Your Ultimate 3-Day Iceland Adventure: Must-Do In Iceland
This three day trip to Iceland was actually insane, and pretty chaotic at times, but i'm super glad I get to share with you everything we did and didn't do. Also in this three day Iceland Itinerary, I won't just be sharing the what but i'll be sharing HOW to do things - because we certainly learned a bunch while we were there.
So, since we both worked full-time, we actually decided to make our trip to Iceland three and a half days. I recommend, if you're really trying to see everything there while having some down time, definitely plan for 5-10 days. There are plenty of blogs out there with itineraries for longer trips. But, since a lot of us have 9-5 jobs and want to do quick weekend trips, (yes, you can do these types of trips even over a weekend) I wanted to share our personal experience in Iceland. Whether it's three days or ten days, is still an absolutely amazing place that you'll never forget.
In this Iceland Itinerary blog, I'll be talking about every step we made in the country of Iceland. The mistakes we learned, what you don't want to miss, the prices we paid, and some other tips for the next time we visit and that you can avoid. Let's get into it!
I'll also be sharing extra spots you should definitely go to if you are staying a few more days!
So we decided to leave Wednesday night for an overnight flight. Now, I don't mind these, although I feel like as I get older it gets harder for me since I always get SO tired when I'm driving, but my boyfriend Josh absolutely hates it and couldn't function because of how tired he was. So depending on your ability to just grind through and hopefully sleep a bit on a plane, take that as you will. By the end of the next day, I'm pretty sure I was hallucinating since we just went for it right away and drove all day once we landed! No regrets, though.
Anyway, we landed super early local time, around 5am. Now, we went in mid November, which has its pros and cons. We really were trying to fit this trip in before winter rolled around because we have some pretty big plans for next year, and decided a bit on a whim to go to Iceland. Which, in my opinion, is the best type of trips! But, if you have the flexibility, summer is typically the best (AND busiest) time to go. The sun is out way longer, and if you want to see more, doing it in mid-November until May you might have a smaller shot to get to see everything on your list. But, Iceland in the winter is also just a sight to see, and more chances of seeing the northern lights!
Also, yes Iceland is one of the most expensive countries, but we really only spent a little over $1,000 US dollars each. You just have to travel smarter!
We only ate out once, and it was a bar/American food-type of place (no judgement, we are not fancy restaurant people!) which helps a ton. We lived off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Also our car rental was crazy good on gas and only had to fill up twice, and the second time was just to make sure it was completely full when we dropped it off, so it wasn't even totally empty yet.
Below i'll go through and break down our expenses for the whole trip.
On that note, let's get into our itinerary! Again, this is what we decided to do in our 3-day trip. Your interests might be elsewhere, and that's okay! Below I did list some places we didn't get to do, that you can always replace with a stop we took. Enjoy!
This was also a trip where we hit a TON of bumps in our itinerary. I ended up crying when we were walking to our Uber when we got home because I was just so overwhelmed. Now, a few months later, I look back and realized how much we did get to see and do, and i'm so grateful, and it's a huge learning curve for us in the future! Plus, I get to tell you guys so you can avoid our bumps, too. Check out my blog post on backpacking solo where I go into more depth on how to travel more efficiently!
DAY ONE - BLUE LAGOON & THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
FIRST STOP : BLUE LAGOON
The first day, like I mentioned, we landed super early. We had tickets to the Blue Lagoon at 8AM, which is highly recommended if you want to avoid a large crowd. With most touristy places, we recommend you visit really early or late at night. There's nothing better than witnessing the sunrise at a spectacular location by yourself!
I've seen so many people that go in the summer during midnight sun, and hit all of the spots in the middle of the night, so they have it all to themselves.
For us, it was very dark and cold to be honest, because in regards to the sun going away for longer periods as the winter season comes in, we went right on the weekend where it rises around 10/11AM and sets around 4/5PM. Oops! So, at the Blue Lagoon, we just swam around until the sun "came up" (it was cloudy, but bright enough where we can see everything!) It still was all so cool and unique. Definitely a popular place, but personally I think it was worth it. You get a drink and face mask included, and theres a sauna and a steam room.
