"Once in a lifetime, conquer Iceland" ... This is what I have long dreamed of, traveling and photographing in the land known as the paradise of the Northern Hemisphere ... After enduring images and reviews from pioneering Thai travelers who conquered Iceland for many years, finally my patience ran out. I carefully wrote a leave of absence, blinked at my boss, and used all my remaining vacation days to set off in pursuit of my dream with 6 other companions.

I originally planned to visit Iceland during the summer to witness its lush greenery and flower fields. However, my travel companions (or perhaps more accurately, trip cost-sharing partners) expressed their desire to see the Northern Lights, which are not visible during the summer months. As a compromise, we opted for the late winter period between March 25th and April 7th, 2017. This timeframe still offered the possibility of witnessing the Northern Lights, while also allowing some areas to begin showing signs of green, as opposed to being entirely covered in snow like the peak winter months.

This review showcases the travel experience in Iceland. For those who haven't planned a trip yet, enjoy the photos to stimulate your wanderlust. Additionally, information on travel preparations, including accommodation, car rentals, food, and budget (hint: only tens of thousands for 14 days), will be provided in the next section.

Regarding the itinerary, I drove counter-clockwise, starting from Reykjavik Airport, heading south, and looping along the main roads before returning to Reykjavik, as shown in the image below.

For those who want to inquire for more information or follow travel stories and photography in the style of "Mr. Mod," you can continue to chat on the page “Mr. Mod” (https://www.facebook.com/9MotPhotography/). I guarantee that you will be tempted to find reasons to travel every day. Hehe.

Iceland or Ireland? A Traveler's Guide

Before embarking on your Icelandic adventure, it's important to clarify any confusion between Iceland and Ireland. These two distinct countries, often mistaken for one another, offer unique experiences. If you're unsure about the differences or curious about Iceland's allure, I recommend reading my previous concise review of Iceland: [link to review].

Now, let's embark on our journey! My trip to Iceland involved a three-leg flight, starting from Phuket. I first flew to Bangkok, then boarded a Thai Airways flight to Oslo, Norway. Finally, I took an Icelandair flight to Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland.

My Thai Airways flight arrived in Oslo early in the morning, giving me ample time to explore the city by train. A one-way ticket cost 93 NOK, and the journey took approximately 30 minutes.

Oslo Airport is beautifully decorated with a pinewood structure.

Upon arrival, I didn't venture far, simply circling the vicinity of Oslo Central Station. The atmosphere here is far from bustling, bordering on quiet, especially considering it's the nation's capital.

Around noon, we returned to the airport to catch our connecting Icelandair flight, which arrived in Iceland in the evening. Notably, the immigration process had already been completed in Oslo, so our flight to Iceland was like a domestic flight, without the need for further immigration checks.

It is recommended to sit on the right side of the plane for the best views of eastern and southern Iceland.

Upon arrival, it took a considerable amount of time to locate the car rental company that was supposed to pick us up and take us to their office, which was approximately 10 minutes away from the airport. The rental car was a 9-seater Hyundai Starex mini-van, which was relatively old. However, the interior space was sufficient for our group of 7 people and our medium-to-large suitcases. After picking up the car, we headed to our first night's accommodation in Selfoss, which was about a 2-hour drive away. The scenery along the way consisted of vast plains interspersed with rolling hills, most of which were covered in snow. The weather that day was windy and quite cold, even though the sky was overcast. Despite the weather, the roadside views were quite exciting. Our first night's accommodation was a 3-bedroom apartment owned by a friendly host who had previously visited Thailand. The apartment was located in a small village along the southern route of Iceland. After dinner, which we prepared ourselves, I stepped outside to check the weather, but there was no sign of the sky clearing up, so I went back inside to sleep.

We captured a photograph of our first night's accommodation as a memento before embarking on our journey the following day. The ground floor was rented out, while the homeowner resided on the upper floor. The next morning, the weather remained unfavorable, with wind and rain arriving simultaneously. Our itinerary included a trip to Vik, Iceland's southernmost town, with stops at the renowned Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls along the way.

