11 days in Iceland review
This trip to Iceland will be remembered for a long time. We probably had worse weather than the previous times but we can have the satisfaction of having been able to adapt our itinerary by having planned “alternative solutions” for exactly those situations.
Looking back, I think that leaving around late June and early July allowed us to largely avoid a good many tourists, we were quite surprised to see so few people in the end.
Of course, major tourist sites like Myvatn or the Golden Circle harboured a few more visitors but overall it was not an issue. In remote areas like the North Coast or the Far East, there was really no one but us and the local wildlife.
Our favorites for this trip would be hard to determine, but we will of course remember Kerlingarfjöll and this unforgettable hike, the East and the Vopnafjorður region that we did not know at all and which is really nice with endless hiking possibilities.
Finally, the day in Myvatn, even though we had been there several times, was really superb because the weather was particularly suitable and allowed us to go on numerous walks.
In terms of disappointments, I think there was only one actual disappointment in the end, that we never returned to Landmannalaugar because of the weather. Fortunately, we were able to adapt our itinerary because we are lucky enough to know this region well.
In financial terms, it seems to me that overall prices have increased slightly compared to 2015, especially at the housing level. As for food, we usually made sandwiches at noon after having had a good breakfast at the guesthouse in the morning and in the evening we went to the restaurant.
If we had to choose a top guesthouse, it would probably be the one near Vopnafjörður in Hvammsgerdi. The welcome, the cleanliness of the premises, the quality breakfast, everything was on point. The one in Mörk, also on the Vatsnes peninsula, was really beautiful with a breathtaking view of the sea.
Finally, two restaurants impressed us: the Seabaron in Reykjavik with exceptional Lax skewers, and the restaurant in Geitafell on the Vatsnes peninsula for its unforgettable fish soup and Skyr pie.
As far as the car was concerned, everything went well with our RAV4, which nevertheless traveled a little over 2,500 km during our rental term. We encountered few fords this year (just the first day, a tiny one) but given the condition of some tracks, I still think generally that you need to drive a 4x4 to be more safer on certain tracks.
We will return to Iceland soon, either in winter, rather in the South of the island, or in summer in the North West fjords.
