Posted on by hrchow12

Iceland 10 day Itinerary!

We interrupt this bookish content for our annual adventure report! For our getaway this year, my husband (AC) and I hit Iceland for 10 days! As always, thanks to my parents for watching the kids while we went exploring! 😘 Since I heavily depend on travel blogs for tips, ideas, and itineraries, I wanted to put out my recommendations in case it’s helpful for anyone. I’ll describe our itinerary and then give some general thoughts/suggestions.

Itinerary

  • Day 1, Sat, 27 Aug: Flew through Chicago to Keflavík on United.
  • Day 2, Sun 28 Aug:
    • Arrived at 9am (4am central time)
      • OMG It was windy and cold. But mostly windy. Did I mention it was WINDY??! Something like 35mph winds on the 28th and 50+mph on the 29th.
    • Picked up 4×4 from Ice Rental – recommend.
      • Quick & no issues. So glad we got the 4×4 because the roads in Iceland can definitely be dicey.
    • Got groceries at the Kronán
      • Good location next to the airport & you *will* need the groceries. We basically lived on protein bars (that we packed), apples, nutella, & bread.
    • Drove 20 min to Blue Lagoon for noon reservation – highly recommend
      • Loved this. Such a clutch move to go right after you get in and are jetlagged out of your mind.
    • Drove 50 min to Reykjavik: walked to Hallsgrimkirja Church, Harpa concert hall, Laugavegur Street, and the Sun Voyager Sculpture
      • This was nice especially since we were too jetlagged to do anything else.
    • Ate at Reykjavik street food.
      • Simple but fast & filling. CA had Fish Stew (read: mashed potatoes with fish) and I had Meat Soup (read: chicken noodle plus mystery meat and minus noodles)
    • Stayed at Blue House B&B
      • Good location. Essentially we were in a two bedroom house, sharing a bathroom with the other guests. But since we went to bed at like 5pm and left at 5am we actually never even saw them.
  • Day 3, Mon, 29 Aug:
    • Drove 1 hr to Thingvellir & snorkeled Silfra with Troll Expeditions
      • Very interesting to snorkel in dry suit. Allegedly you’re snorkeling through the tectonic plates, but actually “between the plates” is broadly used here. You’re basically looking into crystal clear water in a crevasse. It was interesting but probably not a must do.
    • Hiked Öxarárfoss (2.6 mi)
      • Nice easy hike to be very overshadowed by future hikes.
      • Drove 1 hr to Glymur Waterfall hike (4.3 mi) – recommend
        • Great hike! Loved the views, though be warned there is a wide river crossing to be prepared for and well… I may have gotten us a little lost on the way down because there are false cairns everywhere and the actual trail isn’t well marked. 😅 Just remember to stick close to the falls, and you’ll avoid some serious bushwhacking.
      • Drove 1.5 hrs to stay at Galleri Laugarvatin – recommend
        • Really liked this place! A solid base camp for Golden Circle adventures with a private bathroom
  • Day 4, Tue, 30 Aug:
    • Drove 20 min to hike Bruarfoss (3.9 mi) – recommend
      • Lovely easy hike. The water was very blue.
    • Drove 15 min to hike around Geysir
      • Pretty crowded here, but can be a quick stop just to watch the geysir and walk around the springs
    • Drove 30 min to the Secret Lagoon hot spring
      • A very relaxed hot spring turned pool. Supposedly the oldest hot spring pool in Iceland. Not as schmancy as the Blue lagoon, but it was still nice to get our pool noodles and just relax for a bit
    • Drove 35 min to Kerid Crater
      • Interesting spot to stop at because the crater is rather impressive.
    • Drove 25 min to return to galleri laugarvatn
    • Ate at the Barnloft – highly recommend
      • Excellent burgers & ice cream with a relaxing atmosphere. However… the cow-viewing seats seem kind of weird when you’re eating a burger. Vegetarians beware.
  • Day 5, Wed, Aug 31
    • Drove 2.5 hrs to Landmannlauger
      • Felt like we were driving to the moon, and we really realized the need for the 4×4. The roads are *rough* and this place was remote. Fingers were definitely crossed we didn’t get a flat tire.
    • Blue Peak hike (3.8 mi) – recommend
