Eastern Iceland

adriennevolk
Jun 12, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Jun 13, 2022

Head down to the Glacier lagoon for at least one night during your stay in Iceland (although 2-3 days would be ideal).

Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon Hnapavellir, 785 Öræfi, Iceland but it was sold out when we tried to book. YOU MUST BOOK THIS EARLY.

We stayed at the Fosshotel Nupar Hotel and really liked it, but it is 25 minutes from the lagoon back toward Reykjavik.

Transportation

It's very easy to drive in Iceland. There are very few roads, so it's hard to make a wrong turn. We drove from Reykjavik down to the East end of the island (about 4.5 hours), made several stops along the way at the various waterfalls and ended at the glacier lagoon.

Adventure to the east of Reykjavik

On the drive to the east end, there are dozens of gorgeous waterfalls. I highly recommend pulling off whenever you see a pretty vista for a photo opportunity. However, there are two waterfalls that were magical, in my opinion and must sees.

Seljalandsfoss- you can literally walk behind the waterfall! It's incredible! Bring rain gear because you will get wet!

Gljufrafoss- come with rain gear and shoes that can get wet! If you climb between some boulders, you can get into an enchanting space where the waterfall falls to a shallow pool and the green moss lines the boulders. It's really something!

Skogafoss- very pretty waterfall but filled with tourists (has a good hike if you can get there early or you catch it on a slow day)

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon (www.jokulsarlon.is)

At the far east end of the island is the Glacier Lagoon. You can take an amphibian, which is one of the great ways to explore the lagoon! It's essentially a car that turns into the boat over the water to get close to the glaciers in the lagoon. Make sure to bundle up and bring a poncho because you will get wet!

After the glacier lagoon, you'll want to get back to your hotel and warm up. We wanted to stay at Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon Hnapavellir, 785 Öræfi, Iceland but it was sold out when we tried to book. YOU MUST BOOK THIS EARLY. It is my understanding that with the dramatic increase in tourism, more hotels are being planned in this area, but there are very few at the moment.

Alternatively, we booked the Fosshotel Nupar Hotel that I believe was approximately 20-30 minutes back to Reykjavik. It ended up being a fantastic experience! They were doing construction, but our room was brand new and we loved it. We were freezing after the glacier lagoon (we were not prepared), so our heated floors in the bathroom and a hot shower were much needed! Then, to our GREAT surprise, we had an extraordinary meal in the very simple hotel restaurant. I had the local fish special and it was one of the best fish meals I've ever had! The next morning, they also had an incredibly nice breakfast buffet as well.

A must stop along the route is the Black Sand Beaches near Dyrholaey.

On our way back to Reykjavik, we drove through Vik. Very close to Vik, was the BEST souvenir shop. It had authetnic, local products and was very special! Definitely try to stop in!

Una Local Product, Sveitabud

Then we headed toward the Golden Circle. There are so many geological gems here and it's a MUST SEE!

Kerio Crater- a giant crater filled with water. You can get right up to the edge of it! formed 6500 years ago and lies at the northern end of a row of craters known as Tjarnarholar. It's 270m long, 170m wide and 55m deep.

Geysers- so beautiful and a must see!

Gulfoss- a lovely waterfall

We loved our lunch at Efstidalur II, which was a local farm that was serving it’s own products. I had one of the best hamburgers there and the ice cream was dynamite.