FOUR DAYS CAMPERVAN FRIENDLY ITINERARY FOR ICELAND
Only got few days to explore Iceland? No problem, even in few days you can see and do many nice things. Especially if you are planning your trip in the summer time, when sun never sets. That is right, between June – August we have phenomena called Midnight Sun which makes travelling in Iceland easy.
Have you already booked your camper van for your trip in Iceland? Check the options.
Anyway, lets get to the point. I’d like to share with you what you can do in four days in Iceland.
Itinerary below includes sightseeing stops, grocery stores and campsite options.
Day 1 – Arrival
First day’s adventure will more or less depend on your arrival time to Iceland. While North American flights arrive early morning, most flights from Europe come in the afternoon or even late at night.
If you are lucky to have an early morning arrival, then keep on reading to see what activities you can do on this day. Late night arrivals, check the camping options below.
As you probably already know, Keflavik International Airport is situated in Reykjanes Peninsula, 45min. away from Reykjavik. No I am not suggesting to drive directly to the city. You’d be missing out so much by doing so!
Before heading to the city you can cover the following locations:
Bridge Between the Continents
Gunnuhver Geothermal Area
Valahnúkamöl Lava Beach
Blue Lagoon Spa (make sure to book ahead of arrival)
Seltún Geothermal Area
Kleifarvatn Lake
Please note that covering all of the stops might require you at least 5-6 hours. My suggestion is, if you stop at the Blue Lagoon, it is best to skip Seltún and Kleifarvatn or via versus. But if you had a good sleep during the flight and are full of energy to do all the stops, then go for it.
Grocery shops:
10/11 (at the airport, open 24/7)
Bónus, Krónan, Hagkaup (Address: Fitjar)
Camping options:
Sandgerdi Campground (near the airport)
Vogar Campground (near the airport)
Grindavik Campground (near Blue Lagoon)
Viðistaðatún (Reykjavik area)
Reykjavik Campsite (near the city center)
Day 2 – South Coast
How was your first night in the wilderness of Iceland? Did you meet some elves? Ok, this was just a silly joke.
Lets get ready for some more adventure. Today is a good day to cover South Coast of Iceland.
It will be approx. 2 hours drive to reach the first highlight of the South. Don’t get scared of boredom. You won’t be bored. No matter if you drive from the campsite located in Reykjanes Peninsula or Reykjavik city, you will cover some of the moon-a-like landscapes with colorful Icelandic moss covering vast lava fields.
Please note that it is strictly forbidden to walk on the moss. Due to its’ fragility, it would easily die by the moment you step on them. So please don’t do so.
First stop of the route is Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, the one that falls from 60m (196 ft) down into a small pool and runs from it to the river. If you are traveling in the spring or summer time, there is a path that takes you behind the waterfall where you will have a magical view.
Just 30min. away, there is Skógafoss Waterfall. It is at the same height as the first one. At this one you can not walk behind it. But you can walk over 200 steps up the hill to see it from above. If you continue hiking from the view point for another 10min., you would approach another, slightly smaller waterfall.
Enough of waterfalls for the day. Lets move on to the next stop – Sólheimajökull Glacier, it is an outlet glacier that derives from the 4th biggest glacier in Iceland called Mýrdalsjökull. At the base camp you can book variety of tours, such as kayaking, glacier hiking, snowmobiling and more. I do however highly recommend to prebook them online.
Next stop is Sólheimasandur where you can see United States Navy DC3 Plane Wreck that ran out of fuel and crashed in the middle of nowhere in 1973. Today this sight is so popular that you won’t even need to walk 3km, 45min. (each way) to see it. There is a scheduled bus that can take you there and back.
If you decide to walk there, please bear in mind that the weather there might change suddenly, with no warning signs. On January 17, 2020 two tourists were found dead there. If you don’t want to end up being in the headlines of the news, check Safetravel.is alerts and follow weather updates on Iceland’s Meteorological Office website.
In approx. 30min. is another beautiful stop called Dyrholaey, which is actually used to be an Iceland some thousand years ago. But due to flooding from the glaciers, new land mass has filled the shore and now it is accessible by cars. Please note that Dyrholaey is closed from the first week of May until mid of June due to bird nesting period.
Now you have covered all stops of the day, except one – Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach. Beautiful shoreline filled with black volcanic sand, dark stacks standing out in the ocean and basalt column caves makes it one of the most beautiful beach in the world (lets say so). Even though my description sounded very romantic, there is a dark side of this place. There have been several deaths at this beach due to not following the warning signs and careless behaviour. I won’t be your father or mother to explain what to do and not to do there. The signs and warnings at the beach are self-explanatory.
Grocery shops:
Bónus (in Hveragerði)
Krónan (in Selfoss)
Kjarval (in Hella)
Krónan (in Hvolsvöllur)
Krónan (in Vík)
Camping options:
Skógafoss campsite (near the waterfall)
Vik Campsite
Day 3 – Golden Circle
Today you will start the day with approx. 1h50min. drive to reach the first Golden Circle’s stop which is Kerid Crater, 3000 years old crater, with a small lagoon inside of caldera. Entrance is 400 kr per person. You can pay by card or cash.
25min away from there is an interesting place called Friðheimar. It is a family owned cultivation center that specializes in growing tomatoes. Another fun thing about this place is a restaurant located in one of the green houses where you can enjoy tomato soup, tomato beer, tomato tea and many other things…with tomatoes! Restaurant is open from 11:30 to 16:00. If you are planning to visit in the summer time, it is highly recommended to call and book a table.
7 min. away from Friðheimar there is a small, cute waterfall by name Faxi, entrance fee is 700 kr per car.
Now it is time to see the big-three stops of the Golden Circle. First stop is Geysir Geothermal Area, famous for its steamy landscape and Strokkur geyser that usually erupts every 5 min. Fun fact: In the park there is dormant geyser called Geysir, that is where the word geyser derives from. On top of the fun fact I’d like to mention that this geyser is not dead at all. Last time it erupted in 2000 and who knows when it decides to wake up again.
Just 10min. away from Geysir is Gullfoss Waterfall, famous for its’ unusual cascades and amount of water that runs through it. In the summer there is a path that takes you really close to the water. Winter visitors can still enjoy its’ beauty from a distance.
Now you are only 50min. away from to the last big-three stop. On the way you can make a short stop at Efstidalur Farm for locally made ice cream. You can also stop at Fontana Spa to relax at the geothermal bath or simply to taste geothermally baked traditional Icelandic bread.
And now, last but not least – Þingvellir National Park. Famous for several things: location of the first parliament in the world, tectonic plates that are visible above the sea level and beautiful Þingvellir lake. You can also do the diving there between the continents at Silfra rift.
Grocery stores:
Krónan (in Selfoss)
Þrastalundur shop (at Þrastalundur)
Thingvellir Tourist Information Centre (at Þingvellir National Park)
Camping options:
Reykjavik Campsite (near the city center)
Þingvellir Campsites
Day 4 – Departure
We really hope that you had a good adventure in past few days and will bring beautiful memories back home.
If your flight is late at night, you can use the time to explore the city or visit Reykjanes peninsula which was described on the first day’s itinerary.
Once, again thanks for choosing us and hope to see you once again in Iceland!
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