Iceland - Snaefellsnes Peninsula -


This western Iceland peninsula was easily one of my favorite days of our whole trip. We drove from Reykjavik (the capital) around 8am and then drove the perimeter of the peninsula. We ended the day at our AirBnB around 5pm with lots of stops along the way. There is SO much to see in this part of Iceland. Here is our jam packed day in the Snaefellsness Peninsula :)

The route we took for our second full day in Iceland!

Our first stop was Ytri Tunga Seal Beach. This was a beautiful beach but unfortunately we did not see any seals. They are more commonly here during the summer months.

Our second stop was Búðakirkja Black Church which is a stunning, small church that was originally built in 1703. When we arrived there was a wedding in progress, which was really cool to see.



Our third stop of the day was Arnarstapi which is a quaint town with several lookout points along the coastline. One of those viewpoints is Gatklettur, which is a naturally formed arch in the ocean.




Our fourth stop of the day was Lóndrangar Cliffs. This was absolutely beautiful and I loved listening to the waves crash against the cliffs.


Walking back to our car from the cliffs. All the snow was just so beautiful :) 

Our fifth stop was Djúpalónssandur, which is a beautiful black sand beach. This beach has several interesting things on it. First, there are remains of a shipwrecked fishing boat from 1948. Second, there are four "lifting stones" that were used to test fishermen of their strength.




Our sixth stop was Saxholl Crater. There is a staircase that goes all the way to the top where you can find wonderful views and get to see inside the crater. In winter, the staircase is covered in snow and ice so we had to use our crampons to get to the top. If you ever go to Iceland in winter, I strongly encourage you to buy crampons because we needed ours many times throughout our trip. Crampons attach to the bottom of your boots and help with traction in snowy and icy conditions. 



Our seventh stop was one of my favorites. Skarðsvík Beach is a gorgeous golden sand beach. When I was researching for this trip, I thought this beach was just a normal beach with regular sand. Oh wow, was I wrong. The sand really looked like gold. I was mesmerized. I don't think the pictures do it much justice so you'll have to trust me on this one.





Our final stop of the day was Kirkjufellsfoss which is a waterfall with the famous mountain in the background. This mountain is said to be the most photographed mountain in Iceland. The photo at the top of this post is also of Kirkjufell. We didn't stay here too long because we could see this mountain from our AirBnB window :) 

Click here to see what the waterfall and mountain look like in the summer months




Our day in the Snaefellsnes peninsula came to end far too quickly. I truly loved this part of our trip. There weren't nearly as many tourists and there was just so much to see. We stayed at an amazing tiny home through AirBnB. I could have stayed here the whole trip! The forecast for that night was partly cloudy so the odds of seeing the northern lights weren't very good. I decided to set my alarm for midnight to wake up and look out the window. The sky was actually pretty clear and I could see some stars so I stayed awake for about an hour. I finally saw a tiny sliver of the northern lights. At first, it almost looked like just some wispy clouds but then the hint of green started showing. Fortunately, we got to see the lights a few nights later and they were much stronger :) I'll do another post that will include more of the northern lights :) 


The view from our cabin

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! I have a few more Iceland posts to do :) I love reading comments so let me know what you think!

XO
Liz


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