Finally ... me and vaishnavi started the trip to Iceland. We started our journey from kundara - kollam district Kerala to Cochin in order to catch jet airways flight - 9W-404. (Cochin to Mumbai flight) with the help of Driver - Salim. Ate breakfast we packed from home and coffee from coffee day on the way from Alleppey to Cochin. We parked our car in pay and park, edapally- cochin and left to airport (Rs 500) by call taxi. Cochin airport is the only International Airport fully powered by solar energy !!! Our luggage was bit excess for domestic flights hence had to pay Rs 500 per kg. After finishing the security check we boarded the flight.
TIP:
* Indian domestic flights charge approx 500 per kg for excess baggage. Sometimes pre booking/ membership in airlines/ bulk excess baggage can avail u discount.
*air India and jet airways land in international terminal of Mumbai. SpiceJet/ indigo go to domestic terminal always. So book according to ur needs.
It was a 2 hrs journey included a vegetarian meal. Landed in Mumbai around 20:00. As per our plan we stayed in NIRANTA TRANSIT HOTEL. Charged approx Rs9000 for 24 hrs including buffet breakfast. It’s just two floors down the international arrival terminal. It allows only transit passengers.
Niranta transit hotel was really a good choice for transit people. You can have a hassle free stay. We spent a day there. Pre booking directly via hotel website or other booking sites can fetch u a better discount.
TIP:
*pre booking can fetch u a better discount
* check in kiosk is available at hotel reception itself !
*money exchange and a cafe is present in front of reception area.
*stay here and avoid traffic jams and last minute delays to reach airport.
*download Mumbai airport app for better access of spots and flight gates details.
We vacated the hotel and proceeded to international terminal ( just 4 floors up from NIRANTA) !!!
We proceeded to international terminal to catch Lufthansa LH -757 (Mumbai to Germany). After security checks we waited at the gate for boarding. Airport of Mumbai is huge. U can access lounges near gates if u have appropriate Visa cards. Lots of cafes and hotels with dishes at airport standard rates are available.
Tip:
* free lounge access with free food if u have appropriate credit card ( only one person per card)
* finish ur security clearance soon as u may need to walk a long distance to reach ur terminal!!!
Once the flight took off after an hour delay due to technical reasons, we had a huge relief and hope of trip falling in place ! We had a good Indian vegetarian diet - highlight dish being - Palak chappathi panneer roll . Flight was big with approx 400 passengers. Had to treat a middle aged patient with urinary retention. Catheterized him on board. Reached Frankfurt. Cleared immigration and proceeded to boarding gate. They changed the gate number 40 mins before.
Tip:
*sleep well in long flights to avoid sleep disturbances
*avoid coffee/ tea inflight to avoid sleeplessness
*minimum of 4 hrs is required to transit to next flight for smooth experience.
*watch carefully for last minute departure gate changes.
*buy food/ chocolates from duty free when ever needed.
Enroute to Iceland from Germany, we were awestruck by the view of Atlantic with a few small islands. The Ariel view of Iceland was awesome with Lonely ringroute, rivers, mountains and black beaches.
Reached airport- Keflavik. Visited the duty free shop. Bought SIM card - NOVA approx Rs 2500 with 10 GB DATA, free local sms/ calls ( no international call). Only online calls. Also bought a few dark chocolates - Godiva/ Lindt/ Icelandic dark chocolates which were at lowest price with better offers. On arrival area exchanged money and got a few ICELANDIC KRONER . We asked Airport information center in Keflavik for our rental car person details they guided us. Our rental car person from procar rentals arrived and picked us to the rental area. (To Note: Car company person will be holding the name boards at arrival area)
Tips:
* Icelandic simcards can be purchased at Iceland duty free shops ( nova, simmin are the companies)
*get food stuff at arrival duty free shops for better offer price.
