It was around the mid-point of our month-long trip around Iceland when we received official notice of what we’d been monitoring on the weather app – a big storm was approaching, with strong winds predicted to cover almost all the island. Our hire car company told us to bunker down by 3pm on Friday until at least Sunday. We were in the East of Iceland, so we spent a bit of time researching the various campgrounds in the area, and settled for one that was close to a town and had decent facilities so we could do some washing during our enforced down time.
We had a bit of time up our sleeve before the incoming weather, so we first headed over the mountains and down to the gorgeous town of Seyðisfjörður. It is the most delightful, artsy town, nestled beneath tall mountains at the end of a narrow fjord. Tragedy hit the town with a very bad landslide in 2020, and there was a very moving outdoor exhibition with stories of those who had been affected.
On the day we visited, the town was brimming with passengers from a huge cruise ship docked out in the fjord. The rainbow footpath that leads the way to the little blue church was dotted with people, and the cafes and restaurants busy with the chink of glasses and happy chatter. We wandered, enjoying the colourful sculptures and murals and basking in the sunshine. This was our favourite town in Iceland.
The drive to and from Seyðisfjörður passes over an exposed mountain pass, and then descends steeply into the fjord. Along the way is yet more amazing scenery, including a few waterfalls worth stopping at. Given the weather predictions, we were not lingering too long, and were glad to be away from the exposed roads before the strong winds picked up. We made our way to the town of Reyðarfjörður, where we selected our campsite and settled in for the next two days.
Reyðarfjörður is built for industry, not for tourism like Seyðisfjörður. The campground on the edge of town was surrounded by mountains, and there were some pretty good auroras overnight, which was great. East Iceland avoided the worst of the storms, so our enforced rest day was quite pleasant – the boys played among the trees by the campground, we took a walk to a waterfall, and did our washing and shopping.
After two nights, the weather was settling back down, and we were able to drive on in search of more adventures. We followed the road to isolated Neskaupstadur village, which lies at the end of the road, reached by passing through another engineering marvel of a tunnel. At the end of the road we came to a lighthouse, with views across the sparking blue waters of the fjord. We walked to a cave by the sea, passing wild blueberries, which a friendly local told us we could pick and eat. At the cave, a small waterfall trickled down to the water. We poked around, looking for thunder-eggs (rocks with crystals inside) and watching gulls nesting on the cliffs above.
In the afternoon we continued the geology theme with a visit to Petra’s stone collection. It was well worth the stop – this lady had a passion for rocks, and her life’s work collecting various specimens is carefully laid out in a small museum and the surrounding leafy green garden.
That night we stayed in the village of Breiðdalsvík, staying at a small campground behind the pub. Nearby was a traditional playground, with equipment like a play viking ship made from bits of wood. It was fun seeing the wind in the kids’ hair as they stood at the helm of the ship, the square walls of mountains in the background, looking out over the fjord to the east. The wind was quite icy. After cooking dinner in the van, we were grateful to be able to pop into the pub to get out of the elements and enjoy some beer from the local brewery.
As we settled in for the night, the lady aurora stopped by, and she put on quite a show for us. My son’s description: “it was like a flower unfurling in slow motion above us.” Highlight of the trip!
Our next day we continued further south. We stopped first at Blábjörg (Blue Cliffs) in Berufjörður. This is a very rare geological specimen, formed by pyroclastic volcanic action and oxidisation. We then headed a little way up the Oxi Pass road (route 939), stopping at a delightful waterfall called Folaldafoss. Rays of sun streamed down into the gorge, and we lay on the flat boulders like lizards, soaking up some of the warmth.
We lunched in the village of Djúpivogur, eating fish and chips while overlooking colourful boats on the blue harbour. One of the drawcards for this town is the sculptures of eggs set out along the harbour (Eggin í Gleðivík), each one carefully sculpted to the shape and proportions of the various birds that call this region home.
The roads wind around the coastline, between black sand beaches and mountains with loose, scree slopes looming over the road. A most beautiful place to stop is by the Eystrahorn range, where the pointy black mountains are separated from the black, rocky beach by a lake, filled with whooper swans. We enjoyed the golden afternoon light, looking out into the ocean and skimming rocks on the lake.
A little further around the road, about halfway between the Eystrahorn and the Vestrahorn ranges, we camped on farmland. The colours in the surrounding mountains here are something else – greens, purples and yellows from the rich volcanic soil. Sheep grazed around us. A farm truck and tractor ambled along the road, the vista of the Vestrahorn behind it. Work to be done in the summer months, preparing for the long winter ahead when the field of tourists would be long gone.
The following day we headed to Stokksnes Peninusla, a private property where you can check out a viking village filmset and explore the black sand dunes and beach under the shadow of the Vestrahorn. We spent the best part of the day here, as it’s such a scenic spot. In the afternoon we paused at Höfn for supplies, before settling down in another lovely farm campground among colourful mountains. We were now close to the huge glacial ice cap Vatnajökull, and could feel a chill breeze in the air, despite the sun being out all day.
Coming soon: Part 5 – the South and the Golden Circle
For further information
If road tripping, you want to regularly consult the Icelandic Meteorological Office: vedur.is Driving in strong winds, especially in a campervan is not fun at best, and dangerous at worst.
Another essential website is roads.is to check for updates on road conditions and closures.
We hired our van through JS Campers, and would happily recommend them as a great company with extremely well-set up 4×4 campers.
To find campgrounds in Iceland: tjalda.is Most campgrounds don’t require a booking, which is perfect if you want to travel without a fixed itinerary. This website lists prices and facilities for each campground. Some campgrounds do take bookings through the parka website or app, which can also be used to pay for parking.
We bought a camping card. At the time of writing this costs 179 euros. It is not accepted at all campgrounds, and is most likely going to be worth it if you are travelling for more than three weeks, particularly if you’re flexible and happy to stay in some smaller towns and places that are a little more off the beaten track. The camping card is not accepted at a lot of the more touristy campgrounds in the south and golden circle.
