I'm not one to get really excited about road trips, but exploring Iceland via the Ring Road has been one of my favorite travel experiences. Taking advantage of a few extra days off around the Fourth of July weekend, Kelsey, Sofia, and I set off for Iceland in early July 2015.

While the "stopover" has been increasingly popular, it was great to have more than a week in Iceland. We scoured a few blogs to help us plan our trips, so hopefully all the information below will be useful to future travelers.

We used Google Drive to create the map on the right, which was a great collaborative tool. Since we would be driving it was helpful to understand how long we'd spend on the road each day.  Disclaimer: we activated our cell phones which we used as a GPS for directions - even with well-marked roads this was invaluable.

When to go

Here are some pros and cons of our decision to go in July - full disclosure, I'd love to take another trip to Iceland (or a nearby country) in the winter to see the northern lights!
Pros:
  • Daylight pretty much 24/7. You do get a dusk / sunset type feel from midnight - 4AM but it's never actually dark. For a trip that is so centered around nature and being outdoors, this was perfect because we never had to worry about waking up early to take advantage of the daylight. We could go at our own pace and not rush through anything.
  • We had great weather for hiking. It could get really windy, but with a windbreaker / rain jacket over a light puffer, it was easy to stay warm at most stops.
  • You can drive yourself along the ring road safely - road conditions are good and we didn't encounter any blocked off roads. 
Cons:
  • ​It's busy season so there will be lots of people at each major site. That said, it's all relative - so compared to all the tour groups, school groups, and families at the Grand Canyon or Yosemite falls, this won't feel crowded at all. You can also get around this by adjusting your "daytime" hours since daylight isn't an issue. Not only will you avoid the crowds, you'll also get some beautiful photos as the sky changes colors.

What to pack

Be an onion - pack layers, lots of them. If you're driving yourself, you car can be your closet!
  • Hiking boots: you can get by with good sneakers
  • Rain jacket or windbreaker: we didn't deal with any heavy rains but it gets really misty around the beaches and waterfalls
  • Light down puffer or heavier fleece as the outermost layer
  • Thin fleece / warm long-sleeve tops
  • Non-cotton tank tops / tshirts for base layer
  • Leggings: if I was a little cold, I'd put my rain pants on too (not necessary but I already owned them)
  • Warm socks (hiking socks work great if you have them)
  • Scarf, gloves and earmuffs: if you are doing glacier trekking, do not forget warm gloves!
  • Bathing suit for all the pools / thermal baths
Non-clothing items:
  • I never go to hostels without my cocoon or microfiber towel - get the XL (can save you a few bucks on sheet / towel rentals)
  • Selfie stick: you know you want to
  • Snacks and more snacks
  • USB car charger and iTrip (or other speakers)
  • Outlet adaptor

What will it cost you?