*discuss with information center or rental company regarding car pick up area location. For the company I selected, the pick up cab person comes every 15 mins. ( watch out for it!) - they ll be standing with their company name boards
We reached Procars, discussed and selected the car which fulfilled our exact purpose - mini SUV - auto transmission PEGEUT3008. It had adequate space for 4 persons and luggage. I signed the agreement after thoroughly inspecting the car for scratches/ dents. We paid full insurance for rental car to avoid major issues while returning the car. Some companies block about Rs 1,40,000 in our credit card if we take only basic insurance package. In case of Full insurance we had to pay around Rs 22,000.
Since it was right side driving with steering on left side (opposite to India/ UK) I practiced by driving around the car renting place itself. I got myself familiarised with the car. Yet forgot to note how to open the fuel tank !!! ( which I tried to check three days later in this trip while re fuelling).
I started from there to the apartment where we booked to stay - sem apartment Reykjavik. Both excited and tensed to drive on foreign land with totally opposite rules and different signboards!
With a great anxiety reached the apartment. All apartments in Iceland have Number lock system. Corresponding apartment owners will share the lock number prior to arrival. Using that lock number we can unlock the box with the key to access the apartment. Public parking areas in most parts of Iceland are free of charge if utilised from 18:00 to 09:00 hrs. Other timings it’s chargeable - so watch out for signboards regarding parking rules!! Or else u will end up paying the fine. Some apartments will be having their private parking area. We parked and entered home! Surprisingly they had basic cooking things needed for us - oil, salt, butter, spices and all sort of utensils. Relaxed ourself. We never had jet lag surprisingly! Awestruck by the beauty of ICELAND. Both were fresh and active.
Most of the apartment rooms in ICELAND leave important note regarding rules of the apartment. Also important information like- nearest supermarket, fuel station etc. (opening/ closing timings too). We were hungry, asked house owner regarding nearest vegan option - and went to GLO vegan restaurant
We had a salad dish - oumph bowl . It was good and we were happy !
Then we walked nearby and reached - Hallgrímskirkja famous Reykjavik church! The climate was cool and drizzling. Took a few snaps.
We went back to apartment. Took some rest. Started back to airport to pick up my childhood friend and her husband - Dr Anupama and Dr Shankar from UK. We went to procar rental area and waited there so that their pick up person will receive them from airport and come back ( to avoid airport parking charges and delays) . After registering their name as second driver in rental area, headed back to apartment. Enjoyed the midnight sun and happily reached.
Tip:
Car rental -
1) calculate adequate boot space required prior according to your baggage well in advance. Have usb charging port with you or ask the rental persons if they forget to provide you.
2) be clear about the car insurance policy before renting
3) credit card is must in case of renting
4) check out for damages before finalising the car. Know about fuel types/ fuel station locations
5) rental companies may have tie up with particular gas station - they provide offer / discounts
6) know about car parking facilities/ rules of place where u stay.
The day 1 of the road trip starts here...! All four got up and refreshed ourself. Had tea and instant idiyappam which we brought. Checked the route information in Icelandic road site - road.is ( website which regularly updates regarding road blocks and road repairs). Found a small deviation from the regular route to PINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK ( p is differently shaped and pronounced as ‘Th’ so it’s thingvellir national park)
We started! Vacated the room and left Reykjavik city. Once we left the city - the feel of ‘ANOTHER PLANET’ came !!! We could not believe that such a place existed in this world! Every inch started turning into a wallpaper type natural scenes!
We headed towards thingvellir national park. Stopped in a few places enroute for snaps (unlike India, we can’t stop everywhere. There are view point symbols on road which indicates that we can park our car in that area). Reached the park. There are restrooms, information center and a store. After knowing the hiking trails/ routes of that national park, we started hiking. We saw the SILFRA RIDGE- place where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates split! Many people were snorkelling in that ridge. Due to budget constraints we didn’t try that. (Costs around 10000 INR for snorkelling and 20000 INR for scuba diving per person ). we took a few snaps there. Soaked our legs in silfra (it was freezing cold). We spent about 2-3 hrs there hiking. Had the packed lunch which we brought and started towards strokkur - famous geyser of Iceland.
