Last year at this time, I was just arriving home from Iceland. I was riding the wave of having finished my undergrad and was preparing for an epic summer of hiking, travel and freedom! I looked at my trip to Iceland as this fantastic, almost prophetic look at what my life as a University graduate would be: spontaneous, exciting and filled with adventures. This feeling of elation was actually what motivated me to start this blog. I just wanted to share the amazing country that made me giddy with awe for my capacity to explore the planet. Yet, I never actually got around to writing up my Iceland itinerary. I got caught up in finishing off my undergraduate research projects, applying to grad school and doing some of the exciting travel and hiking that I have written about on the blog in the past.
So here it goes: my tardy attempt to share my experience in Iceland and to preach to all the future grads out there that your life can be spontaneous, exciting and filled with adventures — and all that can start with a road trip around Iceland.
This whole adventure started in November of 2017 when I was drudging through my second-last semester of my undergrad, preparing for my final exams and generally stressing out about my future. It was cold and dreary, and Christmas break still seemed far away, so I decided to relax (read: procrastinate) by looking up cheap flights around the world on Google Flights. And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a flight to Iceland for only 109$ round-trip. A flight to another country that is cheaper than your average textbook? Yup, I’m in. I checked my bank account, grimaced and then booked the flight anyway. In the months between that fateful google search and my flight in late April, I managed to convince my friend, Lauren, to join me.
So, in April, Lauren and I —armed with as much peanut butter, bagels and granola as we could fit into a single checked bag— boarded our plane for an epic car camping road trip around one of the most beautiful countries I have ever explored.
Here’s my itinerary of my nine-day trip to Iceland:
