Ring Road roadtrip! 8 day itinerary – Day 3

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Traveling along Ring Road in Iceland is AWESOME.  The morning started out with a delicious homemade breakfast spread at our Airbnb, then we made our way to Húsavík.

• Mývatn  Nature Baths – Geothermal Spa

  •  If the weather isn’t ideal, you may get a discount on admission prices.  During our visit, the air was crisp, but overall it was still enjoyable, and – less crowded!
  • After paying admission, you get a token for the locker rooms and they inform you that you need to take a naked shower prior to entering the water.
  • Leave your shoes on one of the racks outside the locker rooms.  Then once inside the locker rooms, use your token to access/lock your locker.  There is also a rack where you can store your dry towel (with numbered bins).
  • There are a few open shower stalls in the locker room.  BUT FEAR NOT!  For those wanting a little more privacy, there are 2 individual shower stalls with curtain coverage.  They also have soap dispensers for use.
  •  Once you enter the nature baths, be sure to walk/swim around the pools, as you will quickly discover that there are pockets of hotter water.  (at the entrance prior to paying, they have a TV screen monitor displaying the water temperature ranges).
  • I highly recommend a visit to Myvatn.  The water is gorgeous, and the scenery is stunning.  Not to mention the prices are cheaper than the Blue Lagoon, and it tends to be less crowded (it is smaller though).  *Spoiler alert* After much debate, we DID still go to the Blue Lagoon.
  • Visiting the Nature Baths shortly after they open for the day is usually less crowded than as the day goes on.

Next, we started making our way up to Húsavík for a whale watch trip.  On the way there, we drove past some cool things… I love turf houses, and we saw a sign leading to a Turf House Museum, so we made a little detour.

• The Turf House Museum – Grenjaðarstaður turf house

  • ~35 minutes from Mývatn Nature Baths
  • Sadly this was not open yet for the season!  But, we were able to walk around a little bit and at least snap some pictures of the turf houses from the outside.  I would have loved to have toured the insides of these buildings, maybe next time.

• Húsavík Whale Museum

  • ~25 minutes from The Turf House Museum
  • ~50 minutes from Mývatn Nature Baths
  • Check their website for hours of operation, they change based on the day/season.
  • If you have a reservation for a whale watch, ask about a discount on your admission at the museum!
  • Nice displays about different species of whales, including articulated skeletons (replicas) of several types of whales which is great to put into perspective just how huge they really are.
  • If you’re already in the area for your whale watch tour, or checking out other museums, this place is worth a stop.  I personally wouldn’t go out of my way to plan a trip here though, largely because there are just too many other things to do outside in Iceland, even though I do love museums.
  • There is a good sized gift shop inside as well.

• Whale Watching Tour with North Sailing in Husavik

  • ~1 minute from the Húsavík Whale Museum
  • We hopped aboard our vessel for a 3 hour tour…. a 3 hour tour….. (The “Gilligan’s Island” theme song s sure to be stuck in your head for much of the tour!)
  • Since it was early May, we geared up in all our heavy duty & water resistant clothing.  (Hats, +/- gloves, thermal base layers, sweaters/jackets etc.)  On top of that (fortunately!) they supplied us with warm overalls to wear on the boat.  These are so cozy, and make for cute photo ops.
  • At first you ride a ways out into the water, and then it likely won’t be long before a sighting of whale activity.  What do you look for?  Sprays of water, from the whales blow hole.  Keep a keen eye on the waters, as they tend to surface within a minute or so.  We saw a few different humpback whales during our trip.  After spotting one, we’d sit and watch in amazement until they dove deep, then we’d continue boating around watching for more signs of whales.
  • At the end of the whale watching, conversation over hot chocolate & cinnamon buns at the front of the boat surely hits the spot!

• Dinner at Gamli Baukur

  • Right across from the port in Húsavík
  • Very cute décor inside, it looks like you’re onboard a boat!
  • Tasty food, & fairly quick service while we were there.

• Drive to the next Airbnb destination

  • We stayed in Fellabær, Iceland which was about 2 hours & 40 minutes away

**This was our Itinerary while traveling along Ring Road.  It is only meant to be inspiration when planning your own itinerary.  A big thing of importance in any travel, but in Iceland in particular, is that you need to have flexibility with your schedule and itinerary, and be sure to check weather and road conditions prior to departure so you can change plans if needed and act accordingly. **

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ICYMI: Blue Lagoon & Reykjavik,  Golden Circle, Diamond Beach, Waterfalls, & museums, MORE waterfalls & an Airbnb with delicious restaurant, GOT film location & you guessed it… even more waterfalls!

Iceland PACKING tips!

Originally published 6/5/2018 – Last updated 2/1/2020