Iceland on a Shoestring

Iceland (June 2008)
by neil1508

Well, for a start, anyone who’s actually been to Iceland will know there is no such thing as visiting this amazing country on a shoestring...

We can’t really complain, we’d read the guide books and knew that it isn’t the cheapest place on earth, but it was somewhere that Sharon and I had both wanted to go to for as long as we could remember and therefore we chose the budget route for our selected mode of transport and what we got was certainly in the ‘cheap and cheerful’ category.

The flight there was definitely cheap - hence arriving at midnight – but when you step off the plane and remember that at this time of the year the sun never sets then your body just says, “Hey, we’re here, lets just get on with it!”

After a night and very hearty breakfast in the nearest hotel, we went to pick up the vehicle we had reserved; the transport that would help us forge across rivers swollen with melt-water, navigate tracks hewn from the lava fields, ascend mountain passes which are covered in snow for 10 months of the year and take us to the very edge of the crevasse strewn glaciers.

“A Hyundai Getz?”

“Yes! It’s brand new and we’ve upgraded you to the 4 door model!” beamed the rep from the car hire firm.

“Oh.... Sweet.... Jesus....” were the only words which fell from our mouths.

Day one and the weather wasn’t great to say the least, with a combination of drizzle, rain, patchy fog and it blowing a hoolie: anyone would think we were on an island in the middle of the North Atlantic! We’d planned to camp each night, but arriving in the small fishing town of Stykkishólmur and seeing that even the locals were preparing for a rough night, decided that a hostel was the best option.

Next day we were greeted with clear blue skies and decided to make our way out along the Snæfellsnes Peninsula which stretches out into the ocean on the west coast.

So far it hadn’t been much of an adventure; some of the roads had stretches of some miles, which were at best just gravel, but nothing taxing. This was to change when we decided to travel as far west as possible, and soon we were picking our way along a track in the lava field which seemed to stretch out to the horizon. It was Sharon’s birthday and the road passed by a secluded cove with golden sands and clear blue sea – not what we’d expected from Iceland, but a great place for lunch and it would be a rest for the poor Hyundai Getz.

Back on the track, we came to a dead end after what felt like a lifetime of being bumped around in the car. “If one of those rocks gets spat up into the engine, we’re truly buggered.” observed Sharon, “And there’s not exactly much traffic passing this way to give us a lift.”

We were fine. The Getz performed well and we were rewarded with a great afternoon spent at ‘the end of the world’ surrounded by an azure ocean crashing with all it’s might against lava cliffs.

That night, after a couple of hours drive along roads on which the only other traffic was a couple of Landcruisers and what looked like an ex-Nato troop carrier, we pitched our tent at Arnastapi. A tiny fishing harbour with just a cluster of houses and a campsite, the one thing of greatest note is the bird-life – be warned, it is safest to wear a crash helmet when strolling around because the artic terns are ruthless!

Heading east we followed the coast road with stunning scenery around every headland and headed into the heart of Iceland. Our route saw us leaving the main roads and picking our way cross-country via any roads which seemed to be roughly going our way. Late afternoon and time to stretch our legs with a hike to see the country’s highest waterfall at Glymur. A word of advice: take the track to the right side of the river because if you take the opposite bank you will see exactly nothing of the waterfall – take our word for it!

That night the tent was pitched at Þingvellir next to a beautiful lake with a backdrop of low lying hills and dormant volcano.

When in Iceland, you’ve got to find a geyser. We went for the original ‘Geysir’. Don’t bother, unless you want to hang around with coach loads of tourists near, what can be described at best, as a motorway service station.

Not much further up the road is the mighty Gulfoss waterfall – truly worth a visit to experience the amazing force of the river Hvita – but again, you will be in the company of the coach-drawn hordes.

The country has an incredible wealth of landscapes and endless miles of mountain track to challenge the overlander, and the next few days were spent picking our way around the south west, doing our best to avoid as much civilisation and tarmac roads as possible, always mindful that our transport was more suburban runabout that serious off-roader.

By the end of the first week, the Getz was looking decidedly ‘lived-in’ and, although there was not actual damage, we were seriously doubting if we’d see our deposit again. Occasionally we’d meet fellow tourists (because that’s what we were, after all) who would show us their itinerary for their 2 weeks in Iceland, the sights they’d ‘ticked off’ from their list of must see places, and later laugh at their dismissive looks at the Getz as they drove off in a pristine, spotless 4 x 4.

Considering we’d skidded into a sizeable ditch during a cloudburst, crossed a river which came above the wheel arches and scaled roads which we had absolutely no right in even attempting, then the Hyundai was proving its mettle.

A visit to Reykjavik was made – it is the capital after all – but for us we’d rather give it a miss in the future. Sure, there are some lovely buildings, nice shops and museums, but it just isn’t our scene.

Heading to the south coast, more stunning waterfalls which, although they are a honey-pot for the swarms of visitors, if you choose to visit them around 11:00pm (it is the land of the midnight sun, remember) then you can have the place all to yourself.

The Westmann Islands threw up a few surprises: walking on a live volcano, puffin on the menu, the most expensive beer I’ve ever had and camping next to a golf course where a tournament tee’d off at 3:00am.

The last night was spent in a hotel and a trip to the Blue Lagoon spa. We had planned to stay in Grindavik and meet Saemundur Haraldson – apparently he’s never caught a cold, a result of sniffing a piece of aged, rotting Greenland shark on a daily basis – but instead opted for a spot of luxury.

The pampering came back to bite me the next day when, upon waking, found that I’d had an allergic reaction to something at the Blue Lagoon and my face resembled a that of a 14 year old with a diet of nothing but chocolate, crisps and Big Macs.

One more job before the flight home: returning the Getz. It wasn’t looking promising. The inside had a certain ‘aroma’ to it, and whatever colour the paintwork was when we picked it up was now hidden under a healthy coating of Iceland’s finest s**t.

Handing the keys back, the rep took a quick look around the car and simply pronounced, “It looks like you’ve had a nice time in Iceland.” The unlimited mileage was also a good option to take as we’d covered around 2,500km in our ten days.

At the airport we swapped tales with fellow Brits heading home: all had spent a small fortune hiring 4 x 4’s, and all had tales of woe... multiple punctures, broken axel, grounding, rocks shooting up into the engine, broken windscreens.

If we were to go again – and I’m sure we shall – would we hire a 4 x 4? Not a chance, the Hyundai Getz would be first on our list of essential kit!