Never would have I imagined to visit Iceland on a cruise. However I was well aware how expensive Iceland is, so when I saw the great deal just a month before the departure I couldn’t resist. You can read about how much I paid for a 12 day cruise around Scotland and Iceland in my previous post. Obviously Iceland was the big highlight of the entire cruise. As soon as we were docking in Akureyri I was among the first to board off the ship. We had 2 full days here so we were able to explore well without the rush of having to return back to the ship.
But how much of Iceland can you actually see during a cruise?
We really tried to make the most of our time on land and on this map you can actually see all the places we managed to visit on our 4 full days in Iceland. Below are more details on each of the stops and the places we visited.
Something about the Weather
The weather is crazy here; expect frequent changes and extreme weather, even if you are visiting in summer. On our first day it was extremely windy and rainy; so much so that we had trouble opening and closing our car doors. If you get this weather, the place is not very family friendly of course. On our first day we left our 1 year old in the car and took turns to visit places. I would suggest waiting until kids get older until you visit Iceland, mainly because of the extreme weather which increases their chance of getting sick. Always make sure to check out the weather forecasts and warnings before you travel.
Akureyri
Getting Around
Our first stop was the car rental office next to the cruise terminal, where we rented a car for our 2 days in Akureyri. There are quite some options to choose from as Akureyri is the second largest city in Iceland, and the biggest one in the north. Driving in Iceland is not as easy as you would imagine though. The ring road going around Iceland is in excellent condition and you have no trouble if you wish to stick to it, however as soon as you leave the ringroad, most of the roads are unpaved. If you wish to thoroughly explore Iceland you would need a 4×4. Obviously we were not happy to stick to the ringroad and this is how our car ended up after a couple of hours …
First impressions of Iceland
We also had the opportunity to see the seals from the observation point in Illugastaðir and also see sea ducks from a very close distance. The weather conditions were far from being optimal so our visit was quite short.
Below are some of the photos we took in between Illugastaðir and Akureyri. These places are quite off the beaten track and are not on the usual Iceland itinerary.
On our second day in Akureyri we visited the more popular spots known as the Diamond circle. However we really started early to avoid the crowds.
Our first stops were Goðafoss waterfall and Lake Mývatn. Luckily the weather was much better than the day before. Consequently the area around the lake was full of midges (visible in the last photo below).
Ísafjörður
This was by far my favourite part of Iceland! One of the reasons we opted for this cruise was, that most probably, on land we wouldn’t have made it to the Westfjords, being so disconnected from the ringroad going around Iceland. Visiting Iceland’s Westfjords, would entail an extra 5 days minimum. The landscapes here are even more dramatic, with the immense peaks cascading directly into the ocean. The most impressive waterfall of Iceland is located in this area and we couldn’t miss visiting it. Unfortunately we were not able to rent a car (availability is very limited) so we had to book a tour to be able to visit the Dynjandi Waterfall. Not all cruise ships are able to dock in the small harbour of Isafjordur, but I highly recommend trying to include this stop in your itinerary. It is absolutely worth it!
We also went around some nearby villages and farms apart from the town of Isafjordur itself.
… and we met more seals 🙂
Reykjavík
Reykjavik was the final stop of our Iceland part of the cruise. We had one full day here and this is where I really wished to have more time. 2 full days in Reykjavik (or a cruise ending/starting in Reykjavik) would really be ideal. Our original plan was to drive along the southern coast visiting a glacier and waterfalls.
However we had 2 major setbacks:
1. An incoming storm due to which our captain anticipated the departure time so we had less time on land.
2. We were unable to get a taxi with a baby to our car rental office since we none of them had a car seat (even if it was just for less than 2km); so we had to separate and my husband returned back to the ship to pick us up and we lost more time.
So the next best thing to do was to visit a geyser, which happens to be located close to Reykjavík in Strokkur.
We also visited the Gullfoss Waterfall, got a glimpse of the Langjökull glacier and marvelled at the two colliding tectonic plates which meet at the Þingvellir National Park.
However the time in Reykjavík was very limited and unlike other stops we really wished we had more time to explore. However as I explained above we will surely return when the kids are older to explore more the raw beauty of Iceland.
