Honeymoon in Iceland: Complete tour of Iceland in 12 days

Iceland for our honeymoon was the best thing to do … ever! So check out our complete tour of Iceland in just 12 days. We constantly heard beautiful things about this daring country in the middle of the Ocean, we saw photos of amazing places and started to believe this should be a destination for our hearts; but the truth is that you can only understand its stunning beauty by going there, because all the nice pictures in the world cannot prepare you for this heavenly experience of meeting Iceland.

I will start now by putting together our plan not as we planned it, but this time, as it really was. This is a little summary of our 12 days itinerary in Iceland, with some cost information and sneak peek photos, but on the following months we will be happy to share with you all our experience and details that hopefully will guide your traveler heart towards this little spot of happiness on the map called Iceland!

The facts

• Kilometers: 2925 km
• Total time 14 days: 2 travelling and 12 days for Iceland circuit
• Visited countries: Iceland, Finland
• Highlights: Northern Lights, whale watching in Atlantic
• A few interest points we reached:
  • National Parks: Vatnajökull, Snaefelsness, Þingvellir
  • Glaciers: Skaftafellsjokull, Svinafellsjokull, Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon, Snaefelsjokull
  • Geothermal areas: Geysir, Myvatn, Hverir, Grjotagja, Reykjanes Geopark, Seltun, Gunnuhver
  • Volcanic Landscapes: Sprengisandsleið ( Landmannalaugar), Dimmuborgir, Ódáðahraun 
  • Voclanic craters: Hverfjall, Saxholl, Graenvatn
  • Black beaches: Vik, Reynisfjara, Dyrhólaey
  • Natural monuments: Hvitserkur, Borgarvirki, Kirkjufell
  • Waterfalls: Trollafoss, Öxarárfoss, Gullfoss, Haifoss, Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Fjaðrárgljúfur (canyon), Foss a Sidu, Detifoss, Selfoss, Godafoss, Glymur – those are only the big ones, I believe we saw at least 100 on our way.
  • Water: Atlantic Ocean; Lakes: Kleifarvatn, Djupavatn, Þingvallavatn, Laugarvatn, Myvatn, Másvatn, Ljósavatn,  Þhorisvatn – again, those are only the major ones, as Iceland has many lakes and waters.
  • Museums: Northern Lights Center Reykjavik, Skogar Museum, Akranes Lighthouse
  • Cities: Helsinki, Reykjavik, Akureyri, Vik, Siglufjörður – and many more.

Highlight, promise and impression

The highlight: By far the most extraordinary thing you can see and experience here are the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis phenomena. 

The promise: The Nordic countries seemed to have conquer our hearts, therefore, we are thinking about visiting Norway in our next Nordic trip! 

The general impression: Iceland is on, if not, the most special country in the world. You cannot compare it with anything  else you saw and its stunning beauty simply leaves you breathless. 

The itinerary for our 12 days honeymoon in Iceland

Day 0

• Timișoara (RO) – Budapest (HU) (by personal car)
• Plane Budapest – Helsinki (FIN): visited Helsinki during the night
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 1: 150 km

• Plane Helsinky – Reykjavik, rented the car
• Trollafoss waterfall
• Thingvellier National Park
• Öxarárfoss waterfall
• Laugarvatn ciry
• Camp near Geysir (camping)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 2: 140 km

• Visit the geothermal area of Geysir
• Gullfoss waterfall
• Traditional Icelandic houses in Þjóðveldisbærinn
• Sprengisandsleið to Landmannalaugar – volcanic desert
• Camp near lake Þorisvatn on Sprengisandsleið road towards Landmannalaugar area (parking)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 3: 280 km

• Hike to Haifoss waterfall
• Seljandfoss waterfall
• Skogafoss waterfall
• Visited Skogar Museum
• Black beaches: Dyrhólaey și Reynisfjara
• Camp in Vik (camping)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 4: 180 km

• Reynisfjara beach
• Fjaðrárgljúfur – canyon and waterfall
• Foss á Síðu waterfall
• Dverghamrar (Dwarf Rocks)
• Skaftafellsjokull and Svinafellsjokull glaciers
• Hiking on the cliffs above Svinafellsjokull glacier
• Camp near Svinafellsjokull glacier (parking)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 5: 435 km

• Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon
• Cities: Höfn, Djúpivogur, Egilsstaðir, Seydisfjordur
• Firods: Berfurjodur, Stöðvarfjörður, Fáskrúðsfjörður, Reyðarfjörður, Seydisfjordur
• Camping in Seydisfjordur (camping)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 6: 270 km

• Hike above Seydisfjordur fiord – towards Bjolfur Peak
• Ódáðahraun volcanic desert
• Detifoss waterfall
• Selfoss waterfall
• Mývatn Natural Batahs
• Camp in Hvrin (parking)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 7: 240 km