Flight: $875
  • If you're able to plan in advance, I'm pretty confident that you can get cheaper flights, especially as the country is focusing its efforts on boosting the tourism industry. I booked two one-way tickets which drove the cost up a bit. 
  • Coming to/from Chicago, I connected through Boston. I flew Wow Air on the way there and Iceland Air on the way home.
  • You can currently fly directly from Boston, Washington DC, Denver, New York (Delta), and Minneapolis. Wow Air should have a direct flight from Chicago starting Summer 2016.
  • Note that Wow Air, while cheap, charge hefty fees for bags (both carry on and checked). 
Car Rental: $1210*
  • We rented a Jeep Patriot - 4WD - Automatic. With three people, we wanted to be comfortable were extremely glad we decided to get a car with 4WD because we spent a few stretching on non-paved roads. 
  • The company we used was Iceland 4x4 Car Rental. We picked up the car from their Reykjavik location and then returned the car near the airport (they provide a free shuttle).
  • I have the United Explorer Visa card which provides really great car rental insurance so we opted out of the different insurance plans the rental company was offering. They made a solid case for the gravel protection insurance - even though we did experience high winds and gravel roads, our car was in good shape when we returned it.
  • Make sure you get a spare tire with your rental and don't overlook warnings of car trouble. There are many times where you'll be hours outside the nearest town and many of the gas stations along the way aren't staffed or equipped with auto repair tools.
Gas: $600*
  • ​Gas is easily accessible along the ring road - we only got worried once in the NE region...partially our fault for not stopping to get gas before leaving a more populous town.
  • Our rental car keys had a gas discount card which we used along the way. It wasn't entirely clear what the savings were, but we were happy saving a few ISK here and there.
  • It seemed like gas prices were set nationally each day and there wasn't a difference between stations / brands.
Accommodations:​ $450
  • We stayed primarily in hostels to keep housing costs down.
  • If you don't plan on camping, housing is the first thing you should make sure you book. Iceland is a small country and tourists are flocking here faster than they can build and organize more hostels, hotels, B&Bs, etc. 
Food and drink: ~$400
  • This was our most poorly tracked category since it was the only thing we used cash for. Credit cards are more widely accepted in Iceland than they are in the states. Not one person asked me if I could pay in cash instead, even for small transactions. Having a credit card with no foreign transaction fees came in very handy. 
  • We came prepared with about 40 KIND bars, some jerky, and lots of trail mix. Food in Iceland isn't cheap and with the amount of time we'd be on the road, we wanted to have lots of snacks at our disposal. That was a huge benefit of traveling by car - we didn't have to worry about how heavy our stuff was.
  • I would recommend buying some alcohol at Duty Free before you leave the airport. 
  • Before setting out for the Ring Road, we stocked up on groceries (canned soup, bananas, etc.) We ate PB&Js for lunch most days which was quick, filling, and just what we wanted after a hike. I don't think we stopped for groceries again until Hofn. 

*Total cost - we split these equally between the three of us
 
We arrived early in the morning and napped in the lobby until we could check into our rooms. Kex Hostel was recommended by a friend and we LOVED it. The common space is great (there are frequently live bands that come play in the evenings) and the rooms and bathrooms were clean. The other hostel we considered was Bunk Bar. 

After our nap, grabbed some coffee (there are lots of great coffee shops all around town), and headed to Hallgrímskirkja Church. There are lots of shops on the main street by the church, plenty to keep you occupied while wandering around. 

Then we headed to Harpa, a beautifully designed opera house. It's free to enter, though there are guided tours you can buy tickets for. We spent about 45 minutes walking around and loved admiring the architecture from the inside and out.

The hostel staff recommended visiting City Hall, which had a topographical map of Iceland. It got us excited to see where we'd be driving over the next week! Don't forget to spend some time walking around the lake outside City Hall - it's beautiful.

We spent the evening at Laugardalslaug pool which is one of the public swimming pools in town. It was walking distance from Kex Hostel. There are several hot tubs at various temperatures. We were excited to try the large water slide, but due to some reckless teenagers, it closed right as we walked over :(

​The pool closed at 10pm, so by the time we got back to Kex, they weren't serving food anymore. We forgot that even though it doesn't get that dark, restaurants don't stay open until the wee hours of the morning. We were lucky enough to find a Thai restaurant near by that would feed us!​

Day 1 - Exploring Reykjavik

​Where we slept: Kex Hostel
Where we ate: Taco Barrinn, Ban Thai
 

Day 2 - The Golden Circle

Where we slept: Kex Hostel
Where we ate: Friðheimar, Kex Hostel
With my American flag tank on (it was Fourth of July!), we were excited to grab our rental car and head out for the Golden Circle. This is a very popular tourist route because it's close to Reykjavik and doable in a day. 
​
Our first stop was lunch at Friðheimar which was truly farm-to-table. This is a such a unique dining experience, you don't want to miss it! The dining area is set up in a beautiful lit greenhouse. On the menu? Tomato soup with an assortment of freshly baked bread to choose from.

From there, we headed to our first "foss," or waterfall, of the trip - Gullfoss. The path allows visitors to get pretty close to the waterfall, which produces lots of mist. I would recommending a rain jacket / rain pants if you want to hang around and enjoy the frequent rainbows. I still think it looks like a pizza. 