About 40 mins drive from thingvellir to reach STROKKUR. Climate kept on changing for every half hour. It was drizzling when we reached the geyser. Strokkur geyser erupts massively every 4-5 mins. Everyone were waiting with their mobile phones and cameras on to capture it. That area is full of sulphur deposits. After spending sometime there, we refreshed in the geyser cafe/ store nearby and started to hotspring bath.
First we thought to go to hrunalaug - a hotspring in a farm. Charge approx 900 INR per person. Since the bath was full and no proper dress changing place we left to SECRET LAGOON.
Reached secret lagoon in about 40 mins to 1 hr from the geyser place. It charged around 1800 INR per person. Maintenance was good. Everyone enjoyed this thermal pool after a long day. There were separate showers and dressing room for men/ women and a cafe. They provide locker, its key with a band like thing so that u can wear it in ur arm while swimming. We brought a mobile plastic cover from decathalon which was useful and waterproof for taking pics in pools. The soothing feel which we get when we enter the warm hot spring (about 38-39 degrees Celsius) after a daylong hikes and dive is unexplainable.
We spent more than an hour there. Then went to SELLFOSS - 9 alftrami apartments. Cooked the noodles and had for dinner!
TIP:
* use road.is website prior to start the day to know the road info
*thingvellir has a parking fee that can be paid with international credit card (approx 700INR)
*there are restrooms available at thingvellir and geyser area
*always be ready with swim suit and fast drying towels to enjoy hotspring in Iceland
*some hotspring provide complimentary black coffee ( there won’t be any sugar, please keep sugar sachets with u to enjoy the coffee)
We woke up and got ready. Vacated sellfoss and travelled in south/southerast Iceland. Stopped in a kroner shop. Bought a few energy bars, fruits, gnocchi, milk. Headed towards SELJANDAFOSS. we had water proof pants and jackets. With that we hiked to falls from parking place. Never seen a falls where u can go behind it. Mind blowing falls! We were posing and taking snaps for a long time. There are restrooms near parking area. We had food which we brought. Started to DC PLANE CRASH site. About 1 hr from seljandafoss. We parked the car and hiked for about 7-8 km approx. It was long walk before we could get some glimpses of the flight. The view of black, moon like terrain with crashed plane was flabbergasting! We reached near the flight went into it, climbed on its wings and took snaps. Be careful if you wanna get on the top of the flight , since the windows, edges of the flight may be sharp and rusted.
After spending some time there we returned back to parking area hiking. We were hungry, so drove towards Vik. We had food at hotel - sudur vik - soup of the day/ pizza. Attend the nature calls. Moved to black beach. The black Beach was full of pebbles of black/ blue shades. Drenching my feet in the black beach and watching Atlantic Ocean with wife and friends was definitely a peak moment in life! Completed the photoshoot there and drove towards kalfafell- laekjabogir apartments where we booked our stay.
Tip:
*kronan / bonus / olis are some of the popular supermarket chains in Iceland. Usually opens around 10 or 11 am and closes around 8:00 pm
*1 litre milk is around 200 INR. Curd (SKYR), nutrition bars and fruits are affordable.
*DONOT fail to wear waterproof jackets/ pants (we got from decathalon) whole going to SELJANDAFOSS.
*familiarize with the hiking boots before itself if you are using it for the first time.
*DC plane crash requires a long hike >6km. NO RESTROOMS in and around that area. NO CAFES also. So be prepared while visiting it!! Follow the pathway they have made, if u deviate - u might get lost ( especially in WINTER).
* black beach and reynisfjara are a bit different places . Checkout before visiting .
* vik is a beautiful city, nearest to plane crash and black beach.
We got up earlier and got ready as decided. Started towards vatnajokul national park as decided for glacier walk. Enroute was as usually stunning. Reached vatnajokul national park. There is a huge campsite. Met the guide at Icelandic mountain guides- for BLUE ICE EXPERIENCE GLACIER WALK. They took to the glacier region by a minibus. Before starting the walk the guide familiarised us with the crampons and ice axe. Started the walk which is approx 8km total. It requires a moderate level fitness to complete. Geology of glacier is really complicated. It involves a complex mechanism.