Also, the blue lagoon is only a bit under 20 minutes away from the airport so always something to keep in mind! The airport is in Keflavik, and the main city center is Reykjavik, which is 40 min away from the airport.
Also, the sooner you book the tickets online (which is highly recommended), the cheaper they are. Ours came out to about $93 USD each, but figured we'd splurge for the experience. You can buy the tickets here. It was a relaxing experience even with cold winds because the water was super warm. Now, with all other hot springs, keep in mind some spots get really cold and some really hot! It's about finding the nice in between.
If you're going to spend your money on anything, I would definitely recommend the Blue Lagoon and/or the Sky Lagoon, glacier tours and tours for the northern lights or other guides that you feel like would be a better experience with a guide. We compared doing tours versus renting a car and we ultimately, as you can tell, decided to get a car and do it on our own time. This option is always better if you like avoiding crowds. But, if you hate the planning part, a few tours would be the Golden Circle, The Southern Coast, and the Northern Lights Tours. Get Your Guide has so many experiences for you without the hassle of planning or driving. Plus, they can give you so much more information about a location than the internet can.
We were going to do one northern lights tour since they know the right spots and can tell you all about them, but we decided against since we were already tight with time.
GROCERY STORES / FOOD
The next goal was to get food. The first day we decided to just go for the golden circle after hitting the blue lagoon, so we wanted to be stocked on snacks and drinks. Over the course of our trip, we stopped at Bonus, Netto and Kronan in the different towns we passed through. Since we had to get moving, we stopped at Grindavik since it was on the way to the next stop. It was also only 8 minutes from the lagoon.
SECOND STOP : KRISUVIKURBERG CLIFFS
Now, these aren't a must-see necessarily, but if you have the time, it was pretty cool stop. It's on the way to the circle and its about 1.8 miles out of the way, on a semi-rough gravel road. Also, when you rent a car in Iceland, make sure it's an off-roading vehicle. Typically they'll just give that anyway, but always want to be careful! Down below under prices I write about which car rental spot we chose from!
On the way to this location, we didn't go here, but the most recent volcanic eruption in Iceland was the Fagradalsfjall. It is a 6km hike, and we decided we couldn't do this because we were already pretty behind on time since we hung out an extra hour at the Blue Lagoon. The volcano stopped erupting at the end of august, but apparently it's still pretty cool to go checkout! I'd definitely go back in the future and make the hike up.
THIRD STOP : KRYSUVIK CHURCH AND THERMAL AREA
Here is another stop that you go off the main road for a bit to get to. Also, we still aren't even on the Ring Road, also know an the Golden Circle, just yet! You'll understand why in a bit. Honestly, going to this tiny church was a highlight for me, I was so excited. Mainly because I really wanted to get this photo below. It was also the coldest day out of the whole trip & VERY windy, so it was hard even open our car doors (which they warn you about at car rentals & the wind can break doors! So don't let go of them! It's a lot of money to fork up). The church is called Krýsuvíkurkirkja. If you type in Krysuvik into your google maps, it will take you right to the Geothermal area, but you should see the church pretty easily on the way.
From the church you drive a few minutes to the thermal area. The thermal area has a short little wooden walkway that you can go up to see the thermal pools, also known as Seltún, from above, and you can go on an even longer hike if you keep going up the trail. Make sure to stay aware and on the paths. These pools are extremely hot and are not to be touched!
Even more volcanic craters, called Eldborg við Geitahlíð, are right down the road as well if you have time to stop. It seems to be a very easy hike that takes roughly 15 minutes.
FOURTH STOP : THE TOWN OF SELFOSS
Selfoss is the town that puts you into the famous Ring Road now! Tomorrow, we're doing the first bit in the morning so it made sense to start off with the coast after the Blue Lagoon.
