In September 2022, during our two-week road trip accross Iceland, we had the chance the go on a zodiac tour of Jokulsarlon with Glacier Lagoon. They offer amphicar tours as well and other companies had kayaking tours, but I think we chose right as the zodiac tour was incredible and seemed to cover more of the lagoon as the others who stayed closer to the shore.
The first step of our tour was to put on a pretty heavy one-piece yellow winter suit that floats if you fall overboard and keeps you warm while the zodiac zooms accross the lagoon. Then, we walked about 200m to the shore and stepped aboard our boat. There were about 8-10 people per boat so we had plenty of space to sit or move around to get a better view if needed.
Once all of the passengers were on board, our tour guide explained quickly how to stay safe and we were off to the glacier. It's better to stay seated once the zodiac gets on the way as it goes pretty quickly and you really don't want to fall in the icy water. But once we got to the glacier, our guide stopped the boat and we were able to look around at the huge icebergs and the glacier behind them.
We were pretty lucky during our visit. A huge ice block had fallen off the glacier a few hours before so there were a lot of icebergs and they were a bright blue color. Our guide, Teddy, told us that even the biggest icebergs, once they fall into the lake, will melt in a few days or weeks at most as the lagoon is filled with salt water from the ocean. We also learned that the ice will be a bright blue color when it first falls in the water, but will turn white in about 10-12 hours. They will only get their blue color back if they turn over in the water from loosing chunks of ice.
As we were looking around at the different icebergs and listening to the ice cracking all around us, we had the chance to encounter two little seals. They were so cute and way more curious then they were scared as they let us approach so we could see them up close.
Unfortunately, the glacier is rapidly melting and has retreated as much as 2 km between 1973 and 2004.
I have to say, this tour was one of the highlights of our whole trip. The view was so beautiful and completely different from everything else we had seen before. It was also fun to get some information and some history of the glacier, lagoon and the animals that live there. I would have stayed longer, to be honest. We were comfortably warm in the suits and I was almost hypnotized by the sound of the ice cracking and the icebergs floating all around us. I absolutely recommend this tour if you are visiting the south of Iceland!
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Iceland was our Covid trip. You know, the one that got canceled and you thought you would just push back for a year and then that got canceled again? So basically, we had a whole three years to plan, look up photos, read way too many blog articles, tag locations on Google Maps after seeing them on Instagram and go completely crazy waiting for the trip to finally happen. Let's just say, when we got there, we were prepared and ready to go EVERYWHERE! So this article is for the places that don't usually figure in the guide book, but that I believe deserve a chance.
Hveragerdi geothermal park
rHveragerdi is a village build in a hot zone, which means that it has geothermal activity. Actually, it is so hot that there are three naturally heated swimming pools and a geyser in the middle of the village! The surrounding mountains are smoking and almost every yard has its own greenhouse, isn't that so cool? So while some of the springs in Hveragerdi Geothermal Park have gone dry since an earthquake in 2008, it was one of the rare places that we saw in Iceland that explained geothermal energy and that had little activities that helped understand how it works and how it helped the inhabitants of Iceland survive in such a harsh climate. You can visit the greenhouse, cook an egg in a hot spring, taste bread baked in steam, take a foot mud bath and put you feet in a warm spring, and understand life in the region. It is a pretty short visit and costs a few dollars, but it reminded me of the Land pavilion in EPCOT in Disney World and I loved it.
Gljufrabui waterfall
I had never seen this waterfall anywhere on internet and we just happened to see it on a sign while in Seljalandfoss and decided to check it out. It was complete luck that we saw it, and it turned out to be one of my favorite spots in Iceland. Gljufrabui is located in the same park as Seljalandfoss, but being completely hidden by the canyon walls and only reachable if you walk in the water, most people don't visit even though it is really pretty and quite easy to reach with hiking boots and a rain jacket. Honestly, it's worth getting splashed!
reykjadalur hot spring thermal river
The Blue Lagoon and Myvatn Baths are absolute musts when visiting Iceland, but one thing I really wanted to do was swim in a natural hot spring. We went to Seljavallalaug swimming pool, but since the water source is broken, the water is quite cold and really murky. So when I found Reykjadalur while looking for things to do on Google Maps, I decided we had to go! I honestly thought it would be close to the road and easy to reach, but the river is actually a 45-minute hike up a mountain away from the parking lot. I recommend hiking boots, at least a full bottle of water and some snacks. Like most things in Iceland, you need to earn the beautiful things you want to see, but they are worth it and these hot springs are no exception. The hike is not technical, the trail is large and well maintained, but it is pretty steep in some places. Once you get to the spring, though, you forget all the effort that it took to get there as you soak in the warm shallow water. It is so relaxing and the view is great!
Even though there were quite a few people while we were there, it never felt crowded as there are so many little basins separated by rocks. There are no changing room or bathrooms, but there are some screens were you can change out of your bathing suit before the walk back. I recommend putting on your bathing suit before you leave and bringing a change of underwear. Water shoes or flip flop/crocs are also a good idea to walk on the rocks. grjotagja
Grjotagja is a grotto filled with bright blue water near Myvatn Nature Baths. Unfortunately, swimming is prohibited, but visiting is free of charge and it is a beautiful, quick stop while in the Myvatn area in Northern Iceland. The sun shines through the entrance of the grotto and allows you to see all the way to the bottom of the clear water. The water is also warm as bath water and steam rises form it.
glymur waterfall
Glymur is one of my favorite waterfalls in Iceland and features in my top ten waterfalls as you can see here. It is the beautiful reward you receive after an hour long hike. Although the hike isn't hard for most people with a normal fitness level, it is pretty technical. You do need to cross a river on a tree trunk and hold onto ropes as you hike up so I would recommend having done some hiking in small mountains before. Otherwise, the view is gorgeous all the way up and there are a few other people hiking along, but it isn't crowded. The descent was fairly easy as you can use the ropes to rappel down the steeper inclines. You do need proper hiking boots, snacks and plenty of water. When we visited in September we found it was warm, but you would need proper clothing according to the weather.