      • We were originally supposed to do Brennisteinsalda as well… but the weather was way rough. The CAT 1 winds at the top were so crazy it knocked me on my butt a few times, which was a little dicey on the narrow ridges (that triggered AC’s acrophobia). So after blue peak we called it. Still, despite the elements, it was a beautiful hike!
    • Sigoldugljufur canyon of waterfalls viewpoint – recommend
      • You kind of have to park and walk to get here, because it’s unmarked (but it’s on google maps), but the beautiful view is totally worth it.
    • Haifoss – recommend
      • Another beautiful waterfall viewpoint
    • Ate at the Barnloft again.
  • Day 6, Thu, Sep 1
    • Drove 40 min to Gulfoss – recommend
      • Definitely cool if you get here early. This is a big waterfall, but later on the crowds are crazy
    • Drove 2 hrs to Kerlingarfjoll and hiked Hveradalir geothermal area – recommend
      • So it was freezing and sleeting on us, but we still spent several hours here and it was really cool. Some of the hiking areas are quite steep though, and can get super slick and muddy (like shoe stealing muddy) on narrow ridges. Definitely triggered AC’s acrophobia
    • Drove 3 hrs to stay at Loa’s Nest – highly recommend
      • Our favorite place we stayed! Private bathroom and cozy room in the horse pastures of Iceland. Also the owners are super personable and had some great recommendations on what to do in the area.
    • Eat at Hekla street food – highly recommend
      • Delicious fish and chips. Hot, fresh, filling & perfect after a long day.
  • Day 7, Fri, Sep 2
    • Waterfall Way (first 4.2 mi of Fimmvorduhals) – highly recommend
      • We were originally planning on doing the whole 15.5 mi point-to-point hike and taking the trex bus back, but AC had injured his leg, so we just did waterfall way. But probably my favorite hike from the whole trip.
    • Ate at Hekla street food again
  • Day 8, Sat, Sep 3
    • Big driving day with lots of stops! Hit:
      • Nauthasagil – highly recommend
        • Really liked this hike! Just wish we had some Wellies to go a little further down the river to the waterfall instead of only rock-hopping part way.
      • Baby Yoda Cave
        • Right off the main road and worth visiting for the lol factor. It totally looks like baby yoda.
      • Dyrholaey arch – highly recommend
        • Beautiful views
      • Reynisfjara black sand beach – highly recommend
        • Very scenic
      • Ate at Black Crust Pizzeria in Vik – highly recommend
        • Yum! Great pizza, free wifi and chill atmosphere. Definitely recommend, and we hit this place twice.
      • Fjadrargljufur Canyon
        • Like a shorter, more condensed version of waterfall way, but still beautiful
      • Svartifoss – recommend
        • After a short hike, a nice waterfall with cool black hexagonal rock formations around it.
      • Fjallsarlon glacier lagoon
        • A little underwhelming, but right of the main road.
      • Diamond Beach – recommend
        • Very cool! Apparently if you go out early in the morning you have a good chance seeing seals or whales
      • Jokulsarlon Glacier lagoon – recommend
        • A bigger, better version of Fjallsarlon
      • Ate at Hali Country Hotel
        • Can’t recommend this place. We had essentially the same thing we had at Reykjavik Street Food on day 1, but it was like twice the price, and I swear I’d rather have had campbell’s soup out of a can.
      • Stayed at Skyrhusid Guest House
        • Simple hostel-like accommodation.
  • Day 9, Sun, Sep 4
    • Drive 1 hr to Vatnajokull Glacier Tour with Arctic Adventure – recommend
      • They outfit you with gear and take you up the glacier. We did the 4 hour tour, and it was a cool experience.
    • Ate pizza in Vik again
    • Drove 2.5 hrs to Seljalandsfoss & Gljufrabui – recommend
      • This is right off the main road, so it’s kind of crowded, but you can walk behind Seljanlandsfoss & Gljufrabui is in a cool cave, so even though we’d seen ~1 million waterfalls at this point, they were still unique.
    • Drive 2 hr back to Blue House B&B
  • Day 10, Mon, Sep 5
    • 50 min drive back to airport. Return car & fly out. Return home late on 5 Sep.

