We are coming to a close to our 7 Day Complete Iceland Tour. In the week prior, we covered the iconic Golden Circle tour, followed by exploring the ice caves in a glacier. We then dipped in geothermal pools, visited geothermal vents and went on whale watching. Finally, we climbed a dormant volcano and visited a horse farm.
Having left the main tour the day before, we embarked on the final leg of our Complete Iceland Tour with a day tour to Snæfellsjökull peninsula.
The peninsula was named after the glacier-capped volcano located at its westernmost tip. Like many places in Iceland, the Snæfellsjökull was famous due to its depiction in Journey to the Centre of the Earth. However, there are also spots around the peninsula that make up a memorable trip to the western Iceland.
Trip Overview
On Day 7, we completed the following itinerary:
0730: Breakfast and checkout
0940: Set off
1000 – 1020: Pit stop – Guide advised us to buy lunch takeaways
1150 – 1225: Kirkyufell
1250: Ólafsvík
1305 – 1320: Snæfellsjökull National Park Visitor Centre
1345 – 1420: Djúpalónssandur Beach
1430: Lóndrangar (drove past)
1440 – 1530: Arnarstapi
1555 – 1605: Búðakirkja
1625 – 1640: Ytri Tunga Beach
19:30: End of tour. Guide sent us to our own hotel at Hilton Reykjavik Nordica
The bus was meant to pick up tour members from Reykjavik before picking us up at Bogarnes. As such, we only needed to check out of our hotel at 9am.
Even then, Bogarnes was still a 2 hours’ ride from the first spot in Snæfellsjökull peninsula.
Kirkyufell
The first order of the day was to visit the peninsula’s iconic Kirkyufell, a lone mountain by the sea. Not only that, it was one of the few summits in Iceland that was in a conical shape.
Our guide told us that it was unknown how Kirkyufell formed. As all mountain ranges in Iceland formed from volcanic actions that resulted in their jaggard skylines, Kirkyufell was indeed an anomaly.
Snow was heavy when we got there, so we had to stop by the roadside as the parking lot was not cleared of snow. That created quite a backup of cars, notwithstanding the constant stream of tourists crossing the road to take a picture with the landmark.
There was a waterfall nearby, but the snow was knee deep so we gave up halfway, seeing that time was running out.
The lone mountain by the sea was indeed a unique sight. What with its snow covered outline against a gloomy sight. Unfortunately, the knee deep snow made it difficult to venture far to view other nearby sights. Visiting it in early spring might be a better choice.
Djúpalónssandur Beach
After driving past Ólafsvík – the western most town in Europe and oldest town in Iceland – we reached the Djúpalónssandur Beach. Yes, it’s another black sand beach. However, it offered quite a different experience.
The path leading down to the beach was flanked by volcanic rocks that made the walk felt like a ritual passage. At the bottom, the path opened out into the beach that offered us an expansive view of the sea.
The snow on the beach formed a wormish pattern that looks weirdly artsy and pleasing. The sheltered cove also housed a lagoon and the remains of a plane that crash landed here many moons before.
With some time left, we also went to the lookout beside the parking lot. It offered us a vantage view of the beach. The gentle curves sat in contrast with the jaggard edges of the volcanic rocks. It did get quite chilly from the wind sweeping from the ocean, but hey! The view was splendid!
Lóndrangar
We drove past Lóndrangar, where legend has it that 2 trolls who were hiding there, turned into stones because they didn’t get out before sunrise. Of course, what the lore referred to were 2 eroded lava stones that are common in Iceland.
That being said, there were more volcanic stones that were converted into works with significant meaning.
Arnarstapi
In Arnarstapi was the Bárður Snæfellsás Statue. Standing at 6m, the monument made from stacked stones represented the protector of the peninsula.