We stopped here for a coffee, food and bathroom break. It's such a cute town! Since it was November it was already giving small-town Christmas vibes. Well worth it. You have to drive through this town to get to the circle anyway.
After Selfoss we headed northeast to..
FIFTH STOP : KERID CRATER
This place cost 400 Kronur, or roughly $2.81 USD. The walk around the crater takes about 20 minutes, but honestly the crater is right next to the parking lot, so you don't have to go far to get a good view.
SIXTH STOP : BRÚARHLÖO, GULFOSS, & GEYSIR
After another 40 minutes of driving or so, the next destination is the tippy top northeast corner of the Golden Circle. There's a few cool spots here such as Gullfoss Falls, Brúarhlöð, and the geothermal Geysir, all within a few miles from each other. Definitely depends on which way your going around the circle, but we hit the geysir last.
Geysir is the first known geysir in europe, and how all geysirs got their names! It's pretty cool to see. Strokkur, the most famous geysir, shoots boiling water so high every few minutes! You'll see everyone surrounding it as soon as you get there.
Brúarhlöð canyon is a pretty cool hidden gem on the golden circle. The water looks so clear on a sunny day! If you have time in your day, definitely check it out. Especially since hidden gems are usually the best ones.
What's really funny is that we rode down a LONG GRAVEL ROAD just to get to the wrong side of the Gullfoss Falls!!! Unfortunately, it was too late to go to the actual site, so we had to skip it. Frustrating, I know, don't even ask me how that happened. ALWAYS triple check your plans! I just threw it into Google Maps and it took us to the other side. You could hike to a view point, but we had no idea how long it was and like I said, it was getting dark already!
Literally HOW did we miss this?! You see that white line to the right. That's were we were, LOL.
Photo image credits unknown. This is not my image. Gullfoss Falls
SEVENTH STOP : THINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK
Next mistake we made, was missing the Thingvellir National Park, which I was a bit bummed about. It was pitch black outside by the time we got to the area. Honestly we could have squeezed this in on the last day (the morning of our flight home) but it would've been way too tight and it wasn't worth it.
I do recommend if you are only doing a 3-day trip, to go when the sun is out longer! If we had an extra hour of sunlight, we would be just fine! So, either adding an extra day if your plans allow it, or go when daylight is longer. I have heard other people not be too sad about missing this or when they did see it, the rest of the country gave them such spectacular views that this was like, ehh. So, take that as you will!
TIPS ON THINGVELLIR NATIONAL PARK
Even though we didn't make it here, here's some things I learned about it beforehand...
Daypass is 750 ISK or roughly $5.22 USD. Our goal was to see the Oxararfoss and the continental divide. This place is where you can stand in between two techtonic plates. It really does seem like an amazing place to visit, and we will definitely be making this a priority next time we go to Iceland! You can also snorkel here, too, which I heard is 1000% worth it. All year round it's said to be extremely cold, but the clearest water in the world!
From the national park, it's about a 40 minute drive into the capital of Reykjavik. Our plan was to get there a bit later, explore the town at night, then rest up before heading to Vik the next day. We stayed in Reykjavik the last night so that's when we planned to see the city in daylight.
For accommodation, both nights in Reykjavik we were hosted by Arni through Airbnb. Incredibly nice and affordable apartments for staying in the heart of the city. I'll put more information down below for total prices of our stay!
DAY TWO : SOUTHERN COAST TO VIK
STOP ONE : REYKJADALUR HOT SPRINGS
Now this stop is a part of the Golden Circle, but since we went to the coast, then into the circle yesterday, we had to do the first half of the circle on the way out of Reykjavik. The one annoying thing about these hot springs is when I was researching it myself, I didn't find any information or reviews about the hike to the hot springs. Maybe one or two articles or travel blogs saying it can take 30-45 minutes, but then we saw some that said you can see them from your car.. and you most certainly cannot. It was definitely a strenuous hike up to the springs, so make sure you bring food, water, and rain jackets, since the weather in Iceland is different every 5 minutes! It rained on us for maybe 3 minutes tops, then the sun was out. And, fun fact, we didn't even make it to the springs! Due to our timeline, we thought the hike would take us less than an hour and by the time we were kind of close, we should've been in the car on the way to the next stop. I don't regret it though, we were still able to see some amazing views and see the Djupagil Waterfall, which is the photo below.
