Easily Become a Daydream Adventure King – The Ultimate 13-Day Iceland + London Travel Guide

Text & Photos /Evan

Today, I’m finally starting to write the full guide for our 13-day Iceland + London trip. Writing a comprehensive guide always comes with a mix of excitement and anxiety — I’m thrilled to share everything, but also a bit worried about not being detailed enough XDD. Anyway, I’ll pour out all that I know so you can make the most of it XD

Alright~ getting back to the main topic. This time, we mainly explored Iceland. Actually, there are many possible connecting hubs when traveling to Iceland — basically any European country will do. We chose London, UK, as our hub because we wanted to catch Wimbledon XDD. Go cheer for Brother Lu XD. Wanted to soak up the Wimbledon vibe.

Our route was via Qatar Airways: Taiwan → Qatar → UK. After arriving in the UK, we took JETSTAR to Iceland. We spent about two days in the UK in total, with the rest of the time in Iceland. Since we were doing a full loop around Iceland by car (counter-clockwise), it took quite a bit of time.

We were actually only in Iceland for about eight days. It’s not that we didn’t have enough time — we happened to be there during the midnight sun period, so it felt like it was always daylight ~~ XDD. That meant we could finish visiting every spot and still return to the Airbnb while it was bright. Otherwise, eight days would’ve been really tight, and we even spent one day exploring the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

Eight days is already the limit ~ if you want to explore both the northwestern peninsulas of Iceland (Snæfellsnes + Westfjords), I’d recommend adding three more days (and that’s the limit too~)

People who haven’t seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty often ask, where is Iceland? Is it pretty?
I suggest watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty XD, or check out EVAN’s photo and text posts ~ then you’ll understand how much you’d regret not visiting Iceland in your lifetime XD

Some who have seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty might ask, is it hard to travel to Iceland independently?
Then take a look at EVAN’s guide ~ and decide whether to go with a tour group or explore on your own~

Is Iceland super expensive?
Iceland is VERY, VERY expensive. But traveling independently can indeed save you quite a bit, allowing you to eat at more restaurants XD. Honestly, food in Iceland is also really pricey — basically anything involving labor costs is super expensive. So during our time in Iceland, aside from eating fish roe spread on bagels, we sometimes cooked our own meals, which helped save quite a bit of money~

A tube of fish roe spread costs less than NT$80 — eat as much as you want ~ you can even use it to paint (pair it with the Kerid Crater for a treat for both your taste buds and eyes XD)

Key tourist areas in Iceland categorized by how long you can spend there
1. Three days: Reykjavik, the Golden Circle triangle, and the Blue Lagoon
2. Six to seven days: Half-loop (mainly heading north along the east coast from the south ~~, flying back from the northernmost major city AKUREYRI)
3. Eight to ten days: Please refer to our itinerary (but eight days is really pushing it~)
4. Fourteen days: In addition to our itinerary, you can also include the two northwestern peninsulas (Snæfellsnes + Westfjords)
If you have even more time, you can adjust the schedule a bit — for example, glacier hiking could easily take a full day, but we only did two hours, which was a bit of a shame

Iceland + London 13-Day Map and Our Route
1. The first map is an overview route
2. The second map is a detailed route, with different colors representing the route for different days

Iceland + London 13-Day Itinerary Outline and Tips
Language used: English Best travel months: Year-round (but June–August are warmer, less likely to be snow-blocked, and offer the most beautiful scenery). Best time for aurora viewing: September–March (September is relatively warmer, and there’s still a good chance to see the aurora) Time difference: 7 hours

Currency used: ISK + British Pound (Wimbledon doesn’t accept Euros) + Credit Card (credit card needed for fueling in Iceland, as remote areas don’t have staff to collect cash — you’ll only see sheep and cows~) Remember to set up a cash advance PIN in Taiwan beforehand, as you’ll need it

Pre-trip packing list: Please refer to2015/07/02-2015/07/14 Iceland + London 13-Day Trip ---- Preparations and Total Expenses

