Iceland Day 9 - SNÆFELLSNES to Reykjavik (July 3rd, 2017)

April 05, 2021

Iceland Day 9 - SNÆFELLSNES to Reykjavik (July 3rd, 2017)

We will be returning to Reykjavik today from Snaefellsnes. We felt sad because our ring road journey around Iceland was coming to and end. We had to make the most out of today so as usual, we started our day with the breakfast feast at our hotel. Our itinerary today will include stop at Kirkjufell, the scared "Church Mountain", looping around the Snaefellsnes peninsula, and eventually return our car back at Reykjavik. We'll be sleeping at Hotel Fron again for the next two nights.

Jam bar at Fosshotel Stykkisholmur

Enjoying the freshly baked bread

Let's load up the carbs

Flavored cheese spread - Smurostur

Enjoying the Fosshotel Stykkisholmur

Getting ready for the day

We're stopping by a local bakery after the breakfast buffet

Local cinnamon roll, a must have after the breakfast buffet

After the quick pit stop at the town bakery, the drive from Stykkisholmur to Kirkjufell is about an hour an half. Kirkjufell and Seljalandsfoss are some of the most photographed locations in Iceland. You can see photos of these locations at the airport. Kirkjufell is not far from the town of Grundarfjordur. The mountain sits on a peninsula to the left of Grundarfjordur. It is said that the mountain is unique because it looks viewed from different angles.

The mountain viewed from the swampy area by the fjord

MM's turn

Shot from the Canon 6D

A broader view

The short walk leading to the most photographed view point

Glacier, Waterfall, and a small house by the mountain

Rocks filled pattern to prevent slipping on the walk

Getting close to the waterfall

Kids by the bridge over the waterfall

At "The View"

Getting the view

The view taken from a slightly forward position, can't be more Iceland than this

Selfie at Kirkjufell

After taking in the view at Kirkjufell from different angles, we were driving further west on Snaefellsnes peninsula. Our next stop was Skardsvik, a quiet volcanic beach west of Kirkjufell just pass Olafsvik. After Skardsvik we would drive on the rough terrain to Skalasnagi to explore the light house and hopefully catch a glimpse of puffins. We would then drive south to Dritvik, another quiet volcanic beach and end up at Hellnar, the town where we would take our lunch rest.

Reached Skardsvik

Not your typical beach

Past volcanic activity is clearly visible

After navigating the dirt road, we reached the light house at Skalasnagi

The orange light house at Skalasnagi

The rocky alcove at Skalasnagi

Any sign of puffins?

Can this orange footed creature be a puffin? We like to think so

Still having fun

Walking in light rain at Dritvik

No sun bathing crowd

Finally reached Hellnar where we would take our lunch

The small cafe named Primus where we would take our rest stop

Hellnar

Cozy decor of the cafe

What's on the menu?

Coffee is much needed

We need to drink as much Tappelsin as we can

Bread and lamp stew will warm us up

Making the short hike to the alcove after lunch

Exploring another rocky alcove at Hellnar

We are in the cave

Portrait at the volcanic rock

GG's turn

By the alcove lagoon

Sister Sister

We like the path

A unique little house by the alcove hike

After visiting Hellnar, we started to make our way back to Reykjavik. There was still about two plus hours of driving left. We took our time to enjoy the country side scenery. After making a quick pit stop just outside the city to fill up the gas and clean up the car, we returned the car at the rental place and was shuttled back to our home away from home - Hotel Fron.

Car returned in good shape with the badge of driving the ring road and dirt to prove it

Back at Hotel Fron

Bottles washed

Master bed room

Two twin beds

Extra room for the luggage

Ready to go explore again or just to have dinner?

After getting settled in to our suite, we took the short walk to Osta Budin, a small restaurant located not far from Hallgrímskirkja. The food was great but we surely missed the feeling of having country side food. We missed the freshness of the food from places like Vogar farm and Hofsstadir.

After dinner, we got double dessert at a local ice cream store and at Cafe Loki (the Rye Bread Ice cream!). We took a few more photos at Hallgrímskirkja after getting our fix at Cafe Loki and reluctantly walked back to Hotel Fron to end the night.