Once considered a gateway to Hell, Iceland turned out to be the most amazing place I have ever visited. Endless lava fields, moonscape geyser eruption sights, deep canyons, glacier lagoons and breathtaking waterfalls form this piece of Heaven on Earth that looks like nothing I’ve imagined or seen before. If I had to recommend just one country to visit, I would probably choose this land of fire and ice without a second thought.

Organizing the Trip

To be honest, Iceland has never been high on my bucket list as a place to visit. But, as you may know, I work as a flight attendant and am surrounded by people who love to travel on everyday basis. That is how this country first came on my radar – I saw some Instagram photos from colleagues of mine that looked amazing and made me curious. I want to say that sometimes pictures are not an accurate representation of reality, but in this case they were pale in comparison to the actual beauty of nature. Also I am a huge fan of Irsa Sigurdardotir, an Icelandic thriller novelist, who deserves to be checked out. So, at first, Reykjavik seemed like a place that I would like to see, but by talking to people that had already visited, I realized that the real gems are hidden outside the capital city. That is how I started to plan this trip.

My boyfriend and I decided to go in May for my birthday, as we were already planning Norway for the winter and the Northern lights were not a must on our itinerary. We had two options: to rent a camper and just to move and sleep in it or to rent a car and stay in a different hotel every evening. We chose the latter as we are not too outdoorsy and prefer the comfort of indoor bathroom. That said, my colleague did the same trip with a camper and shared that this had been an adventure on its own. It is also the more affordable option, since you don’t need to pay for both hotels and car rental and you can cook your meals in it.

As I was not very familiar with Iceland and did not know what exactly we need to see, I used Chat GPT and TikTok to help me with planning. I was not sure a chat bot could create a good program, but I was pleasantly surprised. It also managed to adjust some details when I wanted something included or removed. With few minor exceptions (on Day 3 it made a mess of the order of the places we had to visit), it was an invaluable helper.

We settled for not doing the full island Ring road, considering we only had five full days to explore and we wanted to have a day in Reykjavik, to see the seals on Ytri Tunga beach, and visit both the Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon for at least a few hours. The Solheimasandur Plane Wreck was also a must, because, as a flight attendant, I really wanted to see that one.

To get to Iceland, we traveled through Milan, landing at Bergamo airport from Sofia with Wizz Air and then taking a flight from Malpensa to Keflavik with Easy Jet. It`s worth to mention this connection option was not listed on Google when we searched, but it was actually quick and affordable solution. The car rental we used is called Lotus and we can only give positive feedback about it.

Arrival and First Impressions

Our flight landed relatively early in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time to get the car and reach our destination – Hotel Fransiskus Stykkisholmi.

As I mentioned before our rental company was Lotus. They are not located exactly on the airport, but they have a really convenient shuttle bus that took us in front of their doorsteps. The staff was friendly and warned us that almost everywhere in Iceland you have to pay for parking and if you missed a payment a hefty fine might wait for you when you return the car. In order to avoid this we used an app called Parka. That said, there were payment machines on almost every stop. Really convenient, in my opinion.

My boyfriend really wanted to try driving an electric car and, after doing some research and discovering that there is a charging station almost on every gas station on the Ring road, he decided to choose a Tesla. I had nothing against it, since I am not a driver, but was surprised to discover that this is the most annoying car ever! First of all, most of the charging stations needed a different app and us registering for that app. There were a lot of stations that were not working all together and it took us between 30 and 50 minutes to charge the car every single time. At one point, the Tesla locked us out which caused me to almost have a panic attack. Looking back, I would never go through that trouble again and although this was part of our adventure, in my mind this vehicle is labeled “the lizzie” and I deeply dislike it even now. I apologize to all Tesla owners about this rant, but on a serious note I would choose a more conventional car in order to save myself time and headaches.

Another thing worth mentioning is that almost all restaurants are closing around 9 o’clock, so if you arrive late, I would plan my food stops very careful. We opted for a snack at gas stations that evening, as we were already tired from the trip and wanted to reach the hotel as soon as possible.

Another advantage in choosing May for visiting Iceland is that the sun sets very late and you have about 18 hours of daylight to explore. Although we travelled until 10:30 pm, it never became dark. That was one of the reasons we were able to enjoy the spectacular views from the car: endless lava fields, beautiful mountains and countless little streams are just a few of the sights worth mentioning on our way to Snaefellsnes peninsula. I was so smitten with this country that I watched in Ah! during the entire journey. What impressed me the most was a herd of horses that was running wild in the field next to the road. I even managed to take a video of them and, honestly, it seems unreal!

