3 day summer weekend in Iceland

Summary

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Iceland has some of the most stunning and unique natural sights I have seen. I was surprised to see so many visitors staying in or close to Reykjavík and confined to group tours, with many staying on a confined path.  There is much more to gain from a do-it-yourself tour across the country - tailored agenda and pace, quiet enjoyment without masses of people, stopping at leisure, etc.  The driving can be very easy (although long), with roads in great condition and minimal traffic.  I also found Iceland not exorbitantly expensive, despite its reputation.  

There is a lot that can be seen in a few days, which will be invigorating, although doing this itinerary in one long weekend will be tiring. If looking for a more relaxing vacation, it can be easy to allot more time and dedicated relaxing days at spas.

Day 1: Hike from Skógar (Skógafoss) to Þórsmörk 

Click here for Alltrails map.

Start an Iceland trip with a challenging and scenic and geographically interesting hike on the Fimmvörðuháls Trail.  This hike is ~14 miles, 4,000 ft elevation gain, and can be done one way!  I parked for free at the Skogafoss lot (which is the trail entrance), completed the hike, and took a bus from Þórsmörk Basar to Skógafoss run by Southcoast Adventure for ISK 12000 (~$85). The bus was 20:30-22:00. That is an expensive bus ride, but it was the only option and enabled the hike one-way.

I really enjoyed this hike for several reasons - the photos also speak for themselves:

• Spectacular scenery
• Challenging, yet doable in one day and one-way
• The number of different scenic “zones” this passes - from a waterfall and dramatic cliffs, to lush green valleys with farm animals, to recent volcanic eruption zones, to austere mountains with ice/snow

I did this hike the same day after arriving in to KEF.  After arriving from KEF, I stopped at: a fantastic bakery for breakfast, coffee, and bread; a Bonus grocery store for provisions; scenic view stops; a stop at a hot spring to get myself in a volcanic vacation mood - that sulfur smell is unmistakable!

Day 2: Hiking in Landmannalaugar highlands (Fjallabak Nature Reserve)

There are many trail options of varying lengths and difficulties around Landmannalaugar - each person can build your own adventure. The geographical features and colors look beautiful.  Day trails to consider:

• Bláhnúkur - Brennisteinsalda - 6.7mi loop with 2,100ft elevation gain -or-
• Brennisteinsalda via Laugavegur - 5.8mi loop with 1,400ft elevation gain
• Landmannalaugar - Ljótipollur Lake - 7.4mi loop with 1,400ft elevation gain
• Stútur crater - walk along

For getting to Landmannalaugar, companies offer shuttles, like the Skogar shuttle from day 1, but the timings were not ideal and the prices were high. I think it is best to pay a bit more for a capable car instead of these shuttles to Landmannalaugar.  There is a paid parking lot in the Landmannalaugar area that may require advance reservations which can be done online.

It is possible to connect the itineraries of day 1 (Skogar) and 2 (Landmannalaugar) through arguably the most epic yet accessible multi-day trail in Iceland: Fimmvörðuháls - Laugavegur trail.  This looks like an amazing trail in Iceland, however about impossible to do in 1 day, and I have a strong preference against camping.  However, I found things around Skogar and Landmannalaugar that made this itinerary from this trail.

This was my original day 2 plan - which I was not able to do!  

Getting to Landmannalaugar involves traversing gravel roads, including (depending on the route you take) a portion of road 26, which is not marked as "F" but still a gravel road. They are better than any other "F" roads in Iceland but cannot be crossed without 4x4 SUVs.  I had a sedan which I had to immediately turn back after seeing the road too rough for it - in retrospect, I should've triple checked the actual road conditions.

So my backup plan was a walk through the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system, the area of the recent volcanic eruptions in 2021-2023.

The ground is still smoking around the trails, and roads/parking lots/access can be closed depending on eruption risk.  I parked in the Volcano Skali P1 lot, around here.  These are paid lots and may require use of an app to pay; when I visited the on-site terminal was inoperable. I walked Route C (Alltrails link).  Additional info about the Fagradalsfjall area is here.

It was interesting to see but the weather was really awful - cold with biting wind and light rain - and I did not enjoy the outing.  In retrospect I would have cut the walk shorter after passing through the volcanic fields, which was the most intersting portion. I was too disappointed in missing Landmannalaugar that I didn't want to take a shorter path.  Here are some photos of the smoldering rocks and lava fields: 

Nearby, the Seltún Geothermal Area is also a good scenic stop.

Day 3: Glaciers at Fjallsárlón and stops along a scenic drive

Seeing floating glaciers, the glacier wall, and (if lucky) ice collapsing from the wall at Fjallsárlón are a truly unique experience not to be missed.

