Mt Esja
After our red eye flight into Keflavík, we picked up our rental car and headed into Reykjavík to pick up some groceries for our road trip. Then we headed north for about 40 minutes to Mount Esja where we took a long nap prior to hiking around the mountain. Fortunately, the Icelandic weather in late July is perfect for napping in the car. When hiking, you have options for your route with varying difficulties. We didn't have an exact plan but rather headed up in the general direction of the top and stopped when the signs to go further up indicated a difficulty of three boots (on a scale from 1 to 3). The path looked very rocky and with only a few hours of sleep still we didn't feel like scrambling. From the highest point we climbed, we could see the entire capital off in the distance. In total we hiked leisurely, stopping for numerous pictures, for about 3 hours.
As soon as you start searching for the Snæfellsnes Peninsula you see pictures of the Búðakirkja Church (or just called the Black Church because that's way easier). The church is in the village of Búðir, about 2 hours from Mount Esja. Along the way you will be treated to numerous waterfalls and the beautiful coastline. Though there isn't much to do around the church, if you're headed to Arnarstapi it's on the way and worth the great picture.
Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge
Since we did a lot of caving in college, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to check out this ravine. Though the climb we did wasn't underground, it felt a lot like a cave with enough overhead light to make headlamps unnecessary. To avoid getting our shoes wet in the stream running through the ravine, we reverted to our canyoning techniques from years of caving. Some parts required a good bit of climbing where we even passed my camera off just to be safe. The rocks were sharp and made for a bit of a tricky journey, but we made it to the end of the passage in about 20 minutes.
Arnarstapi and Hellnar
After admiring the Black Church and climbing around the Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge, we headed to Arnarstapi for the night. This small village epitomizes Iceland's gorgeous coastline, though you have to be careful of the dive bombing pigeons. We had a little trouble finding the campsite which is located behind the "Restaurant and Bar" with the mossy roof. You can pay for camping inside the restaurant. The campsite was beautiful though a little crowded.
In the morning we walked from Arnastapi to Hellnar, an easy 45 min walk one way. The path along the coast offers beautiful views the whole way. When we got to Hellnar we headed back, though you could eat at the restaurant in the very small town.
Day 2 of our road trip started with a visit to one of Iceland's multiple black sand beaches, about 15 minutes from our campsite in Arnastapi. Although this time our visit was less memorable than when we stopped on our first road trip at the beach in Vik (where we got engaged), we still enjoyed walking along the large dark pebbles on the shoreline. Additionally, this beach homes multiple large pieces of scrap metal from numerous ship wrecks over the years.
For our second night, we booked an Airbnb at a farm near Grundarfjörður at the base of Mount Kikjufell. This small town boasts one of the most picturesque mountains in Iceland and our home for the evening had a great view. We walked around the nearby waterfalls and enjoyed the view of the mountain in the background.
Our final day of the road trip started with a short stop to see the brown moss land of Berserkjahraun. We had heard that there are some trails around the area, but we weren't able to find them and instead just explored the area after parking on the side of the road. The scenery went on for miles, a land of spongey moss rocks as far as we could see.
Stykkishólmur
Our favorite meal of the road trip was in this quaint fishing village at a fish and chips food truck called Finsens. We ate on the harbor though it was a little chilly for me with the wind coming across the water. On the opposite side of the harbor from the food truck, you can climb up a hill and see across the town.
On our way back to Reykjavík, we stopped to hike the Eldorg Crater. Our hike was about 3 miles round trip and we were able to climb all the way up to the rim of the inactive volcano and peer in. Pictures couldn't capture the size of the pit or the feeling of standing at the top with the wind whipping my hair.
Logistics
Starting
|
Ending
|
Distance (time)
|
Distance (miles)
|
Reykjavík
|
Mt. Esja
|
20 mins
|
9.2
|
Mt. Esja
|
Búðakirkja Church
|
2 hr 15 mins
|
97.3
|
Búðakirkja Church
|
Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge
|
15 mins
|
9.2
|
Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge
|
Arnarstapi
|
5 mins
|
2.8
|
Arnarstapi
|
Djúpalónssandur Beach
|
15 mins
|
10
|
Djúpalónssandur Beach
|
Kikjufell
|
50 mins
|
35
|
Kikjufell
|
Berserkjahraun
|
25 mins
|
14.7
|
Berserkjahraun
|
Stykkishólmur
|
20 mins
|
13.4
|
Stykkishólmur
|
Eldborg Crater
|
45 mins
|
38.1
|
Eldborg Crater
|
Reykjavík
|
1 hr 30 mins
|
64.4
|
Total
|
7 hr
|
294
|
|
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