Special Note: Iceland’s weather changes in the blink of an eye ~ even more unpredictable than a woman’s mood (just kidding) ~ Seriously, be sure to pack a windproof jacket + warm hat

Driving Tips in Iceland:
1. Watch out for wildlife crossing the road—always yield to animals.
2. We encountered thick fog in mountainous areas with very poor visibility ahead—drive carefully.
3. Stick to established roads as some may have geothermal activity. If you don’t want your tires to melt... drive with caution.
4. There are several sections with many rocks on the road in Snaefellsnes—drive carefully.
5. Speeding results in extremely high fines—drive carefully.
6. Gas stations require a credit card, so apply for a cash advance PIN in Taiwan beforehand.
7. The number of the road name indicates driving difficulty: single-digit roads are easiest, double-digit roads are harder, and triple-digit roads are challenging—take care.
8. Keep your headlights on at all times, day or night.
9. The so-called "full insurance" from car rental companies does not cover scratches!!

Special Note: (It’s okay if you didn’t read anything else, but YOU MUST READ THIS~)

A. Car Rental Info: We rented our car from BLUE CAR RENTAL and had a huge loss~!!! It’s strongly recommended to take photos of all existing scratches on the car before renting. After returning the car, wash it and inspect again for any new scratches yourself—we didn’t pay attention and ended up paying 150,000 ISK (about NT$40,000, NT$40,000, NT$40,000!!!!) for the scratches. So yes, it’s really important. Later, we asked the local homestay owner to help us negotiate the price down to 105,000 ISK (about NT$28,558).

B. Be sure not to put the wrong fuel in your car (make sure you know if it’s gasoline or diesel). "I have a friend" who put the wrong fuel in had to pay someone to drain the wrong fuel and refill with the correct one, costing 43,000 ISK (about NT$11,695).

Recommended Food:

I’m particularly fond of Icelandic lamb chops and lamb—I actually don’t really like lamb in Taiwan because of the strong smell, but Icelandic lamb has none of the flavors I dislike!! It’s highly recommended.

Preface: There were several unique aspects to our trip this time, one of which was that we brought wedding photos to shoot at the Blue Lagoon XD. Iceland is truly a place full of breathtaking scenery, a place with zero bad photo angles—everything looks amazing no matter how you shoot it. Along the way, there are also many sage plants—seen from afar, they look a bit like lavender and are incredibly beautiful. Everything in Iceland is expensive, especially services requiring labor. But one unique thing is that most attractions are free of charge, except for a few exceptions, which can save you some money~

Trip Outline Table: (Attractions include GOOGLE coordinates~ so you don’t have to input Icelandic that looks like Martian to find your way locally!!)

In the table, the reverse green entries have additional introductions—you can click directly to link to the corresponding blog post!

2015 Iceland + London 13-Day Trip Outline Full Guide (Part 1)

2015 Iceland + London 13-Day Trip Outline Full Guide (Part 2)

2015 Iceland + London 13-Day Trip Outline Full Guide (Final Part)

Total Cost and Proportion Breakdown for Iceland + London (If you don’t participate in the volcano crater descent, it only costs NT$81,440)

There are many TOURS available locally with varying prices—everyone can adjust and arrange accordingly. We booked our flights very late and it was during the summer, so it wasn’t cheap. It’s recommended to book early. Accommodation and car rentals are twice as expensive in the summer. To save money, you can choose to cook by yourself. The exact same itinerary can be nearly NT$20,000 cheaper if you go in non-summer, so don’t go in the summer!

Special Note: So be sure to watch out for scratches!!!!

Reflections:
This time, we chose to come to Iceland during this period not only because of family schedules but also to see the full beauty of Iceland without snow cover—it’s really quite stunning, which probably doesn’t need much explanation from me XD. Although traveling in Iceland is very expensive, this trip left me with many unforgettable beautiful sceneries.

