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Iceland has a lot of beautiful places. This is by far our favorite destination! Wherever you look you see the beauty of the country everywhere. The overwhelming nature makes you realize how beautiful this world is. On the way you will stop the car often because you see another beautiful spot again. We warn you: you are going to get this everyday. We would like to share the most beautiful places with you. It was a difficult choice, but we think these are the 6 most beautiful places!

STOKKSNES

Our absolute number 1 is Stokksnes beach. The mountains higher than 400 meters with the black sand are characteristic of Stokksnes. It looks like you are on another planet. As soon as the sun shines you have a beautiful reflection of the mountains on the beach and in the water. This is the place to be for photographers. Many photo trips go to this spot. We understand why!

To get to the beach you pay € 7 each person entrance. The beach is located on a private property. The land is maintained with the entrance fee.

LANDBROTAULAUG

Do you want to relax in a natural bath? Then pay a visit to the Landbrotaulaug hot spring! It is not without reason that this is called the most romantic hot spring in Iceland. A small hot spring can be found in the middle of nature and is just big enough for 2 people. The temperature is great! 36-40 degrees on average. Here you can hold out a few minutes/hours.

Because the Landbrotaulaug is so small and virtually unknown, it requires some searching work. You won’t get there with Google Maps. The Landbrotaulaug can be found on the Snaefellsness peninsula. We stayed at Snorrastadir Farm Holidays, which was only a 5 minute drive. When you reach the peninsula, you are on road 54. The Elborg crater can already be seen from a the distance. Once you have passed this crater you have to take the first left. This exit is indicated with Stóra Hraun. Drive on the bumpy road for a few minutes and you will reach the parking lot.

But then you are not there yet! Since this is not a tourist attraction, the hot spring is not indicated anywhere. This is how you get there:
Cross a water. This can be recognized by the narrow path with stones that serve as a crossing place. Then walk straight ahead for a while. Then you run into the hot spring. Enjoy!

The parking and entrance is free. If you are lucky there are no other tourists. There is no changing room available. Again, this is pure nature. It is useful if you already have the swimwear under the clothes. Bring towels and slippers!

PLANE WRECK

A special place that you often see on social media is Plane Wreck. An airplane wreck located on a deserted black sand beach. This makes the wreck very photogenic.
In 1973 this American DC-3 plane crashed. The plane had just unloaded cargo at Keflavík Airport and was on its way back to home base. There were 7 crew members on board who all survived the crash. They lost altitude and were forced to land on the black beach. The specific reason for the crash is unknown.

Sólheimasandur beach is in front of Vík, about 40 minutes’ drive away. So if you are on your way to Vík, you will drive across a large parking lot on your right hand side on ring road 1. Usually there are many cars here so it is easy to recognize.

It is a long walk from the parking lot to the wreck. Since the wreck is on a farmer’s private land, you are not allowed to drive here with your rental car. Walking the return way is about 8 kilometers and takes 3-4 hours. The walk is not recommended in bad weather such as rain or strong gusts of wind. You walk in a large and open area. Be careful! The bodies of two Chinese tourists were found here in 2020. Probably because they were lost and not well prepared for the weather. So don’t go out in the dark!

Not in for a walk or don’t have much time? There is a return shuttle available.
A return ticket costs you 2000 ISK which comes to about € 12.50. We photographed the departure times for you.

Entrance: Free
Parking: Free
Shuttle: €12,50 return each person

SKAFTAFELL NATIONAL PARK/SVARTIFOSS

Skaftafell National Park has a lot of hiking trails including the route to the Svartifoss. We have chosen this one. The Svartifoss is a waterfall located in the park. Svartifoss means black waterfall. This waterfall is so impressive thanks to the black basalt bars. These bars were also the inspiration for the designer of the Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavík. This is approximately 2 kilometers one way. Along the route there are posts with the route and the number of kilometers on it.

At a certain point you can already see the waterfall in the distance. The closer you get, the bigger the waterfall gets. Really an extra motivation for the last steps! As far as we are concerned, it certainly belongs to the list of the most beautiful waterfalls in Iceland!

In the Skaftafell National Park you can walk many more routes, for example
There are no toilets or restaurants on the way. You are really in the middle of nature, so keep that in mind!

JÖKULSÁRLÓN & DIAMOND BEACH

Jökulsárlón is the best known, largest and deepest glacial lake in Iceland. If you are lucky that the sun is shining, this is really beautiful! Behind the lake is the glacier of Vatnajökull Park. The ebb and flow of the ice floes loose and ends up in the sea. Admire this from the shore or go on a boat trip! They sail along the enormous floes and you can also spot seals! Check out the tours and prices on the website https://icelagoon.is/tours/

The ice rocks float further into the sea or wash up on the stretch of beach across the road. They don’t call this Diamond Beach for nothing. There are regularly large ice rocks here. On the black beach with the light of the sun this gives an incredibly beautiful picture. You can also park at Diamond Beach.

Another glacier lake nearby is Fjallsárlón. This is only 15 minutes apart. Very easy to reach this all from ring road 1 and plenty of parking.

FJAÐRÁRGLJÚFUR CANYON

The Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon is a beautiful 2 kilometer long gorge of about 100 meters deep.

It seems that you are allowed to walk through the gorge, but we have chosen to admire the gorge from above. Also because otherwise you have to walk through the water on some parts. This is a bit less if it is only 2 degrees.

A good and sturdy walking path has been constructed along the top. Via this path you can follow the gorge in about 2 kilometers. A viewpoint has been created at various points where you have a nice view. In the past you were allowed to walk on the edge of the gorge, but that is now completely closed off for the safety of yourself and protection of nature. Continue to the end and be rewarded with a waterfall in the gorge.

The Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon is further away from the ring road. The navigation lead you the way without any problems. If you continue your way from Vík to the east, you will already enter the atmospheres because you are surrounded by lava fields covered with moss. So first you will pass Eldhraun. Also worth a stop! Shortly after Eldhraun, turn left onto F206 towards Laki. Drive through the meadows for a while before reaching the parking lot.
You can park for free here and there is a toilet block at the parking spaces.