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Day 1 in Iceland was tiring, but awesome.  Fortunately we were able to get a nice night sleep before heading into day 2.  Speaking of sleep, I booked ALL of our accommodations through Airbnb for this trip.  I’ve never used Airbnb before, but have heard good things about it.  I made sure to read the reviews for the places I was booking, and was very happy with how everything worked out.

Day 2 – Ring Road itinerary

Day 2 was a reminder of the need to be flexible with the ever changing weather in Iceland!  I booked a boat trip to see whales, and it ended up getting canceled due to heavy winds.  Bummer, EXCEPT, who would really want to be getting sea sick on a boat if the weather was rough?  So, since we actually were sticking around in the Akureyri area for a 2nd night, we were able to flip flop our days worth of plans and attempt to do the boat ride on day 3.  This worked out alright, however looking back on things I would have skipped a couple of the hikes we ended up doing since the wind was insane.

• Goðafoss – “waterfall of the Gods”
  • ~45 minutes from Akureyri   (~25 minutes from our Airbnb)
  • When heading along the Ring Road to Godafoss from the west, there is a parking lot on your right before crossing by the waterfalls.  We stopped there first and it was a very short walk to see some gorgeous views of the falls from the higher up perspective.  There appeared to be some areas of construction, possibly viewing platforms (?) that were in progress, but that didn’t impact the views of the gorgeous falls while we were there.  After walking around a bit, we headed back to our car and made the short drive to the 2nd parking lot which was located to the left side of the waterfalls (still on the right side of the Ring Road but up the street a bit, when driving in from the west).
  • From the 2nd parking area there is a nice paved walkway and viewing platform at the higher perspective of the waterfalls.  But, if you’re feeling a little more adventurous there is a small step pathway (uneven steps/rocks) that leads down to the base of the waterfalls.  This perspective is absolutely stunning too!
  • When leaving the 2nd parking lot, and approaching Ring Road, there was a gas station with a nice gift store on the right side of the road which was neat to look around at, and there was more variety than many of the other places we’d stopped (not sure of the name though!).
  • As with all of your stop offs in Iceland (or anywhere really), use common sense and be safe!  Don’t get too close to the edges while walking the paths, some areas can be windy or slippery.

• Hverfjall

  • ~50 minutes from Godafoss
  • There was a little visitor stand with a bathroom near the base of the crater (which you pay to use)
  • **I would NOT advise this on a super windy day!**
  • This is a crater with about a 1km diameter, which you can hike up to the rim (and around the top too… which we did not do).  The hike up to the top alone takes about 20 minutes.  Since it was super windy when we went, there was a lot of dust/dirt blowing in our faces, and a couple of times when there were wind gusts, I did not feel very stable and it was kind of freaky!  Hence the reason I didn’t hike around the rim… I was just glad that we made it to the top, and back down all in one piece!

• Grjotagja cave

  • ~15 minute from Hverfjall
  • This is a geothermal hot spring inside a lava cave.  It was actually one of my favorite things to see!  Although I must say, the cave itself was much smaller than I was expecting.
  • There is a little parking area, and the cave is pretty much right there!
  • DO NOT SWIM HERE.
  • A must visit for Game of Throne fans for sure (A scene from Season 3, Episode 5 was filmed here)

• Myvatn Nature Baths

  • ~5 minutes from Grjotagja cave
  • We stopped by to see what this place was all about, mostly because I had read blogs saying that it’s a smaller version of the famous Blue Lagoon but cheaper and less crowded.  Due to the wind, they were giving a discount on admission since the hot springs were cooler than usual.  We ended up getting some hot beverages and a snack at the little cafeteria area at Myvatn Nature Baths, and decided to give it a try on day 3, to see if the weather was any nicer.
  • They have a small gift shop here as well.

• Dettifoss & Selfoss waterfalls

  • This is the one location google maps led us astray, but it wasn’t a big deal.
  • ~1 hour 20 minutes from Myvatn Nature Baths (this is what I see on google maps today, and also lines up with about how long it took us, but when I first mapped it out google didn’t recognize one of the roads and gave me an estimate of 2 hours & 30 minutes!)
  • After following along the Ring Road from west to east (clockwise), the first road that will lead to Dettifoss is 862, and if you pass that, you can also take 864 to get there.  However, road 864 (a secondary road) was closed due to the season, so we had to backtrack and take 862.
  • There is a giant parking lot at the entrance of the trail to see Dettifoss & Selfoss, and it was pretty packed when we were there!
  • First, we walked to see Dettifoss.  There is a long path along the side of the waterfall that allows you to enjoy many different views & angles.  There is also a viewing platform on one side of the falls which is an amazing place to get some panoramic shots, and most likely see a double rainbow!
  • After this, we took the trail to see Selfoss.  We didn’t walk to the end of that trail, but we did get some great shots of the fall where there is a conveniently located sign that alerts you to it being the best spot for a photo of the falls!
  • Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Europe, and I highly recommend a visit!

• Hverir geothermal area

  • Since we were staying overnight back towards Akureyri, we stopped here on the drive back.  If you’re continuing on along Ring Road, do this before Dettifoss!
  • ~1hr 20 Minutes heading back west (counter-clockwise) along the Ring Road from Dettifoss
  • We were literally only here for 5-10 minutes.  It smelled SO STRONG like Sulfur, but this isn’t unusual for Iceland :)
  • This could be a cool stop off, but the wind was INSANE the day we went, so we were getting pelted by the sand/dirt, and just didn’t feel like sticking around long.

• Dimmuborgir lava fields

  • ~ 13 minutes from Hverir geothermal area
  • Fun trails for a quick stop, and a gorgeous rock formation that you’ll have to be sure to get your picture in! (There are steps that lead you up to the hole in the rock formation, and you can continue on hiking a bit on the other side as well)

• Headed back to our Airbnb for the night, exhausted!

Stay tuned for more day by day posts of our 8 day Ring Road adventures!  Also, a post all about what to pack!

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