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Trip Report

Visiting Iceland in winter

Visiting beautiful Iceland in the winter in expectation for northern lights

  • Black Sand Beach+ 6
  • Sunset at Black Sand Beach
  • Aurora Borealis at night
  • Visiting Iceland in winter
juliana
About Me:Happy person traveling around the work read more

EuropeIceland3 days / November - December 2017

Highs & Lows

Natural beauty and aurora

Prices, but you can find economic ways to do the trip

Itinerary Overview

The first beautiful place we visited was the Black Sand Beach. This beach is close to the village Vík. We didn't visit Vík itself (because we were more interested in nature), but I guess it's a quite nice place to see if you want to visit.

It's a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava and amazing stones. We watched the most beautiful sunset there. 

I have to admit that we were quite lucky with the weather, it hardly rained the time we were there, so we could enjoy it a lot.

And in the night we went there to see the northern lights - and we were lucky. It looked so amazing - the green and purple northern lights dancing. It was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life.

Before going to Vík we visited on our way a very delicious tomato soup place called Friðheimar. (It's not that close, but it was on our way and definitely worth it.) They grow their own tomatoes in a glasshouse where also the restaurant is inside. You can enjoy your soup with bread and herbs there and visit the glasshouse with its special tomatoes.

 

Second amazing stop

Iceland is a very beautiful island - especially in winter. One might think that the temperatures are very low. But the time we were there (end of November and beginning of December) it was around 0 degrees Celsius. But to be fair - what made it icy was the wind. So you should make sure that you have enough clothes with you (gloves, warm shoes, warm jacket, warm hat, ...)

For the next place, we went very early in the still cold morning so that we could enjoy the sunrise. 

Diamond Beach has small and big ice cubes on it, which look like diamonds in the light of the sun - therefore the name. If you have your gloves with you, you can try to hold a big ice cube to take a nice picture.

There is also an amazing lagoon around which is called Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. It is definitely worth a visit too.

You can take a walk along the beach, you can walk around the lagoon and spend a calm and nice time there.

Another highlight this day was Svinafellsjokul Glacier. It was just amazing to walk on the glacier, even though I was a little scared. It was absolutely worth it.

 

The third location which I liked a lot is the canyon of Fjaðrárgljúfur. 

Going up you have a beautiful few on the canyon. To be honest, there are bigger canyons in the world, but I found this one really lovely.

On our way there, we also visited the Eldhraun lava field, which is very interesting to see and surely worth a visit if you are interested.

Both can be reached easily by car. Here is one tip for the car. You should make sure to close all the doors because of the strong wind if you want to bring back your car completely.

We were told that it was better to choose a 4x4 vehicle in winter. And that's what we did in the end. We stayed in the south of the island since going by car in the north during the winter can get difficult. Besides that, there is enough to see in the south to spend one week. 

 

 

  • 1 Night: Black Sand Beach
    Its a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava
  • 1 Night: Diamond Beach
    beautiful beach with beautiful natural sorrounding
  • 1 Night: Fjaðrárgljúfur
    amazing canyon
Black Sand Beach - Its a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava
1

Black Sand Beach Its a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava

Black Sand Beach - Its a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava - Black Sand Beach
Black Sand Beach
Black Sand Beach - Its a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava - Sunset at Black Sand Beach
Sunset at Black Sand Beach
Black Sand Beach - Its a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava - Aurora Borealis at night
Aurora Borealis at night

The first beautiful place we visited was the Black Sand Beach. This beach is close to the village Vík. We didn't visit Vík itself (because we were more interested in nature), but I guess it's a quite nice place to see if you want to visit.

It's a beautiful beach with black sand from volcano lava and amazing stones. We watched the most beautiful sunset there. 

I have to admit that we were quite lucky with the weather, it hardly rained the time we were there, so we could enjoy it a lot.

And in the night we went there to see the northern lights - and we were lucky. It looked so amazing - the green and purple northern lights dancing. It was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life.

 

Before going to Vík we visited on our way a very delicious tomato soup place called Friðheimar. (It's not that close, but it was on our way and definitely worth it.) They grow their own tomatoes in a glasshouse where also the restaurant inside. You can enjoy your soup with bread and herbs there and visit the glasshouse with its special tomatoes.

Diamond Beach - beautiful beach with beautiful natural sorrounding
2

Diamond Beach beautiful beach with beautiful natural sorrounding

Diamond Beach - beautiful beach with beautiful natural sorrounding - Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach
Diamond Beach - beautiful beach with beautiful natural sorrounding - Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon
Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon
Diamond Beach - beautiful beach with beautiful natural sorrounding - Svinafellsjokul Glacier
Svinafellsjokul Glacier

Second amazing stop

Iceland is a very beautiful island - especially in winter. One might think that the temperatures are very low. But the time we were there (end of November and beginning of December) it was around 0 degrees Celsius. But to be fair - what made it icy was the wind. So you should make sure that you have enough clothes with you (gloves, warm shoes, warm jacket, warm hat, ...)

For the next place, we went very early in the still cold morning so that we could enjoy the sunrise. 

Diamond Beach has small and big ice cubes on it, which look like diamonds in the light of the sun - therefore the name. If you have your gloves with you, you can try to hold a big ice cube to take a nice picture.

There is also an amazing lagoon around which is called Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. It is definitely worth a visit too.

You can take a walk along the beach, you can walk around the lagoon and spend a calm and nice time there.

Another highlight this day was Svinafellsjokul Glacier. It was just amazing to walk on the glacier, even though I was a little scared. It was absolutely worth it.

Fjaðrárgljúfur - amazing canyon
3

Fjaðrárgljúfur amazing canyon

Fjaðrárgljúfur - amazing canyon - Canyon of Fjaðrárgljúfur
Canyon of Fjaðrárgljúfur
Fjaðrárgljúfur - amazing canyon - Eldhraun lava field
Eldhraun lava field
Fjaðrárgljúfur - amazing canyon - More of Eldhraun lava field
More of Eldhraun lava field

The third location which I liked a lot is the canyon of Fjaðrárgljúfur. 

Going up you have a beautiful few on the canyon. To be honest, there are bigger canyons in the world, but I found this one really lovely.

On our way there, we also visited the Eldhraun lava field, which is very interesting to see and surely worth a visit if you are interested.

Both can be reached easily by car. Here is one tip for the car. You should make sure to close all the doors because of the strong wind if you want to bring back your car completely.

We were told that it was better to choose a 4x4 vehicle in winter. And that's what we did in the end. We stayed in the south of the island since going by car in the north during the winter can get difficult. Besides that, there is enough to see in the south to spend one week. 

Q & A

  • What would you have changed?

    It was an amazing trip, and I wouldn't have changed anything. This is of course personal opinion. The only thing to mention here, is that the prices are quite high. But you can find economic ways to travel (for example not go to restaurant, but buy at supermarket and cook at hostel)
  • Anything go wrong during the trip?

    As I mentioned, we were very lucky with the weather. You just have to take care with the wind and the weather, since it can change from one moment to another. Besides that, it's a safe country with nice people.
  • Restaurant recommendations?

    The tomato soup place for sure. If you want you can try some specialties of Iceland maybe in Reykjavik, but I do not have any concrete recommendations.
  • Tips you would give a friend?

    Take warm cloths with you
  • Packing tips?

    Warm cloths and be prepared for rain
  • Transportation Tips?

    Renting a car was fine and easy, streets are good to drive on. Sometimes there are more adventurous roads, but it is still ok