We spent 2 weeks exploring the entire country of Iceland in the summer, and here are my Top 5 Must See Iceland Destinations that you absolutely cannot miss!
Iceland has become a super popular place to visit in the last few years, thanks to Social Media. I’m here to tell you that it absolutely lives up to the hype! It’s full of beautiful landscapes and breathtaking views around every corner. There are so many ‘must see’ destinations in Iceland, but these are my Top 5 (and trust me, it was so hard to narrow it down!)
Kirkjufell ‘Church Mountain’
The first of my Top 5 must see Iceland destinations is this picturesque ‘Church mountain’! Think you’ve seen it before? Chances are you have! It’s pretty Instagram famous and it was even featured in Season 7 of Game of Thrones! It’s not included on a typical Iceland tour, since a lot of the more ‘touristy’ destinations are located in South Iceland, whereas Kirkjufell is located about 3 hours North of Reykjavik.
It’s pretty far off the beaten path, but don’t worry, your drive will be full of stunning views and vistas on the way! It’s also close to the Gerduberg Basalt Columns, which is another one of my top 5 destinations below, so make sure to plan to do those at the same time!
Solheimasandur Plane Wreck
Located just after the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, the only thing marking this must see destination is a tiny parking lot on the side of the road!
If you search ‘Solheimasandur’, your GPS should bring up directions to the parking lot. Once you park, you have to walk about 2.5 miles each way to reach the plane wreck. It’s a super easy walk and goes by in no time!
Once you get to the wreck, you may have to wait your turn for a photo with no one in it, depending on the time of day you go. We went at golden hour (which is more like 9 PM and on in the summer!) and there was a constant stream of people. We really wanted to get a drone shot with no one in it, so we waited for about 2 hours until we finally had about a 5 minute window with no one.
If you’re just looking to get a few photos with the plane, you shouldn’t have to wait long at all. This was such a cool place to visit because of the black sand contrasting with the gray/white plane. Definitely a must visit if you’re in South Iceland!
Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
There are so many beautiful waterfalls in Iceland, but the thing that I loved about Seljalandsfoss was that you can walk behind it!
This is one of the more popular waterfalls that people like to visit, and a lot of tours stop here, so that’s just something to keep in mind when planning your itinerary.
If you want to get some great photos with no one in them, you might either have to get there early or schedule extra time to wait for a break in people.
Make sure to bring a rain coat or poncho for walking behind the waterfall- we got soaked from all the spray! Also make sure to wear good hiking shoes, the rocks are really slippery near the waterfall. You definitely can’t miss this amazingly unique waterfall!
Gerduberg Basalt Columns
Basalt Columns are so unique and you can find them all over Iceland. They’re hexagonal rock formations that are created when lava cools a certain way.
The specific ones that we saw was called Gerduberg, and it had columns anywhere from 20-45 feet high! Gerduberg is located North of Reykjavik, near Kirkjufell. So if you’re planning to go North to see Kirkjufell, definitely make sure you plan to go a little bit farther to witness this amazing phenomenon!
Jokulsarlon ‘Diamond Beach’
Arguably my all time favorite place we visited in all of Iceland. In all my research of Iceland, I knew without a doubt that we had to go see the famous ‘diamond beach’!
It’s located in South Iceland, and it’s literally a black sand beach covered in broken icebergs that have washed up from the adjacent glacial lagoon. As the tide goes out, it pulls pieces of ice from the lagoon and they float out to sea, some of them washing up on the shore of the beach.
This was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen and I literally could’ve spent several hours just walking down the beach, looking at all the pieces of ice. Definitely do not miss this destination when traveling through Iceland!
We absolutely loved our time in Iceland and would encourage you to see the whole island if you can! I hope this blog post was helpful to you for planning your trip!
Megan
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