Excursion

12 days along the Ring Road

Our Journey began in Reykjavik. Iceland has always been a location on my personal bucket list. Though we try to research affordable excursions for our clients of T.Hernandez photography. Nothing about this trip was affordable. Hotel stays, transportation and food were more than anticipated. This should not stop you from seeing Iceland and its incredible beauty. This experience will always be one of my favorites.

So our first couple days of photos are not nearly as impressive as the rest of our days spent in Iceland. We landed in Reykjavik on Tuesday morning to find out Iceland air lost our luggage. Dont book #icelandair unless you want to wait 2.5 days for luggage and deal with horrible customer service.

Reykjavik was nice and I was able to see Rainbow road and the impressive Hallgrimskirkja Lutheran church. I do advise you NOT to visit the viking museum. This was Such a tourist trap. You cannot visit the city without trying the fish and chips and a visit to the American Bar for a quick drink.

Don't forget to look for the infamous Baktus, a cat owned by locals that run a clothing store but his presence is almost everywhere on Main Street. You can see a couple of his images on my instagram. We did catch him catnapping in Icewear on a couple of occasions. My husband even posed for a photo of him in our hotel lobby.

Venturing along the Golden Ring towards Vik

We finally left Reykjavik on Thursday. Our first stop was the old US Air Force base next to the airport out of curiosity. The US pulled out of Iceland in 2006.

We had to go retrieve our luggage from the horror that was #Icelandicair at the airport. This detour delayed things a bit but because its always light this time of year, we were still able to see all that we planned on.

The drive gave us a surprise when we saw riders moving their Icelandic horses from one mountain pasture to the other. This was poetry in motion for this horse lover.

We also encountered our first of many, many Icelandic sheep who posed for a smile for me. Seriously, they smiled.

Our first official stop was Geysir and Strokkur, the very active water geysers. Strokkur was timed at about every 10 minutes give or take. The smell of sulfur is overwhelming but the gorgeous lupine, the scenery, and magnificent spouts make you forget the smell.

There is Lupine for days in Iceland during this time. Lupine was brought to Iceland from Alaska in 1945 and is an invasive plant. But it is so gorgeous to see life over the rocky terrain.

Just up the road from the geysers is the Gullfoss waterfall. Such a beautiful and powerful waterfall. Rainbows are just about always visible here. It is believed that the farmer, Gygur lived at Gygjarholl. He had plenty of gold and could not bear the thought of someone else possessing it after his lifetime. To prevent this, he placed the gold in a coffer and threw it into the waterfall- which ever since has been named Gullfoss. We sadly did not find the gold.

After Gullfoss, we stopped at one more waterfall before heading towards Vik. This waterfall, Seljalandsfoss waterfall is a powerful cascade that you are able to walk behind. I have always wanted to walk behind a waterfall to capture its majestic beauty. It was a bit slippery and I had to protect my camera from getting wet. This was worth the hike.

Our stop that night was just outside of Vik in Hvammbol, overlooking the water from up on the hill. The weather in Iceland can change on you very quickly. We started the day with sunny blue sky and ended with 30 mph gust winds.

Touring around Vik Iceland

The next day we toured Vik and its surrounding area.

Here we woke up to sheep and a rainbow when we opened the door at the place we stayed for the night.

During our morning adventure to Vik we caught the gorgeous church up on the hill where locals would go in the event of flooding.

We took a tour to the Katla Volcano and glacier ice caves. Take a look at the images and you may see scenes from movies you may recognize. Up on the glacier its like being on a different planet. From the lava, to the snow and ice, to green mountains, Iceland has it all within a short distance.

After the cave tours, we headed to the US Navy plane that crashed on the beach in 1973. Everyone aboard survived and the shell of the plane sits on Solheimasandur beach.

Before heading to our next destination, we headed back into Vik to walk the black sand beach and see the famous basalt stacks in the ocean.

Driving the East Coast of Iceland

We stayed the night in Hali which was just down the road from the Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon and Diamond beach

Jokulsarlon is a glacial lagoon in the Southeastern part of Iceland and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Here we had our first seal sighting.

Diamond Beach is right at the mouth of this. The ice looks like Diamonds on the black sand.

The Red Chair is along the Ring road. Many tourists search this out to take a photo of themselves and post it to the instagram. It is fun to have this distraction during the ride as you try to locate the red chair along the road.

