Iceland Archives - Curious Provence

7 Day Iceland Itinerary, the Ring Road

January 28, 2017 by ashleyt 3 Comments

The Best of Iceland Roadtrip (on a Budget)

Last September, we took Iceland Air‘s brilliant option for a week stopover to visit this mysterious country. Iceland is a destination growing in popularity due to it’s newly (relatively) affordable currency. This is our ring road Iceland itinerary.

I am a bit of a glutton and decided to try and drive the entire ring road around the country in seven days, the self drive Iceland dream! It would be better to drive the ring road in 10 days. Despite this, we have no regrets. It might be worth doing a trip like this with a caravan. You will likely find static caravan insurance cheapest online though.

The scenery in Iceland is constantly changing and a dream for a photographer. The moody skies and colourful grasses in Fall were just heavenly. Many hotels and B&Bs have their own thermal hot tubs to soak in after a day’s driving.

We tend to gravitate towards the less touristy areas. Iceland is perfect for finding yourself in the wilderness. There’s so much to see!

Here’s our itinerary, prioritizing the best of Iceland on a budget including cliffs next to the sea, icebergs, and countryside. Also keep in mind this is an autumn itinerary. In the Spring, make sure to take advantage of some of the best birdwatching in the world.

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What’s the Best Time of Year to Visit Iceland?

October 24, 2016 by ashleyt 5 Comments

Which Time of Year Should you Visit Iceland?

I’m certainly no expert on what time of year you should visit Iceland. We visited only once, towards the end of September. However, after reading my, rather hefty, guidebook front to back, I’ve made some conclusions.

We tend to prefer visiting countries in low season due to a general dislike of other nearby tourists. After all, you’re in the land of wilderness in Iceland…You don’t want a family of screaming, photo taking, selfie stick waving, ignorant sheep with futile ski poles obscuring the view. (forgive me)

What I’m trying to say, is that by going to Iceland in the low season, you miss out on some things which in other countries is normally not the case. For example, despite the weather being decent, many rural museums were closed. Also, all those puffins and migrating birds left bare cliffs behind them as they had taken to the seas. Restaurants, in some instances, oddly stopped serving fresh lamb and fish resulting in the only choice of a hamburger. Some B&Bs stop serving cooked meals. Quite frankly, I was surprised. However, no matter what time of year you’re in Iceland, you’ll be guaranteed to witness stunning scenery. In the summer months, more of this scenery is accessible. Everyone has different priorities. Take a look at the list below and decide what is best for you.

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7 Things to See at Lake Myvatn Iceland

October 24, 2016 by ashleyt 4 Comments

A Rough Guide to Lake Myvatn, Iceland

The shores of lake Myvatn and around are absolutely packed with mysterious crevices, bubbling mud pools, craters and volcanoes. This is also an important area for migrating birds which are sadly only to be found in the Spring.

Even pictures taken from a moving car aren’t bad at Lake Myvatn.

Lake Myvatn is a popular area with good reason. The sites are surprisingly close together and the names of each site are in Icelandic. This makes deciding what to see a bit tricky.

I found that we had to have our noses pressed up against the guidebook each time we passed a sign as the Icelandic names were difficult to remember. Then, we had to read a paragraph in a guidebook to figure out what was at the end of each dirt track. Therefore, I’ve created a very rough guide, with quick informlation, of the 7 sites we most enjoyed on the eastern side of the lake Myvatn.

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