I will say it again, the first few miles I'd say where just straight uphill. Some parts easier than others, but definitely more of a moderate hiking trail.
Make sure you are reading the signs and only swimming where it is allowed. Some pools are boiling hot before you get to the swimming area! The farther up you go, the hotter the springs are, too. This place can get pretty busy here during peak season, but luckily for us the trail was pretty quiet, at least until were we got to.
I was also told it's open all year round, but again, when we went in November, it didn't seem like too many people were as eager to swim as I was when we started.
STOP TWO : SELJALANDSFOSS
This was about a one hour and 20 minute drive from the hot springs, with plenty of views and stops along the way. This waterfall is a big tourist attraction, but being November it wasn't super packed. This one you can walk behind it, which is why it's so popular and one of the most photographed waterfalls. Make sure you wear a rain jacket, because you'll definitely get wet! You can go on a nice little hike through the area with a bunch of smaller waterfalls surrounding. It was so easy to get to, being that you can see it from the main road. The only payment was a parking fee of 800 ISK or around 5 US dollars per car.
STOP THREE : SKOGAFOSS
Another big tourist attraction. One you can also see from the main road. A super easy and eventful 20-30 minute drive down the main road. This was was a bit more packed for us, since it was totally free to go to. There's a big parking lot, an you just walk right up the the falls, or you can even go up a bunch of steps to be on top of the falls at a viewpoint.
I've seen some amazing photos of people in the summer with the lupines in the field in front of the falls!
From here, we went straight to...
STOP FOUR : Black Sand Beach Reynisfjara
By the time we got here, it was definitely a bit crowded, but so cool to see in person. While for sure not the only black beach in Iceland, certainly a site-to-see with the sea stacks, or basalt columns right on the edge of the beach with the intense waves crashing into them. Side note, do NOT swim here. You can see right away how intense the current and waves are, so it's very dangerous.
From there it was a quick couple minutes to our overnight stay in Vik. Again, we used Airbnb the whole trip for accommodations. This night we stayed in a unique cabin. It was super cozy and very quaint. Highly recommend! You can book your stay here.
We got pizza at the nearby Black Crust Pizzeria, and spent about 60 USD on two pizzas and three drinks. There were also some pubs & other food places nearby! Vik is pretty tiny, but it was perfect. We spent the rest of the night just walking around and watching the stars. Personally, this was mine and Josh's favorite spot! Something about the quaint little town sticks with you.
Also, by this time, you should definitely have the Aurora App. This app tells you the forecast of your chance of seeing the northern lights where you are. It was super cloudy the rest of the night so unfortunately, so lights for us. But better luck next time, of course!
DAY THREE : DRIVE BACK TO REYKJAVIK
Before heading back towards Reykjavik, which was about two and a half hours away, we explored the center of Vik again in the daylight by getting a cup of coffee on the Skool Beans Cafe, which was probably my highlight of that morning. They have a special, three-legged cat named Jeffery. After we visited Skool Beans Cafe, we took our coffee to-go and walked to the beach. We saw some Icelandic horses, the first of many on the way back to the capital, then out onto the road again.
If you have an extra day or two in your trip, many people keep heading east toward Diamond Beach. This is another 2 hour and 20 minute trip from Vik, but worth it if you have the time.