general thoughts and tips

  • Weather & what to bring:
    • Come prepared. It drizzled *a lot.* In fact, I’m not sure we had one day when it didn’t rain. We had temperatures from like 29-58 F which wasn’t so bad, but the wind was BRUTAL. I mean you *need* waterproof overpants, a waterproof jacket, a thermal base layer (read: long underwear), waterproof gloves (we brought non-waterproof and regretted it) and I also highly recommend waterproof socks.
  • Weird tip
    • If you’re doing an outdoor heavy itinerary like this, don’t bother acclimating to the time change. Because the sun is up most of the time, and almost none of these places had an opening time. So for almost the whole trip we were waking up at like 4-5 am, and we had these places nearly all to ourself for the early hours.
  • Food
    • Omg. Bring as many protein bars as you can because the restaurant choices are extremely limited. Even if you see restaurants on google maps, there’s no guarantee they will be open. You see a lot of tourists eating groceries out of their trunks, and there is a reason for that. The lack of eating options was tough on my foodie husband, and I vowed that our next vacation will definitely have a bigger food element because this was definitely not one of Iceland’s strong points. (Also, food is quite expensive here so there’s that too.
  • Language Barrier (or lack there of)
    • Everyone we spoke to knew English, but man, there are a lot of long place name words to remember!
  • Travel
    • Speaking of expensive, gas is SO expensive in Iceland. You have to have a debit card with a pin to buy at the pump, and gas stations aren’t exactly everywhere, so to avoid the nightmare of being stranded in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country, definitely fuel up early and often!
    • Also, be sure to download google maps on your phone for offline use and navigating should be fairly simple.
  • Things we would do next time.
    • There was an active volcano while we were there, and I wish we had been able to hike to it… but it was an 8 mile hike that was kind of out of our way… so we weren’t too choked up about missing it this time.
    • I also wish we’d been able to do the whole Fimmvorduhals hike, but if I were to do it next time, I would do that *first* so we’re not hiked out by the time we get there.
    • It would’ve been cool to make more of an effort to see the northern lights. But the darkness window in September is super narrow, and it was cloudy almost every day, so there wasn’t really a chance this trip.
    • Also, bring waterproof gloves.
  • Things I’m glad we didn’t do
    • Ring road. Our trip already had a ton of driving in it, and while Iceland is beautiful, we were more happy to get out into it, rather than spend the hours in the car. Especially when I didn’t see a whole lot of more diverse experiences on the north coast. But that was just us!
  • Should you go to Iceland?
    • If you are a fan of natural beauty and hiking, come prepared for the weather, and don’t mind surviving on proteins bars and Nutella for a few days, I think you will *LOVE* Iceland.
  • How much time do you need in Iceland?
    • So with 2 travel days, we had 8 days of Iceland fun. But honestly, I think you could have a fantastic trip in half that. You could easily cut out the glaciers to the far east and do half the hikes/waterfalls. But you definitely don’t need more than 8 days unless you are an *avid* hiker or running away from your problems on a remote volcanic island. But just my 2 cents.

Parting thoughts on Iceland

Iceland is the land of foss’s (waterfalls), glaciers, horses, and really long words. It is a unique, beautiful place and was quite the memorable adventure. I’m absolutely glad we went… but, real talk here, I don’t think it’s on our list to revisit. 😅 Oh boy, was that too honest?

Anyways, hopefully this was helpful! If you’d like to see more of our pictures, I posted a reel on tiktok and instagram @hayleyreesechow. Now, it’s time to plan next year’s adventure! If you have any questions about the itinerary, definitely let me know! 😊

Posted on by hrchow12

Wandering the American Southwest

So this is a break from our regularly scheduled bookish programming, but since I creep on a lot of travel blogs while I meticulously plan our vacations, I figured I’d post this in case it’s helpful to someone.

My husband and I left our kids with my parents (thanks parents! 😘), and road-tripped through Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and the Grand Canyon for a week in September 2021. I’ll post our itinerary with short notes and then some overall trip thoughts at the end.

Saturday:
– Flew Delta into Las Vegas. Arrived Late.
– Rented car from Enterprise.
– Stayed at Marriott’s Grand Chateau
-> Nice, reasonably priced hotel right off the main strip. Recommend.

Sunday:
– Woke up late. Ate breakfast at The Egg and I.
->Huge portions, great muffins, yum. Recommend.
– Drove 3 hours to Zion National Park.
– Got National Park Pass and Gear (waterproof shoes and stick) for the Narrows from Zion Adventure Company.
->Friendly staff and they give you a short little overview of what to expect in the canyon and some safety tips. Recommend.
– Ate dinner at the Whiptail Grill.
-> Quick service and delicious food. Highly Recommend.
– Stayed at Bumbleberry Inn
-> An old-fashioned inn in walking distance of the park entrance. We got lucky with a nice view of the peaks behind our balcony, and they give free breakfast vouchers for Oscar’s Café across the street. Recommend.