Next up? The geysers around Haukadalur, most notably, Geysir and Strokkur. You can walk up the hill behind the geysers to get a great view of the area. The five countries with the most geysers are: 1) the United States, 2) Russia, 3) Chile, 4) New Zealand and 5) Iceland. I've now been to three of those five! Though, I'm admittedly cheating a little bit since I've never been to Yellowstone or seen geysers here at home. Guess I'll have to add that to my bucket list too. Fun fact: Geysir is the eponym of the general term, geyser. There is a big souvenir shop at this stop (we quickly walked through to use the restroom). 

​Kerið Crater Lake was a little bit harder to find as "Kerio Crater Lake" on Google Maps was showing up very close to the geyers. Luckily, Iceland has great signage on its roads. There is a small entrance fee, but it's well worth it. You can walk along the top and also descend to the lake itself for some different views. 
Our last stop was Þingvellir National Park. We weren't sure exactly where to go but ended up parking near the church (which is pinned on the map above). There also seemed to be another lot on the other side of the canyon from us. The area around the church is full of history as it's where Iceland's first Parliament used to meet. It's fascinating geographically because it's the site of the continental drift between the North American & Eurasian tectonic plates. There is a small museum here, but it was closed so we didn't get to go in and check it out. The National Park boasts some really unique scuba diving as well.

We got back just in time for dinner and live music at the hostel. I got the ribs which were delicious and perfect for an international Fourth of July celebration.
 
We left Kex in the morning and set out for Seljalandsfoss - one of the most popular desintations given its proximity to Reykjavik. It took us just over two hours to get there. Put your rain jacket on because you can walk behind the waterfall - you'll really feel how powerful the water is! If you're ambitious, you can also trek up the side of the mountain to get a birds eye view. 

As we warmed up with some hot chocolate, we met an amazing Icelandic musician, ​Smár​i who spends the summer months performing at Seljalandsfoss. He gave us recommendations along the ring road. We were excited to build a few of them into our itinerary and set off with a new CD blasting! *Note: from here, you aren't far from Landeyjahöfn which is where the ferry to the Westman Islands leaves from - we met someone who went and got to HOLD A PUFFIN!!! IN HER HANDS!!!
​
Skógarfoss was our next stop and we spent about 45 minutes hiking in the area. There is a staircase to the right of the waterfall and you can walk for awhile to get a cool view of a glacier.

We were then eager to get onto the first of ​Smár​i's recommendations, which we somehow missed when doing our Iceland research. In 1973, a US army plane was forced to land on a black sandy beach nearby. We followed Smár​i's directions - once you're past Skógafoss, you drive for 10 minutes or so. After you've crossed the first one way bridge, you drive for 1.9 km (only time I've every used the odometer). Make a right on to the gravel road which will take you to the plane. We were soon very glad we had 4WD. A few adventurous travelers left their smaller cars and seemed to be walking towards the wreckage site. The path is marked (subtly) with little wooden stubs that we made every effort to follow - if you don't see markers, you can use these GPS coordinates: 63.459523,-19.364618. It was insanely windy and visibility wasn't great, so it didn't look like we were driving towards anything. Once you make it, get ready to take some pretty awesome post-apocalyptic photos. We gave a nice French couple a lift back to their car since it was freezing - I can't believe they had walked the whole way!

Day 3 - Our Adventures on the
​Ring Road Begin

Where we slept: Skogar Guesthouse
​Where we ate: Random cafe for breakfast, packed lunch, and self-made dinner at night (read: cup of noodle!!!)
We warmed up quickly once we arrived at Skogar Guesthouse. While we probably could have built in a few more hours into our day and continued south, I wouldn't have wanted to miss staying at Skogar Guesthouse. It was the vacation home of an Icelandic couple from Reykjavik. When Paramount was in Iceland filming Noah, the Icelandic Tourist Board contacted this couple to ask if they could rent out their property to the camera crew. They were compensated handsomely :) The pictures on this site are really accurate - the bedrooms are cozy with clean linens and towels, the kitchen is for everyone to use, and there's a lovely living room upstairs to read and enjoy a glass of wine. Our stay included breakfast which included freshly baked bread and pancakes! 
 

