Jaja Ding Dong: Executing a perfect road trip in Iceland
This is the second part of our road trip in Iceland story. In the first part we told about planning and preparing for a legendary trip.
Day 1: Arrival into a cold bath. 4 hour driving and 4 hour hiking
The trip started with a Covid test at the KEF airport. It was a simple and quick procedure, but it caused hours of suspense culminating with three negative test results!
We started the trip driving south to Grindavik, had a fisherman’s lunch at Briggjan cafe and drove through Reykjanesfólkvangur national park to Reykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River.
We started the day very excited for the supposedly beautiful hike with an anticipation to jump into a thermal river. We were so excited that we decided to ignore the disappointing weather and go for it anyway. Then what was supposed to be a 40 minute hike turned out to be a two hour struggle between tourists and nature. Not only did we not get to see much of the beautiful scenery because of the heavy fog, we also had to endure the pouring rain and intense wind. By the time we reached the thermal baths, any water resistance our shoes and clothes had had depleted completely — we had little lakes in our shoes and we were completely drenched in water. The hike culminated with a discovery that the thermal river was not warm at all, probably due to the rain. At this point we only had one option left — suck it up and walk back to the car. We had to change into our swimming suits to dry off and drive to our hotel near Gullfoss Falls that night. What a start to the trip!
Day 2: Golden Circle+. 2 hour drive and many hours of sightseeing
OK, we did not drive around the full Golden Circle, but we did see the best parts of it in the morning: Gullfoss Falls and Geysir. Fun fact: Geysir is the grandmother of all geysers (because it named them).
We had lunch at a tomato farm (including tomato beer and tomato cheesecake) and continued driving south to Gamla Laugin (Secret Lagoon Hot Spring) for our first bath. We ended the day with a quick stop at Seljalandsfoss. We stayed at Ásólfsskáli Cottage that night and took a short hike over some not-so-dangerous hills (But it was super fun and highly recommended, if you get to stay there!).
Day 3: Beaches. 4–5 hour drive and some beach time
This was when our wind resistant clothes really came into play. Although Iceland has beautiful beaches, the wind can sometimes ruin the party. Our day started with Reynisdrangar and ended near Diamond Beach.
We stayed in private cottages at Hrafnavir Guest House that evening.
Day 4: Rally! 4.5 hour drive and 3 hour hike
After a delicious breakfast at Hrafnavir Guest House, we started the day with a 3.5 hour drive to Stuðlagil Canyon. We got very lucky today because the weather was absolutely amazing. The drive along the south-eastern coast was extremely beautiful. We took a quick stop to take some photos and another stop shortly after for a quick toilet break. That second stop then turned into one of the most fun and memorable adventures of this trip. Stephan had the brilliant idea to jump into the same waterfall that we peed into, to which we unanimously agreed. We all changed into our swimwear and took turns going into the waterfall. The water felt extremely cold at first, but our seasoned bodies adapted within a few seconds. The warm weather helped us dry quickly and we hit the road again.
In the afternoon, we got the chance to rally on gravel roads without breaking the 80km/h speed limit. One thing worth noting is that it is common for sheep or other animals to roam around the roads, so make sure to watch out for them while driving.
In the afternoon, we arrived at the lower part of Stuðlagil Canyon and took a long hike to see the famous basalt columns. The round trip was about 3 hours, which gave us a great opportunity to chat and get to know each other better while enjoying the scenery. If you are short on time, you can instead drive to the top of the canyon.
After the busiest day of the trip we had a late dinner and spent the night in an elf house!
Day 5: Jaja Ding Dong! 5 hour drive
This was a relatively quiet day, mostly spent on driving and listening to audio books.
That morning we took a quick stop at Grjótagjá cave. This was probably the least prepared we were during the entire trip. The first thing we noticed upon arrival to the parking lot was all these people wearing full head coverings. The situation was very confusing, but soon enough we found out that they were protecting against clouds of midges! Fortunately, we had medical face masks and hoodies; we wore them and braced ourselves.
On the way towards north west, we decided to take a detour to Husavik — the home town of Sigrit and Lars in Eurovision. Husavik’s atmosphere was a great embodiment of calmness.
We stayed there for a bit before driving to our cottage at a horse farm. If you plan to stay at Sindrastadir Laekjamoti, make sure to double check the address and directions as they could be a bit misleading and confusing.
Pro tip: play Jaja Ding Dong to occasionally break the quietness in the car.
Day 6: Bouldering. 3 hour drive
We decided to cook our own breakfast this morning because we had a bit more free time today (also because we were in the middle of nowhere with no other options). We took a quick look at the horse farm before leaving the cottage. These were some very accomplished horses; there was a room filled with their medals and trophies!
Although this was the last day of our road trip, some of the most exciting adventures were still awaiting us. We drove back to Reykjavik, ate some protein bars, listened to Ray Dalio’s “Principles”, and went bouldering.
In the evening we had dinner at Seabaron. We then went to the EVE online monument nearby to locate one of our colleague’s username there. Fun fact — EVE Online made a monument in Reykjavik and put its users’ names on it. It did take us a while to locate our colleague’s username among thousands of others, but we enjoyed reading these occasionally bizarre names.
We ended the night with White Russians at the Lebowski bar. We stayed at Hilton that night and it was a very comfortable stay.
Day 7: Lifting with Thor and Blue Lagoon. 1 hour drive
Today was the cherry on top of the cake that was this road trip. We started with a massive hotel breakfast, then rested a bit and headed to Thor’s Power Gym. We did not actually expect to meet the World’s Strongest Man there, but we got lucky again!
In the evening, we drove to our hotel before walking over to the Blue Lagoon. We recommend staying at Northern Light Inn as it is only a 15 minute walk from the Blue Lagoon and a short drive from KEF airport, if you plan to fly out from there the next morning. We do not recommend getting food in Blue Lagoon, because the restaurant there is overpriced and food was only mediocre. Regardless, we found the Blue Lagoon to be a very relaxing experience, including the in-water massage. Overall, this was a perfect ending to our amazing trip in Iceland!
P.s. we do not have any photos from Blue Lagoon, because we didn’t want to risk drowning our phones.
Credits: These articles were co-written with Miffy Sun.