Ring Road roadtrip! 8 day itinerary – Day 4

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Have you been following along with our current blog series?  I am posting the day by day itineraries for our recent adventures traveling along The Ring Road in Iceland.  If you have missed out, don’t worry!  Check out day 1, day 2, and day 3 here.

Our Airbnb reservation in Fellabær, Iceland had very gorgeous views of the water and mountains.  The accommodations themselves were very minimal, and a more classic hostel setup.  Our bedroom had a queen bed, and small desk with a chair.  Perfect for this type of a trip since we really didn’t spend much time in our room.  There was a nice communal kitchen area and seating nearby, but it wasn’t long before we were back on the road.

Day 4 – Ring Road Itinerary

Day 4 was a memorable one…. that’s for sure.  We saw so many gorgeous landscapes, but it also contained one of the most terrifying trip experiences I’ve ever had…. More on that in a bit.

• Gufufoss waterfall

  • ~35 minutes from our Airbnb
  • We actually drove past Gufufoss to check out the town (Seydisfjordur) and shoreline.  There were a few cute cafes, but nothing appeared open when we were there.
  • After heading back to Gufufoss some of the cars had cleared out, so parking was easier.  (there wasn’t a  parking lot, just a wide spot on the side of the road that cars lined up on)
  • This waterfall is pretty much right off the road.  It’s a 1-2 minute walk to get to the picturesque locations.  Love it!

• Fardagafoss waterfall

  • ~20 minutes from Gufufoss
  • We actually tried to go here before Gufufoss, but missed the parking lot/signs for it.  Keep a keen eye out for the small gravel parking lot on your right (when traveling from 94 to 93)
  • There were some nice hiking trails, and photo ops per usual

• Skálinn Diner

  • ~6 minutes from Fardagafoss
  • Cute diner!  Lots of Betty Boop and familiar old school diner décor, and oldies playing in the background.  I would have loved to have eaten here, they had a nice menu but we were only hungry for a snack.
  • We ordered a double scoop of ice cream in a dish.  I have no clue what flavors we got, but they were different than anything I’ve had before.  I should have asked what they were…. we just picked the 2 flavors that looked the most popular (ie most of the ice cream tubs were gone)

• Hengifoss waterfall

  • ~ 30 minutes from the diner
  • One of the tallest waterfalls in Iceland!
  • Long hiking trail which stops off at different areas with scenic views of this unique waterfall.  We did not walk all the way to the base of the falls, but went most of the way there, snapping pictures along the way.
  • As with any trail, be sure to stick to the marked path & don’t climb over ropes or get too close to the edges of the cliffs for the “perfect photo”  it’s not worth the risk of falling, and it is damaging the delicate landscape!

• Skriðuklaustur

  • ~ 6 minutes from Hengifoss waterfall
  • A museum which is located in the previous home of the author Gunnar Gunnarsson.
  • Exhibits include history of Gunnarssons life & path to fame, as well as information about an excavation in the summer of 2000 where a church and cemetery ruins were located.  An artwork exhibit was in the basement, and a troll exhibit on the main floor.  The troll exhibit was my favorite part, but that one was rotating out shortly after our visit.
  • Lunch is available on the grounds and it smelled delicious.  If we had more time in the area, I would have loved to have checked the food out.
  • The woman working at the museum when we visited was so helpful!  She would pop into each room as we moved through the house to give us a run down of the most interesting things on display or related to the history.  Unfortunately we were in a bit of a time crunch (to check into our next Airbnb & order dinner) or I would have enjoyed spending more time here walking around.  The photo below is of some cool technology that lets you see different aspects of the ruins by holding the phone over the display.

• Holmur Hornafjordur – Airbnb & dinner

  • ~ 3 hours & 10 minutes
  • Google maps had us veer off of Ring Road for a bit.  We ended up driving through more of the mountains rather than following the coast which would have taken much longer according to the on-line direction calculations.
  • This Airbnb was one of the two that I was most looking forward to on our trip! (the other was the one we stayed at near Akureyri)
  • We stayed at the Holmur guest house.  Bathrooms were shared, but our individual room had a small sink in it, which was a nice touch.
  • The diner was a short walk from the guest house (this is also where you go to check in to your room to begin with).  We made reservations to return for dinner, and I am so glad we waited to eat here!
  • During the winter hours, there is less selection for dinner, but it didn’t matter because all of the options looked delicious.
  • We both ordered pumpkin soup to start, and then got the Shepherd’s pie (with lamb), and some locally brewed beer.
  • The owners were so nice, the restaurant was clean, and there were tons of awesome instruments on the walls.  Only bummer was that we weren’t there on a night with music, but still fun to look at!
  • The views from the diner and the grounds were beautiful as there are 3 glaciers nearby.

The drive from Skriðuklaustur to Holmur was a bit nerve-racking for me, but I think it was all situational.  The stretch of road through the mountains had some road construction at the time and there was an area with a big rut made of loose gravel.  The weather was misting/raining/foggy, and then we hit a loose gravel patch and things went down hill for me from there.  I’ll spare you the details, but I was feeling pretty panicked about our car potentially breaking down (in what felt like the middle of nowhere), and there are long stretches of road where there are no places to stop & inspect the situation, or turn around if needed.  We survived though!  I think once the construction is over, and had the weather been nicer we wouldn’t have had an issue.  This is definitely a good reminder to check the road conditions at www.road.is  prior to travel each day.  (I kind of doubt that road would have been flagged though, I didn’t check afterwards)

Day 4 was overall still amazing, and eating at the Holmur restaurant was my highlight!

Stay tuned for more of our day by day itineraries, & be sure to pin this for later: