THE NORDIC SERIES, DAY 11
ICELAND
Day 4 in Iceland and it’s time to check out and then head back to the Skaftafell Visitor Centre for the glacier walk and ice cave tour. This is said by many as the highlight of their Iceland adventures, it sure has a lot to beat.
IT’S GREAT TO GET A SCALE OF THESE GLACIERS
It took me months of research to decided which tour we should take and, in the end, booked with Arctic Adventures. If I’m honest they are all pretty much the same and end up on the same glacier.
SKAFTAFELLSJOKUL
After getting suited and booted we jumped into a bus and headed to the Skaftafellsjokul glacier, the same one we hiked to yesterday. Although there is a river year round, our tour takes us to the caves which only have water flowing in the summer months and are therefore not possible during that time of year, another reason to visit in Winter! The caves are short but majestic, especially if you get those rich blues everyone wants!
CLAUSTROPHOBIA
The caves are always quite narrow but If claustrophobia is a concern then I wouldn’t worry, you can leave the same way you entered or just wait at the other end, it’s by no means a labyrinth of tunnels. We were lucky however as there was a new tunnel discovered just a few days prior and although it was a special experience I wouldn’t be pushing anyone to do it who had issues with tight spaces.
However one issue we had was the glacier was covered in snow and you just couldn’t visualise the fact you were walking on pure ice! If I was to come back I would for sure book a hike which takes you further up to the Glacier, initially it was a toss-up between that and the caves tours.
RELATED READ: THE WORLD’S HIGHEST TOWER CLIMB
VIK
Day 4 also sees us making our way back west where we will make a few stops before arriving in Reykjavik. Tonight we are staying in Vik a quaint but popular town with tourists. There are plenty of sites in and around Vik including Reynisfjara the famous black beach.
REYNISFJARA
Again we found we had an hour until sunset so decided to make the most of our time and headed to the beach, which was packed full of happy Chinese tourists! Reynisfjara is about 2km long but bizarrely everyone seems to stay near the basalt colomuns. So if you want a quiet area just walk 50metres up the beach. Do be aware of the sneaker waves however!
From here we headed off for sunset at the Dyrholaey Lighthouse away from the crowds which is at the opposite end of the beach but requires a 10minute detour. The view here in stunning with views of beaches to the east and west as well as uninterrupted views of the sunset, yes we finally seen an actual sunset!
HOTEL KRIA
After the usual host of photos and videos we headed back to Vik where we stayed at Hotel Kria, another new hotel benefitting from the tourist boom of Iceland. Only a few years ago, nice hotels were a rarity outside of the city but you are now guaranteed plenty of choice when choosing a hotel. However that’s not to say there will always be availability! Got talking to a Thai guy who was living in America. Turns out his boss decided to take him to Iceland for a holiday, what a boss!!
FINAL THOUGHTS
This country is full of surprises!!
NEXT UP
The secret waterfall! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
138/229
This post is part of The Nordic Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
