Looking for things to do in Reykjavik?
A few of us from same hostel decided to take a road trip to Rekjanes Peninsula. This little peninsula is the one where the international airport, Keflavik airport, is located. Great thing about road tripping in Iceland is that you can run into interesting places that is not even marked on the map. The whole island is nature’s outdoor museum. Driving in Iceland always takes longer because there are so many beautiful spots to see. Trust me. Here are a few interesting spots we stumbled upon during our one day trip.
Lava tube in the middle of the field
We found a big hole right next to the highway. It was one of the most natural and impressive lava tube I’ve ever been on. It was narrow from the beginning but it opened up to the big room at the end. It extended deeper but I didn’t go that far. It was a complete darkness.
Shore near Keflavik
Iceland is very mysterious in winter. I enjoyed Iceland both Summer and Winter, but there were more reasons to travel Iceland in Winter (Ref. Why Iceland is Better in Winter). The lower sunlight offers great deal of diverse landscape. Shore was a good place to observe the Winter sun of Iceland.
Milky blue natural hot spring
We walked up to Blue Lagoon, and looked down the view. While driving around the area, we found this beautiful natural hot spring right by the highway. The water was slimy, but not too warm.
Garður Folk Museum
We learned the previous lifestyle of Icelandic people from a local museum. How people used to live, what did the use, and it was clear that Coca-Cola was very popular from long time ago.
Garðskagi (Gardskagi) Lighthouse
The new lighthouse at Garðskagi is the replacement of the old one that was used to be one of the best in the island. A new lighthouse was built on Garðskagi in 1944. At 28 metres it is the highest.
Icelandic horse
Don’t call them donkey, they are Icelandic horse. They are everywhere in the island. Beautiful winter sunset on the background, they complete the landscape.
Skessuhellir (Troll Cave) in Keflavík
There is a children’s story in Iceland that was written by local author, and this is where the troll sleeps. It farted and snores. One thing you may didn’t know about Icelandic people, that they believe in elves, trolls and spirits. Once I saw the landscape around the country, that seems like very natural things to belive.
Northern Lights
We drove about 20 minutes from Reykjavik toward the peninsula. It was one of the best nights of my life. Reykjanes Peninsula is a great spot to watch the Northern Lights when you are based in Reykjavik, because there are not many light pollution.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE all these photos! They make me miss Iceland, and how come I missed the lava tunnel? That’s a dream thing for me… Ok ok I got to go back. 🙂
uh, the mountain behind the lagoon… I had the smart idea to hike it but since there was no path I just started walking up, somewhere in the middle of the way the rocks made it quite impossible and there were pretty many situations that I almost slipped down from the mountain 😉 but when I eventually climbed it the view was pretty gorgeous so it was all worth it! 🙂 I loved the Peninsula and your pics show it so well!
“Milky Blue” and “Polar Beer”… gotta admit Icelandic people do have a way with interesting names! Great shots!
Wonderful pictures .Last picture is exceptional .
Your photos of the natural milky blue hot spring look so inviting. I’m disappointed to hear that the water was slimy.
Iceland looks like a great place to visit for a photography buff.
Excellent images. Love the colors. Iceland can be a terribly difficult place to photograph, but a very rewarding one.
Iceland looks incredible. I would love to do a road trip there.
A “lava tube”? I didn’t know that was a thing! Gorgeous photos as always, my friend…
I looooove Iceland! My only peek of the Reykjanes Peninsula was flying in and soaking in the Blue Lagoon 🙂 Looks like an awesome road trip, I’ll have to go back!
These pics are gorgeous!
I have to make my way to Iceland… haven’t been there yet and this only makes me wanna go more!
These photos are stunning, Juno! I particularly love the Icelandic horses and how you framed one within another. Well done!
Wow, super shots! That lava tunnel ladder one is hilarious…like walking down into an abyss. Oh, northern lights….one day I will see them…
I liked how the grey skies added a gloomy, ominous feel to some of the photos 😉 haha….
All of your sunset photos are incredible! What a beautiful place.
Absolutely stunning images of Iceland Juno! Thank you for the tour! I dream of exploring this country in great depth and have seen a number of images, though yours seem ever more enchanting and I am in awe of having had the opportunity to see inside a lava cave! amazing!
Hi Juno
Me and wifey are going to Iceland this weekend, we’ll rent a car do the golden circle, but want to see that cave by the road you found, could you help us find it? you don’t happen to have gps coordinates, or at least name of the road?
kind regards
Hi Davor,
The first photo of this post (map) is taken exactly outside of that lava tube, and it’s in between Reykjavik and Vogar. This one was out in the Reykjanes peninsula, so it’s not one of the destinations along the Ring Road. All the photos in this post were taken from our one day out. It was a fun day! If you want to spend a day outside of the Reykjavik, it would be a good thing to do.
Allright, we’ll try to spot it on the way home to the airport then!
Thanks Juno!
HEYY! What lovely photos! I’m planning a trip to Iceland in February 2014 and was thinking of doing a 5D4N road trip. How long did it take for you to drive to Reykjanes and to explore the area? Is half a day sufficient? Hope to hear from you soon! THANKS! 🙂
We did Reykjanes trip on a day. We had a friend who had to be at the airport in the afternoon, so we were in a hurry. But we explored enough! If you are traveling from and to Reykjavik, maybe budget one day for the peninsula. There are a lot to see. Scenery is beautiful as well!
Hi Juno,
Loved your photos of the peninsular. We are particularly interested to find the Lava tube, as we will be passing that area we head for the airport on Monday (30th Jan) and wondered if you had any more details about where it is, as it is winter now at it seems that it might be tricky to find at the moment.
All the best
Cris Waddy