People will always comment on how Iceland feels like being on another planet. In our opinion, this isn't more true than in the north. You'll be amazed how quickly the scenery changes up here! You might be in lush green sheep pastures one second, and the otherworldly highlands the next. Some of the roads aren't the most comfortable to drive on, but all the stops we highlight are accessible by car without 4-wheel drive.
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Námafjall
This is a really cool geothermal area just east of Mývatn off of the main road 1. Boiling blue mud pots and sulfury steam vents? Yes please! Just watch your step or you'll melt your legs off and ruin everyone's day.
Dettifoss Waterfall
DEATH FALLS! DUN DUN DUUUUN!! You may recognize it from that scene in Prometheus, Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in all of Europe. The road out to the falls is grated dirt and therefore a bit miserable, but totally doable in a normal car. It takes a bit of time though, so if voluminous waterfalls aren't your thing, skip it! If they are your thing, stop by the other waterfalls in the same area for more waterfall goodness!
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Lake Mývatn Area
Awesome things about Mývatn: The lake is filled with craters made by giant balls of flaming lava crashing into it! It's a bird watcher's paradise! The Mývatn Nature Bath is the poor man's Blue Lagoon! Not-so-awesome things about Mývatn: Mývatn literally translates to "midge water"... aaaand unfortunately it lives up to its name. If you're there in the summer, expect trillions of tiny flies all up in your business. But they don't bite! So that's good, right? It's still a beautiful area worth exploring!
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Goðafoss
Goðafoss waterfall should really be called Ridiculously Photogenic waterfall because... well look at it. Sheesh! Located right off of the ring road, this is a stop everyone should make even if it's just to stretch your legs.
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Akureyri
Akureyri (population around 18,200) is the largest city outside of the capital area. This would be a fantastic place to treat yourself to a shower at the local pool if you're been camping (speaking form experience...). Or grab a hotdog and a have nice walk around town for a change of pace. If airplanes are of interest, there is a pretty impressive aviation museum you could chiggaty check out. Or you could get an ornament from the Christmas Garden!
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Hvítserkur
Located on the Vatnsnes peninsula, you might think this photogenic rock is named after something cool like a dinosaur or dragon. But, nope! Hvítserkur means "white shirt"... because of... all the white bird poop staining the rock. Yay! Nevertheless, it's a great stop for photographers. It's really out of the way, and the road last time we went was ridiculously bumpy, so feel free to skip it if you're short on time or dinosaur shaped bird poop rocks aren't your fancy. However, if you do go, there was an old lady in a yellow house (north of Hvítserkur) who sold the cheapest Lopapeysas (traditional icelandic sweaters) we've ever seen. She doesn't speak english, but it was easy enough to buy her beautiful handmade sweaters. And if you go all the way around the peninsual, you can stop at Geitafell for some life changing fish soup (and we don't even like fish soup)!
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