Jökulsárlón - Iceland's Glacier Lagoon

We knew that the trip to Jökulsárlón would add an additional 4-5 hours of driving time to our day.

But how can you come all the way to Iceland and not see a glacier?

As we headed further east on Iceland's Ring Road 1, the landscape started to change.  Again.

We would periodically get a glimpse of the rough ocean to our right.

We started to see more and more, rolling black sand.  Suddenly to our left we caught a sight of our first glacier.

We had to pull over and take some photos.  We weren't the only ones.

There weren't many cars on the road that day, but we were leapfrogging with several others throughout the day.
There were plenty of places to safely pull over to admire the landscape.

Iceland is called the land of "fire and ice" and aptly so.
Do you know what happens when a volcano meets a glacier?  Lots of water.  

We stopped at an information point to read about just such a volatile occurrence
and to see some evidence of the destruction left in it's wake.

We eventually arrived at our destination, Jökulsárlón, also known as glacier lagoon.

The lagoon has developed in modern years as the glacier that feeds into the ocean here

has melted and subsided.  Chunks of ice break off into the massive lake and slowly make their way out to sea. 

It's a dramatic site and the famous setting for several Hollywood blockbusters

including Tomb Raider and two James Bond movies.

During the summer, you can take a boat ride out onto the lagoon.

Unfortunately, there is no way a boat can get through in the winter. 

We spent about a half an hour taking photos and investigating the pieces of ice

on the black sand beach, popping into the little cafe and gift shop periodically to get warm.

The ice is a variety of colors and shades, some of it crystal clear, other chunks a milky white or icy blue.
It's mind blowing to pick up a piece of ice that is probably over a 1,000 years old.

It's also a great place for bird watching and if you're really lucky you might spot some seals.

(We didn't get lucky.)

When we were sufficiently cold and wet, we loaded up into the car, clicked on those seat warmers

(I love those things!) and drove to our hotel for the night,

relishing the views of the south coast of Iceland just as much the second time around.

That first day in Iceland was our longest day of driving at about 12 hours total from the airport to glacier lagoon and then back to our first hotel in Hveragerdi. But, we knew once that was over, we would be able to relax and slow down the next day.  And it was absolutely worth it. 

The Practical Information - Should I rent a car in Iceland?

As we were planning our trip, a big decision was whether or not to rent a car.  Looking back, we both agree, it was the best choice for us.  

We felt very safe.  The roads we traveled on were all well-paved and clear.  There were a few one-way bridges to navigate but not much traffic. We took turns driving and the Skoda Octavia we rented was perfect.  Hertz provided us with a map and a website to check for real-time weather and road conditions.  

The cost of a car rental was comparable to booking individual tours.  The car rental was £260 for three days (without the discount) and gas was approximately £120, so a little less than £400 total.  If we had booked transfers and tours for everything, we would have spent about £400.  So, not a big difference unless you have more than two people.

For us It was worth it to have the flexibility and freedom to go at our own pace and do exactly what we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it.  You miss out on some interesting commentary when you don't have a guide so we had to spend more time researching everything for ourselves, but that's part of the fun.

I'm particularly glad that we had the car in Reykjavik.  The city is spread out and it was pretty cold and windy.  If we'd have been on foot, we wouldn't have seen nearly as much of it.   

Renting a car was the perfect  choice for us.  Who doesn't love a good road trip?

  

Which do you prefer in Iceland, renting a car or booking tours?

  

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In partnership with Visit Iceland, we received a discounted rate from Hertz Car Rental Iceland.
 All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.