Summary of our epic 2 week tour of Iceland

In case you wanted to see where we were and maybe organize your own tour of Iceland:

Day 1 - land in KEF at 8am, rent car from Enterprise, drive to Þingvellir national park, Kerið crater, spend night in Selfoss AirBNB 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/51277102?source_impression_id=p3_1759077464_P3zFGTBiBlu_As65

Day 2 - SouthCoast superbus to Þórsmörk, stay at glamping tent at volcano huts, hike green trail into blue trail for panorama view

https://volcanotrails.com/volcano-huts/thorsmork-accommodation/

Day 3 - Hike orange trail in Þórsmörk, another night in glamping tent

Day 4 - SouthCoast superbus out of Þórsmörk, hit some touristy sites - Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi, Skogafoss, Dyrhólaey, Reynisfjara beach, dinner in Vik, drive to Kirkjubæjarklaustur AirBNB - Maddis 1 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1055844314966730591?source_impression_id=p3_1759077829_P36fKTVVCNiKdk0O

Day 5 - drive to Skatafell for 4hr Glacier Hike - booked with Viator with Local Guides, back to Kirkjubæjarklaustur AirBNB - Maddis 1 

Day 6 - drive to Fjallsárlón and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoons and diamond beach (day kayak trip was cancelled due to wind), stay at Hótel Höfn (wouldn't recommend - one of these super touristy bus in hotels, but does come with free breakfast and paid laundry service)

Day 7 - epic drive up east fjords to Seydisfjordur, stay at Langahlid 1 AirBNB (with hot tub looking out at snow capped mountains and fjord!) - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50750831?source_impression_id=p3_1759078074_P3H8f6MgF-XNpLS6

Day 8 - 2 mountain crossings until Lake Myvatn, went to Myvatn nature baths since it was raining - stay at Vogafjós Guesthouse - great breakfast with fresh milk from their cows - https://www.vogafjosfarmresort.is/en

Day 9 - drive diamond circle to visit Dettifoss, Selfoss, Jökulsárgljúfur canyon, Asbyrgi canyon, Husavik, Geosea baths (loved infinity pool into fjord), another night at Vogafjós Guesthouse

Day 10 - morning walk in Leirhnjukur and to Krafla crater, drive to Akureyri with stop at Godafoss, stay in Sunnuhlíð 1 - lofted tiny home AirBNB - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5440833?source_impression_id=p3_1759078416_P31XUEv1qY64tvSV

Day 11 - Drive troll (Tröllaskagi) peninsula on way to Hvammstangi, stops in Dalvik (beautiful reflections and cute town), Mígandifoss viewpoint, Siglufjörður (Herring Era Museum), Glaumbær turf homes, stay in Mörk 1 (northern half of cottage) - AirBNB - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1028887673968789952?source_impression_id=p3_1759078622_P3xKSuNdsMwAXgBT

Day 12 - drive to Snæfellsnes, stay in Grundarfjörður next to Kirkjufell, Nónsteinn 3 tiny home on AirBNB - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12132982?source_impression_id=p3_1759078675_P3BgumoREss80ETp 

Day 13 - drive around Snæfellsnes peninsula visiting Lóndrangar, Arnarstapi, black church, another night in Nónsteinn 3

Day 14 - drive to KEF for 5pm flight

Here is a map I used (made with google maps) to guide my trip. The aqua tags are places of interest I contemplated or visited. Red is location of AirBNBs, Blue are hotel/guesthouse, Purple was the Volcano Huts in Þórsmörk

Iceland day 14 - leaving

Last views before leaving. I love the big sky!! and all the colors!

The sheep came out after the rain ended:

We had an extra hour before heading to the airport so we stopped in Reykjavík to look a the iconic Lutheran church - Hallgrimskirkja

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Iceland day 13 - last full day :(

People talk about how unpredictable Iceland weather is - which is totally true. The days before coming - rain was predicted every day for the 2 weeks we would be in Iceland. However, we were only rained on twice. Today was one such day. High winds and rain throughout Iceland. There were national landslide advisories. In fact, a bridge connecting Höfn and Djúpivogur had washed out and the area was impassable. It prevented many people from passing from the south to the east, and vise versa. We were so lucky we were not negatively affected by weather. 

Our only weather affected sightseeing was today when we drove around Snæfellsjökull but were completely unable to see the glacier due to the severe fog and rain.

Morning view from our AirBNB despite intermittent rain and wind.

Lóndrangar:

Arnarstapi to Hellnar:

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The Black church - super photographed but I didn't think it was much to look at.

The beautiful fall colors

Iceland day 12 - drive to Snaefellsnes peninsula

We really enjoyed this stay in Hvammstangi so were torn between enjoying the place a little longer and heading out to get more time in Snæfellsnes peninsula. I loved waking up and seeing the sheep and the horses on the adjoining farms. 

Supposedly, you could see seals and even whales from the place but we weren't so lucky (just Northern lights the night before). 

With the on and off rain, there's plenty of rainbows.

That idyllic church view

I have never seen a fully complete rainbow until Iceland

The northern most town of Snæfellsnes penisula - Stykkishólmur. The is the north point near the ferry station.

Views of the town from the top of the basalt/rock formation

Drive to Grundarfjörður 

The iconic Kirkjufell mountain - Americans dub it the witch's hat, perhaps the most photographed mountain in Iceland. In Icelandic - it's the church mountain because the triangular appearance resembles a church steeple. 

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View from our AirBNB - with sheep farm on property (no fences between us and the sheep!)