Returned from that place towards kalfafell (where we stayed). Our fuel was low. Had to travel another half hour from our place towards vik route for olis gas station. Being from India I had a new experience of fielding our car by ourself !!!
Tip:
*never miss glacier hiking experience!
*prepare your self physically before attempting long hikes.
*a lot a day only for glacier hike. If you club more activities u ll be exhausted!!!
We vacated the room and proceeded for AMPHIBIAN BOAT RIDE - at jokulsarlon glacier by glacier lagoon boat tours. We planned for 11:40 am trip. Reached on time and took the ride. There was no much land rides in between as expected. It left the land and most of the time it was in glacier lagoon. Glacier from vatnajokul melt, reach jokulsarlon. Ride through the glaciers was awesome. We planned to kayak through the glacier - which would have been tiring in case of such a short duration full ring road trip, hence didn’t do that. Then spent some time at diamond beach which is just the other side of glacier lagoon. Arctic Ocean+black beach+diamonds(glacier ice piece) wow combo.
Then headed towards eglisstadir as planned. On the way to eglisstadir we visited hoffell hotspring for a small break. Took bath there. It had adequate shower and changing rooms facilities. But tubs were artificial one. Then we drive towards eglisstadir. We drove following sign boards and google maps. We landed in a route - 939. It looked awkwardly scary. Road was rough. Donno why, but everyone felt scary. So, changed the route and drove via djupivogur, a cute small town. Stopped there and had linner (lunch+dinner) at vid vogin. Tasted for the first time - vegan hotdog called - BULSUR. It tasted good. Had to pass through beautiful roads with cliffs and beaches. Also had a difficult drive through fog. Reached eglisstadir finally. Stayed at
Cross roads gasthus.
Tip:
*you can plan kayaking or amphibian ride according to your taste
*jokulsarlon to eglisstadir is a looonggg drive, but it ll be the most scenic roadways in your ring road trip. You ll be enjoying all the way ????
Morning we had our instant idiyappam with idly podi. Packed and headed towards north Iceland - Akureyri. We filled fuel, bought a few snacks and left. Stopped at a few scenic spots as usual. Reached myvatn. Myvatn hotspring is a bit cozy, but definitely cheaper than blue lagoon. It was good with all facilities.
We visited krafla lava fields. As always the terrain was entirely like another planet, with fumes and sulfur liquids coming out from the earth. It’s gives a magical, alien feel. There were geothermal power stations My wife enjoyed this place a lot. We had a 1-2 km walk to reach out the the lava fields from parking area. I wore my balaclava due to cold, suddenly everyone looked suspicious at me!!! (I looked like a terrorist!!!?!?!? ????) :-P . So I immediately removed it. While walking to lava fields we witnessed a signboard telling - ‘Namaskaro’ (it means ‘welcome’ in Indian language). We started to derive that Vikings might have been Indians who voyaged and reached there :-P . Reached LAVAFIELDS . Spent some time there. And returned. My friend and her husband visited myvatn hotspring and had bath there. Since it was a bit beyond my budget, me and my wife chose another option. It was a roadside open hotspring shower !!! I took bath roadside, under that hotspring shower (it was having the most comfortable temperature). I found it while searching on net previous day night(never knew before that). They have converted a small hotspring into a shower. It had no adjustments or levers. It keeps showering 24x7. Can never forget that in my life. After that shower we returned to myvatn hotspring to pick up my friend and her husband. Had a simple food and headed towards akureyri- our next destination.
We visited godafoss - falls about 1 hr from myvtn baths. It had a stunning view. Spent time there taking pics. Started again towards akureyri. Crossed some magnificent bridges over water bodies enroute !!! Finally reached this cute city - akureyri. Parked our car in a public parking near by saga apartments, where we planned to stay. We saw some huge ships. Refreshed in our apartment and went to an ice cream shop - isbudin. City was cute, active with lots of street arts. We were reading articles and magazines there for the places to look around enroute next day.
