5 Day Roadtrip Through Iceland in Search of the Northern Lights

Iceland felt like the perfect place for our first international trip post-pandemic and it truly was! When we got there, the stunning landscape blew me away right at the beginning as our flight descended. We landed early morning and immediately went to pick up our car rental and get our trip started. We were high on adrenaline after our long flight and the jetlag had not caught up to us yet thanks to getting a few hours of sleep on the flight (rare for me!). Once we picked up our rental and started driving, what unfolded was miles and miles of jaw-dropping landscape ahead.

Day 1-Blue Lagoon, Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson III Ship Wreck, Fagradalsfjall Volcano hike

Our first stop to kick off the trip- a local Icelandic bakery where we indulged in baked goods for our first breakfast in this majestic land as the sun slowly crept up.

From our research, we knew the blue lagoon was one place we could not miss and since it was close to the airport, we decided the morning of our first day would be the best day to visit this iconic place. Although touristy, this geothermal spa definitely lived up to its hype! We indulged in a delicious drink as we enjoyed the early morning air and sun in the hot spring followed by a soft white silica mud mask to rejuvenate our skin.

Following our first day, we embarked on our roadtrip through Iceland . We planned our trip for November as this time of the year is best to see the Northern Lights. We downloaded a few Aurora forecast apps to track aurora activity in the areas we were driving through as well as weather forecasts and moon illumination. Stay tuned to read about when we caught lady aurora dancing!

Day 2: Waterfalls day! Öxarárfoss & Gullfoss

During the winter months, Iceland has a very limited amount of daylight and during our trip, we averaged about ~6 hours of daylight daily which meant we had to plan carefully on how to maximize seeing all the beautiful sights and getting used to driving during darkness all the time to and from our accommodation so we could sight see during sunlight hours. On our second day, we bundled ourselves up and headed to see some epic waterfalls in sub zero degree weather!

Day 3: horseback riding in the snow and more -fosses(waterfalls)!

There are some world class waterfalls in Iceland and what was fascinating to me is how easily accessible they are- many just off the road and can be seen as you drive. On the 3rd day we couldn't help but pull over and take in more of these waterfalls. We started our day with a really special activity though-horseback riding in the snow early morning on the backs of some of the most gentle Icelandic horses(pictured here is Njall).

We were afraid it would continue snowing the rest of the day but the sky cleared up for us as we drove further to see some more insane waterfalls on this beautiful island .

Day 4: Glacier trek in Vatnajökull National Park, Blue Ice Cave, and Diamond Beach

On our 4th day, we had booked a glacier hike and blue ice cave tour with the company Glacier Adventure in Hali. We reached the base camp as the sun was rising and met our group, got fitted in equipment, and took the bumpiest ride to our starting point. What followed was an adventurous expedition walking on a glacier through a lagoon and across caravasses landing up inside of a completely natural blue ice cave and navigating our way through it! These photos don't do justice to the experience we had there but I am so glad we documented what we saw.

After our return from the trek, we decided to drive further south east and ended the evening spending time at Diamond beach just after sunset. Around us we saw sparkling icebergs, resembling diamonds. It had been a long tiring day of hiking in the extreme cold but coming here revived us. This stunning black sand beach was nothing like any beach I've seen before with these breathtaking shining icebergs washing up on the shore, originating from the nearby Breiðamerkurjökull glacier. I would have loved to go back in the morning for sunrise again!

Day 5: Morning hike in the snow to Hundafoss, Sunset at Vik, Black Sand Beach, and seeing the Northern Lights on our last night!

Our last full day, November 30 and we were still on the hunt to see the Northern Lights. Actually, we had seen a glimpse a few nights before when my husband woke me up at 4 am excitedly stating the aurora forecast on his phone notified him there is some activity! We raced to our car as we quickly and started driving north away from light pollution. We saw faint green streaks in the sky masked by clouds and soon they were gone. We were happy to have caught a glimpse but held onto hope that we could get even luckier and see stronger activity during the remainder of our trip.

On our last day, we started the morning with an Icelandic buffet breakfast at our hotel and started our long drive back towards Reykjavik. On the way, our first stop was a snowy winter wonderland hike to Hundafoss. By the time we reached the waterfall view point, snow was falling hard but the view was incredible!

After a quick lunch stop, we kept driving toward our next destination, the city of Vik and the deadly Black Sand beach. We caught an amazing pink sunset as we were reaching Vik and spent our evening in awe of some very dramatic basalt columns adjacent to this dramatic beach with some of the most unpredictable waves I've ever observed!

We reached our accommodation just in time for dinner and drove less than 2 miles to the small town of Hveragerði to enjoy a hot pizza and soak in our last night in Iceland. At this point we decided it was too cloudy for us to still be hopeful that we would see the Northern Lights and we came to peace that the activity we saw briefly a few days would be it for us and we were grateful.

Fast forward to post-dinner when for some bizarre reason, we started craving Ice cream in sub-zero weather and thank god we did because as soon as our Ice cream came out, something else did too- lady aurora was dancing in front of us! We had just taken a left turn on the road back to our cabin and I saw a bright green flash on my right side. As a joke, I exclaimed "Is that the northern lights?!" knowing it likely was just a sporadic flash from a big automobile driving in the distance however when my husband looked in my direction, he immediately pulled over and said yes! I was in disbelief but in an instant it became real as we saw a white tour van pull over in front of us and a dozen tourists came out screaming and laughing as we all admired this outwordly sight. Well there she was, beautiful lady aurora dancing, left and right above and all around us, moving gracefully and vivaciously. This time, there was no hiding it, no clouds obscuring. It was a moment of a lifetime, hard to put into words. I resisted blinking, scared to miss even a second of this moment. I stared above me, and felt my eyes pool up with water as I felt immense emotion in what I was encountering. It truly felt spiritual, humble, Godly. As I watched the movements and streaks changing, I felt that this phenomenon was god communicating with me and being present with me in this beautiful country showing me his divine capabilities. We drove back to our cabin and continued to admire the Northern Lights from our front porch and hot tub! A night I will never forget.

Day 6: COVID test for return flight, Hallgrimskirkja Cathdral, Exploring downtown Reykjavík, Cafes, and a Pre-flight massage!

Where we stayed

1. Heima Holiday Homes, Selfoss, Iceland

2. Foss Hotel Glacier Lagoon, Öræfi, Iceland

3. Akurgerði Cabin, Sveitarfélagið Ölfus, Iceland

"Iceland is not just a sightseeing destination but a place where we come to feel things we’ve never felt before – what it’s like to be the only person on earth or how it feels to be outnumbered a million to one."

Andrew Evans