There were so many things I had never seen or experienced before—for example, horseback riding. I had never ridden a horse before, but this time I rode for two hours. Although my butt was really sore the whole time and my horse was hard to control (he would just stop whenever he wanted to eat, with no concept of turning left or right), it truly fulfilled my dream of galloping beautifully through the scenery. It was real galloping~~ not like many horseback riding experiences where the horses just walk slowly—the horses here run, run, RUN~~~

Next, we took wedding photos at the Blue Lagoon this time, and during the shoot, because we looked so professional, the security even came over and told us, "Commercial use is not allowed here" XD. We were just too professional-looking.

This time, we also did a volcano crater descent. Actually, I used to be quite afraid of volcanoes, but this time I challenged myself not just to view them from afar but to go inside them~~ I just remember I could barely sleep the night before, I was so nervous, but once I got inside, I was truly awestruck by its beauty~ I’d never seen naturally colorful stones before, they were super beautiful but super cold XD. We also saw hundreds of wild seals lying on their backs sunbathing, and every now and then, a ranger would swim over to observe our every move—they were really cute.

We also joined a glacier hike, but only for two hours, which I felt was a bit of a pity, because glacier hiking allows you to actually walk on the ice and drink glacial water. Some lucky people can even explore various terrains of the glacier—it’s really beautiful.

Iceland also has so many waterfalls, and often there are residents living nearby. I think they're so lucky to live in such a beautiful place XD. Also, this time when I went whale watching in Iceland, I almost cried on the boat because I actually saw a blue whale~ It was huge~ even bigger than my boat, and at that moment, I really had tears in my eyes~ I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing nature is~

Besides that, driving in Iceland—aside from some natural factors you need to watch out for—I found it really comfortable. The scenery is pleasant, and there are surprises everywhere. Some roads are covered with purple flowers, others suddenly have geothermal activity, or you might drive right up to a natural geyser...

Too much~ The beauty of Iceland really can't be fully captured in words~ And if I kept writing, this might turn into a 5000-word reflection. All I can say in conclusion is: Iceland is simply heaven~~~~ This isn’t just me encouraging everyone to go quickly, but after writing this, I plan to go back again in the next couple of years, ahhhh~ It’s too beautiful, but next time I want to see the Northern Lights and ice caves.

Simple images of famous attractions to share with you all

Wimbledon

Iceland Blue Lagoon

Iceland Strokkur Geyser Video

Gullfoss Waterfall

Seljalandsfoss Waterfall

Skógafoss Waterfall (where’s the rainbow...?)

Kerið Crater Lake

Glacier Hiking at Skaftafell(Directly linked to the blog with detailed info) 2015/07/02-2015/07/14 13-Day Iceland + London Trip – Glacier Hiking at Skaftafell: Premium Glacier Water Drink All You Can~

Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Coastal Town Djupivogur

Geothermal Area Leirhnjúkur

Goðafoss Waterfall

Nordur Sigling Whale Watching (guess how many layers I wore)

Dettifoss Waterfall

Mývatn Nature Baths

Víti Crater Lake

Grjótagjá Cave Hot Spring

Black Church Blönduós Church

Osar Seal Watching

Hvítserkur Rock

Kirkjufell Mountain

Triangular Church Ólafsvíkurkirkja (everything is made of triangles!)

The Legendary Guardian Statue Bárðar Saga Snæfellsáss Statue

Laxnes Horse Farm – Two-Hour Horse Riding

Hallgrímskirkja Church

Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre (it's all made up of hexagons!)

Sólfarið - Sun Voyager

Icelandic streets

Participate in crater rappelling(You can click directly to enter the blog for a detailed introduction) 2015/07/02-2015/07/14 13-Day Iceland + London Trip: Crater Rappelling – Peeking into the Inner Beauty of a Volcano

Big Ben

Tower Bridge

Evangeline-Evan
Hello everyone, I'm Evan, a timid and easily scared person,
but through independent travel, I’ve gradually found courage,
and each independent trip has helped me discover a different side of myself.
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