Monday:
– Complementary breakfast at Oscar’s Café
-> Fast service, great food. Recommend.
– Take the park shuttle and hike the Narrows (10 mi)
-> So there’s a town shuttle that runs along Springdale to the park, but we found it was quicker to just walk the mile-ish to the entrance. The shuttles were busy when we got on them around 0800, but they move fast. If you want to avoid the crowds, definitely go as early as possible. The Narrows was an AMAZING hike. One of our favorites of the trip. It’s flat, but you’ll be walking through water nearly the entire way (up to about waist deep) so the waterproof shoes and stick were invaluable. It stays pretty cool in the narrow canyon, and the water was also quite cool in September, so we started off with sweaters and shorts, and eventually went down to our t-shirts. (Pretty much our M.O for the whole time with temps in the 40s in the morning and in the 80s in the afternoon.) There’s a fork in the trail to go left or right, and I definitely recommend going down both if you have the time and energy. We carried about 6 liters of water with us, but due to the cool weather, I only ended up drinking 1 liter. (Adam might have drank 2.) The Narrows is also cool, because it’s an out and back, so you can go until you feel tired and ready to turn around. They told us it would take us the same amount of time going up as it would returning, but we were definitely faster returning. (Mostly because we were used to tromping around in the water, but also because we were going with the current.) There were definitely a lot of people in there, but not unpleasantly so, and I did see some adventurous small kids braving the cold water as well. Highly Recommend.
– Returned shoes and stick and ate dinner at the Whiptail Grill (because we just couldn’t resist)

The Narrows Hike!

Tuesday:
– Complementary breakfast at Oscar’s Cafe
– Hiked Angel’s Landing (5 mi)
-> Another beautiful hike! My husband’s a bit acrophobic, so he waited for me at the bathrooms near the top (along with a bunch of other people) while I hiked out on the ridge. It’s probably the scariest hike I’ve ever done because the path is narrow and those drops are SHEER, but you adjust pretty quickly. The only big problem is that it was SO crowded (and we went on a random Tuesday in September!) SO SO SO crowded, and there’s lots of spots on the ridge, where there’s not room for two people abreast which really adds to the disconcerting feeling like you’re about to be pushed off. But they’re are hand rails to hold on to in most places. It took me about 2 hours to get out and back due to the crowds. Still worth it, and I definitely recommend… however GO AS EARLY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. I did hear they’re making this into a permit-only hike in January, and I honestly think that’ll make for a better experience. And I do want to emphasize, the view is nice at the end, but there are lots of nice views of Zion. This hike is really all about the journey and the challenge (not the destination.) If that sounds good to you though and you get the chance, definitely take it! Highly Recommend
– Hiked the Emerald Pools (2.5 mi)
->We had some time so we went off to the nearby Emerald Pools which… were a little underwhelming, but it was a pleasant hike nonetheless, especially if you’re not up for the more intense Angel’s Landing right next door. We hiked from the Grotto, to the three pools, and then to Zion Lodge.
– Ate dinner at Pizza & Noodle
-> Service took a while and the food was just okay. Should’ve eaten at Whiptail again!

Angels Landing Hike!


Wednesday:
– Complementary breakfast at Oscar’s Cafe
– Drive 1 hour and 45 minutes to Bryce Canyon
– Hike Fairyland (8 miles) – top right pic below
-> Loved this hike down into the canyon! Lots of ups and downs, great views and changes of scenery. Highly Recommend. Took 5 L of water between the two of us and that was plenty. Highly Recommend.
– Hike the Queen’s Garden, Navajo Loop, Peekaboo Trail Figure 8 combination trail (6.4 miles)
-> It took some convincing to get my Husband to do the whole Figure 8 after Fairyland, but it was a great hike. While I loved doing both this one and Fairyland, if you’re short on time (and energy), I’d go for this one. (Although it is significantly more crowded.) Highly Recommend.
– Stay at Bryce Canyon Log Cabins
-> Pleasant cabins just outside of Bryce Canyon with a view of the plateaus. Recommend.
– Ate dinner at Pizza Place (this is the actual name)
->There aren’t many places to eat around Bryce so this place was WAY crowded. We got carry out. It took awhile, but it was decent enough pizza.