TIP:
*myvatn is cheaper than blue lagoon
*east and northeastern routes are more scenic
*krafla lava fields - nearly Martian terrain experience
*open road hot shower near lava fields is once in life time experience. Needs a hike to reach it! Be prepared - no restrooms nearby.
*akureyri is one of main stops/ city in north Iceland with ports
We started around 9 am and drove towards blonduos- our next stop. Amazed by beautiful heartine signal lights of akureyri !!! So sad to leave that cute city soon. Took a different route - no.82 and 76 instead of route no.1 to have some scenic visuals and also to reach the north the northernmost place ever visited by us - Siglufjordur (a beautiful fishing village). The enroute had long tunnels. Some of them were one way tunnels. Got to see stunning views of Arctic Ocean/ Greenland sea. Winds were severe in siglufjordur. My wife got a worst ear ache on exposure to such winds. It took time for her to settle down. We stopped in a view point, facing Arctic Ocean and had Pongal for lunch !!! Never expected that I would be seeing Arctic Ocean in my life. Headed in same route 76 and reached hofsos- hot spring pool. They charged approx R1000 per person. Hofsos is an artificial hot pool. It has a stunning ocean view and well maintained pool and shower. They provide a complimentary hot black coffee ( no sugar ). We were shocked to see people making approx 6 month baby to take bath in hot pool. Relaxed there for sometime and started towards blonduos. These geothermal/ hot spring baths provide a great relaxation and refreshment in between long road trips at Iceland. Enroute we saw a group of Icelandic horses with horsemen and a loooongggggg fairy tale rainbow !
We reached guest house Kilijan at blonduos. Blonduos was very windy. We had a simple dinner and slept.
TIP:
* Take route 82 and 76 instead of route no.1 from akureyri to blonduous !
* watch out while going in one way tunnels
*use Mufflers / balaclava while travelling these area as winds are harsh! May be harmful!
*sometimes complimentary sugarless black coffee drinks may be available in private pools ! Check out!
We packed things and started towards snaefellsness, our next destination, after having complimentary breakfast at guest house kilijan. Drove in route 711. Iceland becomes less crowded and peaceful towards north and northwestern parts. We were enjoying it. The excitement and enthusiasm kept elevated everyday. We chose route 711 to try our luck to spot seals/ sea lions. Made our first stop at Farfuglaheimili hostel and cafe and had coffee (approx Rs 250) (it had a public restroom too for refreshing) It was windy and cold. There was a seal view point about 2 km from that cafe. We tried hiking to that place. And our luck worked out. We could see groups of seal. Went to hvistserkur, a famous view point - with dragon shaped rock formation. Had our packed lunch and proceeded towards seal beach. There also we had to hike a few km from the parking lot. Reached to spot and watched seals closer. There a viewing room equipped with binoculars!!!!! (Icelandddd!!!) . Restrooms here were maintained and run on people's money (donation by user). Lucky to spot these sea lions/ seals ! We dove to grundarfjodur and stayed at kirkjufell apartments !
Kirkjufell apartment was big and beautiful. One of our favourite stays in Iceland. We can view kirkjufell mountain from there. Grundarfjordur was a small, quiet and colourful town!
TIP:
*take route 711 for seal/ sea lion view points.
*need to hike about 2-3 km from the parking area to reach the seal area.
We drove to vatnshellir - volcano cave tours for lava tube exploration. It was a guided tour, for about an hour. Reported to the Center half hour before, informed them. There is no restroom there, hence went to Gestastofa Visitor Center, Snæfellsbær, Iceland which is about 2.5 km from vatnshellir. Returned back and wore the head gear (they also provided a torch), and equipped with glove, jerkin and started descending into the lava tube. It was cold (contrast to the name lava) and dark inside. Water will be dripping from certain places. Temp inside is lesser than atmospheric temperature. For a few minutes everyone switched off the torch lights and stood silent, eyes closed (never witnessed such a calmness before!!!!!). After exploring and learning things about lava tubes from guide we came out. As always drove to the nearby hot spring :-P . It's name is Lysuholslaug. About 28km from vatnshellir. We fuelled up at arnarstapi.