Day 4 - PUFFINSSSSS

Where we slept: Hofn Hostel
What we ate:​ Breakfast at Skogar, PB&Js for lunch, and self-made dinner at the hostel
I couldn't wait to hit the road and head for Dyrhólaey - home of the puffins! Admittedly, this was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to go to Iceland. Dyrhólaey has a beautiful black sand beach (it was very windy and misty though) from which we could see the famous arch. Most pictures of the arch seem to have it on the photographer's left, but it was on our right - there must be two parking lots. After walking on the beach, we walked up the hill from the parking lot where puffins were nesting. They are much smaller than I expected and look just like any other bird when in the air. On our walk back to our car, we (well mainly Kelsey) were attached by terns - THIS IS NOT A JOKE. They are very protective birds and there must've been nests nearby. 

Still in shock from Kelsey's near-pecking experience, we drove to Reynisfjara, a black pebble beach with towering basalt columns. If you're cold, there is a restaurant there that sells soups and other snacks. Unfortunately, after not seeing any puffins here, we left.

Along our drive, we stopped at Laufskálavarða which is a lava ridge surrounded by stone cairns. Travelers believe that building cairns would bring them good luck on their journey - now, there are many of them but I think most are new and constructed by tourists. 

Fjarðárgljúfur was such an unexpectedly beautiful stop. Many consider it "off the beaten path" but it really isn't far from the road and definitely worth it.  You can walk both above or through the canyon (though you can't get too far without wading through water). It felt like a little hidden gem since there were only a few other tourists. We stopped and had our PB&Js here at the picnic tables by the parking lot. 

Next on our agenda was Svartifoss waterfall at Skaftafell, which is a part of Vatnajökull National Park This is where I think a bit more planning could have come in handy. There are many, many trails and entry points at this park and we weren't really sure what we wanted to do. Having spent a great deal of the morning walking outside along the cold beaches, we were looking for a quick hike, nothing too strenuous. We came across a beautiful waterfall but didn't go all the way to Svartifoss, which is supposed to be great. Had we not had the drive to Hofn to complete, I think we could've spent more time here. 
On the way to Hofn, we stopped at Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon, at which time we terms the phrase, "Iceland, glaciers you can drive to." Sure enough, we hopped out of our car, walked a few steps, snagged a couple photos, and were on our way. The drive to Hofn was long, and the main reason we were doing it was because we couldn't find a closer place to stay. Hofn is a much bigger town than Vik (2200 vs 300!!) so it had a few gas stations and a large grocery store where we bought ourselves some dinner ingredients. Salad!! I've never been so excited to have some vegetables. :) Hofn Hostel was okay, it felt sort of camp-like, nothing special. 
 
We back tracked about two hours to Skaftafell Visitor Center in Vatnajökull National Park for our glacier hike. We booked a half day hike with Glacier Guides which cost a little under $100USD per person. A bus took us to the base of Falljökull glacier (Falling Glacier) we strapped our crampons on, and we were off! As an American, it always baffles me what you're allowed to do in other countries without signing your life away. I asked our guide if anyone has ever fallen (some of the crevices definitely looked life threatening) and he replied that there's never been an incident since people choose to pay attention and be careful.

One of the coolest things on the glacier was glacier mice! They are moss balls that collect dust and sediment (see second photo) - glacier mice are home to many small organisms. Researchers are increasingly interested in this because it may help scientists understand how feasible it is to have living organisms in space or other inhospitable environments. 
I really enjoyed the hike, but was glad we had decided to do the half day trek. It was the perfect length and the superpowers provided to me by my crampons were starting to wear off. 

After lunch and some hot chocolate, we made a quick pitstop at -Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon where we were once again attached by the killer birds (see photo). There's an option to do a boat trip here if you're interested but having spent the morning on a glacier, we happily passed.