We would have missed the reindeer if we hadn't been looking for the chair.

We stopped in Djupivogur which is a quaint fishing town and the oldest port town in Iceland. I was surprised to see such a beautiful and large starfish from the boat dock. The water is so clear.

We ventured out a bit to see if we could see the lighthouse from the beach near Djupivogur and ended up on their runway.

From here I was able to capture some of the best images of Bulandstindur Mountain. The mountain is a pyramid shaped mountain of basaltic Strata and is thought by some to be one of the energy centers of Iceland. This mountain stands 1069 meters tall.

And of course, more sheep before we headed to Egilsstadir for the evening. We did have dinner at a diner with a Bobs Big Boy statue... well, Why not?

The Drive along the North Coast of Iceland

We continued our drive to the North Coast of the Ring Road. Our first stop took us over a mountain pass and along a dirt road with very foggy conditions. We reached Seydisfjordur to see the famous rainbow path to the Church. The symbol for unity and acceptance for all.

After our trek back through the dirt roads and mountains, we headed to Borgarfjardarhofn, a popular nesting spot for the Puffins. I could have stayed here all day with these adorable birds in their natural habitat. Borgarfjardahofn is just outside of Borgarfjardahofn Eystri, has the largest population of elves. Though we didn't see any elves, their homes look as if elves live in them.

On the drive back to Ring road we stumbled upon a gorgeous canyon and stopped for a quick walk break. Once we got back onto Ring Road we headed towards Myvatn Lake. The scenery drastically changed to barren lava fields along this stretch of terrain.

We reached the geothermal area and stopped for a quick break before heading to Grjotagja Cave. Grjotagja cave is known for its steamy love nest for Jon Snow and Ygritte in Season 3 of GOT.

We drove along Myvatn lake as we headed to our next destination, a stop at Godfoss waterfall. Godfoss waterfall or waterfall of the Gods is very impressive. We reached the top and walked along the falls before heading to Akureyri

Akureyri to Varmahlid Iceland along the Ring Road

We stayed the night in Akureyri. In the morning we went to a small store called Christmas Village. I didn't take any camera photos of this place but did grab a couple cell phone pics. This is such a quaint place dressed for Christmas year round.

We tried to visit a local diary farm that had a cafe but they were closed. My Dad was looking forward to the dairy tour. We did find another place later on in our trip.

The Orange lighthouse in Svalbardesyri was a quick stop before heading to a small fishing port and fish market along the Ring road. My Dad and hubby, Rick met a local fisherman and despite the language barrier, did learn a little about fishing in Iceland. We had lunch at a restaurant right next to the fish market. The seafood here could not be any fresher.

The next stop was Siglufjordur, the birth place to Snow White and a small picturesque town surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains. The Herring Museum is here where we watched some locals clean fish then perform a small dance and song afterwards.

After a drive along the coast, we stopped at the village of Hofsos. Many have said they have seen whales frolicking in the water here. We did not see any whales, let alone whales frolicking.

The last stop before Varmahlid was the oldest turf church, Grafarkirkja. This church is a must see. The beautiful mountains set the scene for this beauty located in grass field.

And of course, I HAD to stop for more photos of the Icelandic horses.

The North coast along the Snaefellness Peninsula

The next we went horseback riding on the Icelandic horses. When I say we, my husband, Ricky actually went too! This was the best day. I have been trying for years to get him on a horse. He was a little nervous at first then felt more comfortable towards the end. I have pics on my cell phone since the camera was in the car.

After the ride, I caught lots of images of the mares and their babies. I am a little partial to the buckskin color. It was amazing seeing the various colors of these horses. I dont think I have ever seen a breed with so many color variations.

After our 90 minute ride, we drove towards the Snaefellness Peninsula. We stopped along the way and down another dirt road off the Ring road at Borgarvirki. Borgarvirki is a medieval fort that dates from the 9th to 11th century. It is also know as a volcanic plug for a dormant volcano.

Just up the road from there is Hvitserkur or Rhino rock. This is known for its rhino look out in the water. Hvitserkur is a basalt stack standing 15 meters high. We traveled through and stayed the evening in Miklaholtshreppur close to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula for the next day adventures

The Snaefellsnes Peninsula

This day in Iceland was the day I captured the most images. I could have spent an extra day here. There is just so much to see on the Snaefellsjokull Peninsula.

