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Around Iceland by car - 9 places you must see

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Have you thought about travelling around Iceland by car? We've been seeing a lot about Iceland on social media lately, so it feels like there's a lot of interest in this little fairytale island. Have I mentioned that I (Helena) lived there for a whole year? That I've travelled back about five times? That I travelled around Iceland by car?

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Have I remembered to tell you that I speak Icelandic, that I have taught Icelandic at Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan, that I studied Icelandic at Uppsala University and that I have been active in the Icelandic Association? Time to write a bit about Iceland perhaps ...

Around Iceland by car

Why write a post about travelling around Iceland by car? Well, because it's a fantastic way to experience this island! One option is to fly to Reykjavik and rent a car there. Another option is to bring your car (or motorhome!) from home and take it on the ferry to Seyðisfjörður in eastern Iceland to drive the Ring Road.

I've travelled this road once, so I thought I'd take you along! There are a lot of nice places to see along the road and I don't even remember all the ones I visited, but I'll take you to some of the ones I remember the most. Stay tuned!

Island karta

1. seyðisfjörður

The cool thing about Seyðisfjörður is probably not the town itself. The cool thing is that you come here by ferry! When it happened, we travelled with the Faroese company Smyril Line from Bergen in Norway to Seyðisfjörður in Iceland.

When I now check the Smyril Lines website, it looks like you can travel from Hirtshals in Denmark. The journey takes 50 hours ... and I love it! Because the journey is so special? Well, maybe, or mostly because you realise you're travelling. When you fly, everything becomes so surreal. This is real!

Smyril Line
Photo: Smyril Line

2nd Mývatn and Hverir

Mývatn is a lake located in an active volcanic area near the Krafla volcano. The lake was formed by a major volcanic eruption 2300 years ago and now the site is rich in both birds and fish... and mosquitoes. Hverir is a large geothermal area nearby that is full of boiling mud and hot springs. In some places it is 80 - 100 degrees on the ground.

Hverir

3. goðafoss

Located just east of the town of Akureyri, Goðafoss is a 30 metre wide waterfall, with a 12 metre high drop. Mighty! Don't be fooled by my slightly greyish scanned photos from another decade - this is worth seeing!

Godafoss

4. Þingvellir National Park

Þingvellir National Parkor Tingvalla, is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site is historic as the Althingi met here, but also known for its geological beauty. Watch some Icelandic films first and you'll be fully charged for the visit!

Thingvellir nationalpark

5th Reykjavik

When you're in Iceland, of course, you shouldn't miss a visit to the stunning capital city of Reykjavik. This may be one of Europe's smallest capitals, but it is full of life and innovation. Here you can shop for home-grown design, visit the city's unusual architectural sights, visit creative restaurants or - why not? - take a tour of perhaps the world's only puppet museum.

Reykjavik

6. Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoonor Bláa Lónið in Icelandic, is the country's largest and most famous geothermal bath. You can soak in the naturally warm water, and even if there's a slight breeze (as there was the last time we were there) the bath is pleasant.

Blå lagunen

7. Hveragerði (and Eldhestar)

Located in the south of Iceland, Hveragerði is a geothermally active area, which means that there are fizzes and bubbles everywhere. It is also home to the horse riding tour operator Elhestar, which organises horse riding tours in the Icelandic countryside. When we were here in 2012 the air was freezing cold and the horses struggled valiantly against the wind and uphill. Imagine how nice it was when we reached the warm streams!

Islandshästar

8. Westman Islands

Just south of Iceland is a small group of islands called the Westman Islands, or Vestmannaeyjar in Icelandic. One of these islands (Hemön/Heimaey) is inhabited by just under 5000 people. In the academic year 1992/1993 I was one of them, as I was in my second year of high school at Framhaldsskólinn. Here I studied Danish and typing (!), read English to the American teacher Mr Sands and feasted on Icelandic vodka and dried seaweed as snacks. Those were the days!

Västmannaöarna

9. Jökulsárlón

The most beautiful place I have seen in Iceland is Jökulsárlón - a lake filled with icebergs south of the Vatnajökull glacier! The picture below is a scanned half-assed paper photo from the 90s. Try shooting with a modern camera. Or sit down for a while and just look. Wow!

Jökulsarlón

Some questions you may have

Do you need four-wheel drive? - A: The ring road is fine to drive with a normal car (I went with a Hyundai Atos) but if you're going inland you'll need four-wheel drive.

How does the language work? - Answer: Icelanders are generally good at English. Older people or people who have lived in Scandinavia may also speak Danish or Scandinavian.

How expensive is it? - Answer: Iceland used to be crazy expensive, and then the currency fell and it became cheap. Now it's fairly expensive again, maybe like Sweden.

Island hamn

Do you have more questions? Want us to tell you more about Iceland?

All our top tips about Iceland. Click on the image!

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