Then we set off for the long journey to Seyðisfjörður. While long, it's a beautiful stretch along the water. Along the way, we stopped at Fossardalur Waterfall which was a real treat. There was no one else there, and the view was right off the road (again, nature you can drive to). We had considered stopping in the town of Djúpivogur this day, but were pretty pooped. 

After this, we made our first detour off the Ring Road and took 939 as a little shortcut. Note: this was probably 3/4 gravel so consider the weather and road conditions. After driving through some dense fog we descended into Seyðisfjörður eager for some dinner. After two nights of cooking for ourselves, our dinner at Skaftfell - Center for Visual Art (it's an art gallery / school upstairs) was amazing. We shared a delicious pizza (saved most of it for breakfast the next day) and I got the amazing special which was cod and mashed potatoes. Seyðisfjörður is a fishing town so it was really fresh.

Day 5 - Glacier Trekking and Hours of Driving

Where we slept: Hafaldan Old Hospital Hostel in Seyðisfjörður
Where we ate: Bars and bananas for breakfast, PB&J lunch post-glacier hiking (there is a cafeteria there if you want hot food), Skaftfell
- Center for Visual Art for dinner
That evening, we stayed at Hafaldan Hostel in their old hospital building (they have another building nearby). I really liked this hostel. The kitchen and dining area was large and felt really homey - there were lots of tables around where folks were playing board games and cards and sharing some beers. I also remember the showers being really nice here. ​If you are planning on camping, Seyðisfjörður seemed to be one of the colder and windier areas, so it might be a good idea to stay elsewhere. 
 

Day 6 - Is This Mars?

Where we slept: Akureyri Backpackers
Where we ate: Cold pizza and snacks for breakfast, the last of our PB&J for lunch, and hot dogs and Indian food for dinner
We almost ran out of gas this day. Leaving Seyðisfjörður, we had a half tank or so and in our experience, that meant we had plenty to pass a few gas stations. However, after leaving Egilsstaðir, the closest town (the regional hub of commerce in the west) we started to get nervous because it began to look very remote. Since we realized that there was no one around to bail us out, we decided to not take the risk and turn around to fill up on gas before going any further. Turns out it was a good decision. 

It takes about 2 hours total to get to Dettifoss which might have been the shortest waterfall we saw. Don't underestimate it though - Dettifoss was probably the widest waterfall we saw during our trip. It's almost like 30 waterfalls that decided to come together to make one. Make sure you walk far enough so you can get a good view of the mouth of the waterfall (it's a bit rocky around here, good day for hiking boots). 

We had considered heading north to Husavik, but chose to focus our efforts elsewhere since Kelsey's seasickness didn't bode well for whale watching, which is the main attraction up north. We headed straight for Hverir, a geothermal area with lots of what look like boiling mud cauldrons and fumaroles. If you are at all sensitive to smell, I recommend you stay in your car...really. While you're on your way to the next stop, try explaining the differences and similarities between fumaroles, hot springs, geysers, and mud pots. Let me know if you figure that one out. 

Before we started to feel too sick from the smell of sulfur, we left for Viti crater lake. It's a steep walk to the top where you can see the lake. The view is nice from up there, but if this is out of your way, you won't miss a ton skipping this stop. 

Next up was the Dimmuborgir lava fields. There are many paths of varying lengths you can choose to walk around the lava fields. The gallery of photos to the left has a picture of Kirkjan, or church, naturally created by lava. Choose your routes carefully...we got a little lost. Dimmuborgir is also home to the Yule Lads. Yes, I was confused and thought they were real and actually lived there...it was a long day okay?
Now looking at the pictures of Goðafoss, I might have to take back my previous comments about Dettifoss. I guess you'll just have to go see for yourself! I think I was too preoccupied because shortly before arriving, our tire pressure light went on. Having previously ignored this warning light a few years ago, I learned my lesson and wanted to address the issue right away. We didn't have a tire pressure gauge and neither did the gas station by Dettifoss. So, we made our way to Akureyri wearily and pulled into the first big gas station we saw as we approached the city. After adjusting the tire pressure in all four tires, the light was still on so we were hoping it was maybe the change in temperature / elevation that was messing with the sensor. We realized the next day that we had actually been driving with the parking break on...WOOPS!

