What Not to Do in Iceland: Overrated Things to Avoid in Iceland
Iceland is one of the most beautiful places in the world! There are multi-colored mountains, waterfalls, cliffs, and moss-covered lava fields everywhere. It can be overwhelming when planning a trip to Iceland because there is so much to see, and this guide is here to help you understand what not to do in Iceland.
This guide has everything you need to know about what not to do in Iceland to help you plan an incredible trip, and it has a few overrated things you should avoid in Iceland.
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What Not to Do in Iceland
Don’t buy bottled water
Now, I know you may be thinking I am crazy for telling you not to buy bottled water when you visit Iceland, but I promise it will make sense soon. All of Iceland has drinkable glacier water. Tap water = glacier water. And let me tell you, it is delicious!
All you have to do is bring an empty water bottle and fill it up whenever you can. We packed two big water bottles each and filled them up whenever we left our house rentals and campgrounds. It is a way to save you money!
Don’t rely solely on your GPS
We all are so used to relying on our GPS to get us everywhere. Although it can get you to most places in Iceland, many areas have little to no service, so your GPS most likely won’t work. I highly recommend downloading offline maps and getting a paper map, so even when your GPS stops working, you won’t get lost.
Don’t only stay in Reykjavik
Although it’s tempting to stay in Reykjavík and make day trips to each area you visit, I highly recommend staying outside the city. Reykjavik is a great place to stay because everything you need is easily accessible, but the accommodations are pricey.
Also, if you stay in Reykjavik, you’ll have to drive more each day. We planned out our entire road trip and found cute house rentals to stay in along our route. It was great because we were closer to the attractions, and it allowed us to stay in some beautiful areas, including on a cliff, on the side of a mountain, and next to a hot river.
Don’t under pack layers
One of the things I learned not to do in Iceland is under pack layers. The weather in Iceland is unpredictable, even in the warmer months, so I highly recommend packing layers and a rain jacket. The weather can vary greatly even within one day, so it is crucial to have layers just in case the weather changes on you.
Iceland also loves to rain at random times during the day, so having a rain jacket is crucial when you are exploring. I highly recommend researching the type of weather Iceland usually has when you will be visiting and packing accordingly.
I would even suggest packing additional layers just in case! When we traveled to Iceland in September, we experienced every type of weather and were grateful to have packed layers!
Don’t underestimate the time you need to drive in Iceland
When planning a road trip to Iceland, don’t underestimate the time you need to drive. If you plan to explore attractions along the Golden Circle, your driving time will be easy to estimate since most don’t require driving on an F road. But if you want to explore F roads and lesser-known attractions, I highly recommend allocating more time than you think you’ll need to drive.
F roads are unmaintained mountain roads with small potholes, large boulders, and river crossings and require a 4x4 vehicle. Although an attraction might be only a mile off of an F road, it could take you anywhere from a few minutes to an hour to drive to it because of how unpredictable F roads can be. I recommend giving yourself more time than you think you’ll need so you aren’t rushing around trying to see everything you had on your itinerary.
Don’t buy your food at 10-11
One of the things to avoid in Iceland is buying your food from 10-11. I know it may be tempting to purchase your food from a 24-hour grocery store, but I recommend buying it from other grocery stores instead. 10-11 is one of the most expensive grocery stores because it is open 24 hours a day. If you need to buy something when other grocery stores are closed, 10-11 may be your only option, but I highly recommend buying your groceries when other stores are open to save money.
Bónus and Krónan will give you the most variety at cheaper prices. Nettó is another great store with some random things a department store may carry. Some are also open 24 hours! We did most of our shopping at Krónan since they had a better selection than Bónus.
Reykjavík has the best Bónus and Krónan stores, so stock up before leaving! If you stay in Iceland for a longer time, do not fret! There are Bónus and Krónan stores all around the country. They will be smaller than the grocery stores in Reykjavík, but they will still provide a good food selection for your road trip through Iceland!
Things to Avoid in Iceland: Overrated Attractions
**Always remember to leave no trace. It’s crucial to pack out what you pack in and leave no trash. Some of these spots have trash bins, so you can easily throw your trash away. If they don’t have trash bins, you can throw your trash away at a nearby gas station or convenience store.
Strokkur
Iceland has many tourist attractions, and Strokkur is one of them. Strokkur, also known as the Great Geyser, is one of the three major attractions off of the Golden Circle. For those of you who don’t know, the Golden Circle (also known as the Ring Road) is the road that takes you around Iceland.
Strokkur erupts very frequently (every 5-10 minutes), and its blasts can reach up to 50-65 feet! The record is around 130 feet. It’s impressive, I know, but there are more epic things to see. Strokkur is touristy, and parking is a nightmare. It’s just not worth it, in my opinion.
I have never seen a geyser, so it was cool seeing one for the first time, but I recommend going around the corner and finding Gullfoss Waterfall and Þingvellir National Park instead. Strokkur is one of the things to avoid in Iceland, in my opinion.
Glymur
What other things should you avoid in Iceland? You would think the second tallest waterfall in Iceland sounds epic, right?
Well, it’s honestly not that cool. “But it’s the second tallest waterfall! How can it NOT be cool?” Well, my friends, you can barely see the waterfall, and it is not as epic as other waterfalls in Iceland. However, the hike to Glymur and the views at the top are way more beautiful, in my opinion. If you decide to see Glymur, because let’s be honest, you probably will, do it for the hike and don’t have expectations of the waterfall. The waterfall is pretty, don’t get me wrong! But as I said, you can barely see it.
Let’s talk about the hike, though, because it is fun! The trail to Glymur is about 5 miles round trip and will take you roughly 3 hours to complete. The trail brings you to a cave, up steep inclines, and across two river crossings. The first river crossing is fun! I recommend taking your shoes off and holding them while walking across the log because you will need all of the traction your shoes can provide later.
