We’ve had a few people ask us the details of our itinerary, so I’m listing it here.  Most of the credit goes to Rick Steves, whose suggested path we followed pretty faithfully.  We added in a few stops and took out a few others (mostly museums), and we didn’t visit too many of his recommended lodgings or restaurants (mostly due to price and/or availability), but we drove the route he told us to drive and slept in the towns he told us to overnight in.

And we all agreed that we would do it pretty much the same way again.  I don’t think there was anything on this list that we would skip, and not much we feel we missed out on either.  Most of the places we visited were right on the main route, with ample free parking, bathrooms, well laid-out paths, and informative sign boards.  Everything was clean and safe, and everyone was friendly and helpful.

Our itinierary did involve a lot of driving, but the driving was so scenic that it could often be considered an attraction in and of itself.  Our full-sized sedan managed to fit five of us, plus all our stuff, in semi-comfort, and the middle-seat-rotation system that we worked out with the girls prevented too much strife in the back seat.

Making it all the way around the ring in 9 days meant staying on the move.  We spent only one night in each place, except for Lake Myvatn, where we stayed one extra night to see the many attractions in the area.

We stayed mostly in guest houses, which are kind of a cross between a hostel and a hotel.  We had our own room or rooms, but usually shared a bathroom and had access to shared kitchen facilities.  This proved to be valuable since restaurants in Iceland are so expensive, and for occasions where we were too late/too tired to go out.

This was an excellent destination during Covid times.  Iceland’s vaccine rate is very high and Covid rate was low (though this was starting to change towards the end of our trip).  Vaccinated Americans (as of this time) can enter the country without needing to test or quarantine.  To get back to the US, we had to present a negative Covid test, but Iceland simplified this by having a rapid test site (15 minute results) right next to the airport.  We spent the vast majority of our time outside — for the most part, we were only indoors in our hotel room (we even ate mostly outside) — so our exposure risk was low in any case.

For most of our trip, we were able to almost forget about the pandemic.  Other than hand sanitizer prominently displayed at the entrances to many hotels and restaurants, there didn’t seem to be many precautions in place.  But in the last couple of days, we saw a change — more masks and more caution.  We’re not sure if this is because we were in the more populous capital area, or because the state of things had worsened during our week.

Day 1: Keflavik airport to Borgarnes

• Fagradalsfjall volcano
• Blue Lagoon
• Lodging: Seaside airbnb

Day 2: Borgarnes to Siglufjordur

• Hraunfossar & Barnafossar waterfalls
• Haalfell Goat Farm 
• Grabrok Volcano Crater hike
• Stroll around Siglufjordur
• Lodging: Herring House guesthouse

Day 3: Siglufjordur to Lake Myvatn

• Akureyri – botanic garden & walk; lunch
• Godafoss falls 
• Namafjall Geothermal Area 
• Krafla Geothermal Valley
• Leirhnjukur Volcanic Cone hike
• Viti Crater
  
• Lodging: Elda Guesthouse

Day 4: Around Lake Myvatn

All the attractions below except the nature baths are on a loop right around the lake.  I was originally hoping to do this by bike, but we were daunted when we saw the narrow, shoulderless road and fast-moving traffic.  It was just as well, since we encountered a fair amount of rain in the afternoon and ended up not having a lot of extra time (partly due to our kids’ chronic inability to get up early in the morning).

• Hverfall Crater rim hike
  

  The Old Hospital was the loveliest place we stayed.

• Dimmuborgir Lava Formations
• Hofoi Promontory
• Skutustadir Pseudocraters
• Myvatn Nature Baths
• Lodging: Elda Guesthouse

Day 5: Lake Myvatn to Seydisfjordur

• Horseback ride at Safari Stables
• Dentifoss Falls
• Rjukandafoss waterfall
• Stroll around Seydisfjordur town & lagoon
• Lodging: Halfadan Old Hospital Hostel

Day 6: Seydisfjordur to south of Hofn

• Roadside stop at unnamed pebble beach
• Jökulsárlón Iceberg Lagoon
• Fjallsárlón Iceberg Lagoon boat tour on Zodiac raft
• Diamond Beach
• Lodging: Gerdi Guesthouse

Day 7: South of Hofn to Hafnarfjörður (Reykjavik suburb)

• Skaftafell Natl Park 
• Reynisfjara Beach
• Seljalandsfoss waterfall
  
• Lodging: T10 hotel

(We intended to stop at the Lava Center museum at the end of the day — Rick Steves claimed it was open late — but found that it unfortunately had closed at 4.)