A one-hour drive from the accommodation brought us to Seljalandsfoss, which was visible from afar. The view from the road was quite beautiful, but as soon as we opened the door, we were hit by wind and rain, forcing us to retreat to the car, as we were both cold and wet, making it almost impossible to take pictures. At this point, it became clear why Iceland's car rental insurance does not cover wind damage to car doors.

A short drive from the main road leads to the parking lot for Seljalandsfoss waterfall. My plan was to capture the waterfall's beauty in photographs, finding angles to avoid the crowds and then hike to Gljúfrabúi, another nearby waterfall. However, this plan had to be abandoned as I could barely keep up with wiping away the raindrops. So, I had to accept the situation and make do with the few photos I managed to take.

Along the way, there are many small waterfalls where you can stop and take pictures.

Despite the heavy rain and dark clouds, the scenery remained breathtaking, prompting me to stop and capture several photographs.

Continuing our drive, we soon arrived at another large roadside waterfall, Skógafoss. I was particularly drawn to this waterfall, which was taller and grander than the previous one. However, the wind and rain once again posed significant challenges for photography, preventing me from getting close to the cascading water. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant near the waterfall, where we ordered salads, burgers, and sandwiches. The cost of the meal, which amounted to over 5,000 Thai baht, prompted us to decide that we would need to start preparing our own meals to avoid exceeding our budget.

Each dish costs around 500-600 baht, which is quite expensive. In the evening, we traveled to VIK town and stopped at a viewpoint near Dyrhólaey Arch. When we arrived, the sky was still overcast. At 5 pm, the sky cleared as predicted, but the wind did not subside. Instead, it became even stronger, making it impossible to stand still. My tripod was almost blown off the cliff, and I'm glad I didn't have my camera attached, or I would have been in tears.

Before the sun set, we traveled to VIK town and went down to take pictures at the black sand beach in front of the town. Before coming here, I secretly thought to myself, how beautiful is a black sand beach? But when I saw the real thing, I liked it very much. It didn't feel dirty as I had imagined, but rather felt like a valuable ornament.

After taking photos, we headed to our accommodation for the night, a four-bedroom apartment conveniently located near the beach. While the women prepared dinner, I took a drive to photograph the Vik church, a prominent landmark and scenic viewpoint in the town.

Drive up to capture the evening light at the city's main church.

This is the morning atmosphere in front of the house.

In the morning, I walked out of my accommodation, which was only 200-300 meters from the beach, to capture the morning atmosphere by the beach once again. Seagulls flew around, their cries filling the air, helping to mask the quiet atmosphere of the city in the early hours.

In the late morning, after breakfast, my friends and I went up to the city church to take pictures. The daytime view was beautiful in a different way, and the wind wasn't as strong as yesterday.

Then we traveled back to Reynisdrangar black sand beach. The view along the way was so beautiful that we couldn't help but take pictures. This kind of atmosphere can only be seen in the late winter. The mountains around us looked like caramel drizzled over icing.

The Reynisdrangar beach was bustling this morning. The sheer scale of the natural sculptures, coupled with the stunning light, kept me captivated for much longer than I had anticipated.

A small lake near Reynisdrangar reflecting the mountains, creating a mirror lake. Unfortunately, I had an appointment to visit an ice cave in the afternoon, which was more than two hours away, so I had to reluctantly say goodbye to Vik, even though I wanted to stay longer. On the way from Vik to the ice cave tour company's office near Hof in southern Iceland, the road runs along the sea with cliffs and high mountains on the other side. The view along the way changes every half hour or so, from moss-covered, lumpy rocks, golden meadows, cliffs with waterfalls, high mountains with jet-black sand. But the highlight was driving along the glacier. I wanted to stop the car and walk closer, but time didn't allow it.

Let's enjoy a long view of the scenery captured through the car window.

