Iceland – Snæfellsnes Peninsula

Day 7: Our day on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula was one of the hardest to plan. There are so many things to see, and the peninsula looks deceptively small on a map of Iceland. The area itself is only 90 km long, but once you see how the roads around the peninsula are laid out, visiting all of the sights would take much longer than a day trip. So we had some tough decisions to make when planning our day. Fortunately the forecast looked good – just some cloudy weather in the morning that would burn off for a sunny afternoon. Kirkjufell mountain was at the top of our list for the day, so after loading up the car with all kinds of gear (including swimsuits and towels, just in case!), we headed out toward the north side of the peninsula. This worked out because we were able to see more amazing scenery on our drive. Another expansive lava field and another scenic lake lookout point, and countless more waterfalls. We literally stopped taking pictures of the gorgeous waterfalls because there were so many.

Kirkjufell / Kirkjufoss

The landscape once we reached the north coast of the peninsula was another gorgeous sight. The waves crashing against the cliffs and shore, while driving along a road that sometimes was just hugging along the cliffs, made for an exciting start to the day. Soon enough we could see the town right before Kirkjufell, Grundarfjordur, and then there was Kirkjufell, right across the water! There was a low layer of fog barely reaching the tip of the mountain, but it was unmistakable, nonetheless. We quickly pulled into the parking lot at the base of the mountain and hustled across the street toward Kirkjufoss. The fog seemed to be getting denser and we didn’t want to lose whatever visibility we already had. Our timing for this first stop was once again, pretty good. Several photographers were already set up with their tripods, but the dense crowds or large tour buses hadn’t arrived yet. Not bad considering it was already around 10am.

Scott veered off toward the river bank to get a better view of the waterfall while I herded the kids along to the waterfall. It was an easy walk and the kids got to burn off some energy. We just needed to keep them close in a few places were the path got steep or where there was a sharp drop off, and of course when crossing the bridge over the top of the waterfall.

The views of the waterfall with the mountain in the background were stunning, just like we had imagined. The kids probably had more fun just running around without being cooped up in the car but they obliged us in posing for a few pictures at least. Once again it was time to hit the road, this time crossing down the peninsula toward Arnarstapi on the south coast. And once again, the scenery did not disappoint.

Arnarstapi

By the time we reached Arnarstapi, it was already noon. We pulled into the parking lot at the Bardur Snæfellsnes statue and took the path down to the coast (of course, after posing for a few pictures with the statue). As usual, the kids were bursting with energy, running ahead down the path. When snapping some pictures of their excitement, and admiring the lighting, I realized why the timing of the day kept feeling “off”. Here we were at almost exactly noon, and the sun was just posed above the horizon, as it had been all day. We were so far north that the sun never got any higher than this! Obviously it had been this way the whole trip, this was just the first day we had such clear weather that I could notice.

The angle of the sun created a magical atmosphere over the coastline. At Arnarstapi, there was no beach; instead, waves crashed into basalt columns that formed steep cliffs. I could have stayed there mesmerized by the waves washing up the cliffs, watching the water rush into the caves, but we wanted to hike along the coastline, so we moved on down the path. Our original plan was to hike as far as we could toward the town Hellnar, so we took the path heading west along the coast. Because we were so close to the cliffs, we had the kids wear their safety bracelets, and we brought a backpack carrier just in case.

The scenery never got boring; every turn seemed to bring new landscapes or new rock formations. Definitely one of the most scenic hikes I’ve ever been on. The hike started out great, but maybe less than a half hour in, the path became more difficult for the kids, making our progress extremely slow. We had been hoping to reach the Stone Bridge, so Scott sat with the kids, feeding them a snack while I hiked on, hoping to see how much father we had to go. I went a good distance further (noting the difficulty, I saw how impossible this stretch would be for the kids) but could not see the bridge anywhere in sight, so I came back to Scott and the kids. We asked a couple hikers heading along the path toward Arnarstapi, and they informed us that the Stone Bridge was actually right outside Hellnar; so we weren’t even close. And they confirmed that they wouldn’t recommend the hike with two toddlers. Disappointing. If we had known, we probably would have planned our day a bit differently and started the hike from Hellnar, but we cut our losses and turned around for the car. The views were still just as stunning on the return trip, so it wasn’t really wasted time.

All of the energy that the kids had was apparently used up and the snack break didn’t seem to replenish them because Scott ended up carrying BOTH kids most of the hike back to the car. Gold Star Dad, right there. Since the kids were getting punchy, we didn’t do any more exploring in Arnarstapi, just loaded up for the next stop.

Buðirkirkja

On our way to Buðir, we noticed a crowd of people and decent size parking lot in front of what looked like a very large crack in the cliff side of a mountain.  A tiny bit of hasty research told us that it was the Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge. Since we didn’t know how kid-friendly it would be, we kept on moving, but looking back, I wish we had gone for it. The drive was also pretty eventful as we passed a group of sheep on the road. Such a funny sight, and they were even going with the flow of traffic!

Buðirkirkja, a black wooden church, was a small detour off the main road. Right at the coast, it is a gorgeous contrast to the landscape. We didn’t make the kids get out of the car for this stop, so it was a quick one for us. We were ready to get going toward my favorite stop of the day – a hot springs!

Landbrotalaug Hot Pot

One of the big pastimes in Iceland is relaxing in a hot springs. The country is full of natural hot springs, but so far on our trip, we hadn’t gotten the chance to enjoy any of them. We knew there was a popular hot pot between our house and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, so we made sure to add it to our plans, intentionally keeping it at the end of the day so we could go right back to the house in case we still needed to clean up.