• Geothermal area of  Hverin
• Krafla Power Plant
• Viti Crater – volcanic crater with a lake
• Grjótagjá – lava cave
• Dimmubrogir vulcanic landscape
• Goðafoss waterfall
• Cities: Akureyri, Dalvik, Ólafsfjörður
• Camp above Siglufjörður (view point parking)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 8: 450 km

• Admire Northern lights over Siglufjörður
• Visit Siglufjörður
• Visit Borgarvirki – a natural basalt formation, used as a fortress in old times
• Hvítserkur – the elephant rock
• Camp near Grundarfjörður (parking)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 9: 280 km

• Visit Grundarfjörður
• Visit Kirkjufell – the most well known and photographed peak in Iceland
• A walk on the black sandy beach from Atlantic Ocean
• Hike on Saxhóll volcanic crater
• Snaefelsness National Park
• Snæfellsjökull Glacier
• Lava field black beach in Dritvik
• Arnarstapi lighthouse
• Camp near Kleppjárnsreykir – Hvarinn camping
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 10: 220 km

• Whale watching from Reykjavik
• Akranes lighthouse
• Camp before the route to Glymur waterfall (parking)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 11: 270 km

• Hike to Glymur – the biggest waterfall in Iceland
• Reykjanes Peninsula
• Reykjanes Geopark
• Kleifarvatn Lake
• Seltun Geothermal area
• Graenvatn vulcanic craters
• Krýsuvíkurberg fiords
• Off road on 428 – Djupavatn lake
• Gunnuhver – mud pool
• The most southern point of Reykjanes Peninsula, the lighthouse and Eldy island
• Camp in Sandgerði (Istay camping)
• GO TO ARTICLE

Day 12: 50 km

• Visit Reykjavic, the capital of Iceland.
• GO TO ARTICLE

Costs

Costs for transport (for two persons): 2440 €

• Airplane: 785 € (commercial flight – FinnAir and IcelandAir)
• Transport and parking tax in Budapest 90 €
• Bus Helsinky 25 €
• Car rental for 12 days: 1155 €
• Fuel cost for 2925 km: 350 €
• Vignette Hungary: 16 € / one month
• Tunnel in Iceland: 14 €
• Money spent on parking – 5 € (Reykjavik)

Presenting, below, our little big car/house/bed – we shall call it the Amazing Yellow Happy Camper! I will tell you more about it, because it has a great story and I have to say, this car made our days happy… every day! Thank you Happy Campers for doing such a great job!

Accommodation and showers: 115 €

• 50 € hotel Reykjavik
• 35 € for campings ( 20 € în Vik, 15 € în Sandgerði)
• Shower: ~ 30 € (in general, you pay around 3 €/pers for taking a shower in campings – where this is not included in the accommodation fee)

Shopping: 460 €

• ~400 € shopping
• ~ 60 € eating out

Touristic objectives (2 pers): ~ 200 €

• 125 € Whale watching tour
• 22 € Northern Lights Museum, Reykjavik
• 45 € Mývatn Nature Baths ticket

TOTAL COST: ~ 3200 € (transport, accommodation, food, other expenses) / 2 persons.

Conclusions

For me, things are pretty straight forward here: Iceland is the most beautiful place on Earth and I seriously doubt there will be another country to take her place in my heart! And I am not talking here only about the natural wonders of the country, I also would like to emphasize the inner beauty of the Icelanders, the healthy thinking they developed, the social, cultural and economical level they reached (and they don’t stop here) all this in a medium size country and a population of only 320 000. You can only take those people as an example and follow them in the right direction – as it seems they tend to understand why are we living on this planet!

The natural landscapes are so diverse and the unexpected waits after at every step you make! Just picture a place where, with every 50 kilometers you find a totally distinct nature, totally different landscapes and natural monuments. About the weather… well, I have to say here the sky isn’t always blue and when it rains, there is no way you can expect to have one dry spot on your clothes. The wind blows so bad that it even makes walking difficult (feels like walking on a pool with water) but when it comes to amazing nature, there is no other place like here and you simply burst out with happiness forgetting about the weather!

Iceland is a unique experience, something that easily finds the deepest place in your heart and never leaves it! Iceland can change your heart, can open your mind, enlighten you soul and shows you a way of seeing life that is almost an Utopian vision! And I mean it, because they are so nice, civilized and nature friendly that seriously makes you think twice about the consequences of your actions.

I can say it’s almost dangerous to travel in Iceland while you are young because you might become a sophisticated tourist, wanting more and more form the future destinations and we already established that Iceland is number one! 🙂

So, concluding, even if this is not a cheap destination, Iceland worth’s every little single penny and the success of your vacation is guaranteed because I believe there is no soul on this planet that does not appreciate the unique, diversity, and the wonders of nature!