Deciding a destination for our next adventure is always a process. We throw around a few different possibilities, do some research, watch some documentaries, and change our mind every five seconds. I started to hear about Iceland after one of my coworkers went a while back and absolutely loved it. After he talked about his trip, it seemed that Iceland was everywhere-we’d get on a MTA train and see an Iceland Air ad, we’d see a post of “bucket list” trips and run into random people who went to Iceland. It seemed like Iceland was the place to visit and we decided to do just that. We started to watch documentaries, ordered a few books and started reading blogs about Iceland to see what to expect. Let me tell you-Iceland is like no other place you’ve ever been to. So follow along as I share our journey around Iceland on the Ring Road (Route 1).

DAY 1: Reykjavik ——-> Vik 

Our Icelandic adventure started with a fairly short overnight flight from JFK to Reykjavik. We went directly to the office of Happy Campers, where we received the keys to our home-on-wheels for the next six days.

As you scroll through the pictures, you’ll find tips and our take on what we did, where we slept, what we ate and what we saw.

Let me tell you…this is NOT for everyone. I wasn’t sure if it was even for us at first, but since we love a good adventure, I was up for it. And that’s just it-if you are adventurous, low maintenance and willing to work a little on vacation, a Happy Camper is perfect. I wouldn’t want to see Iceland any other way and when we go back to Iceland (because we will), Happy Camper is the way we’ll go again. The van comes with a small refrigerator, heater, a bed (the couch folds out), bedding and sink. It’s very comfortable and extremely cozy!

Once we had our home and unpacked, we decided to stroll around Reykjavik for a bit. We flew in on Good Friday, which meant that a lot of places were closed, but we still got to enjoy the city for an hour or so. It wasn’t too cold, but was gray and a bit wet-still our spirits were high and we had this feeling of anticipation for the road that lay ahead. We visited Hallgrímskirkja Church, which is such a sight! It was designed by Guðjón Samuel in 1937 and looks like basalt lave flows found around Iceland. We were able to just walk in and look around for free, but did pay ISK 600 (around $5)/adult to enter the tower, which has beautiful views of Reykjavik.

Reykjavik is a beautiful city that has colorful houses, unique stores (not a single chain store/restaurant in sight!), and fun cafes (that turn into bars at night), but there will be a post with more details later on, as we did spend a night in the city at the end of our trip.

(the Sun Voyager, an ode to the sun)

We finally got on the road in our Happy Camper and headed East. At this point, we were a bit nervous because the road ahead was so unknown! We’ve never slept outside, in a van, in the middle of a foreign country, and here we were.

We missed a turn at some point and didn’t go straight to the 1 (the Ring Road), but ended up on the 41. We found our way to the 1 without too much loss of time and got to enjoy some great sights of the North Atlantic Ocean. During this drive, I had such an eerie feeling because of the surroundings. Not a bad eerie, but a feeling of “wow…what is this place?!” It was so peaceful and we were the only car on the road for miles! Eventually we got used to this, but at first? Wow.

Miles and miles of hard lava covered by moss.

I love how there are these little clusters of homes scattered throughout. The other cool thing is the ever-changing landscape…

Our Happy Camper in the middle of nowhere.

The fact that we were living in a van for a week didn’t kick in until I woke up after a short nap to the smell of coffee. The hubs was getting tired himself and pulled over to “brew” some fresh coffee. No, we didn’t have a fancy coffee maker, but we did have a pot to boil water in and paired it with Starbucks Via. Happy Campers provided us with two Bodum travel mugs and I kid you not, that was the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had. This is the moment that the definition of our adventure became very clear and I couldn’t be happier. We very happy campers in a Happy Camper 🙂

After our short break, we got back on the road without much of a plan in mind, except to take in this beautiful country one sight at a time.

We pulled over for a few minutes to take in the beautiful North Atlantic Ocean…

A piece of glacier ice…

There was a little restaurant on the beach above…we sat down for another cup of coffee and tried to take in the crazy and amazing nature around us. We were in the middle of nowhere, with no concrete plans… surrounded by peace and serenity.

We got back on the road and drove for a little longer before we came upon Seljalandsfoss- a water fall that is between Selfoss and Skógafoss on Route 1 (Ring Road). The falls drop 60 meters over the former coastline. This was the first “official” natural landmark that we saw in Iceland and I couldn’t stop smiling! I was so excited that I ran out in my Uggs, which ended up a bit dangerous because it was so slippery around the falls. We took our selfie stick out and snapped away!

 

It’s a surreal experience… Seeing this on the side of the road. We quickly learned that it’s very common to see waterfalls along the road- the coastline receded over the years, creating natural falls everywhere. Everything in Iceland is so simple- you just pull over and explore.. No tricks, no gimmicks.

p.s. These are Icelandic horses..not to be confused with ponies…They are beautiful and are everywhere. Some towns have more horses than people…

Our Happy Camper took us back to the Ring Road and we headed towards Vik, where we planned to stay the night. Along the way, we stopped by the incredible Skógafoss, another waterfall that drops 60 meters and is 25 meters wide. Man, these falls are so powerful! Fun fact, Thor: The Dark World and Secret Life of Walter Mitty featured these falls. 

Lake like a mirror…

So many buildings have a red roof…

Walking up steps to the top of Skógafoss- worth the climb

I mean…wow. Talk about “up close and personal”…

Talk about feeling small and insignificant…

A good pair of hiking boots is EXTREMELY important for Iceland…forget everything else. Just pack a pair of sturdy boots.

p.s. The Ring Road leads you to all of these great places. Just follow the 1…

We got back on the road and headed toward our stop for the night. We wanted to reach Vik before it got dark because we weren’t sure what to expect..after all, this was our first night in the Happy Camper.

Vik…the southernmost village in Iceland, around 110 miles southeast of Rejkjavik just off the Ring Road. That’s the beauty of Iceland and the Ring Road…towns/villages are build directly off the road and around the coast. You really don’t need directions..just follow the ring. Vik has around 300 settlers and is the largest settlement for 43 miles. This is where you will find the black sand beach..once named one of the ten most beautiful beaches on earth.

We were so excited to see this church because it was Good Friday…unfortunately is was closed…We quickly learned that every town/village has a church, public pools and campsite. Most campsites are closed during the colder months, and were still closed in April. All that means is that the restroom/shower isn’t available, but you can still use the site to park your camper for the night. We used the restroom at the gas station across the street from the campsite (open until 9PM) and parked with two other campers for the night. Where did we shower? Stay tuned…

The black sand beach. “Fingers” of basalt rocks make for quite the sight- called Reynisdrangar. They used to be part of a more extensive coastline.

We tried our first bowl of Kjotsupa- a traditional lamb soup. This was tasty and perfect for a chilly night.

We settled in for the night, safe from the wind and rain. Since we had no wi-fi, I read a book and the hubs listened to a podcast. We had some tea, ate cup noodle soup, and cuddled. We had great sleeping bags from Happy Campers (for a small fee) in addition to the bedding and had such a great night of sleep! This reminded us of our first year of marriage before we got a TV…cozy, reflective, simple.

A few things we learned day 1: Iceland is a travelers dream. There are signs everywhere, it’s SO safe, people are very friendly, and it’s truly not like any other place you’ve ever seen before. And this is just Day 1…there are 7 more to go, so stay tuned!

All photos taken with iPhone 6…some while the van was in motion.