Hit the Road – The Iceland Ring Road



The top down road map of the Ring Road adventure is shown below:

Hit the Road – The Iceland Ring Road


Today's plan is to take it easy driving from Reykjavik to Hellnar in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. We will be staying at the Fosshotel Hellnar. We will make some unplanned stops anywhere along the way as we wish.



The drive on the Ring Road (Route 1) was relaxing and the scenery amazing. We had the weather to match (at least for now). We came to Iceland with an expectation to see plenty of incredible landscapes: waterfalls, colorful farms, varying mountains, glaciers, black sand beaches and hopefully Aurora Borealis
Hit the Road - First gas up the car.



As navigator and front seat passenger, My mobile phone served double duty, as GPS navigator and as camera. Apologize in advance for the blurry images. They were all taken from inside the moving car, with some exceptions.

Twenty minutes north of the Reykjavik, the scenery unfolded right in front of me, and on both sides. Wow, I had no words to describe what I saw. I will post a couple of photo collages from my phone for your reference.

Hit the Road – Majestic Mountains



Hit the Road – Tunnel ahead




During pre-trip research, I noted there are 2 lighthouses in a small fishing village named Akranes. After the six-kilometer tunnel beneath the fjord of Hvalfjörður, we followed GPS direction with a left turn onto Route 51. In less than 1 hour drive from Reykjavik, we parked on an unpaved parking lot near the 2 lighthouses. According to the local official web site, Akranes claims to be the largest municipality in the Western Region of Iceland, with a population 7,500. Akranesviti (built in 1947) is the only lighthouse in Iceland that is regularly open to tourists. The lighthouse has become so popular that a tourist information center is now based there. The lighthouse keeper welcomes guests and gives an overview of the history of the building. The smaller lighthouse, built in 1918, is one of the oldest concrete lighthouses in Iceland. It served the fishing town until it was deactivated in 1947, in favor of a larger structure.

Hit the Road - Akranes



Hit the Road - – Akranes Old Lighthouse



Not much else in Akranes other than the two lighthouses. This village is going through some "urban" improvement at the lighthouse location. The village intends to make it a year round event venue such as concerts etc. I would love to shoot Aurora Borealis here as it offers several interesting subjects as foreground. Next we moved on to Borgarnes to visit a small church (Borgarneskirkja). Borgarnes is a small town of 2,000, located north of Akranes on Route 1. Didn't expect too much from Borgarnes except to visit the church and do lunch here. As soon as we approached the second longest bridge in Iceland, Borgarnes was not far away.

Hit the Roaod – Approaching Borgarnes



Hit the Road – Village of Borgarnes



Hit the Road – Village of Borgarnes



Hot the Road – Borgarneskirkja



When it was time for lunch, we went to a rather convenient place on the main road. We found Grill 66 which was part of a service station by the name of Olis. Later on we realized that this is quite common all over the Ring Road. Many are called N1. Beef burger with bacon and roast beef sandwich were ordered, both came with fries. US issued credit card happily accepted. So far we had not used the ATM for local cash.

Hit the Road – Road Side Lunch at Borgarnes



Now that lunch was behind us, we had a rather long stretch ahead from Borgarnes to Hellnar. Hellnar is directly south of the Snaefelljokull National Park. We departed from Route 1 (Ring Road) and drove west onto Route 54. Good road and flat land dotted with many farms and ranches. Our perfect timing with the autumn colors made everything look particularly more beautiful. There was a hilly incline only at the last stretch near Hellnar. Beautiful drive all the way!

Hot the Road – From Borgarnes to Budir. Straight on Route 54 toward Olasfsvik.



Hit the Road – Borgarnes to Budir



Hit the Road – Borgarnes to Budir



Kept on heading west on Route 54, we came upon many private waterfalls next to ranches and farm houses. Sometimes we stopped the car at the gate and tried to shoot a photo or 2 with a long lens. Then all of a sudden, we came upon Bjarnarfoss (Cascading Falls) that had a nice paved parking lot. We enjoy the short hike up to the falls and captured a bunch of images

Hit the Road – Bjarnarfoss in Panorama



Hit the Road – Borgarnes to Budir



Hit the Road - Bjarnarfoss



After the Biarnarfoss, we detour south toward the Budir Black Church. Just to scout it out as a possible venue for shooting Aurora Borealis. This small lone church is quite famous among pro photographers and wannabes alike. Good thing that we did this. Knowing the lay of the land paid off when we returned here after an Aurora alert hit my phone 2 days later

Hot the Road – Budir Black Church



The church door was locked, as expected. So we continued on toward the hotel by returning back to Route 54 & westward. So far the weather had been good, cloudy but no rain! Here we were, finally Fosshotel Hellnar. The hotel is located in a very isolated area with only a dozen buildings scattered around, including the Hellnar Church. We liked the environment. The Snaefellsjokull National Park is located to the north, and is visible from the hotel.

Fosshotel Hellnar



Fosshotel Hellnar



Fosshotel Hellnar


While the sun was setting, we rushed over to Arnarspati for dinner at the Monsvagninn Fish & Chips. This little "food truck" was made famous by the internet. People from all over the world know about it (so I think), according to the owners (owned by a family whom we met & chatted briefly). They told us they get their fish from a fishing village 50 km away every morning. The food was good though simple and a bit expensive. Not complaining when I put it in Icelandic perspective. Here out in nowhere, we felt lucky we have a couple of choices for dinner! There was a "buffet" restaurant a stone throw away. Since we were there near closing time, we had an opportunity to converse a bit more with the family. They work from May 1 to September 31. I asked them, “the rest of the year are you in the south of France?”. They chuckled!

Hit the Road – Monsvagninn Fish & Chips Food Truck



Hit the Road – Arnarstapi, Mount Stapafell & Monument.



Hit the Road - Rock Arch at Arnarstapi



Hellar Church



Up next: Part 05 – More of Western Region of Iceland