[Road trip in Iceland] Day 12: Snæfellsjökull, Arnastapi, Krauma
Itinerary
To consult our personalized Google maps (a little less detailed than usual for day 12 because there are too many stops), click here
Today, we experience for the first time the wind & rain combo so characteristic to Iceland. With a few rare clearings from time to time. Before, we had either sunshine or grey sky, but no rain yet. With such conditions and as we are at the end of our stay, the visits are less cool and we are too lazy, would be only to get out of the car
Part 1: Travel Diary Part
2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Diary
Stop 1: Skarðsvík Beach
It is a beautiful beach with yellow sand (whereas most of the beaches in Iceland have black sand), whose water is so beautiful (even when it rains) that you feel like swimming. Be careful, even in summer, it isn’t possible because the current is much too strong.
Stop 2: Svörtuloft headlight
To get there, you have to take a road in rather bad condition. Normal cars will do very well but you will have to drive at 20km/h. The lighthouse isn’t very pretty, but the cliffs around are impressive. Very few tourists venture so far, so we are alone with birds – very noisy. They seem to follow the rhythm of the waves (to eat the poor fish swept away by the waves and crushed against the rocks…)
Stop 3 : Djúpalónssandur beach
The moss has regained its color and vitality since our arrival in Iceland 2 weeks ago. It adds a little bit of color to the landscapes, it’s very nice and pleasant (we were a little tired of the palette: yellow – blue – black ahaha)
A small path leads to this viewpoint on the beach of Djúpalónssandur. There are plenty of other viewpoints (between 1km and 2km) to explore more and further but we don’t feel like it when it rains ropes like this.
The explanatory signs indicate that there are two lagoons with drinking water (one is better than the other). There are rocks all round, very heavy, intended to test the physical capacity of the men (and decide whether to recruit them as fishermen or not). Some of them weigh more than 100kg.
Stop 4 : Vatnshellir Cave
It is a lava cave, similar to the one we visited in Jeju. If you want to visit it, go to the parking lot, from there there there is an information center where you can buy tickets and visit it with a guide. The information is marked on the poster below.
Another popular stop just after that is Londrangar, a pair of rocky pinnacles in Iceland. These are volcanic basalt plates, carved into the softer rock by erosion.
Stop 5: Hellnar View point
It was one of the largest fishing villages in the area. Now it is a sad place. We go there to take a picture of the Badstofa cave, very nice when the weather is nice because we can see clearly the 3 colors – coming from three volcanic eruptions. I let you do some research if you want to see what it looks like.
We just take a picture from the parking lot because it’s really too ugly.
Stop 6 : Arnastarpi
It is a very popular stop, frequented by tourist buses. But the site is big enough that we do not walk on each other. We are parked at the carpark near the port. Going to the left, you will see a natural arch(stone bridge), we forgot to go there, but it is a very unsgrammable place
There is also a blower hole. If you place yourself well, you can see down to the bottom of the hole, surrounded by basaltic columns, it’s very nice, but be careful because the waves are very strong.
Here, some basaltic columns are laid horizontally, they look like logs <3
And the most satisfying view of the site, at the end of the road. Further on, there is also an overly beautiful statue made of a large pile of rocks, which leads to another parking lot in the city center.
If you are hungry, you should eat here, there are many restaurants, otherwise you will have to wait 1h30 before finding an open gas station. The OB gas station here seems to be out of order when we went there (April 2019).
Photo stop : Bjarnarfoss
Another waterfall that would have deserved more attention and weather if the weather was better. There is a parking lot, and a small path leading to the bottom of the waterfall.
Note: from June on, you can go to Lýsuhólslaug for a hot bath full of seaweed right afterwards. The texture of the water will not be very pleasant, but the seaweed is excellent for the skin.
Stop 7: Ytri Tunga
As we missed the Seal Beach at the very North (due to inattention on my part hihihi), we take revenge by going to this beach known to shelter a seal colony. With this rotten weather, we were expecting to see none, but finally, we even see two of them ! I let you look for them on the 2nd photo. You can click on it to zoom in.
Seal (and whale) hunting is still allowed, under certain conditions or within the quota, despite international pressure. They are remnants from a time when meat was scarce (and they were starving).
