Chasing waterfalls and seeking auroras in Southern Iceland
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Iceland has been one of the top places on my list for a
while now, especially after hearing glowing recommendations and inspiring tips
from the savvy travelers I met while on the Milford Trek earlier this year, I
knew that I need to see it for myself, pronto.
There’s a special place in my heart for waterfalls, beaches, and the aurora
borealis (aka northern lights.) So when
I learned that my friend A was going to take a trip to Iceland, I immediately
asked if I can tag along. One month
later, we embarked on one of my favorite road trips of all time.
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- Airport Code: KEF Keflavik international airport
- Time Zone: UTC±0h (same as in the United Kingdom)
- Language: Icelandic, but English is widely spoken
- Electricity: Voltage 200 volts at 50 Hz (as standard throughout Europe), if you are traveling from the U.S. (120v) or U.K. (240v) you will need a converter (aka transformer) if you plan on using your 120v / 240v hair dryer / hair straightener.
- Plug: Type F - Europlug/Schuko-Plug (CEE types) 2 round prongs, if you are traveling from the U.S. or U.K you will need a plug adapter.
- Currency: Icelandic Króna (ISK) - you will need to spend money here but cash is not widely used. You do not need to exchange or withdraw money from the ATM. In our one week there we did not have a need for cash nor encounter any problems not having cash. Credit and debit cards (Visa and MasterCard) are accepted everywhere from food stands to taxis. (as of November 2017 1 ISK = 0.0097 USD = 0.0081 EUR)
- Visa: Iceland is a member of the Schengen Agreement
- Shopping: If you are not a permanent resident of Iceland, and you spend 6000 ISK or more on goods (food is not eligible) that you are bringing out of the country within 3 months of purchase, you can obtain a refund for VAT when leaving Iceland from Keflavik airport.
- Metric system is used here (meters, kilometers, km/h, liters, and Celsius)
Do not buy bottled water, tap water is delicious and drinkable
everywhere. Homes are heated geothermally,
it is warm indoors and there is unlimited hot water. We stayed at five different apartments
(cabins) in various town in the southern region, each bed had a cozy, plush,
abundantly warm blanket. The country is
roughly the size of Colorado, or a bit smaller than Cuba and most, if not all,
of the electricity is generated by nature (wind, sun, and water). Icelandic people are friendly and helpful,
with a typical Scandinavian-cool attitude.
Weather is unpredictable and is an important factor to
consider before and during the trip.
They say that if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it
will pass. We experienced it first-hand,
the road conditions and scenery varied from icy, white snow covered mountains,
to wet, thick green mossy lava fields, and to smooth, sheep and horses grazing
on fertile pastures. Arriving days after
the first snowstorm meant that ice caves were open for tours, but also many
trails were dangerous to hike without crampons and the roads are treacherous
after dark. We glad that we added extra
time in our schedules for unexpected climate and spontaneous pit stops.
Some highlights of this trip were visiting the magnificent
waterfalls: Gulfoss, Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss, and Svartifoss, ice climbing at
Solheimajokull Glacier, and relaxing in our own private geo thermal pools at Hoffell
Hot Tubs. We were also lucky to see the
the aurora borealis on a clear night from our AirBnB in Reynivellir near the Jökulsárlón
lagoon. Thankfully, the weather
cooperated 90% of the time (the one day that it didn’t our three-hour drive
turned into a five-hour journey.)
We spent a week driving from Reykjavik to Höfn on the east
side of the country and made the most of the short, November, daylight hours. The soft sunlight at this time of the year
was ideal for photographs, the sun seemed to take many hours to rise and set
every day. We had an unforgettable time
and we all promised ourselves that we will be back again in the near future.
Tips and advice
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- Do your research before you go, the internet is your friend. Which glaciers, beaches, and waterfalls would you like to see (prioritize which are MUST-sees), where are they located, and how to reach the sites from the parking lot (is it right next to the road or is there a 40-minute hike?) Some locations are better in the morning / night, some are more enjoyable in warmer weather (i.e. Kerið) than in the winter.
- Check weather / road conditions daily (have a backup plan).
- Make sure to have flexible plans, and have an offline version of your accommodations and tour operators in case your itinerary needs to be adjusted at the last minute.
- Rent a car – it’s often not necessary to hire a 4WD vehicle, they are huge, consume more gas, and are harder to control in high winds. It is more important to understand how to maneuver a vehicle under icy and snowy conditions than to be overly confident in the large car. Spend a few extra dollars on winter tires.
- Bring crampons – for walking and hiking slippery, snow covered, surfaces.
- Stock up on on-perishable food, snacks, and drinks in Reykjavik (see above).
- Alternatives to the Blue Lagoon – Reykjadalur hot river near Hveragerði, and Hoffell hot pots near Höfn (among others)
- Weather and road conditions vary in a matter of 10 kilometers (6 miles), familiarize yourself with these websites and check them before heading out for the day as well as during the day if necessary: (Tripadvisor forum thread regarding driving in Iceland)
- Combined site- http://safetravel.is/conditions
- Weather Conditions- http://en.vedur.is and http://www.belgingur.is
- Road Conditions- http://www.road.is
- Wind - http://vegasja.vegagerdin.is/eng
- Maps.me for directions and places of interest, you can use this even when you do not have internet / data on your phone as long as you have destinations bookmarked.
- My Aurora Forecast for northern lights forecast and predictions, KP Index was around 3.00 when we saw the aurora borealis. It was rather faint to the untrained eye, but the camera captures it brilliantly. Once you realize it is overhead it feel like you are under a ribbon of dancing lights.
- Veður (Vedur) for weather
- Vegagerðin (Vegagerdin) for road conditions
Five things I was happy to have brought with me…
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- Waterproof clothes, especially outerwear (jacket and pants)
- Comfortable, warm, and durable hiking boots to be able to enjoy and endure hours of activities outdoors
- Sony RX100 III + travel tripod for capturing photos of the Northern Lights
- Sunglasses for protection from the sun, and bright glare off the snow
- Bathing suit for the geothermal pools and other water activities
Icelandair and Wow are doing a fantastic job flying travelers into the country with direct flights from as far as Los Angeles and Tel Aviv at a reasonable price, with free stopovers (with a Stopover buddy or Blue Lagoon daytrip, optional.) Be prepared, expenses are high once you are on solid ground, with a typical cup of hot chocolate in the capital costing a whopping ISK 635 (USD 6.16) and a hot dog at the airport for ISK 490 (USD 4.75) is a bargain. Luckily most sights in Iceland are natural and in the outdoors, and therefore budget friendly. The country has been recovering nicely since the financial crisis of 2008-2011, a huge part thanks to tourism. It’s easy to see why: the wild outdoors is ready and waiting to be explored, and there are creative artists and talented chefs in the city prepared to delight every one of your senses.
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