After leaving the Kirkjufell and the Snæfellsnes peninsula, we headed back East to connect to Highway 1, which would ultimately take us up to Akureyri, our next stop on our Icelandic road trip. Our top thing on this second trip to Iceland was to see the North of the country which we didn’t get to see last trip, since it was the dead of Winter. So as we headed back to the main highway and then up North into Iceland’s countryside, we loved seeing a different side of the island.
The drive was long (we drove a total of 12 hours this day and about 1000 miles including our time on the Snæfellsnes peninsula) but getting to see so much of the country was so great. Iceland’s landscape literally changes every 10 miles or so, going from lava fields covered in moss one minute to prairie like plains the next, followed by snowy mountains looking very ominous with low lying clouds to bright blue sky and rolling hills. We loved seeing the changes and the way the country looks as you head North. I would highly recommend this drive to anyone wanting to see more of Iceland, though be sure to check the weather before making the trek up North as it can change quickly.
We stopped along the side of the road to snap photos of fjords spilling into the country with bright blue water, ominous snow clouds gathering over mountain passes and views for miles as we peaked over certain spots in the road. The drive is long but so incredibly beautiful!
Tips for Driving North in Iceland:
-Don’t forget to follow my tips on driving in Iceland, many of them were necessary on this drive!
-Bring food… there really isn’t much along many parts of this drive, so bring snacks!
-Check the weather ahead of time as you do go through a few mountain passes.
Vera says
I’m impressed! Ireland looks gorgeous. I had no idea it was such a stunning country! Now surely added to my wishlist! I hope you had fun driving through those roads! Have a nice day,
Vera
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Casey says
It’s so stunning! Seriously unreal in lots of spots how gorgeous it is!
Marilia: WanderingIslander.com says
Thank you for this post.
I am actually planning a trip to Iceland to catch the Northern Lights sometime next year and this was definitely helpful.
I think we might need a car with 4-wheel drive though if we are visiting during the winter.
Iceland looks amazing in these pics!
Marilia: wanderingislander.com
Casey says
Amazing! And yes, I would definitely recommend a car with 4 wheel drive if you’re going in the Winter. We were there before and had someone drive us around in the Winter and it was fine with 4 wheel drive.
Marilia: WanderingIslander.com says
That’s definitely good to know, that’s for the tip!
Hope you had a good time,
Marilia
James Gray says
Marilia, Iceland seems an amazing place to discover – especially for photographers as there seems to be amazing pictures on every corner!
http://www.camera-and-film.com
Kristin says
Iceland looks absolutely gorgeous, and I love the idea of taking a road trip through it! I would be stopping every ten seconds, though, to take pictures!
Casey says
Totally! We were stopping so much, I finally had to tell Nick he had to shoot some from the car because it was taking us forever to get anywhere! 🙂
Kate Amunrud says
Oh my gosh……………………………..
Casey says
yea… pretty incredible!