Finding the Landbrotalaug Hot Pot

The hot pot is popular but off the beaten path and might be difficult to find. It is a completely natural hot springs and there is no infrastructure or regulation. Just a warm pool of water out in the open landscape. The road to the hot pot is off of Snæfellsnesvegur, the turn off is about 30 minutes down Snæfellsnesvegur from the Ring Road. The road off of Snæfellsnesvegur is just a bumpy dirt road with no real indication that there is an attraction down the road. You will eventually pass an abandoned building, and then shortly after that, a small parking lot for the hot pot.

The hot pot is a small walk from the parking lot, with no signs indicating which way to go. There was one pretty defined path out of the parking lot, so I walked ahead alone to scout out the springs before unbuckling and changing the kids into swim suits. Following the path, you will reach a small stream after a few minutes. There are stepping stones placed across the stream; it was a nice thought but they weren’t entirely effective at keeping our feet out of the water. Good thing we all had waterproof boots.

The hot pot is just a few feet wide, so quite small. It would be easy to miss except that there is a row of rocks marking the hot pot’s location. Some of our friends had visited Landbrotalaug a few weeks before us and told us to look out for these rocks to find the hot pot. They also mentioned another, larger springs right next to the hot pot, but we never found it. To be fair, we didn’t do too much exploring in the area though. When we saw the hot pot was unoccupied, we wanted to jump on the chance to get in.

Soaking in the Hot Pot

The hot pot is so small that there was just room enough for the four of us. I had read that it was a good romantic spot for a couple, and I can see that I would not have wanted to share the space with anyone else. It would have been soooo awkward with other tourists! Getting into the springs was a bit of a leap of faith. There are no steps in, so I tried dipping in one leg to feel the bottom. Then I tried lowering my body slowly to feel the bottom. I had no idea how deep it was, and neither of these attempts were helpful. I had to just go for it and jump in. The water was just below chest-deep, and the bottom was soft sand. Such a relief! Scott passed me both kids to hold while he made sure that our belongings were placed on nearby rocks to keep them clean-ish, and then he jumped in himself. A was pretty upset about the cold air in just her swim suit, so she took a few minutes to calm down and enjoy the water. J loved every second of it.

One of the things that I read about the hot pot was advice to try to give other visitors their own space when they are enjoying the springs. Being a potentially romantic location, you might want to be mindful. Apparently not everyone got that memo because as soon as we hopped in, a group of ~6 tourists arrived and walked straight over to us. They were very friendly, but it was awkward when a couple of them tested the water temperature with their hands and then asked us questions about our visit. Not that we minded too much – we enjoy meeting other tourists – it just felt kind of vulnerable to be in the water while others are standing over you making conversation. Thankfully they didn’t stay long and we got back to playing in the water.  Other than those tourists, we had the place to ourselves, which was an unexpected pleasantry.  We could hang out as long as we wanted without worrying about the next couple getting in.

Relaxing in the hot pot was another experience that felt so surreal. The angle of the shining afternoon sun created a dreamlike atmosphere, the kids were content, and the warm water was soothing our muscles. The landscape around us was beautiful and we made multiple comments about how we couldn’t believe we were getting to experience this. We kept our visit to under 30 minutes. Other cars had pulled into the parking lot, and we wanted to be courteous to anyone else waiting to get in. We actually did see some others walk toward the hot pot but turn around once they saw us, so I guess some people were respecting our privacy. I kinda think not everyone was interested in swimming, just curious about the hot pot and wanted to see it themselves. When we first arrived there was one person out there only taking pictures, and he left almost right after we parked.

Hot Springs with Kids

I mentioned before, we planned this as our last stop of the day. If things went sideways, we were already headed back to the house, so we wouldn’t be ruining a whole day of activities.

The main issue was figuring out logistics of swim wear vs cold weather while out in the elements. We ended up all changing in the car and then putting on an outer layer (including boots) to protect against the cold. All of our towels and important items (like car keys!) were secure in a wet-dry bag, and we tried to minimize anything else carried from the car. The less to keep track of, the better. My sunglasses are Exhibit A: I didn’t really need them but forgot they were on my head, set them on the ground next to the water, and they went CRUNCH under Scott’s boot when he was getting ready to leave (not his fault and I forgive him and still love him….and this sentence may have been added by Scott).

Arriving to the hot pot, we just stripped back down to our swim suits and got into the water as fast as we could. Getting out of the water was not as simple. First, Scott got out and dried himself off and got ready to go back to the car. Then I passed the kids to him so that he could wrap them up in towels and carry both of them straight back to the car. I got out last, dried off and changed, and then gathered up all of our belongings and met them back at the car. We ended up changing the kids in the hatchback of the car. This description sounds deceptively easy – there were some tears and frustration with getting settled in the car after the hot springs. However, it was still SO AWESOME. We enjoyed the visit so much and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Since we finished with our day relatively early, we decided to go out in Borgarnes for dinner. Being able to promise the kids pizza for dinner didn’t hurt either. After a quick clean up at the house, we drove into to town to eat at the Settlement Center Restaurant. Located in one of the oldest houses in Borgarnes, complete with a gift shop on the first floor, we enjoyed some delicious Icelandic dishes while the kids got their pizza. The meal was fantastic, once again with superb service that extended to young kids (community toys!). After dinner, we enjoyed the rest of the evening at the house. We started packing up for heading to Keflavik in the morning, and then the highlight of the night was getting to see the Northern Lights for an amazing third night in a row!