Day 3 - Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland - September 2, 2025

We hit the road from Downtown Reykjavik to the Snæfelsnes Peninsula, which is just north of the capital. The next 2 weeks we are roadtripping the entire Golden Circle, a 1400 kilometer road that goes the entire circular coast of Iceland. We had about 4 hours to drive on day one, but only 2 hours until the first stop, the Snaefellsnes Visitor Center. We grabbed a map, used the restroom, and got advice about the area from a local!

Beaches and Wildlife in Western Iceland

Our next stop was just a little further down the road called Ytri Tunga, a beach where seals like to hang out! They have both Harbour and Grey Seals in Iceland, though the Harbour ones are much more common. It was a flat easy gravel path down to the rocks, but if you want to get closer it was tricky maneuvering around to the water. We got lucky enough to see a few seals, especially one sunbathing on a rock! He was a Grey Seal which Taylor decided to name Barry! We stayed the recommended 100 feet away to not disturb but there were a few people that got way too close for comfort.

Waterfalls in Western Iceland

We got back in the car and were off to our first waterfall, Bjarnarfoss! The weather was perfect for a small hike up to the top. This was a lesser known stop suggested by a local and it was perfect to say the least. So perfect that I decided to pop the long awaited question! A French hiker behind us was able to catch the moment on camera and spoiler alert SHE SAID YES! Taylor will have her own blog about the events that unfolded. We sat at the top and FaceTimed friends and family to celebrate, once the wind started to pick up it got very cold and we decided to head back down.

We obviously took WAY longer at Bjarnarfoss than originally anticipated so we had some time we needed to pick up! Our next stop was the gorgeous Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge. It was quite the walk uphill to get to but boy was it worth it. A literal crack between two mountains with water running in between. We carefully walked through the water into the gorge and saw the mossy walls with seagulls flying above us ! Luckily didn’t get pooped on.

We were starting to get hungry and it was perfect timing as we were coming up to the tiny town Arnarstapi. We grabbed a bite to eat at this little local restaurant called Stapinn Cafe, I got a chicken sandwich and Taylor opted for the vegetable pasta! Both of our meals were very meh but it did the trick! Of course as a sweet treat we got a little ice cream chocolate/coconut brownie.

Snæfellsjökull National Park

Our last stop of the day before our hotel was Snæfellsjökull National Park. We saw Lóndrangar from the car and decided to continue down the road to Djúpalónssandur Beach, a black sand and pebble beach. There was a shipwreck on this beach in 1948 and the rusted remains of the ship are still there! The valley you walk through to get to the beach felt like something straight out of middle earth. The pebbles that make up the beach are polished smooth by the waves that splash against the shore.

Hotel in Western Iceland

We rode down the coast as the sun was setting, to the a small town called Grundarfjörður. We were staying the night at Grundarfjörður Bed & Brekafast. It was a few rooms over from a Cafe that served breakfast in the morning! We pulled in right before it got dark out and checked in on our phones. The room was clean and no sulphur water showers this time, the TV even had Netflix! Taylor is starting to get frustrated with the separate beds, these were harder to push together.

Another long day on the road and seeing our first movie filming location tomorrow!

Ben :)