Iceland Travel Tips
There are a couple of places in the world in my opinion, where if you woke up with no recollection of how you arrived or where you were, you might just assume you were on another planet. Iceland is one of those locations. It has always been a popular choice as a destination for landscape photographers. Over the last few years, it has also increased in popularity with general travelers.
Below are a few things I picked up along the way that may help you plan, save time, or in some cases avoid altogether.
Fuel costs
Iceland is very expensive, especially fuel. Plan ahead, and minimize your drives. If you don't need to drive back to your Air BnB/hotel, don't. Find one of the designated areas to park for a few hours and take a nap. Not just because of the fuel, but because it's more fun. You never know if you will wake up to a beautiful sunrise or if the Aurora will light up the skies.
Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)
If you're only or mainly visiting Iceland to see the Aurora Borealis, you may be disappointed. I was lucky to see the Lights a couple of nights in a row, but it was at the end of the trip as many of the other nights were cloudy. Use websites like yr.no and en.vedur.is to help with hourly cloud cover, weather forecasts, and locations to potentially view the Aurora. Keep in my mind there are nights the Aurora doesn’t have a strong forecast, but can still appear as quite often the Northern Lights forecast can be off. You can also have a strong forecast for the Aurora, but cloud cover can ruin your night. I would still recommend going out though. You just never know if you find pockets of clear skies.
To give you an idea of the extent people go to in order to experience the Northern Lights- I met someone on my trip who booked two weeks in Alaska with a high likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights. The entire two weeks, despite a strong Aurora forecast, were cloudy due to a Winter Storm. Luckily she did end up seeing the Lights in Iceland.
The months you visit will also determine whether or not you get to see the Northern Lights. In summer, there are no night skies. I personally find mid-September a good time to visit. A bit less crowd and a good balance of day/night.
Aurora Borealis, Skogafoss area. Oxygen particles in the air will display green lights whereas nitrogen particles will display purple lights.
Travel time and distance
Iceland is small (I'm from Canada), but not that small. If you're planning to visit destinations mainly around the Golden Circle area you should be fine as the drives aren't too long. In my case, I explored all the way from the Snaefellsnes Peninsula to Vestrahorn/Stokksness area. I mainly stayed in Selfoss, which I found to be a good area as it wasn’t too far from most points of interest. But, as an example from Selfoss to Vestrahorn, it's over a 3hr drive. Vik is probably a good option too if you want to experience east Iceland a bit more. Obviously, your drive to Reykjavik and western Iceland will be longer, about an hour more from Vik to Reykjavik compared to Selfoss.
Needless to say, I barely slept the entire trip so I could make the most of my time there. As is the case with most trips where photography is involved. I was there for 8 days and slept maybe a total of 24 hours. Some nights I slept in my rental so I could be up for sunrise and reduce travel times.
Be agile
Visit the popular areas, but stop along your drives if you see something nice, and go out and explore. There are no dangerous animals in Iceland and some of the best scenery in Iceland is in random places that aren't designated tourist areas. Just be careful and try to park in a proper car stop and be mindful of private property.
Prepare to get wet
Bring a poncho or similar. Not just because of the rain/drizzle but if you're visiting the waterfalls there, Iceland can get very windy, and even without any wind the mist from the falls can get you soaked. If you're bringing an expensive camera, which should be water resistant, still take a shower cap with you.
Black sand beach (Reynisfjara)
Reynisfjara is an awesome place with its dark, black sand and alien-like sea stacks. But, it's not worth it to get so close to the water. People have died there. I saw someone fall and thought they were gone but luckily crawled back to safety (barely). I visited the place 4 times to get a certain photo because on other days the wind and/or waves were too much to handle.
Kirkjufell mountain
Kirkjufell, located in Snaefellsnes Peninsula, is a beautiful location, It’s very popular for photographers due to a very picturesque mountain complimented by a small waterfall. But again, it's not worth it to take a risk (i.e. climb). Like Reynisfjara, people have died there.
Kirkjufell at dawn with a hint of Aurora Borealis still apparent
Driving visibility
One thing that I noticed about Iceland is that there are barely any trees. It makes the drives great as you can see the scenery around you. But if there is snowfall on a windy day, even just a bit, that snow will be blowing all over the place limiting your visibility so plan your drive and time accordingly. And, Iceland can get VERY windy.
Group tours and guides
Avoid group tours, unless, of course, you’re not planning on driving. The one place I do recommend though is the Highlands. Driving there is a pain. You need 4WD, which is standard but it will be a slow, careful "watch out for the edge" type of drive with some rivers to cross and many potholes. If you’re planning to go to one of my favourite locations, Landmannalugar, there are 3 ways to get there. The “easiest” is via the 26 then F208 and a small stretch via the F224. There is a parking right before the main entrance where has bathrooms and huts are located so you can avoid the only river crossing via this route with a short walk at the end. The other two routes are from the West and South, which are arguably more scenic but with river crossing and a harder drive overall.
When I say don’t go with a tour bus, this of course is for photography. If you want to learn more of the land and history, I would then suggest a guided tour.
Good luck and safe travels. And, remember that if you don’t like the weather in Iceland, just wait 5-10 minutes!