Our first stop was Ytri-Tunga beach. The Seals can usually be seen here at low tide. We saw so many seals and different birds. There is also the remains of a beached sperm whale bones.

The next stop along the Peninsula was Bjarnafoss falls. It was a great walk up to the falls with a cool bridge overlooking the waterfall.

Near Bjarnafoss falls is Budakirkja church located in the Budhahraun lava fields just above the sea. This church was built in the 19th century.

Next was Raudfeldsgja Gorge. This gorge has a dramatic tale about how Bardars daughter would play with the local boys. One of these boys pushed one of his daughters out to sea on an iceberg where she drifted all the way to Greenland. Here, she found a lover, but Bardour thinking she was dead, punished this boy and his brother by throwing him into the Gorge. The Gorge is very narrow, but worth going into. There is a statue of Bardour who is the mythical protector of Snaefellsjokull Peninsula and came to Iceland in the 9th century. He was half troll and half man.

We headed to Helena point and caves. There is a great view of Mt Stapafell from here. We stopped at the Basalt cliffs of Londrangar. This reminded me of the Cliffs of Mohr. The rock formations never cease to amaze me.

Djupalonssandur beach was amazing. The terrain amongst the lava fields to black sand is breath taking. Here you will see the rusty boat remains of the Grimsby trawler Epine ship that wrecked on the beach in 1948.

We also visited the Saxhole crater right before the rain started.

Then to end our amazing tour of the peninsula, we stopped at the Kirkjufellsfoss and Kirkjufell Mountain. This is the most photographed mountain and waterfall in Iceland. GOT used this scenery in the show. I also captured a rainbow ending in the village of Grundarfjordur.

Along the West Coast of Icelands Ring Road

As we start to wrap up our tour of the Ring Road, we left our night stay in Borgarnes and headed back to Reykjavik. Our first stop was Troll gardens and the Troll waterfalls.

Troll gardens was a nice break from adulting and added a bit of childish fun to our trip. Trolls and elves play a huge part in the Icelandic heritage.

Next stop was the Vidgelmir Lava caves. The Vidgelmir lava tube cave is located beneath the Hallmundarhraun Lava field in west Iceland. The cave was created by a massive volcanic eruption in 930 ce The eruption lasted several years and spread over 78 square miles. It was interesting to see the lava that had been squeezed through the walls over time. It was also cold down there.

Our last stop of the day before heading back to Reykjavik was at Erpsstadir dairy farm. They had delicious and very fresh ice cream served in their creamy. This was a fun stop to see the free tour of the farm and the dairy. Of course I had to capture all the babies on the farm.

Return to Reykjavik

Today was our last day full day back in Reykjavik after completing our full Ring Road circle and then some, we ventured out to Kerid volcano crater.

Kerid volcano crater is located along the golden circle. The volcano is thought to have formed when the magma in the center simply depleted itself, and the empty chamber beneath caved in. The surrounding walls are red volcanic rock.

After our walk around the crater and around the crater lake, we headed to Fridheimar tomato farm for lunch. This is a must as their restaurant is in their greenhouse and all the items are fresh from their farm. I recommend the all you can eat tomato soup lunch with homemade bread. Don't forget to try the bloody Marys.

The evening found us souvenir shopping and our last spotting of Baktus. I didn't have the heart to disturb him.

One more Excursion before the flight back home

We did one last excursion out to Fagradalsfjall volcano lava fields before we headed to the airport. Fagradalsfjall volcano erupted last year in 2021 for 6 months straight. The lava, though hardened over, was still warm when you stood near it. This is a must see as it takes years for lava to fully cool.

Iceland Experience

Iceland was an incredible experience beyond words. I am blessed to have checked this off my bucket list.

I have linked an album to my blog. The images in my album are available for purchase for personal and commercial use. Please reach out to me with any questions. Images are available in digital for commercial and personal profit use with licensing fee. And for personal use, images are only available in framed or unframed prints, canvas or vibrant metal prints.

Here is the link to the full album.

https://toniahernandez.pixieset.com/icelandimages/

I do hope that we can offer this as an excursion in the future. The pricing for this trip will be tough. I will continue to work on this and keep you posted through our Facebook/instagram page. Be sure to follow us on Facebook.

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