In and around Arnarstapi were also some natural and manmade sights. Some parts overlooked a cove tucked into the steep cliff sides, which reminded me of settings in Enid Blyton’s books. There was also a wind-carved stone arch over the waters – Gatklettur. With swarms of sea birds hovering around it, it looked like a scene of a medieval movie.
As it had been hours since we had a toilet stop, we dropped by the nearby cafe for a mocha – and used their toilet. That had to be the most touristy thing we did the entire journey. Somehow, sipping hot mocha under the morning sun looking out at the frigid cold was weirdly gratifying.
We then trekked our way along the coastline to the harbour that was about 20 minutes away. Our guide picked us up at the harbour, which was set in a huge sheltered cove. There was also a viewing platform where one could take in the scenic view around the harbour.
Búðakirkja
We next visited the Búðakirkja, a lone church painted in tar overlooking a cliff. We were told that many couples came to this spot to take their wedding photos. But truth be told, there are more beautiful settings that are also more easily accessible.
Ytri Tunga Beach
Rounding off our day trip to the Snæfellsjökull peninsula, we dropped by the Ytri Tunga Beach. This was one of the few white sand beaches in Iceland, and the site of a seal colony.
As it was off season, most seals were out in the sea. Thanks to my Google Pixel’s powerful zoom lens, I could make out the few bobbing heads in the water. Even those that were out of the water were found on rocks far out in the waters.
Following that was an almost 3 hour ride back to Reykjavik. The guide brought us right to our hotel at Hilton Reykjavik Nordica.
With what little time we had left, we made a quick dash to Netto behind Hilton to shop for dinner’s ingredients. We also spent the rest of the night packing for our early flight the next day.
Parting Words
Ironically, we failed to see Snæfellsjökull, which was shrouded in clouds. And since it was the tail end of our tour, the remaining sights, like Kirkyufell felt just like many other sights we had seen in the past 6 days.
That being said, the Djúpalónssandur Beach offered a different experience as a cove nestled among the volcanic rocks. I was then reminded that I had always wanted to find a beach that is cold. Yup, if only there was a beach resort over there. I would gladly pay for a weekend getaway!
I would say the Snæfellsjökull peninsula tour would be great for those doing a day tour out of Reykjavik. It wouldn’t be much of a value add as an add on to the already eventful 6 day Complete Iceland Ring tour.
Leaving Iceland
Since our flight was departing at 1045am the following day, we had to leave the hotel by 730am. Although there were airport buses available from BSI Terminal (via Flybus), there was an issue of reaching BSI Terminal from our hotel, especially early in the morning. After breakfast, we hopped on a taxi to BSI Bus Terminal (ISK 2,820 / USD 21) to catch the Flybus to the airport. As mentioned previously, BSI Terminal was compact and navigation friendly. We bought our airport shuttle tickets from the manual counters (there are also self-service kiosks) and had time left to wait for the bus.
Although Reykjavik Airport is small and not crowded, we still aimed to reach 2 hours before our flight. After all, we weren’t familiar with the airport, and had to spend some time navigating its check-in and security facilities.
Eventually, we went on our departing flight with a heavy heart.
Due to the overcast weather, we could only catch a faint glimpse of the aurora during our stay at Akureyri. It was indeed a shame as we were located right under the aurora ring. For anybody who wishes to catch the northern lights in Iceland, the rainy season in March is definitely one to avoid!
Till then, stay wanderlust!
This post is part of a series where I document my trip to Iceland chasing auroras. I had taken an 18-hour flight on Singapore Airlines’ Business Class to reach Iceland via Copenhagen. Then I spent a day at Reykjavik to recover from the long and tedious journey, while staying at Hilton Reykjavik Nordica. After Iceland, we embarked on Part 2 of our aurora hunting tour, while based in the magical Nordic town of Tromsø. In between these 2 north European cities, we experienced both of Scandinavian Airlines’ Premium Economy and Economy Class.
All photos and videos were taken using Google Pixel 7 Pro, and edited with Google Photos and Snapseed