My ice cave tour was unplanned, as the ice caves are typically only accessible until around March 18th. After that, access depends on whether the ice has melted too much. I received confirmation that I could enter the ice cave that morning, and the guide informed me that it would likely be the last day of the season.

The entrance fee to the ice cave is a hefty 6,000 baht per person. From the company office, we had to take a massive 4WD vehicle to the cave, which is located deep under a glacier and quite a distance from the main road. The ride itself was quite an adventure, traversing a rugged and bumpy path that would surely shake up your insides.

Upon reaching the entrance of the ice cave, the guide distributed non-slip shoe covers and safety helmets. As the guide had informed us beforehand, there were many tour groups visiting the ice cave that day. However, I remained hopeful that we would find some beautiful spots for photography inside.

This ice cave is approximately 4-5 meters wide, similar to the width of a commercial building. The height is not significant. However, what disappointed me and my friends the most was that the ice cave was not very deep. From the entrance to the furthest point, it was probably no more than 30 meters. All the tourists were walking around inside, making it almost impossible to find an angle to avoid people. Unless you were taking close-up photos… Sigh, give me back my money!

After finishing the ice cave tour, we drove back along the same route to take pictures of the nearby Glacier view, but the weather this afternoon was not as clear as it was on the way there.

Before heading to our accommodation near Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, we stopped by Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon, which is not far from the main road. If the weather were clear, the view here would be stunning. Moreover, there were not many people around, as most of them were concentrated at Jökulsárlón.

Due to the heavy rain and approaching darkness, we decided to head straight to our accommodation and return to visit Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon the following day.

Tonight, the aurora borealis was predicted to be strong, with a KP index of 5. Unfortunately, the clouds were thick where we were located, so we missed the opportunity to see it. I woke up and sat outside watching the sky from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM, but the sky was completely overcast, so I missed the chance to see the aurora borealis that night.

This is one of the few accommodations near Glacier Lagoon that is not too expensive, but the rooms do not have kitchen equipment like the other places I booked.

The next morning, before setting out, I realized I hadn't filled up the car with gas. To my surprise, there were no gas stations within a 60-kilometer radius. (I had planned to fill up near Glacier Lagoon, assuming there would be a station there, but there wasn't.) Returning to Fjallsárlón and driving to Hofn, the nearest town with a gas station, on the other side of the lagoon, would have been a risky gamble, as I could have run out of gas on the way. However, I didn't want to miss this highlight of my trip, so I contacted the hotel staff and managed to buy enough gas from a nearby farm to drive back to the glacier lagoon and continue on to Hofn without worry.

The sky remained overcast today, with occasional light rain, allowing for the capture of images of large ice chunks in the lake. However, the lack of sunshine resulted in a less vibrant color palette.

After photographing the lagoon side, we drove to the beach side, where ice had run aground. At this point, we were able to get up close and personal with the ice.
From Glacier Lagoon, we traveled to the town of Hofn, another bustling town in Iceland. We filled up the tank and looked for a place to have lunch, as we had read that we couldn't miss the chance to try the fresh lobster there. After circling around and looking at several restaurants, we ended up parking at Z Bristo because the reviews and prices seemed to be the best value.

We ordered two lobster dishes and three other dishes, making a total of five for our group of seven. Everyone agreed that the food was delicious and the portions were large enough to satisfy us. The local lobster is not the same as the large lobsters we have at home, and the meat is already cut into pieces. To be honest, I wasn't particularly impressed with the lobster meat; I think our local tiger prawns are sweeter.
Hofn is a port town where you can see the glacier from the city. It looks magnificent.
Actually, there is a tourist spot called Vesturhorn near Hofn. I drove there, but the weather was very bad, so I decided to continue on to our accommodation for the night.

The road to Vesturhorn is still gravel. Unfortunately, the sky was very cloudy that day, so I didn't go down to take pictures. For now, let's end at Hofn. After this, the route will start to enter the fjords on the east coast... Stay tuned for the next review.

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