Vikings, Valleys and Van Life: 10 Days in Iceland’s Wild Beauty

A road trip in Iceland had been on Chandu's bucket list for a very long time, and we finally ticked it off in 2023. We planned to hire a caravan and drive along ring road, which was a first-time experience for both of us. Beauty of Caravanning is you feel entirely free, and there’s flexibility in your trip—if you like a spot, you can stay there until you're tired of it, without the hassle of really planning anything ahead !

We picked up our van near by airport and jumped straight on to our itinerary, heading towards the Golden Circle.Most people suggest that if you don’t have much time in Iceland, you should focus on covering the Golden Circle, and I agree to an extent. This route features amazing waterfalls, geysers, hot springs and more waterfalls. It also covers active volcanic areas where you can see the cooled-down version of the  lava (or an active volcano if you’re lucky). I won’t list every tourist spot we explored, as you can find that information easily online by searching for things to see on the Golden Circle.

In Iceland, there are many camping spaces with kitchen facilities and designated areas to park your van for the night. It’s essential to use these spots because you can’t park just anywhere overnight. Learning this was a bit of a letdown for me initially, as I had imagined waking up in super remote locations, thanks to all the travel images online. However, I did wake up to the sight of beautiful horses running around on our first morning in a campsite because everything is beautiful in Iceland, so you don’t have to go hunt for remote places to truly enjoy. 

Heading east, you’ll see mountains with countless waterfalls along the route. Iceland has rain almost all year round, so we were prepared for it and enjoyed it along the way too. But it was almost scary on the roads—rain had fogged up the mountain route, and there was almost zero visibility. The temperature had dropped even further by then. And guess what? The cherry on top—the heater in our van had broken down the previous night, and we spent the night shivering in the van. It was fun and adventurous in the moment, but we were both wishing it would somehow get fixed soon. We reached Seyðisfjörður the city where secret life of Walter Mitty was shot at around almost 8 PM, made our dinner at the camp's kitchen, and went back to our van only to find the heater magically working.

I have never been this grateful for something in my life! Chandu and I talked about how this whole experience made us feel grounded and thankful for the little things. We could have stayed longer in Seyðisfjörður—our initial plan was to do just that and explore the town—but given the weather, we decided to move north. Iceland’s weather apps are so accurate; it blew our minds. We saw that the east was going to get a lot of rain for the next few days, so we took advantage of the flexibility we had with our van and moved towards north.

We stayed at a very cozy camping spot where we met a couple from Austria who shared some of their homegrown Austrian hot chilies with us. They shared that this  was their first trip ever together away from the kids, and they were having the time of their lives. The camping sites got cosier  as we moved from the south to the north of Iceland. We met a few other couples who were retired and taking this trip, and some young men who carried physical maps and were ready to explore some untouched territories with complete spontaneity.

Ah, that reminds me of this lady from Brazil we met in the kitchen of Seyðisfjörður—she was appreciating Chandu for how he helped me with preparing the food and saved our chicken from burning. Such a sweetheart she is... fiery but sweet at the same time. It made me think about how all of us, from different cultures and countries, have almost similar issues, beliefs, and ways of being.

We’re all same-same but different :)

The North of Iceland has full Viking vibes. You can also do some boat tours to watch whales or visit other smaller islands in the north. There was this tallest waterfall with a 2-hour hike one way, which I almost completed in my crocs! Then there were times when we almost lost our drone in the valley due to the wind. Icelandic winds omg are so strong—I'm 56 kg, and it almost lifted me off the ground when we visited one of the oldest craters formed by an eruption. 

Moving towards the west, you can also visit the highlands, which are more untouched. It was at this moment we realised that 10 days are not enough to see every part of this heaven. 

In Reykjavík, the capital city and one of the most populated one . We planned to visit sky lagoon spa one of the famous spots in the city. When it comes to hot springs and spas, Iceland has a wide variety, from super luxurious to those in the nature, not commercialised at all. We experienced one of the oldest hot spring spas in Iceland - the secret lagoon when we were in the Golden Circle, and now it was time to experience the luxe one. Both have their own beauty, of course!

Apart from the spa, we took a food tour in the city, experiencing the lively areas by walking around and trying out different authentic dishes. This was one of our first experiences, and we were among the youngest in the group too. Here, we met families from different parts of the globe, ate food with them, shared stories, and almost convinced them to visit India on their next holiday! Haha. We also went on a sea tour to spot some whales and dolphins. It was wild!

And last but not least, we spotted the aurora lights just two days before we left Iceland , all thanks to Chandu's presence of mind and the weather app giving us accurate predictions. Seeing the auroras was unbelievable at first, though not in a good way. The lights take time to get to their best form—initially, they’re really dim, like a single beam of green light that's hardly visible to the naked eye. But don't lose your patience! If you stay strong and bear the cold, you'll witness a grand show and be awestruck for sure :)