My name is Jon Thorsteinsson and I have been running the online travel magazine Stuck in Iceland for just over three years. During that time period I have gotten some incredible photos and articles from people that have visited Iceland to publish on my site. I want to share with you some of the best photography and travel tips they have come up through the years. In this blog post we will cover Reykjavik in the South West, the west of Iceland , the Westfjords (the extreme north west region of the country) and the north of Iceland .
Reykjavik: Cool Capital
Let´s start with Reykjavik. The capital of Iceland is known for its great nightlife but I have to admit that I can only stand two bars in Reykjavik. They are both really atmospheric and serve great and somewhat pricey Icelandic craft beers. This probably does nothing but reveal what a snob I am! Reykjavik is a pretty cool place (no pun intended!). It gets pretty wild on new year´s eve and you have to be pretty dull not to enjoy the sheer craziness of the fireworks, bonfires and the partying. Peter Riederer from Germany is one the contributors to my site and he recommends visiting Reykjavik and Iceland in winter. In Reykjavik he liked Hallgrimskirkja cathredal, dipping into Laugardalslaug and visiting the penis museum. Yes. I said penis museum. One more thing. The perfect place for a nice walk, bird watching and a great view of the mountains around Reykjavik and sea is Grotta at the western edge of the city.
The Snæfellsnes peninsula in the West of Iceland
One the best photographers that have contributed to Stuck in Iceland is Martin Schulz, also from Germany. The Snæfellsnes peninsula in the west of Iceland is one of his favourite locations. He has taken some really iconic pictures of Kirkjufell mountain which accompanies this article.
On the Snæfellsnes peninsula Martin recommends the following places:
- Café Blómasetrið at the town of Borgarnes
- The Eldborg crater
- Hotel Budir and surroundings
- The view of the Snæfellsjokull from the hamlet of Arnarstapi
- The stone arch of Gatklettur
- The small town of Hellnar
- The rock formation of Lóndrangar
To the edge of Iceland
The Westfjords of Iceland is a pretty unique place and not many tourists come there. The remote nature reserve of Hornstrandir is an amazing area where arctic foxes roam and seabirds hover over massive cliffs . The English photographer Nick Miners created a fantastic photo essay for Stuck in Iceland where he portrays this rugged area in impressive black and white pictures . Two places that are especially impressive is the Dynjandi waterfall which cascades down a height of 100 meters and the massive cliffs at Látrabjarg . The cliffs are home to many species of seabirds including the puffin which has, for some reason has become an Icelandic icon.
The highlights of north west of Iceland include the mystical island of Drangey and river rafting in the Austari Jökulsá glacial river . Head east and you come to the town of Akureyri . It is quite a lovely place with arguably the best ice cream in Iceland which I think is really important. Head even further east and you come to the beautiful Asbyrgi and one of the most popular tourist destination, Myvatn lake . The final destination I want to mention is the incredible waterfall Dettifoss which thunders down 44 meters. A sight indeed!
Get the perfect Iceland themed coffee table book
´ Icelandic Seasons ´ is a beautiful limited edition photo photo book that me, the photographer Martin Schulz and the designer Adalheidur Ormarsdottir are crowdfunding on Karolina fund. I would be grateful for your support.
