The Road to Vik, Iceland 

When I first decided to go to Iceland, I really wanted to see as much of the countryside as possible. After doing some research, I decided to visit Vik, the southernmost village in Iceland.

Vik is approximately 188km southeast of Reykjavik and is accessible via the main ring road. The ring road circles the entire island of Iceland. While it has a population of about 750, Vik is the largest inhabited area in that part of Iceland. 

While my preferred mode of transport when traveling is by train, I knew this wasn’t an option in Iceland so was planning on taking a bus. However, after talking to the concierge at my hotel I decided to hire a car and have a real solo road trip !

There are approximately 1.5 cars per person in Iceland. Prices to hire a rental car do fluctuate a lot and as I was visiting during a quiet period, I was able to get a good deal. I paid approximately €50 per day for a small car, which included full insurance cover. I rented the car for 4 days. It would have been about €70 per day for a single day and closer to €40 for more than 7 days.  I initially wasn’t sure about driving alone but after speaking to the hotel concierge, she assured me the roads are very safe. 

While main roads are indeed very safe and not very busy, you should be very careful driving off-road and on smaller roads. I laughed when the car dealer told me not to drive off-road (I was hiring a Toyota Yaris). Apparently lots of tourists do get themselves stuck in icy or muddy terrain. 

It didn’t take long to reach the countryside after leaving Reykjavik. Road signs were visible and there were usually “road-a-bouts” at intersections. 90km (56mph) is the maximum speed limit outside of urban areas. It was reduced to 50km (31mph) and 30km (18mph) in urban and residential areas. The majority of the ring road to Vik had one lane going in each direction. Drivers did seem to respect the speed limits and only overtook traffic when it was identified as being safe.

Landscape

I was surprised at how flat the landscape is. It reminded me of the drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, through the Mojave desert. Iceland has similar coloured large rock formations, in various shades of brown, which seemed to just appear. You could see flat plains for miles, with hills jutting up in various shapes and sizes. The difference is Iceland has snowcapped mountains and the array of colours is more prevalent. You can clearly see the black volcanic soil at the foot of green mountains and hills. Periodically you will see geysers sprouting up in the middle of nowhere.

I stopped several times just to look at the view. Miles and miles of space has no sign of life at all. The snow-capped mountains in the distance do frame the views. There were several small streams and rivers flowing from them towards the Atlantic ocean. It was lovely to see the different colours in the sky as the day advanced.

There were viewpoints along the way where you could safely stop, get out of the car and view the scenery. As the traffic was sparse you could easily rejoin the road.

Small Towns

There are several small towns between Reykjavik and Vik, including Selfoss, Hella and Skojar. Like all small towns they had their own unique feel but with the shops, restaurants and fuel stations which were becoming familiar to me now. 

I do love the distinctive coloured steel rooftops most of the houses have. The red, blue and green rooftops were always visible.

I was surprised at how many churches each small town had. Also, it’s quite common to see Churches in the middle of the countryside. I did read that it was quite a status symbol during and after the Reformation for wealthy landowners to build their own church. So I presume some are still around since then.

Selijalandsfoss 

This striking waterfall is nestled at the side of a mountain. There is a large car park before a small area with a gift shop, cafe and toilets. You pay a small sum to park your car. 

It was quite busy when I arrived and there were lots of people having snacks and beverages at the cafe. It’s a short walk to the waterfall and you can view it face on from a small footbridge. You then can walk via a dirt path right up to it and you can walk behind the waterfall. It is rocky and can be quite wet so this isn’t suitable for people with mobility issues and you need decent footwear to be safe. You do of course get a little wet walking close to it so having a waterproof jacket, with a hood is essential. Naturally some people were getting quite close to it and were enjoying getting wet. 

It really was a wonderful experience to walk around and behind it and see it from every angle. It is 60m high and it is part of the Selijalands river which has its origin in Eyjafyallajokull.

There were plans a few years ago to erect a visitors center right by it but it didn’t go ahead due to opposition from locals. They felt it would spoil the natural landscape of the area and I have to say I agree with them. I think the temporary buildings and large car park more than facilitate tourists when viewing this. 

Fans of pop culture will recognise this from music videos (Bjork’s “The Juniper Tree” in 1990 and Justin Bieber’s “I’ll Show You” in 2015). It was also a meeting point during an episode of the American show “The Amazing Race” and is in a short scene of the first episode of season 3, Star Trek : Discovery.

The waterfall is 108 km, a little over 2 hours drive, from Reykjavik. 

Eyjafyallajokull

Most readers will recognise this name. It’s the volcano which erupted in 2010 and caused travel disruption all over the world. There is a small cafe and car park area across the road from the volcano.

It’s well worth your while stopping at the cafe. It has a great array of cakes, pastries and sandwiches. The coffee is also very good quality. I had a toasted bagel with cheese, cucumber and hummus and it was delicious. I also had a fresh cinnamon roll. This was extremely light with a strong taste of cinnamon. It didn’t have the icing that I was used to seeing cinnamon buns and rolls having in the US. This one was delicious and hopefully had a lot less calories than those !

I stopped on the way back, the waitress remembered me from my first visit, and greeted me warmly. I didn’t have time to stay long so got a coffee in my reusable thermal cup and a cinnamon bun for the journey.

While the volcano is famous around the World, the area around it is quite understated. The name is on the side of the cafe building allowing a good photo opportunity. There are some notice boards with detailed information about it. You can walk along a paved path to the right of the cafe and see the mountains and top of the volcano from there. 

Even though I was quite far away from it, I was delighted to see one of the most iconic sites of Iceland, in recent years. While I was living in LA when it erupted, it caused a lot of disruption to Ireland as we are so close to Iceland. 

The volcano is 125km, just under 2.5 hours drive, from Reykjavik.

Final Thoughts 

I was really glad that I made the journey by car. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to stop and view the sites in a bus. As I won’t be able to drive through the countryside safely as a solo female traveller everywhere – it felt great to strike out and do this at my own pace and in my own way !!!