See the complete Iceland!
This tour is a repeat of the incredible tour we did in October 2019. We had an extraordinary time with the wondrous autumn colours, some generous sprinkling of snow when we were in northern Iceland - which adds a nice white blanket on the already amazing landscape, and the awe-inspirng Eastern Fjords that took our breath away. To top it all off, we were lucky to catch the Northern Lights on three nights, with one magical night basking in the glow of Mother Nature's light display while soaking in the hotsprings of the Blue Lagoon.
If you wish to volunteer to drive on this tour, please contact me at +6598872168 for information and details.
This tour will need a minimum of 6 persons to go ahead.What is the tour about:
1. Tour the whole of Iceland, staying in a different town every night- We will see the complete Iceland by travelling on the Ring Road in a passenger van that can fit the group and our luggage. This will mean driving from one town to the next and staying in a different town every night. Only around Lake Myvatn, in the north, will we stay two nights in one of the towns - because this region in the North is such an incredible place to be.
2. Sightseeing Tour- On many parts of our journey along the Ring Road, we will make stops, when it is safe and possible to do so, for the stunning scenery, that is just too amazing to not take pictures of. We also make a few other planned stops to see waterfalls, craters, glaciers, geothermal areas, or hot springs.
3. Mostly short walks and easy hikes- This is mainly a sightseeing tour. At some of our sightseeing locations, we will need to walk from the car park to the scenic attraction, which can be a waterfall, a geothermal landscape, or a crater. Some walks are just a few minutes, and some are 30 to 45 minutes. The walks are mostly on flat ground, with a few of them on undulating terrain. On about two of the walks, when we head from our parked vehicle to see some volcanic craters, we will walk up a steep slope or make a steep climb up to the crater. On other occasions, we may climb stairs to get up to a scenic spot, or walk around a scenic area with some elevation. There will not be long strenuous hikes that we have to do.
4. Optional Activities are available- There are some optional tours which you can choose to do. These will be announced to you after you have signed up for the tour.
What's so different about this Ring Road tour and the chance to see the Northern Lights?This Autumn Ring Road Tour takes you on a complete circle around the whole of Iceland. You'll see more than those who do a winter tour that only covers the South of Iceland. Most winter tours do not travel the ring road to the North of Iceland, as the roads there are often not accessible in winter, but the tours get the chance to do the Northern Lights. Travellers in summer get the chance to do the ring road but not the Northern Lights as daylight is almost 24 hours. On our autumn tour, we could do the ring road because the snow has not arrive yet, and we do not get the long daylight hours like in summer, so we also get the opportunity with dark nights to catch the Northern Lights.
This tour therefore brings you the best of both worlds. You will travel the ring road to see the complete Iceland - the amazing Northern landscapes, the extraordinary beauty of Lake Myvatn, the other-worldly geothermal regions of the North, the marvellous Eastern Fjords, and then get a shot at capturing the brilliant Northern Lights at nightfall!
Here's what an October tour in Iceland is like:October is the off season in Iceland so there will be less crowds . It will mean it's easier to have your pictures taken, there'll be easier travel on roads, and on the whole, quieter everywhere. Winter hasn't arrive yet, so it's not too cold, but be prepared for cold winds and rain, and possibly, snow somteimes. However, it has been said that in Iceland, you can expect all four seasons in one day, and it is more so during autumn. But expect to get some warm and bright days during the tour too.
Autumn will be awesome in Iceland when the autumn colours add to the colourful hues that you'll see throughout Iceland, from the mossy greens, the warm reds and browns, and cool greys and greens on rock faces and canyons, turquiose waters, and white glaciers, black sandy beaches, and cool blues in glacier lagoons. Add the occasional snow that may fall on these colours, you'll be in for a visual treat on this tour!
Lets crossed our fingers that we'll catch the Northern Lights too!
Please whatsapp Daniel at +6598872168 if you have any questions about this tour.PLEASE READ THIS SECTION ON BUDGET TOUR TO FAMILIARISE YOURSELF TO THE TYPE OF ACCOMMODATION FOR THIS TOURBudget Tour
Iceland is quite a costly travel destination and accommodations are no exception. To make this tour both affordable and more open to everyone, this tour is curated for budget travellers with the option to upgrade to hotels.
Accommodation with shared bathroomAs a budget tour, accommodations are basic rooms in hostels or guesthouses with shared bathrooms. Some of the rooms are quad-sharing, but most of the time, your stay in a hostel or guesthouse will be a twin or triple-sharing room. In some cases, there will be bunk beds in dormitories or guesthouses. We
will not be staying in dormitories shared with other strangers or groups, so our privacy is still within our group. Breakfast is always included in our accommodation.
