Iceland is high up on many traveler’s lists and it should be. It is an INCREDIBLE country with probably the most inspiring landscapes I have ever seen. There are actually not many places I have been that I want to go back to (there are too many places I need to see for the first time!) but Iceland is a place I want to go back. Let me share with you some things I learned.
I traveled to Iceland with a girlfriend in April 2018. We lived to tell the tale and I can’t wait to go back some day!
Go between June-August
This is always a controversial topic because it totally depends on what you are wanting to see and what your budget is. Of course if you want to see the Northern Lights, you pretty much have to go during the snowy months. But there is SO MUCH to see in Iceland! I went the first week in April and everything was a white out. I was so excited to see the green rolling grass, the turquoise waterfalls, the mossy hills…..I saw white skies, white roads, white snowy mountains, frozen bodies of water, and just more…..white.
Another perk of summertime in Iceland is the midnight sun. Around mid June the sun is visible for almost 24 hours. For people who love to be outdoors, you really can’t beat that!
Not all parts of Iceland are accessible in the winter. The Laugavegur Trail was not opened when I went and a majority of central Iceland is completely impassible. When I go back to Iceland I want to go in the summer. I want to see all of the colors and be outdoors all day long.
The Weather is Not a Joke
Usually things you read/hear can be taken with a grain of salt. I’m not trying to say I often ignore safety warnings, but Iceland is different story. Everything I read before arriving made it sound like it was World War II there. The warnings about weather were written everywhere! Even when we arrived and picked up our rental camper van, the owners went over in detail how to know when and where to drive.
They literally have web cams all over the country and the most up to date websites where you can track how fast the wind is blowing, the level of passability of the roads, and recommendations of different routes to take. These websites are always up to date at any given moment. It is incredible. We learned to check literally any time we were about to drive anywhere and it is a good thing, too, because it often changed our plans.
One night we were parked in our camper van in a snow bank. The perk of coming during the winter months is that you don’t have to pay for a camping spot. The downside is you may not be able to arrive to the camping site anyway haha. The wind was howling outside and all of the weather trackers predicted that the roads were supposed to be absolutely terrible by the morning. I knew we had to make it to a certain spot for a tour we were going on and that in order to make it at that time I would have to leave extra early to make it out before the next storm hit.
I drove at 4 AM through a complete white out. It is literally the most terrified I have ever been driving. We rounded the top of the Snaefellsness Peninsual and didn’t stop. I had been excited to see a really beautiful mountain but the swirling snow outside covered everything. As I started heading south at about 15 mph, the ocean waves literally crashed up onto the road. The wind was howling so hard I was terrified that it would push our camper van into the ocean. I gripped onto the steering wheel and white knuckled for another three hours until the storm cleared. In that time I literally slid through towns that I passed through. I could not stop the camper van because there was so much snow and I was afraid of getting stuck. I only passed about 5 cars that whole time and I’m not completely positive I even was driving on the road. All I saw was white everywhere around me.
Our last night we were warned that we should not continue driving as far east as we were hoping because another storm was coming. We saw the purple swirls on the map predicting up to 63 m/s winds and we knew we did not want to mess. We literally drove right in front of the storm and could see it in our rear view mirrors. It was terrifying.
Cars have been known to tip over, have windows blow out, and get frozen to the ground. The weather is NOT a joke there and you must take it seriously! I think I am still traumatized from my experience driving there haha.
You are Not Guaranteed to See the Northern Lights
A lot of people want to go to Iceland to see the Northern Lights. It’s a great place to see them and if you are lucky enough, it’s a pretty life-changing experience. That said, quite a few things have to happen for the Northern Lights to appear. Here are some things you may not know about the Northern Lights
- It needs to be dark. That means winter time. Which, in my opinion, is a very unfortunate time to come haha.
- You need a clear night. Cloudy or rainy weather can mess up visibility.
- There need to be solar flares. You are welcome to look more into what solar flares are haha.
- It does not have to be cold to see them, they are just typically only visible in the aurora zone between 65 and 72 degrees North.
- The Northern Lights are not visible from April through August when the aurora zone experiences nearly 24 hours of daylight.
- It is important to be away from traffic.
- Face the North while looking for them. This may seem stupid but it is how we saw the lights in Iceland. We parked our car facing North and saw them right on the horizon.
- The lights are most often green, yellow, blue, violet and white. Sometimes you can see pink!
Vedur.is is the website Iceland uses to track the Northern Lights and it is extremely accurate.
Personal Tip: Do not go to Iceland just to see the lights. Go for the destination and if you are able to see the lights, make it an extra bonus!
You May Not See Anyone
There is one giant road that wraps all of the way around the border of Iceland. It is called the Ring Road and is 1,332 Km long. There are truly parts of Iceland that seem to be untouched by humans. That is part of what makes it so special. It is also kind of an eerie feeling to drive for several hours and not pass other cars.
A Camper Van is the Way to Go
There are so many ways to experience a country but I LOVED doing Iceland in a camper van. We had our accomodations and transportation in once place. We were able to be flexible with plans, which was great because the weather was always unknown!
If you are trying to hunt for the Northern Lights, having your own transportation is so helpful. We were able to follow Vedur.is and know exactly where to drive and what time to be there.
Food is also extremely expensive in Iceland so it was nice to be able to cook our own meals! We stopped at a Bonus grocery store (Iceland’s budget grocery store) the first day and used that food for our whole week.
Check out what your camper van is provided with. Most come fully equipped with cooking equipment and bedding. You can bargain to get more included!
Iceland is Expensive
Iceland is just simply an expensive place to visit. The food is expensive, car rentals are expensive, accommodations and tours are expensive. That said, here are some ways we found to save money while traveling in Iceland:
- Rent a Camper Van: Accommodations and Transportation checked off at once? BOOM!
- Buy Groceries: Bonus grocery stores can be found everywhere
- Book Excursions Last Minute
- Just Enjoy the Nature: You really can get by in Iceland without really paying for any booked tours. We snorkeled in Thingvellir National Park and tried out ice pick climbing on Vatnajokull Glacier but besides that, you really can just drive around and jump out at all of the free waterfalls and mountains to explore.
- Go During the Winter: As with anywhere else, traveling during off or shoulder season will save you on flight costs!
Final Thoughts
I realize this post makes it sound like I hated Iceland. That is funny to me because I actually absolutely loved it. I had a blast driving around a country that literally felt like another planet. There were some times when the sun peaked out and I couldn’t believe how magical everything was. I truly hope to go back and experience everything with a little less……snow…..haha.