Iceland: Explore Vik
Kita the Explorer reviews her personal travel experiences on this site that receives compensation from the companies whose products we review and/or promote. I am independently discussing these services and the opinions expressed here are my own.
Iceland was never really on my list of places to visit buuuuuttt when friends call you to say bookdatish, I couldn't say no! So of course I had only heard of the city Reykjavik and never any of the other towns such as Vik. Vik is a gorgeous town along the southern coast of the island off of Route 1 which is hard to miss. You know you are there when you see a distinguished church sitting on top of a hill north of Route 1. So be sure to stop at the rest stop on the south side of the road when you see it! But now, let me tell you about our Vik experience!
We took a Southern Iceland road trip along Route 1. We landed in Reykjavik and traveled to the most eastern part of the country (see my entire Iceland travel guide here: https://www.kitatheexplorer.com/single-post/2017/10/22/Winter-is-Coming-in-Iceland-Travel-Guide). As we trekked back to Reykjavik, we stopped one day in a town called Vik. Vik was quaint and cute with a typical gas station rest stop which had a huge souvenir shop. But obviously that wasn't the main attraction....
Black Sand Beach
Vik is right along the Southern Coast of Iceland which brings the gorgeous site of their black sand beaches. For me, I am used to seeing brown sand along the coast so it was majestic to see black sand along a beach! But...in September, or maybe never, would I go swimming in the water there. I'm sure it was cold that time of year and the currents could at times be strong. But you would not want to pass up the tranquility of this beach!
Reyniskirkja Church
This is the church I mentioned in the beginning which sits on top of a hill. We didn't attend the church (plus it didn't look open when we were touring) but it is a cute small church and a great place to shoot some photos of the entire town. But if you do decide to have a photoshoot from there do it earlier in the day as the sun could completely ruin the shoot.
Dyrhólaey Lighthouse
This about a 20 minute drive from Reyniskirkja Church (see map below):
I put this map here because it was so hard for us to find this lighthouse as we had to ask several different people. It is also a scary drive up (and down) a hill to get to this lighthouse. This road gets slightly narrow at certain parts so be careful and safely share the road. At one point an oncoming vehicle wasn't sharing the road and we ended up so close to the edge I was terrified we were going to fall off! But we didn't as I'm writing this today!
But when you get there, you will see the sites of Vik and this lighthouse.
As you return to your car to travel back towards Reykjavik, stop at the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano. This volcano erupted back in 2010 causing major air travel disruptions as it spewed plenty of ash into the air. But you can view this active volcano as you drive along Route 1.
Fun fact all of Icelandair's planes are named after one of the many volcanoes in Iceland.
Vik is a small town so obviously this isn't where you spend your entire Icelandic vacation. But it is worth spending a few hours exploring it and seeing it beautiful scenic views.
Thank you for reading and I hope you visit Vik! Comment below and let me know what you think!
~ Kita the Explorer