Kara and Austin in Iceland

Last May Austin and I spent 15 days exploring Iceland. I’ve FINALLY finished editing all the photos and am soooo excited to share them with you!

I’m also including our itinerary at the bottom of the gallery for those of you who are planning a visit and want some tips about where to go and what to see. Austin made this. He LOVES planning trips and already has a detailed plan for our trip to Trinidad & Tobago in May. Meanwhile I’m working on my 2018 travel schedule. Right now I know I’ll be in Phoenix, AZ April 12-16, then we’ll both be in Tobago May 9-15 and in Arcadia National Park the third week in October. 

I’d love to do a shoot in Phoenix or Arcadia so if you or someone you know will be there during the same time hit me up! I’m already shooting a wedding in Tobago, but you’re going to be there at the same time I’d love to chat.

In the meantime, any questions or comments about Iceland? Put them in the comments below or get in touch via email at hello@karaleighcreative.com.

Also, since this is more of a personal blog post, I decided to include a couple images from the honeymoon/wedding portrait shoot we did with Styrmir Kári & Heiðdís Photography. There’s about 5-10 images from that shoot toward the top of this set. If I’m wearing a wedding dress or we are both in flannel and look very wet (it rained the whole time) those are their photos. They are a pretty spectacular couple and I highly recommend connecting with them to take some photos of you and your love on your trip. Or you can just bring me with you. That works too. 

Finally, there are a lot of pictures in here so they might take a hot second to load, but I promise it will be well worth your patience. 

Itinerary for Iceland

April 26th-May 12th

April 26th-Fly out of IAD @ 8:35pm

April 27th-Arrive in KEF @ 6:20am. 45min drive to the capital of Reykjavik. Coffee @ Café Haiti @ Old Harbor. Reykjavik 871: The Settlement Exhibition. Breakfast @ Bergsson Matthus. Walk around Radhus and Tjornin. Museum of Photography.  Lunch @ Baejarins Beztu, Lobster Hut, or Jomfruin. Visit Hallgrimskirja. Naptime. Laugardalur then Glo for dinner. Staying with Harpa on Airbnb.

April 28th-Wedding shoot in the AM or PM. Coffee @ Babalu. National Museum, Phallogical Museum. Ostabudin for lunch (Austin only). Bakari Sandholt, Grai Kotturinn or Graenn Kostur (Kara). Visit Perlan around time of photo shoot. Nautholsvik Geothermal Beach. Pack food and eat on beach. Or Nautholl (pricey). Other options are the forest Fossvogskirkjugardur, Thingvellir Park, and Heidmork for wedding shoot. Staying with Harpa on Airbnb.

April 29th– Coffee at Reykjavik Roasters then off to Thingvellir Park, Gullfoss and Geysir. Two options to get to the Airbnb with Sigridur outside Selfoss. Packed lunch or lunch at Café Mika in Reykholt.

1. Down route 35 and up route 1—2 hours 45mins of driving.

2. Down route 35 to route 31—2 hours 25 mins of driving.

April 30th-Down route 1 stopping along the way at Skogar to see Skogafoss (a giant waterfall), Solheimajokull (glaciet), Dryholaey (wildlife reserve), Reynisfjara black-sand beach), and possibly Myrdalssandur (vast black lava flats). Lunch in Vik. Continue on to Kirkjubaejarklaustur to spend the night. Dinner in Vik or at Thorsteinn’s Airbnb. Driving time approximately 2 hours. 

May 1st-Coffe around the area then sightseeing at Fjardrargljufur and Foss a Sidu & Dverghamrar. Off to Skaftafell National park. Skaftafell Sheidiloop Hike. Sleep at Hotel Skaftafell.  1 hour 30 mins of driving.

May 2nd-Breakfast buffet in hotel. Ice climbing in Skaftafell National Park. Off to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. To Hofn for some R&R. Lobster dinner at Humarhofnin or Pakkhus. Sundlaug Hafnar hot pot. 40 mins to Glacier lagoon. 1 hour more to Hofn to stay at Stefan’s Airbnb.