Fairyland (upper right) and the Peekaboo Trail (part of the Queen’s Garden figure 8)

Thursday:
– Ate breakfast at Bryce Canyon Coffee
-> Solid coffee and pastry place with a cozy atmosphere. Recommend.
– Drive 3 hours to Antelope Canyon and take lower canyon tour with Ken’s tours
-> Loved loved loved this tour! The Navajo nation requires masks during the pandemic, but since they were running at limited capacity, the lighter crowds were really nice. Our guide was lovely, and we got tons of great pictures. Highly Recommend.
– Ate lunch at the Bird House.
-> Counter service with delicious fried chicken and sides (my husband said possibly the best fried chicken he’s ever had). A surprising find. Recommend.
– Drive to see the big bend (*we totally forgot to do this* 😂)
-> Oops! Got a little distracted by Antelope Canyon. Oh well! Guess we’ll have to go next time. We did go peek down at the Glen Canyon Dam which was pretty impressive.
– Drive 2 hours to Grand Canyon
– Ate dinner at Maswik food court
-> Super meh. Which was kind of a theme for the food in the Grand Canyon Park. Next time, I would drive the 15 minutes out of the park to go find real food.
– Stayed at Thunderbird Lodge
-> Can NOT beat for convenience, but the lodge itself was pretty average. It was great to get an early start on the hikes. But it totally wouldn’t be a huge loss to stay outside of the park for cheaper.

Antelope Canyon

Friday:
– Hiked Bright Angel Trail to Plateau Point (12.2 miles)
-> Bright Angel Trail was a fun hike. But I will say it is mostly the same view the whole way. If you’re going to do it, I would definitely recommend going beyond Indian Garden to Plateau Point. Indian Garden is a little underwhelming, but at least at the point you can see the river. There’s three stops for water and bathrooms along the way, which was nice. It took us a little under 6 hours, and while it was tiring, the uphill wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I will say, just be SURE you bring enough water and are dressed comfortably for the weather. We saw many people not carrying any water and hiking in restricting clothing. A helicopter actually had to fly in and land almost on the trail for one guy (and this was in September when the weather was nearly pleasant!) So, you know, be prepared and know your own ability. Recommend.
– Took shuttle bus to Grand Canyon viewpoints
-> On the first look, the Grand Canyon is enormous and awe-inspiring. But due to the great size… all the viewpoints looked very similar to us, so I wouldn’t say its really necessary to see them all.
– Ate dinner at Fred Harvey Burger
-> Pretty much the only decent place to eat that was open in the actual park. A half hour wait to get a table (though they do text you so you can go wander around) for average burger and pub fare.

Plateau Point! In the bottom left, you can actually see where the trail goes from the rim.

Saturday
– Ate breakfast at Maswik food court
-> Still meh, but pretty much the only option
– Hiked South Kaibab Trail to Oo-ah point (1.7 mi)
-> We were originally planning to hike down to Skeleton Point, but my husband’s acrophobia was getting the better of him, and if we’re being honest, we were kind of being hiked out. Oo-ah point was a very short, steep trail to a nice view of the canyon. But it was super similar to Bright Angel (once again, due to the size of the canyon, the viewpoints look pretty similar), so I didn’t really feel the need to go all the way down.
– Drove 4.5 hours to Las Vegas (we actually passed over the Hoover Dam on the way, but didn’t really feel the need to go investigate)
– Ate Dinner at Ramen-Ya
-> Delicious ramen at a little hole in the wall on the Las Vegas Strip. Recommend.
– Stayed at Marriott’s Grand Chateau

Sunday
– Returned car and flew home!

TL;DR

We definitely enjoyed our week-long road-trip through the national parks. With 3 nights at Zion, 1 night at Bryce, and 2 nights at the Grand Canyon, I thought we had plenty of time in each spot. If it weren’t for COVID, maybe we would’ve caught a show in Vegas on the last night, but that’s not really our scene in general anyway.

Zion was our favorite spot, then Bryce, and GC coming in #3.

The only thing I would’ve done differently is maybe stop over at the Big Bend on our drive from Bryce to GC. Also, I would’ve loved to stay at Phantom Ranch and do the Rim to Rim, but it was totally booked for October when I was planning this trip in April. So book early!

Overall, this was one of our slower-paced vacations. Although we were always up early to hit the trails, we were never in a rush, and we had plenty of time in the evenings to unwind. Hopefully, if you’re interested in planning vacay here, this has been helpful, but if you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask! And maybe when I get some more time on my hands, I’ll post some of our older vacation itineraries as well. 😊

And now this hermit gets to rest up until the next great adventure. 😊