FIRST STOP : SÓLHEIMASANDUR PLANE CRASH SITE
Now, even though this was on our itinerary, I did put a question mark next to it. It is a long hike out to the plane from the unmarked parking lot, but we had some time in the day and decided to just pull into the lot to think about it. Mind you, it was also such a windy morning. Once we parked, we saw a bus that drives you to the crash for about 5,000 ISK I believe. I honestly can't quite remember because we were just so happy to see the bus we didn't care how much and decided to just go for it. But I do remember it was somewhere between 30-40 USD per person. Which is absolutely worth it if you want to see the crash because it's way longer of a cold, windy walk than you might think.
The bus drops you off for 30 whole minutes, which felt like an eternity when you're being blown away so aggressively by the extreme, cold winds. It was insane, but honestly really cool to see in the middle of the very long, never ending, flat black beach.
After that, we headed back to the city with stops of random pull offs along the way. Petting all of the Icelandic horses we saw, too. Along this straight, flat road are a bunch of caves and waterfall trails that are a bit more off the beaten path. If you have extra time in your day, definitely make the stops!
LAST ADVENTURE : EXPLORING REYKJAVIK
We wanted to make it back to the city of Reykjavik before dark, to explore it in the light. The main road town is small, but perfectly quaint. We stayed in this airbnb. This host owns a bunch of apartments in this building, and it's one block from the main road, so an easy 2 minute walk. You can probably walk the whole town in less than an hour, we did it! Here you want to make sure you walk down Rainbow Road, and even head towards Hallgrimskirkja Church, which is the tallest building in the cities skyline, and so gorgeous! Also, just the colorful and simplistic houses all around the city are a sight to see. Our personal favorite coffee was Kaffibrennslan, since they opened early & were a few short steps from our Airbnb.
For dinner, again we aren't fancy people and just wanted a quick bite, we walked around and stopped into BrewDog down one of the side roads. We got cauliflower wings and fries, and we were good to go! And of course got some ice cream from Sæta Húsið. So good!
The next morning we walked around Reykjavik for a bit, got coffee then stopped by a cat cafe on the way to our car called Kattakaffihúsið. It was a great way to say goodbye!
WHAT WE DIDN'T DO THAT YOU CAN ADD INTO YOUR TRIP
Now, I will say everything we did I don't regret a single thing! It was all still so magical and perfect, and we saw so much of Iceland, and only had to take off two days off my day job!
Sky Lagoon - pretty pricey thermal baths, but justified! It looks so gorgeous, and more natural and laid back than Blue Lagoon. Next time I go, definitely stopping here. It's about 12 minutes from the city center, so definitely easier to get to from Reyk.
Diamond Beach - As mentioned earlier, this is a bit farther out than Vik, with plenty of stops along the way. Also a great place to do glacier tours...speaking of.
Glacier Tours - Here are some I had heard great things about!
Kvernufoss (another waterfalls less popular) - Others say this is a short hike from where the road ends in Skógar. You can just type in the Skogar Museum, drive passed the museum and park at the end of the road, and you'll see a ladder going over a fence to start the hike. This waterfall looks so beautiful, but can be dangerous in the icy winter months. This is also just a few minutes away from Skogafoss!
Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool - This was one of the stops I was looking forward to the most, but the road to the parking lot was closed the only day we could go! I was so upset. This was definitely one of those types of trips where things kept going wrong, but the views of everywhere else made up for it, of course. This was right before Skogafoss. To get there you have to drive off-road for a bit, then hike a bit to the pool once you park.
Weather
They have a saying in Iceland, "if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes" which is SOO true! It would rain for 5 minutes then be completely sunny and beautiful, so just plan for all seasons when you visit, no matter the time of year.
The most accurate weather forecast for Iceland is Vedur.is, please use this especially in winter to be aware of any storms or road closures.
Prices
Now, I'm going to break down our prices for our three day trip to Iceland on a tight budget. Budget traveling isn't for everyone, and we definitely could've done a lot more to save more, but this is what fit both of our comfort zones for the trip. Take what you will! But if you would like to learn more about how to budget travel or any travel hacks in general, go checkout my blog on 5 different budget traveling tips. Also, keep in mind this trip was for two people, so it really helps when paying for accommodation & other payments you can split.