Allocation of Beds and Rooms In our allocation of beds (twin beds or bunk beds) or rooms (twin, triple, or quad-sharing) according to our needs, it will be on a first-come-first-served and gender configuration basis.
Hotel Upgrade Option
There is the option to upgrade your accommodation to hotel rooms with private bathrooms. All hotel rooms are twin-sharing except in cases where we need to accommodate the odd person, then it will be triple-sharing. Please note that in the town of Egilsstadir, there is no hotel available for our dates, so a one-night stay in a better quality guesthouse with shared bathroom is alloted. Breakfast is also included in all upgraded hotel stays.
The upgrade option cost is approximately S$600. We will calculate and inform you of the actual amount when we have interested parties for this option. Partial upgrade on some of the nights is also available. Please text me about this if you are interested in an upgrade or partial upgrade.If you choose this hotel upgrade option, payment for this option is via online banking transfer to 3Playgrounds.
Single Supplement CostFor a single room hotel upgrade option, it is
an addition of another S$500 approximately. Likewise, we will calculate and inform you of the actual amount when you request for that option.
Please whatsapp Daniel at +6598872168 if you have any questions regarding this tour.
Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon
This shot was taken in Oct 2019 on our group tour. We were so fortunate to have this many "diamonds" on the shore. I was there in June the same year with another group and we only had very few tiny pieces scattered sparsely about. What's amazing is the bright turquoise-blue floating icebergs in the lagoon. The colours are simply unreal.
En Route to Reykholt
So we left Reykjavik after our first day there, and started on our 9-day road trip, heading west towards Borgarnes. Just about 10 minutes out of the city, we were greeted with splendid views of the mountains and lots of brilliant golden hues of autumn. We just had to stop. Glad we did find a side road to turn off for this breathtaking view and group shot.
Golden Circle Tour - Pingvellir National Park
This was Day 1 when we were taken for the Golden Circle tour by a local operator. An awesome walk with great scenes all round. We ended on top of a viewpoint for a 360-degree spectacle of inspiration!
Lake Myvatn
We took an afternoon walk around our farm resort in Lake Myvatn in Northern Iceland. Snow had fallen in this northern region just a day before. It was a great day to be out with fresh snow on the ground exploring hidden gems nearby. The walk had us trudging on snow in fields of white, passing by other farms and their fences. Our group (on the right in the picture) had stopped for a long time to admire and take in this beautiiful winter scene of Lake Myvatn - very different from the golden autumn colours we had for the last two days.
Grabrok Crater
Day 2 (before Lake Myvatn in previous picture). We did a walk around this crater and as you can see from the size of the people in the distance, the steps, and trail on the rim, Grabrok is a huge crater. The dramatic scene all round made the walk a memorable one.
Autumn Colours
One of the more beautiful stops we made along our driving route that exemplifies Mother Nature's autumn.
The Eastern Fjords
From Lake Myvatn in the north, we head to the east to spend a truly spectacular day driving through the dramatic scenes of the Eastern Fjords.
Dryholaey Lighthouse
From the east, we went back down to the south as we neared the end of our ring road driving tour. This was after sunrise and we had spent a long time around this lighthouse and the vicinity taking lots of shots. Our group was heading back to the car, and I just felt I need to take this view. So hurriedly, I lined up the shot and took it without much thinking. Little did I know I had also captured the silhouette of two persons perfectly fitted in the frame of the reflecting sun off the ocean. This is now one of my favourite shots,
Reynisfjara - Black Sand Beach
We arrived here straight after we checked out of our hotel and was kinda glad we were one of the first who reached here. This part of the beach is still quite secluded. and the sun is still nicely hidden behind those famous rocks of Reynisfjara.
Welcome to Iceland - Land of Fire and Ice!
This is one of the slogans for Iceland, in their lure to bring in tourists. There are certainly lots of ice from astonishing glaciers all around Iceland, but this, in Jokulsarlon, says it all about "Ice". Simply amazing! As for the "Fire" part, it would be the active and dormant volcanoes that are spread out around the country. Didn't see any of that as it would involve much more than a sightseeing driving tour to get up into an active volcano to see molten lava. Most of all, there were lots of geothermal areas that look like other-planetary landscapes - Namaskard, being one of the more popular ones, the geysers, and hotsprings, the plentiful and uniquely beautiful waterfalls, dramatic coastal scenes, and surrealistic landscapes that made a visit along the ring road - a complete Iceland tour! Add to that the warm golden colours of autumn and throw in some snow in the North, you will not want to miss a tour like this!
Additional Info
Note:
- Price is based on 2020 rates and may subject to change in 2021 according to operators.
- Will update in 2021 when the new price is available