When we finally arrived at our hotel (Hotel Fransiskus Stykkisholmi in Stykkisholmur) it turned out it is a former convent! It greeted us with the cross on the roof and its own chapel. It gives a very eerie first impression, if you ask me and you almost feel frozen in time. This feeling is supported by the tiny bit outdated furniture, the odd old lady that met us at reception and -wait for it!- the service elevator, that was the creepiest thing I`ve ever seen in a hotel. You go in and have to hold the button for the entire journey up. It ascends slower than a crippled turtle and you wonder if you will survive the ride the entire time. The room and breakfast were nice, though, and the strange atmosphere here made our trip even more unforgettable.

To top this day off, Bulgaria won Eurovision that evening and we watched it on TV, so we couldn’t have asked for more perfect ending.

Maybe because it was just the first day and I haven’t seen much just yet, but this experience will stay embedded in my memory forever.

Day 1: Exploring Snaefellsnes Peninsula

Day one is most probably my favorite of the entire trip. Snaefellsnes peninsula is absolutely gorgeous and has a ton of sights worth exploring. It is also the backdrop for Irsa Sigurdardottir`s novel “My Soul to Take” which I simply love! It is not very popular destination and people are putting it on their itinerary if they are doing the entire Ring Road but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Stykkisholmur

We started our day by having breakfast at our unusual hotel. Although the variety of stuff was kind of limited, it was better than nothing. Also now I can say that I had a meal at an old convent!

Since the hotel`s charging station was not working, our next stop was a place where we could recharge the car. We had about 40 minutes until it was done, so we decided to explore the small costal town. In my opinion, Stykkisholmur is definitely worth visiting with its cute colorful houses, beautiful port and strange church. There are also stunning rocks right next to the port and you can climb to a lighthouse on top. The view from there is spectacular, especially on a sunny day and the climb is not difficult even for people like me, who are completely out of shape.

During our walk, we met almost no people except for the occasional jogger or dog walker. The town seemed charming, but simultaneously frozen in time and deserted (and perfect for photos!).

We finished by visiting the church that is located on a hill and is easily spotted from all directions. It is considered one of the most striking churches in Iceland and for a reason. Being relatively new – build in 1990 in distinct modernist style, to me, it looked almost futuristic, with its structure that closely resembles whale skeleton.

Here, it is worth mentioning that the shops of the smaller gas stations are closed on Sundays, so you can get snacks only in big supermarket chains or larger stations. There is a public toilet near the port, but it has a fee of 250 kr. The machines everywhere accept cards. We did not have any cash with us and for 5 days did not need it at all.

Ytri Tunga

To see the seals at Ytri Tunga was the whole reason we decided to go to Snaefellsnes all together. You see, I really like animals and take the chance to be near them whenever an opportunity presents itself. And this particular beach is a famous spot for seal-watching.

The drive there was one of the most picturesque during our entire trip. We were able to see Kirkjufell, the most photographed mountain in Iceland, from the car. Although the morning was exceptionally sunny, now it had begun to rain, which in my opinion, made the dramatic landscape even more memorable. It is hard to put in words the feeling of driving through the beautiful Icelandic nature, but it makes you feel small and, at the same time, blessed for being there.

At Ytri Tunga there is a paid parking lot with toilet facilities. There are also information boards that give you advice on how to behave around the seals. Although cute, they are still wild animals and there is a recommended distance of 50 meters from them. When we visited, it was mating season and there were a lot of new-borns. This is a time when the mothers get more aggressive and protective of their babies, so the distance you should keep is 100 meters. Being quiet is also advised in order not to scare or disturb them.

The beach itself is only a short walk from the parking lot, but in order to reach the seals you should walk over wet rocks, so grippy shoes are required. The place was beautiful and the animals were just chilling around us. We even saw a small baby crying for its mother. I was really tempted to approach it, but after a quick Google search, it turned out it is completely normal for mothers to leave the babies while hunting and is a terrible idea to move or pick up the small ones. Overall, this beach makes for a unique experience for any animal lover out there.