In Fjallsárlón there are three options for glacier sightseeing: a kayak tour, a large boat, or a speed boat ("Zodiac boat").  I recommend the speed/zodiac boat, which was 10,000 ISK (~75 USD). The unique thing about Fjallsárlón is getting up close to floating glaciers and seeing the glacial wall. Both of these things can really only be done by the speed boat. The kayaks stay very close to the shore and the large boats not agile enough to navigate the waters.

Ice melts in summer so I would NOT do any activities that require hard and stable ice!  It's a long drive to Fjallsárlón, so I highly recommend adding several scenic stops to make the day more enjoyable and help break the drive.  Here are a few potential stops:

• View of Skaftafell area
• Svínafellsjökull Glacier- short walking trails to get up close to a small glacier; no crowds and free parking
• Lómagnúpur scenic area
• Overlook just west of Vik
• Reynisdrangar black sand beach - Not worth stopping and paying for parking unless you really want to see a black sand beach

The drive, like all in Iceland, is very scenic; however, do not stop on the side of the road! There are picnic areas and parking lots to stop in.

Additional ideas for a longer trip

Some ideas around Iceland:

• North - The north side offers more hiking in volcanic areas and natural hot springs.  Akureyri is the largest city in the northern side, a good base, and accessible from Reykjavík (RKV) via frequent and reasonable domestic flights.
• West - The west side is filled with fjords. They require a lot of driving to reach and travel within.
• Ferry - There is a ferry run by Smyril Line (whose cargo containers are all over Iceland) that runs weekly spring, summer, and autumn from Seyðisfjörður, Iceland (northeast side of Iceland) to Hirtshals, Denmark via Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. 

Visiting Iceland without spending a fortune

Iceland has a reputation for being very expensive.  While it is an expensive country, I also think it was NOT entirely deserved. Many things were not more expensive than high-cost areas in the USA in the last 2-3 years. However, it's also easy to spend excessively in Iceland.  Below are tips to manage a budget: 

• Avoid restaurant and prepared foods.  I found restaurants to be extremely expensive and frankly, not very good.  Convenience stores are cheaper, but the food is bad there (those tuna sandwiches were not tasty, sorry.) So try to avoid restaurants and prepared foods - here are my tips:
  • Breakfast - Buy bread, Icelandic yogurt (skyr), Greenland caviar, etc. at grocery stores. Or stock up at bakeries in Keflavik on arrival. Sigurjónsbakarí near KEF is delicious and very reasonably priced. Stock up before road trips as there were no bakeries in small towns.  I found the popular bakeries in Reykjavík to be overly sweet, tourist-oriented, and not as good as places like Sigurjónsbakarí.
  • Lunch - Pack lunch from the supermarket.   My go-to meal is self-assembled smoked salmon sandwiches - smoked salmon is cheap, flavorful, and keeps well enough for lunch.  Rolls can be purchased at a bakery or bread loaves at the grocery store.
  • Dinner - Cook your own meal with provisions from the grocery store. Look for local meats like lamb, as they are tasty and imported products are more expensive.
  • Cooking & groceries can obviously be problems with hotels.  Rooms with mini-fridges can manage breakfast and lunch.  I stayed at a nice Airbnb which had a kitchen, although it was very small and had no sauna (a nice perk of hotels - saunas are wonderful to warm up after a day outside.)  Managing groceries and using Airbnb also makes it difficult to stay at different places to reduce driving.  There are pros and cons to saving money, so make the best choice for your needs.
• Fuel is VERY expensive - decline car upgrades.  Fuel was shockingly expensive and coupled with the large amount of driving in Iceland, becomes a major expense.  Rent the most fuel efficient car necessary for your trip and decline any "upgrades" - "upgrades" are almost always less fuel efficient than your selected lower class.  I found the cost of the rental car itself, however, to be not expensive. 

Driving tips

• Follow the speed limits - speeding fines in Iceland are very expensive. There are speed cameras throughout Iceland and speed traps are also common. Do not ruin your vacation with a massive speeding fine.
• Watch for sheep. They sometimes walk along the highway.
• A 4x4 SUV is probably needed if deviating from any main road. "F" roads certainly require certain vehicles. However, some non-F roads are also gravel roads and also require certain vehicles.  If you think you can get by with a regular sedan, triple check road conditions. 

How to get here

• I visited in July 2024, as part of a Iceland and Faroe Islands trip.  
• Air - Keflavik (KEF) is the only international airport. It's in the southwest corner of the country and about 60mins from Reykjavik. There are several domestic airports and domestic flights can be cheap. Domestic flights use a city airport in Reykjavik (RKV).  Taxis from KEF to Reykjavik are very expensive; alternatives are a bus car rental, which is rather cheap.
• Sea - A weekly ferry arrives in Seyðisfjörður, on the eastern side of Iceland, from Denmark via the Faroe Islands. 
• Click for packing and preparation tips.  I can also help you plan your trip.