Iceland Trip 2015

We have been guiding for an Icelandic guide in the Sierra Nevada for 4 years. She came every year with a group of 15 - 20 people for 7 nights. Last year we were sat having a beer and this holiday was formed.

Steinunn, the Icelandic guide, is a professional guide in Iceland and what she doesn't know about her country is not worth knowing. So we went away and organised a 7 night walking holiday that would include the 'Golden Cirlcle' of Gulfoss, Geysir and Pingvellir, Porsmork(Thors Land), volcanoes, lava fields, glaciers, good comfortable accommodation and quality local food.

This was our first walking holiday to Iceland with a group of 10 people and this is how it went:-

Day 1:- Everyone booked their own flights and made the simple and efficient transfer from the airport in Keflavik to the Hotel Smari, on the outskirts of Reykjavik. We were met by the owner who showed us to our good sized en suite comfortable rooms.

We met Steinunn after a good dinner and went through the week over a drink.

Day 2:-
Pickup at 9am to transfer to Heidmork, 20 minutes away. This is a designated outdoor park which the people of Reykjavik use for walking. The first thing that struck me is the alien landscape that surrounded us. A large lava field with high snow-capped peaks in the distance. We walked for 16km through a fabulous park, into a volcanic crater and climbed one of the peaks we could see in the distance for some great views. It showed the vastness of the volcanoes and lava that have shaped this part of Iceland. Steinunn kept us well informed all day about the different lava and volcanoes to the politics of Iceland.

Day 3:-
Pickup at 9am and a longer transfer deep into the peninsular of Reykjanes. We are using a 4X4 coach now to get around as the tracks are often bad. We drove though a huge lava field which can only be described as something from Mordor in Lord of the Rings. The walk today was 14km of easy walking over grassy hills. To start the walk Steinunn brought us through a crevice between a small hill that had been cracked in two by an earthquake. We then climbed Trölladyngja 279 m and Grænadyngja 393 m, with great views again before descending to the hot springs which have made the earth a colourful sight.


Day 4:-
Pick up 8.30am and transfer to Hellisheiði heathland. Driving to a futuristic looking geothermal site, we start our walk with a steep ascent to the heathland. We walk along a large open area with snow capped peaks all around. It feels very wild and the fording of a small river makes it feel all the more isolated. The views are spectacular and the walking is great. We stop for another of Steinunn's lovely lunches before gently climbing for some truly great views over a large lake and down to the sea. We then start to descend to the thermal river of Reykjadalur. Here we take a bath in the almost too hot water - an amazing way to finish a walk. We have a 20min walk to a bar. After a beer we are picked up and transferred to Stora Mork farm. An hours drive through some spectacular scenery. This is a beautiful walk and my favourite so far. Stora Mork farm is basic but they have good showers and serve some good food all set at the mouth of Thors Land.
Day 5:-
After breakfast we get into the 4 wheel drive coach and set off into Porsmork(Thors Land).

Travelling along the vast glacial valley we drive through rivers in the coach and pass other 4 wheel drive vehicles making there way further up the valley to the Glaciers. This is a fantastic journey with stunning scenery. After around 40 minutes we arrive at a steep sided valley with walls going up to 200 metres. We walk along the valley floor and to cave with a large waterfall of Seljalandsfoss pouring through the roof. We then make our way back to the coach and travel further towards the vast glacier we can see spilling into the valley. We stop at a campsite and have lunch before I take some of the group on a uphill trek to the summit of the near by peak. Fabulous views of the three glaciers surrounding the valley we are in. This is the place of Eyjafjallajökull glacier and volcano that erupted in 2010. After our short trek we make our way back to coach to find it has broken down...but not to worry after an hours wait we are on our way again to a lovely new hotel that has utilised the old workers huts from the mines to make the rooms. We eat out of the hotel that night at a local restaurant and have fish 'n' chips. They were very nice though.

Day 6:-
Gulfoss
This is the day of the very popular 'golden circle'. Everywhere we went were companies offering this tour so must be something worth looking at. We started with an hours drive to Gulfoss an amazingly powerful waterfall with an interesting story about how it stayed wild and was not turned into a hydro electric plant. We then traveled for 20 mins to Geysir hot springs national park. We saw little brother geyser go off and several other hot springs - amazing if you have not experienced this before. Then we traveled to the national park of Þingvellir where we walked between the european and american plates. This is also the birth place of democracy and Steinunn gave us a very good talk on this subject. We walked to an old farm in the middle of the plates and then returned to the bus for our journey back to Reykjavik and the very good Hotel Smari. Another good meal.

Day 7:-
Reykjavik Church
Free day in Reykjavik. The hotel smari is a bus ride away from the centre of Reykjavik about 20 -30mins but I decided to walk in and it took around an hour using paths and cycle routes - it was a great way to see the districts of Reykjavik. In the centre there are a few museums and the church which is quite impressive with a resident organ player. We had lunch in a good bar bought presents and had a few beers in the happy hour which every bar seems to partake in. Then back to Hotel Smari. A nice day.

Day 8:- Up early and catch the Greyline bus back to the airport for our flight back to Belfast. An excellent holiday.

To summarise, the holiday is a fabulous way to do some great walking in a very different country. We saw some amazing sites and walked were there were very few tourists which is a great bonus for me. We also got see the main tourist sites as well which although is not my cup of tea it would be something I would have done had I traveled to Iceland on my own. Also to my surprise the food was very good - very fresh and well cooked. Iceland is expensive and to see and do all that we did in a week is extremely good.

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