Had our packed lunch at lysuholslaug. Then went into hotspring (approx Rs 1000 per person) they have 2 tubs and 1 pool. All three have algae (they claim to be healthy and good for skin). We spent there as much as possible because it was our last day of the trip. We already started missing Iceland!!!
Then we left the pool and headed towards grundadjordur. Enroute we visited saxhol, an old volcano. Spent an hour there. A gloomy feel of missing Iceland started creeping in all our mind. We had a cozy vegan dinner at Bjargarsteinn, Grundarfjörður, Iceland. Food tasted pleasant. Went back to apartment. Packed things. Got a news from air India telling that our flight from Mumbai to Cochin is delayed due to Kerala floods 2018 august!!!
TIP:
*volcano tubes are great to visit!
*lysuholslaug is a must visit hot spring in snaefellsness
*grundarfjordur - silent town with mighty kirkjufell!
Started our return journey, towards Reykjavik completing the circle! We were travelling in a sad mood. Still was continuously amazed by the stunning views enroute. Had a break at olis gas station. Refreshed ourself. Used the olis card which was provided to us for a complimentary black coffee. Headed towards the city. Went to Sem apartments, where we stayed in day 1 to take some left out clothes there! (This is Iceland - we got the left out clothes safely ). Parked the car. Walked a few km and saw the sun voyager statue. Visited Harpa concert building. Had ice cream at Joylato (vegan options available). Ice cream was yummy! Had dinner at Gadurrin vegan restaurant. Sadly left towards airport. Our friends dropped us at airport.
We got down and looked for flight details. We had a few black stones which we got from black beach as a memorable. Since we were not sure whether they ll allow us to take and also we read the Icelandic oath, threw it in Iceland itself. At Iceland airport many things automatised- self luggage check in (there was a friendly weighing machine to check our baggage weight). Iceland was friendly till the last minute. We generated our ticket, checked in luggage. Experienced quickest security check ever! Waited in the lobby sad and tired. Entered the flight and both of us slept off deep.
Morning, woke up and landed in Munich airport. We had a bad experience at an Italian RESTAURANT - AMO in TERMINAL 2 Near gate L-15. Staff behaviour made us feel racism - live for the first time. Also we felt food was not fresh! We left Munich reached Mumbai by early morning. We heard that flights are getting delayed due to rains and expected floods (Kerala flood 2018!) luckily our flight did not get cancelled. We reached Cochin safely. From there got back to home.
Jetlag and tiredness started hitting us gradually. We almost slept for 12 hrs at stretch. It took about a week to settle from the tiredness.
TIP:
*we had breakfast and packed lunch all the days.
* had only 3 meal outside in this entire trip, since food is expensive in Iceland.
*reykjavik has lots of things to see, but u can touch the important landmarks in half day.
*lots of food options to explore.
*reykjavik - entry and exit portal to the dream called ICELAND
ICELAND MEMORIES KEEP COMING EVERYDAY, SINCE WE STARTED PLANNING TO VISIT!!!
Complete 10 day iceland ring road Trip cost for both of us including flight food and everything was about 3 lakh...
I thank the following people who were instrumental in my dream ROAD TRIP to Iceland :
Dr ANUPAMA and Dr SHANKAR
Dr DHANVANTH - CHENNAI
Dr ADITYAN GUHAN - COIMBATORE
CHANDRASEKAR - PICK YOUR TRAIL - CHENNAI
Mr RAGHU - BANGLORE
Mr KATHIR - ICELAND
Mr SHIJO - ICELAND
Dr MADAN - COCHIN
GUIDE TO ICELAND - website
JEANNIE - ICELAND WITH A VIEW - YOUTUBE
SORELLE AMORE - YOUTUBE
YOUTUBE, VLOGS, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK - travellers profile
My family !