Stop 8: Ölkelduvatn Mineral Spring
We then go to a small water source – which has the particularity of being sparkling. You can see the bubbles coming up, it’s funny.
The farmer, who owns the place, has set up a tap that can be opened to fill his bottle. He asks for a participation of 200kr (to be put in a box). Given the color of the surroundings and that I already have too much iron in my blood, I did not test 🙂
Stop 9: Landbrotalaug Hot Springs
It is one of the best known places to take a warm bath in nature – and for free. I let you look at the pictures on Google. Because I didn’t dare to take a picture of a scantily dressed young man bathing 🙂 It’s a very small bath made of stones, protected from the wind by a little bit of stones (when you squeeze on the spot, you’ll recognize it without any problem). But here it is, no more than 2 persons at the same time and no space to change either (there are toilets – disgusting – at the level of the parking lot).
However, there is a small lake and at the end of the lake you can see a pipe bringing hot water. If you are numerous, it is better to swim there (but you will not be protected from the wind). To get here by car, it’s a bit hard for normal cars (which will drive at 10km/h) but it’s not impossible. The 4×4 will do much better.
Stop 10 : Bodies
We went there to have lunch at the N1 gas station. That makes so much good because we drive on an empty stomach since this morning, and it is already 3:30 pm. There is a bridge nearby, which is described as picturesque in the tourist guides, but with today’s weather, the water is all ugly, everything is super ugly, I don’t see its beauty anywhere ahahah
But as soon as the sun comes back, we are happy to finally see snow-free mountains and see what they really look like without it.
Stop 11: Krauma
Attention, with Laugarvatn Fontana, Krauma is one of the top 3 spas in Iceland, according to our personal criteria. It is a little known address because it is very recent, and it is the 1st time that we are surrounded only by Icelanders.
Just in front of this spa is a 100°C river!!!! This boiling water is mixed with cold water coming from the mountains, to create baths of different temperatures, between 4°C and 43°C, with a beautiful view, and a hot hammam + a relaxation room at the top (fireplace, soft music, total silence). The water isn’t 100% pure, there are some algae floating around, but the overall experience is very pleasant.
I highly recommend you! Admission costs 3800kr/person.
Stop 12 : Barnafoss
We end the day with a visit to Barnafoss, which means “children’s waterfall”. Unfortunately behind this nice name is the drowning (a very long time ago) of two children, while crossing a natural arch above the waterfall. Their mother, devastated, had this arch destroyed so that this kind of accident does not happen anymore.
The water flow is impressive for a very small waterfall, because the river is very powerful too. There are many hiking trails to explore the whole site.
Photos taken on the way to Reykjavík..
Guesthouse Galtafell
We spend the night at Guesthouse Galtafell. It is a very well known address, recommended by the tourist guides. Unfortunately the photos are misleading because they show the owner’s living and dining room, which make you think that they are common areas. This isn’t the case, it is the owner’s living room which we do not have access to. Except at breakfast time (not included in the basic price).
The positive points :
- JB has a discount on Booking : 56€/night, really cheap(Booking link)
- Private bathroom
- Free parking (residential area)
- It’s close to everything, Reykjavík city center is within walking distance from here
By the way, we are in the embassy street, our guesthouse is the former embassy of Malta. A nice nod to JB’s Maltese origins. Next to it are the embassies of Germany and the United States 🙂
The best hot dog in Iceland
Having had a late lunch, we simply opt for a hot dog at Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. Apparently, it’s the best hot dog in town, and even Bill Clinton came here
Well, American presidents aren’t necessarily references in gastronomic advice. After Obama’s bun cha not good (whereas there are plenty of other better restaurants in Hanoi), and thisn’t so special hot dog, we’re going to stop following in the footsteps of the POTUS. Price : 470kr/hot dog
The restaurants aren’t very lively in the evening, they even close very early (22h-22h30), hence the success of this hot dog stand which opens until 2am. This explains that.
Our next article, it’s this way
Part 2: Practical Tips
Budget
- Accommodation: Guesthouse Galtafell(link Booking) 55,87€ double room, private bathroom
- Krauma: hot baths: 4900kr/person
- Lunch: 2200kr/person
- Fuel: 6200kr
- Hot dog : 470kr