PLANE TICKETS - $700 each. We booked through Play Airlines, which is essentially the Europes version of Spirit. Ever heard of WOW air? It's the same company! Just a new name. It honestly was a super easy flight, the first one definitely had a bit less leg room, according to my boyfriend, but I was just fine. This is a good deal since tickets to Iceland are way more usually!
ACCOMMODATION - $443.48 total and $221.74 each. Now, I was quite lucky because I got gifted a few Airbnb gift cards (this is one of my trips for planning on traveling more, ask for travel gifts for holidays! Gas gift cards, airline gift cards, Airbnb, phone charger, camera gear, etc) so that took a big dent out of this total, but still really great for 3 total nights. It comes to about $73 dollars per night per person.
CAR RENTAL - We paid a total of $174 USD. $87 between the two of us. Now, we could've gotten something a bit cheaper, but this was a bit last minute on my part. It was cheaper a week before I booked it, but hey, it was a quick purchase that was pretty worth it since this car got us everywhere smoothly. We rented from VIP cars, which is a third party vendor for ICERENTAL 4x4. The only annoying part was the pick up wait, which we just had to wait in the lobby for about 30-40 minutes until the driver picks you up and brings you to the office.
GAS - Total gas was roughly $100-120. This car was incredibly good on gas, and only had to fill it up once even though we traveled over 600 miles. So about $60 per person.
EXPERIENCES - From the Blue Lagoon, bus ride to the plane wreck, entrance and parking fees, we probably paid about $140 each. This is on the cheaper side especially if you plan to do any tours.
FOOD & DRINKS - Josh spent around $300 USD since he drinks, and I spent a bit less since I don't, but staying on the safer side with $300 since I do love a good road trip snack. This also includes international card fees. Now, his card ended up not working there, so we ended up splitting the difference anyway. Which for a total of 4 days on the road this could be a lot worse. Plus we were so hungry on the plane and bought snacks that were way overpriced, haha!
So in total, we spent about $1,500 each. This isn't the cheapest option, yet isn't the most expensive option either! I did find a few flights cheaper but we went for the one a little more safer in terms of making sure we had baggage checked, had 24-hour check in, etc. We also booked a nicer Airbnb in Vik for the cabin vibes, and went all out on snacks for the trip, with a few meals out here and there.
Here are a few ways to travel hack your way through Iceland a bit more than we did!
Book your flight way in advance, and use google flight notifications to get notified when flights are cheaper!
Try comparing camper van options. With this, you can get the price of car rental and accommodation all in one. Also, campsites are super cheap!
Make sure you're using a card that has low or no international fees. If given the choice when checking out in Iceland, make sure to hit that countries currency instead of USD or what your currency is. This avoids a bigger exchange rate payment.
Now this goes for many places, but avoid eating out and go to grocery stores instead. Stock up on easily made meal ingredients like PB&J's and some easy snacks and you're good to go. Grocery stores are definitely still very expensive, but you can research what items are cheaper online.
Don't buy water! You can literally bring your can anywhere and get it filled for free. Or stop by a little river and fill it up, the water is super clean and straight from the glaciers!
Avoid tours, unless necessary, and do a ton of research on the location yourself and go explore on your own time.
Lastly, I'm going to add a PDF below for you to see exactly what I packed for our 4-day trip, including leaving our home and then arriving back. Again, this might vary depending on the person and the experience.
I hope this list, guide and three day Iceland itinerary was everything you needed for your trip to Iceland! Whether you're going for 3 days, a week, or a month, and whether you're going all out or making this a tight budget trip, my goal was to give you enough information to take you on a trip of a lifetime. If anything I said in this blog has changed over time or didn't align with your journey, please message me and I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. Everyone's experience and threshold for traveling varies, so make sure you know your limits, and most of all, have fun!