Once you are over the river and feel exhilarated, it is time to climb! This hike is steeper than you would think it to be, and you gain all of the elevation in a short distance. Luckily, there is a rope you can hold.
Once you make it to the waterfall, turn around. Trust me and turn around. Because the view behind you is BEAUTIFUL, overlooking the canyon. Once you soak in the beautiful views and glance at the waterfall, you have two options - go back down the way you came or head up above the waterfall and hike down the opposite side. If you decide to go back the way you came, it will be difficult once you get to the steep sections because it’s more of a single file path. If you decide to complete the loop, you must cross another river at the top.
Heading up to the top of the waterfall is fun, and the views are stunning! Once you get to the second river crossing, you’ll quickly notice there isn’t a way to avoid getting your feet wet. And the water is ice cold. Most likely you will have to cross in your hiking boots and get a little wet. Luckily the descent isn’t steep, so your wet shoes won't make for a slippery descent.
Overall, the hike is fun, but the waterfall isn't anything special. There are a lot more beautiful and epic waterfalls to enjoy in Iceland!
expensive Hot Springs
Alright, it’s time for the last overrated thing to avoid in Iceland: expensive hot springs. We didn’t go to the Blue Lagoon, so I can’t give feedback on how it is, but all of the locals we met told us not to go. They said it’s beautiful but very, very touristy.
A few years ago, there were a lot of free hot springs, but now that Iceland has become more popular, they began charging for most of them. And these are the hot springs that are easy to find because they are well known or right off the Ring Road.
If you want to find lesser-known hot springs, you have to do some internet digging, keep an eye out while driving, and talk to locals. We had our eyes on a few, but the one we went to was not on our list!
One of the hot springs we loved was in Landmannalaugar, and it was inexpensive to enjoy it! If you haven’t heard of Landmannalaugar, do yourself a favor and look it up. It’s B-E-A-Utiful. It takes a while to get there because it is only accessible via F roads, but it's well worth it! Once you drive about an hour into Landmannalaugar, you will see a parking lot with a river at the end. You can park your car here and walk around the river, or drive through the river. The river was deep, so we decided to walk around it.
Once across the river, you will see a campsite, hut, and bridge. You can pay a small fee at the hut to enjoy the hot spring. Once you are enjoying the spring, take a look around. It was one of our favorite spots because you are in the middle of multi-colored mountains! It’s such a beautiful location for a hot spring. The hot spring is big enough that if there were many people there you can find a quiet spot.
Yes, the Blue Lagoon is a beautiful and fun experience, and we probably would have gone if we made time for it, but nothing beats the free and inexpensive, off-the-beaten-path hot springs. So before you pay $60 to go to the Blue Lagoon, do an internet scavenger hunt for free and inexpensive, secluded hot springs. You won’t regret it!
Underrated Attractions in Iceland
Icelandic Horses
In Iceland, there are more sheep and horses than people. I’m not kidding! Once you get out of the city, you barely see anyone. The towns are few and far between, and there is a lot of farmland, which is beautiful! With all of the farmland comes horses, and there are over 80,000 horses in Iceland!
Fun Facts:
Many might believe people bread Icelandic horses for their meat, but they are used more for companionship and riding. I wish I had 80,000 horses to keep me company!
You will notice Icelandic horses are smaller than most horses. Because of the colder weather and a few other factors, they don’t grow as large as other horses.
Icelandic horses can perform five gaits, while most can only perform three or four! One of the gaits is called Tölt, which pretty much only Icelandic horses can perform. I had to look up what this was when someone referenced it. It is a fast walk where the horse brings its legs up high and only touches one foot to the ground at a time. YouTube it. It’s pretty cool!
Churches
Every town, regardless of its size, has a church somewhere. We even found churches in the middle of nowhere! When you see one, stop by and take a picture. Even though most are abandoned or look abandoned, they are beautiful! Just take a look at the photos! How can you not stop to take a pic of a church on a cliff or next to mountains?!
The Drive
The most underrated thing in Iceland, in my opinion, is the drive. So many people, including myself, go to Iceland on a mission to see every waterfall. Most people don’t realize that the most beautiful sights are along the roads and can easily be missed if you aren't looking.
Once we arrived in Iceland, we rushed to our first destination because we were overly excited to start exploring! We were so invested in looking at the GPS and maps to ensure we were going the right way that we were not paying attention to what we were driving past. Before we got to our first destination, I looked in the rearview mirror and realized we passed our first batch of multi-colored mountains and didn’t even realize it! After that moment, we took our time driving and pulled over pretty much everywhere. I wanted to take a picture of everything. Seriously, I could not stop taking pictures.
There were a few days when we decided to explore F roads just for fun, and those ended up being the best days! We had so much we wanted to see, but we also found so many beautiful things just by looking around us while driving.
Everyone is overwhelmed a bit when they travel to Iceland because there is so much to see. However, you must make sure to stop and smell the roses. Take your time when you drive, and keep your eyes open! The drive was one of my favorite parts of our trip.
When you plan a trip to Iceland, this guide is a great place to understand overrated things to avoid in Iceland. This guide has everything you need to know about what not to do in Iceland!
Hey, I’m Nichole!
I am the creator behind Nichole the Nomad, the home of my explorations around the world, mountain hikes, and beautiful pictures taken along the way. I have a deep passion for capturing the world in a beautiful light and sharing my experiences.
I created this blog to share my travels, show how beautiful the world is, provide tips and tricks for traveling, and encourage you to explore. Whether you want to travel across the world or explore what’s in your backyard, I hope this blog inspires you to get outside and find your adventure!
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