In late February 2020 we visited Iceland for a 2 week winter tour of the island. We had visited Iceland in the summer of 2006 and traveled all around the island, so already knew most of the scenic locations. On this trip in the winter, we decided to concentrate on the Snaefelsnes peninsula and the South Coast route up to Hofn. This would keep us on major roads most of the time, and by staying 2 nights at each location we hoped to improve our chances of some good weather at each stop.
When travelling in Iceland in winter, the weather can vary between crisp clear days and white-out blizzard conditions with gale force winds, so any itinerary is at the mercy of the elements. So it would prove with our plans, and some of the locations that we wished to photograph were either out of bounds, or simply not worth visiting due to the weather. That just leaves a few reasons to re-visit in the future.
Our Itinerary
We flew from Manchester to Keflavik Airport on Friday 21st February, where we picked up a hire car. A 4×4 is almost mandatory for a winter tour in Iceland, and by law it has to be fitted with winter tyres. Despite some adverse weather, driving in Iceland in winter proved to be fairly easy with a properly equipped car, and there are very good websites providing weather and road condition reports.
Our itinerary took us from Keflavik Airport to Hraunfossar Waterfall where we spent the first night, then onto the Snaefellsnes peninsula staying at Grundarfjordur. After two nights there, we returned east, stopping at Gullfoss for two nights before heading to the south coast. On the south coast we stopped at Skoggar for three nights where we were held up for a day due to weather, then two nights at Jokulsarlon and just one night at Hofn. On the return leg we stopped for two nights at Vik and two nights in Reykjavik before returning to Keflavik Airport for the flight home.
Iceland Day 1 – Keflavik To Hraunfossar
Iceland Day 2 – Hraunfossar to Grundarfjordur
Iceland Day 3 – Kirkjufell
Iceland Day 4- Grundarfjordur to Gullfoss
Iceland Day 5- Gullfoss
Iceland Day 6- Gullfoss to Skogafoss
Iceland Day 7&8 – Skogafoss
Iceland Day 9&10 – Skogafoss to The Glacier Lagoon
Iceland Day 11 – Glacier Lagoon to Hofn
Iceland Day 12 – Hofn to Vik
Iceland Day 13 – Around Vik
Iceland Day 14 – Vik to Reykjavik