Akureyri is the biggest city outside of the capital region - we were excited to be somewhere we could walk around and do some souvenir shopping. As Sofia found a cute tea spoon for her mom, I was across the street trying to decide what kind of hot dog I wanted for dinner. Kelsey opted for the Indian place just a few doors down from the hostel; it was apparently very good! Who knew we'd have good Thai and Indian meals during our trip! After we grabbed some food, we walked to the botanical gardens where we discovered a beautiful, modern cafe. This would be an awesome spot to spend an afternoon reading if you have time. We grabbed some ice cream on our walk back at a local favorite, Brynja

Akureyri Backpackers was a great hostel. The location is really central and we could walk everywhere we wanted to go - we also go lucky and snagged street parking right across the street! The rooms were really clean and we used fobs to get into the doors, so modern! The downside was that the showers were all in the basement, but there were saunas and hair dryers. There are bathrooms on the top floor with the rooms though, so that is convenient. The kitchen is a little cramped, but we ate out both nights we were here because the next day was my birthday!
 
By the time I got up this morning, Kelsey was already packed and out the door. Sofia and I went to start eating breakfast at a cute cafe down the road, Kaffi Ilmur (upstairs seating is great). Shortly after we ordered, Kelsey came in with a birthday cake!! Not just any birthday cake, but dulce de leche!! While we were tempted to dig in, we decided to wait until that evening before spoiling ourselves with a cake that could've fed 8-10. After all, I had Belgian waffles coming my way for breakfast already :)

After breakfast, we drove back the way we came yesterday and were one of the first at Myvatn Nature Baths. If you have a student ID, you can get a discount here. While the lagoon itself is man made, the water is heated naturally (it actually is much hotter when it first comes to the surface). There are some nice saunas and the best part is that they'll serve you beer while you're in the water! I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing start to my 24th birthday. As a reminder, don't wear any brass or silver jewelry into the water, they'll turn black and might get ruined!

There are two nearby caves - Stóragjá & Grjótagjá - that folks used to swim in but it sounds like the water is too hot and potentially contaminated with ecoli, so we skipped them and headed back towards town. 

We picked an amazing lunch spot thanks to these little pamphlets we found at several hostels and stores: Handpicked Iceland. Kaffi Ku, is a dairy farm with homemade goulash soup and bread. On our second day, we had true farm-to-table with our tomato soup, and here we were at it again! The dining area is situated above the cowshed (doesn't smell at all) so the beef in the goulash hasn't even left the building! The food and coffee was delicious - if you're somewhere you can grill, you can buy steaks, beef, and burgers here too to cook later on. ​From the dining room you watch how the cows walk into milking machines - the owners don't force the cows to go, they can enter the machines at their leisure. There are little booklets in the cafe that explain the whole process in detail. 

Day 7 - Birthday Brews with the Iceland Crew

Where we slept: Akureyri Backpackers
Where we ate: Kaffi Ilmur, Kaffi Ku, Blaa Kannan Cafe, Noa Seafood Restaurant (thanks Mom and Dad!)
Once we were back in town, we visited the Art Gallery and did some window shopping and enjoyed happy hour drinks at Blaa Kannan Cafe (very cute, cabin-like vibe) before gearing up for a delicious seafood dinner at Noa, courtesy of Hong and Thong. Check out those langoustine!!! The food at Noa was delicious and by American standards, not too much of a splurge for what you get. We ended the day with some beers and live music at the hostel. We accidentally sat down at a table full of hostel staff, and they were not okay with us bringing our own cake in, even though we offered to share with the whole table! So, we downed our beers and snuck off to the kitchen to enjoy our dulce de leche (Kelsey's happiest moment on the trip) in peace. As a self-proclaimed foodie, solid day all around. 
 

Days 8-10: Netflix and Chill

Where we stayed: The best AirBnB I've ever stayed in
Where we ate: Fjöruhúsið Cafe, Bryggjan
Today was our last long day of driving - we left Akureyri (with our leftover cake in tow) and headed to Snæfellsnes peninsula at Smári's recommendation. We didn't have this day planned out, so we figured we'd drive in the right direction and play it by ear. Smári told us to be on the lookout for Arctic foxes, but unfortunately we couldn't spot any.

