Jökulsárlón - Iceland's Glacier Lagoon

We knew that the trip to Jökulsárlón would add an additional 4-5 hours of driving time to our day.

But how can you come all the way to Iceland and not see a glacier?

As we headed further east on Iceland's Ring Road 1, the landscape started to change.  Again.

We would periodically get a glimpse of the rough ocean to our right.

We started to see more and more, rolling black sand.  Suddenly to our left we caught a sight of our first glacier.

We had to pull over and take some photos.  We weren't the only ones.

There weren't many cars on the road that day, but we were leapfrogging with several others throughout the day.
There were plenty of places to safely pull over to admire the landscape.

Iceland is called the land of "fire and ice" and aptly so.
Do you know what happens when a volcano meets a glacier?  Lots of water.  

We stopped at an information point to read about just such a volatile occurrence
and to see some evidence of the destruction left in it's wake.

We eventually arrived at our destination, Jökulsárlón, also known as glacier lagoon.

The lagoon has developed in modern years as the glacier that feeds into the ocean here

has melted and subsided.  Chunks of ice break off into the massive lake and slowly make their way out to sea. 

It's a dramatic site and the famous setting for several Hollywood blockbusters

including Tomb Raider and two James Bond movies.

During the summer, you can take a boat ride out onto the lagoon.

Unfortunately, there is no way a boat can get through in the winter. 

We spent about a half an hour taking photos and investigating the pieces of ice

on the black sand beach, popping into the little cafe and gift shop periodically to get warm.

The ice is a variety of colors and shades, some of it crystal clear, other chunks a milky white or icy blue.
It's mind blowing to pick up a piece of ice that is probably over a 1,000 years old.

It's also a great place for bird watching and if you're really lucky you might spot some seals.

(We didn't get lucky.)

When we were sufficiently cold and wet, we loaded up into the car, clicked on those seat warmers

(I love those things!) and drove to our hotel for the night,

relishing the views of the south coast of Iceland just as much the second time around.

That first day in Iceland was our longest day of driving at about 12 hours total from the airport to glacier lagoon and then back to our first hotel in Hveragerdi. But, we knew once that was over, we would be able to relax and slow down the next day.  And it was absolutely worth it. 

The Practical Information - Should I rent a car in Iceland?

As we were planning our trip, a big decision was whether or not to rent a car.  Looking back, we both agree, it was the best choice for us.  

We felt very safe.  The roads we traveled on were all well-paved and clear.  There were a few one-way bridges to navigate but not much traffic. We took turns driving and the Skoda Octavia we rented was perfect.  Hertz provided us with a map and a website to check for real-time weather and road conditions.  

The cost of a car rental was comparable to booking individual tours.  The car rental was £260 for three days (without the discount) and gas was approximately £120, so a little less than £400 total.  If we had booked transfers and tours for everything, we would have spent about £400.  So, not a big difference unless you have more than two people.

For us It was worth it to have the flexibility and freedom to go at our own pace and do exactly what we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it.  You miss out on some interesting commentary when you don't have a guide so we had to spend more time researching everything for ourselves, but that's part of the fun.

I'm particularly glad that we had the car in Reykjavik.  The city is spread out and it was pretty cold and windy.  If we'd have been on foot, we wouldn't have seen nearly as much of it.   

Renting a car was the perfect  choice for us.  Who doesn't love a good road trip?

  

Which do you prefer in Iceland, renting a car or booking tours?

  

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In partnership with Visit Iceland, we received a discounted rate from Hertz Car Rental Iceland.
 All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Iceland - Such a Drama Queen!

"Today Iceland showed us what a drama queen she can be.  All stormy attitude and lots of waterworks.  But then, every once in a while, she would brighten up and give us a smile that melted our hearts.  A glimpse of something warm that made us fall in love with her, in spite of all the drama.  Maybe even because of the drama.  

She's a very mercurial lady.  Ever changing.  Every few miles, a complete new wardrobe.  Pristine and cold in white snow with steam coming off of her.  Then clothed in a rocky palate of black, white and shades of grey.  All color leached from the landscape.  Later, sleek and sexy, sheathed in endless waves of rolling black sand.  Waterfalls cascading like long, luxurious locks of silver hair.  And suddenly, gloriously awash in my favorite color green, all curvy and earthy.  

There are signs everywhere of her infamous temper tantrums.  Gouges and cracks in the earth.  Huge boulders strewn about helter-skelter.  And then some smaller rocks stacked neatly into pyramids, as if one of her elves came along behind her to tidy up a bit.  She is epic and aged.  Her varied and dramatic landscapes, all fire and ice.  Quite the diva is Iceland.  How could you not fall in love?"

I wrote this in the car on our first long day touring Iceland.  I think I might have gotten a bit carried away.  But, Iceland certainly stirs up those emotions.  Our first day was the longest.  We arose before dawn to pick up the rental car and then headed east along the southern coast.  

As soon as the sun rose, I started taking photographs as we periodically stopped along the way.  It was cold and wet, so most of our time was spent in the toasty car with the seat warmers cranked up listening to Icelandic radio.  But the views were glorious!  We planned to drive at least as far as Vik and then depending on time maybe venture out to the Glacier Lagoon. 

I still can't get over all of the various landscapes.  My photos just don't do her justice.  It's all about the earth and the land in Iceland.  It's as if it's a living thing.  I've never seen anyplace like it. 

It took about 5 hours to get to Vik and the rain was really coming down so we didn't get to explore as much as I wanted.  Of course, we decided to venture on to the lagoon.  It was another two hours east, but the sight of the glaciers was worth it!  More on that in my next post.  

What's your favorite dramatic landscape in Iceland? 

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | SUBSCRIBE | BLOGLOVIN


In partnership with Visit Iceland, we received a discounted rate from Hertz Car Rental Iceland.
 All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.