Budir Black Church

Our next stop was only 10 minutes away from Ytri Tunga and it was the famous Budir Black Church. It was build in 1848 and it is used to this day for traditional church gatherings, destination weddings and music events. What makes it unique is the minimalistic building, painted in black. It creates striking contrast with the surrounding nature which turns it into an absolute must-do photo spot.

The parking area here is very small and it does not require payment. We needed about 10 minutes to see everything this sight had to offer and, although it was a bit underwhelming in comparison to the other locations we saw that day, I would still highly recommend to visit.

Arnarstapi Cliffs

The Arnarstapi cliffs are located only a short drive away. The parking here is free and there are plenty of stuff to see. You can start with the statue of Bardur Snaefellsas – half-human, half-ogre, who is considered the mythical guardian of the area. Then, you can continue walking the marked path and see the dramatic basalt cliffs that are the main sight of the area. They are a perfect example of what happens when the centuries old lava flows meet the ocean. Interesting to say is that the rocks are covered with seagulls. They are literally thousands of birds nesting on them which makes for a rather spectacular view.

The crowned jewel of this location is Gatklettur, a massive freestanding stone arch, located just a few minutes away from the parking lot. It is really impressive and also a great location for pictures.

Apparently, there is a trail that goes from Arnarstapi to the near-by village of Hellnar (which was also one of the ChatGPT suggestions for lunch places), but it is supposed to take more than an hour to finish it an we felt like we wouldn’t have enough time for the rest of our program for the day if we walk it.

Since it was already about 2 PM and we were starving, we decided to try one of the near-by restaurants. We chose Stapinn as it was very highly rated and we were feeling more like something quick and casual rather than traditional Icelandic cuisine. The place itself seemed cozy, but, to be honest, I expected a bit more from the 35-euro plate of fish and chips I had. As I was beginning to learn, the price of the food in the restaurants in Iceland is unreasonably high, even for items that are considered fast food in some European cities.

Londrangar

As an optional stop in our program for the day we had Londrangar. The sight consists of two basalt sea stacks that raise over the Atlantic ocean. Because this is a tiny bit similar in nature to our previous stop, we thought about skipping it, but since it is really close to Arnarstrapi and the clouds were starting to clear, we decided that we would have a quick look.

The rocks are beautiful and very Instagrammable, but I would not recommend stopping there if the weather is too rainy as the visibility might be poor and Arnarstrapi is quite like it but with more things to enjoy. It is worth mentioning that was the only stop without restrooms, so make sure to plan accordingly.

Seltun Geothermal Area

It was late afternoon when we started to make our way back to Keflavik, where we had booked accommodation for our second night in Iceland. According to the first plan ChatGPT made for us, we were supposed to just get back to the hotel and have a dinner in the area. I wanted, however, to see the lava fields outside Reykjavik and thought this evening or the next morning are the perfect time since our accommodation was only 20 minutes away from them. So I made the AI to adjust the program and include them. It suggested to go first to the Seltun geothermal area and then to Fagradalsfjall volcano area, with both being possible to visit the same evening.

I have to confess I knew nothing about Seltun before we went there, but the place is absolutely stunning and is one of the best sights we visited that day. It reminded me of a moonscape rather than something from this planet and I was totally amazed by the vibrant colors created by mineral reactions. We were also able to see mud pots and fumaroles- vents releasing hot steam and sulfur gases. There is a wooden pathway throughout the side, so it is very easy to walk there from the parking lot. Here again you have to pay a fee to park the car and there are toilet facilities on sight. It took us about 20 minutes to walk the entire trail, but it was definitely a worthy experience.

Next, we tried to visit Fagradalsfjall, but it turned out we would need at least 45 minutes to climb in order to reach any view point, so we decided to leave it for another day, if time permits.

The hotel we stayed in that evening was Marriott Keflavik. What I have to say about it is that it is nice, but does not possess the charm of some of the smaller places we ended up staying in. Breakfast was also with additional charge and we decided to opt out and eat from our snacks. A huge plus is that there are charging stations right outside the hotel.

A tip here is that if you want to have dinner, better skip Londrangar. We arrived at the hotel after 9 p.m. and most of the restaurants around were already closed. There was an option to dine there, but we did not quite like the menu we saw at reception.

It was a very full day of adventures and we went to bed exhausted, but also content and excited about the rest of our trip and what more Iceland had to offer!

If you wish to read about the rest of our epic vacation, please follow the link to Part Two.

Photos: Personal archive