Luckily, we had downloaded the latest episode of the Bachelorette to my iPad so were able to watch that along our drive - we were running out of NPR podcasts! Real talk though, it was great road trip entertainment because you don't actually have to watch the screen so Kelsey could drive and enjoy at the same time :)

We decided that we wanted to explore the south side of the peninsula instead of going around the whole thing - you can definitely spend at least a full day out here.

It took us a little over four hours to get to ​Ytri Tunga beach where we saw a few families of seals. This is a great spot for bird watchers too. We were starving and continued along the southern coast of the peninsula to Hellnar, a small village. We ate at Fjöruhúsið Cafe which was a bit hard to find - it's hidden along the coast and is tucked into the hillside. If you' feel like you're just driving into the water, you're probably headed in the right direction! Their fish soup was great - and Sofia liked their waffles too! They have a lot of outdoor seating, so if you have some blankets, bundle up and enjoy the views of Baðstofa cave. You can walk along the rock formations by the restaurant (don't need to move your car) - being by the water was great, but you don't need to walk too far - it didn't seem like there were any specific sites on the trail. 

Next up was Lóndrangar, where you can see basalt rock pinnacles. You can get a great view of Snæfellsnes glacier on the walk back to your car - apparently you can drive on this glacier, but we didn't have time to check it out. Lóndrangar is just east of Djúpalón which I wish we stopped at.It's a beautiful pebble stone beach, rumored to have positive powers :)
From there, we turned back around to head to Vogar. We made one last stop along the road at Rauðfeldsgjá (I can't find this on the map, but if you backtrack, you'll see signs). This looks unassuming from the parking lot, but it's worth the short walk. Along our journey, we learned that in addition to believing in Huldufólk (elves / fairies that live among nature - the little houses in the header image of this site are man made houses for the Huldufólk!), Icelandic oral history is built around ancient sagas. This gorge got it's name a story that happened on Snæfellsnes ages ago. Bárður Snæfellsáss (half human, quarter troll, quarter giant) had a daughter Helga, who was with her cousin(ish) Rauðfeldur. He pushed her onto an iceberg and she drifted away to Greenland. Though she wasn't hurt, Bárður was angry and pushed Rauðfeldur into this gorge. Long story short, I'd definitely recommend walking into the crevice - there's a waterfall dimly light by the sunlight creeping in (my waterproof hiking boots came in handy here). Apparently you can actually climb to the top of the mountain through this gorge, but we didn't try. 

We arrived at our AirBnB that evening and were so excited to crack open a bottle of wine and get into the hot tub. The views are as amazing as they look in the photos. The next morning, we slept in and decided not to go back to Reykjavik. Instead, we explored the "neighborhood." We walked along the water to the lighthouse and then went to check out Kálfatjarnarkirkja, Iceland's largest rural church (and one of the biggest wooden ones I believe). It's been recently restored and our AirBnB hosts had a key to let us check out the inside. 

We bought tickets for the Blue Lagoon for ~8pm and went to Grindavík, a fishing town, for dinner beforehand. We ate at Bryggjan, which I highly recommend. It was all you can eat lobster soup (and of course fresh bread). I was so confident that I could finish two bowls, but my eyes are always bigger than my stomach. There was some debate about whether or not we wanted to go the Blue Lagoon, but after coming all this way, we figured we might as well. It's a much different experience from Myvatan Nature Baths. Given its proximity to the airport, the Blue Lagoon is packed with tourists who are in Iceland for a few days or even just a few hours. The facilities are larger and more modern, but also more crowded. If you want a more relaxing experience, I would recommend Myvatan, but the Blue Lagoon does have the silica mud which is fun to play around with. 

While we probably could've squeezed a bit more into our last full day in Iceland, we were excited to pop a few bags of popcorn, put on the Italian Job, and relax before our flights home the next morning. 
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