Day 8: Hafnarfjörður to Keflavik airport

• Downtown Reykjavik
• Covid test
• Flight home!

 

The last day of a trip always brings its own special pressures — usually in the form of a plane we have to get on before it takes off and the multiple hurdles we have to jump to get there.

This year there was an extra hurdle:  We had to submit to a Covid test before the US would let us back in.  Jen had appointments for tests all set set up, and she also arranged for an early evening flight so we would have time to experience a little of Reykyavik before leaving iceland.

And, we were well set-up for the day.  Our slightly-sketchy-from-the-outside-but-really-nice-on-the-inside hotel was a short drive to our main stomping ground for the day: downtown Reykjavik.

 

Before we headed out in the moring, there was a little jostling to do, moving belongings that had become loose in the back of the car back into our suitcases, adjusting things so that we could get as much in our checked bag (and as little in our carry-ons) as possible, clearing out all the cupholders of Werther’s wrappers and napkins.  This is all prep-work for the final goal of getting ourselves on the right plane at the right time, and the prep-work has to start early on departure day.

We should note that the parents of this operation have been pretty good at getting ourselves up at a reasonable hour — 6:30- 7 am, local time — and we were able to take care of most of our shufflng and packing without disturbing the girls’ sleep.   Like several nights on this trip, we were sleeping five to a room.

What we weren’t able to do today was find coffee, save for a jar of instant grounds in the communal kitchen on our floor.  Prep-work today would have to be performed without the aid of caffeine, though there was the stimulating smell of a bacon factory a few blocks away as we roamed around in a fruitless search for a cafe.  Sadly, there did not seem to be a direct sales outlet attached to the bacon factory.

Caffeine-deprived and bacon-starved as we were, we all were sufficiently packed and in the car by 10 am.  A 20-minute drive got us right to the center of the capital, a city of low hills surrounding a bay and spreading tidily inland in residential waves.  The highways had expanded to three lanes but the bustle was manageable and parking was not difficult to procure even though the downtown streets were narrow, in the way the European city streets are.

Thus commenced our only major urban hike of the trip.  With somewhat blind luck we managed to park only a block from the main pedestrian downtown network, and Jen had just enough Icelandic coins to procure us parking until 1 pm (and still leave one coin for our family foreign coin collection).

Reykjavik is a fine walking city.  We followed cobblestone streets past food stands and souvenir shops, plus plenty of restaurants and bars that didn’t look like they would start stirring for another few hours.   After experiencing relatively infrequent eating options for most of the trip, we were facing a potentially paralyzing wealth of lunch options as well as shopping spots.  Fortunately, we had a few goals in mind to help focus us.  One was find a Christmas ornament (the traditional family gift we buy ourselves when we travel to new places).  The other was to sample the fish and chips here — reportedly an extra-fresh, extra-delicious experience in this cold-water port.

With a 1 pm parking deadline hanging over our heads (and then a 2:30 pm Covid test to get to after that), could we take care of all this business?

Well, despite the fact that the pedestrian section of downtown Reykjavik has surprsingly more ground to cover than we expected, we are happy to say: “Missions Accomplished!”

We even had enough time to visit two fish and chips establishments and hold a taste test.  We put Rick Steves’ favored version against that of another outlet we passed in our amblings.  Reykjavik Fish gave an impressive amount of thick cod, that it advertised as being fresh daily.  It also costed about $4 more, but it had Rick’s blessing.  In the other corner was 101 Reykjavik Street Food.  Portion size was smaller, but so was the price tag.  The crust on the fish was crumblier but very tasty.  In the end, it came down to the potatoes.  101 Reykjavik Street Food had crispier fries, and thus edged its way into the Pavlik family fish and chips endorsement.

(Note: Nadia passed on fish and had a waffle for lunch.)

Having taken care of this buisness, and having adequately covered the quaint streets of old Reykjavik, we picked up some gelato on our way back to the car.  Then, it was time to hurdle the Covid test.  It took about half an hour from when we walked in the door of the clinic, but when we walked out we were certified Corona-free.

Next was dropping off the rental car (and taking advantage of the free coffee maker, which was no longer in cleaning mode).  Then navigating the airport and sliding into our seats.

It was an uneventful flight, with the exception some cool views of icebergs off Greenland.

After that, it was only a matter of Jen finding a suitable implement to scratch the coating off Iceland on the kitchen table map.

The Pavlik family 2021 Iceland  trip is now officially complete.