May 3rd-From Hofn we will travel to Seydisfjordur which will be a 3 hour 45 min drive along the coast. Possibilities include: Skiing, hiking and kayaking. We will be staying at Langahlid Cottages!

May 4th-The next two days will be spend at Blabjorg Guesthouse in Borgarfjordur Eystri. It is about 1 hour 30 min drive. These two days will be mostly spent relaxing and exploring.

May 5th-Still at Blabjorg Guesthouse we have a whole day to see sights such as Hafnarholmi (an island home to a large puffin colony), Alfaborg (A rock home to the elf queen), and soak at the Musteri spa. 

May 6th-After a couple restful days we have a bit of a drive to Myvatn around 3 hours. There is a possible 1 hour detour to dettifoss. On the way to Myvatn we can stop at Krafla an active volcanic region with steaming vents and craters. Other areas around include Namafjall (vaporous vents covering a pinky-orange ridge) and Hverir (lunar landscape). We will be staying in Reykjahlid on the northern end of Myvatn with Olafur. There are plenty of hikes around Myvatn which we will need to decide which to do or not. Finally a soak in Myvatn Nature baths to end the day. 

May 7th-There are two options to do over the next couple days…

Option 1-We can explore more of Myvatn  and Godafoss then go to Husavik (45min drive) to stay at Arbol Guesthouse. This would leave whale watching for the 8th and then a 3 hour drive to Blonduos.

Option 2-We go to Husavik early and do the whale watching the 7th. Then leave earlier the 8th making the 3 hour drive to Blonduos and exploring a little bit of Akureyri on the way. 

May 8th-Staying in Husavik at Arbol Guesthouse the night before we will be right in the city. We will do whale watching either this day or the day before. We will also want to visit the whale museum. It is then a 3 hour drive to Blonduos for the night. We will pass through Akureyri which is 1 hour 15 mins from Husavik. Things to possibly do in Akureyri include a 5-6 hour hike up Mt Sulur, Sundlaug Akureyrar pools, and lots of restaurants for lunch/dinner. We will be in Blonduos for the night at Einar’s Airbnb.

May 9th-An almost 3 hour drive will put us in Stykkisholmur a little town on the Snaesfellsnes peninsula. Attractions include the Sugandisey lighthouse and Breidafjordur fjord. Dinner in the town at possibly Plassid then a stay with Ella Birna from Airbnb. Her B&B Hofdagata is the oldest in Stykkisholmur. 

May 10th-After a delicious breakfast included in our rent from Ella we will explore the Snaesfellsnes peninsula for the next couple days. Starting along route 54 we will hit up Grundarfjordur a town set in a dramatic little bay. The mountain Kirkjufell is the main attration and may warrant a climb. We will continue or tour along the peninsula bypassing the tiny towns of Olafsvik and Rif to arrive in Hellissandur. From Hellissandur we will continue driving around the perimeter of the peninsula through Snaefellsjokull National Park and on to Hellnar. Options include: 45min tour down Cave Vatnshellir, Glacier tour up Snaefellsjokull.  We will spend the night at Arnarstapi Guesthouse. Total trip time is about 1 hour and 30 mins to circle the peninsula. 

May 11th-Breakfast included by the guesthouse will be the start of this day. Followed by beautiful picture taking on Djupalonssandur Beach and Dritvik. We can either do one of the options above (I vote for hiking Snaefellsjokull), or just chill out on the beaches. That night we will stay with Porunn at her farm through Airbnb. It is about a 30min drive from Arnarstapi. 

May 12th-We leave to go back to our puppies. It is almost 2 hours to Reykjavik and 2 hours and 30 mins to Keflavik. We can meander that way or go and lounge at the Blue lagoon before our flight. Fly out of KEF @ 4:50pm. Arrive in IAD @ 7:10pm