Meleyri Beach
Unfortunately, it was raining pretty heavily the day we visited and the visibility was horrible (so bad that we drew an arrow in the sand pointing to the parking lot so we wouldn't have a hard time finding it on the way back), but Meleyri Beach is a beautiful black sand beach that stretches on for miles. It isn't as popular as other beaches like Reynisfjara so you could have the place completely to yourself!
Honestly, there are so many incredible things to see in Iceland, that you probably don't need to add anything to your already packed itinerary, but these are places that we found by chance and that I am so happy we found! You won't be disappointed!
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In Iceland, there are a few things that you will see consistently: horses and sheep, mountains, and waterfalls. There is a waterfall in every little crevasse of every single mountain on the island and, though they are always beautiful, some are just more spectacular than others. Here are the 10 waterfalls that I found particularly memorable.
1. glymur waterfall
Glymur waterfall was the first one that we visited during our trip. So while it is not the first that we saw, it is the first that I can name. It is also the highest reachable waterfall in Iceland. There is one higher, but it is impossible to visit due to its location.
It took us about 3 hours to hike to Glymur and back to the parking lot, and while it is not the easiest hike, it is also doable for most people. There is a river to cross on a tree trunk and a few places where we had to use ropes to help ourselves up, but it is also very worth it. The waterfall is absolutely gorgeous and completely hidden in a canyon and the hike gave us wonderful view points over the valley and surrounding mountains. 2. skogafoss
Skogafoss is definitely one of the waterfalls you HAVE to visit in Iceland, but to be completely honest, we kind of forgot it existed as soon as we saw the rainbows! Skogafoss is also the highest waterfall on the Skoga river, but if you climb to the top, you can walk along the river and discover many smaller waterfalls and the most beautiful scenery. It is worth it to plan a bit more time and explore past the crowds.
3. seljalandsfoss
Seljalandfoss looks impressive in pictures because you always see it from the back, meaning you can walk behind it. What I wasn't expecting, was the massive size of the waterfall and the grotto behind it. In real life, the fall is so powerful that you need a rain jacket even if you look at it from afar. It is also way higher than it looks in pictures.
4. Gljufrabui waterfall
I think Gljufrabui was my favorite waterfall of all. It is located about 300m from Seljalandfoss, but most people seemed to completely ignore it and prefer it's sister. While Seljalandsfoss is bigger, Gljufrabui is hidden behind a canyon and you can barely see it from the trail. The only way to reach it is to walk through the canyon in the water, but boy is it worth it!
5. gullfoss
Gullfoss is a very powerful waterfall located on the Golden Circle in southwest Iceland. The crevasse where the water flows is so narrow that, from the viewpoint on the left side of the river, it looks like the water is flowing underneath the earth or falling to the center of the earth. I wish I could have seen it in the winter too as the water must form really neat icicles on the sides of the canyon.
6. godafoss
Godafoss is know for its legend. Apparently, in 1000 AD, one of Iceland's lawmakers came back home from the annual meeting at Thingvellir, where they decided to make Christianity the official religion of Iceland, and threw his statues of Norse gods in the waterfall. Although no one knows if the story is true, the waterfall is still one of the most beautiful in Iceland because of its width and the blue color of its water. The shape also reminded me of a small Niagara Falls.
7. Svartifoss
Svartifoss is so different from the other waterfalls in Iceland! With its basalt columns, it looks like the pipes of a giant organ and you would recognize it anywhere. This waterfall is also part of Skaftafell-Vatnajökull National Park where you can observe glaciers, volcanoes and other waterfalls so it was a nice visit. It takes between 30 and 45 minutes to hike to the waterfall and, like most places in Iceland, it is mostly uphill, but the view along the way is gorgeous and it's not a technical hike.
8. Haifoss
The interesting part of this waterfall isn't actually the fall itself, but the kettles carved by the river. Some of them seem to interlace while the water flows through. It's really impressive! There is a small parking lot near the cascades and the view from up there gives you a nice panorama on the whole fjord and Seydisfjordur.
9. dettifoss
Dettifoss may not be pretty with its greyish-white water and moon like surroundings, but it is the most powerful waterfall in Iceland and the second most powerful in Europe. Honestly, after walking along it, I have no doubt of its power. There is so much water falling so abruptly that even from the furthest viewpoint we were still getting splashed.
10. kirkjufell
Kirkjufell waterfall isn't the biggest or the strongest, it doesn't have the prettiest color, it isn't the highest either, but it's location makes it great. Right in front of the conical mountain that gives it its name, with the sun setting in the background, it has the prettiest surroundings.
To be honest, after a few days in Iceland, we barely noticed most of the waterfalls we passed along the road, but these ten were worth the detour or even the hike. Don't forget to tag them on Google maps or write them on your list of places to visit as they are absolute must-sees in Iceland.
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