You may not think that Iceland would be a good long weekend jaunt, but with a 6 hour flight from Chicago, it is an easy weekend getaway. "Fancy," you may think to yourself, but with WOW or Iceland Air, you can make it round trip from Chicago for around $300 on many weekends. So, yeah, cheaper than many flights within the U.S.

Iceland was a wonderful road trip that proved to be both relaxing and enlightening. The landscape was wonderful and the mountains soothed my soul at a level I cannot describe. There were three of us in the car and we had a wonderful time driving around the Golden Circle. We stuck to the southern side of the island and the landscape was truly breathtaking.

The open road in the mountains of Southern Iceland

Getting the rental car was easy and it ended up being a fun little car, really. Iceland is a right-side-of-the-road country, which was nice, but as with most places, A manual transmission is cheaper. Keep that in mind. The automatic transmission will cost you more. They aren't that hard to drive, but make sure that you know how to before you rent the car. I know a lot of younger people don't learn on a stick anymore. Sorry, y'all, you're missing out.

We saw so many things on this trip and I can't even get all of them on this blog, but there are geysers and waterfalls and mountains galore! The trip was long and there was a lot of driving, but cool things around every corner.

In the first day, we saw so much just driving around. After the flight, we were so tired and couldn't check into our first cabin until 4PM. We ended up taking a nap, believe it or not, in the parking lot outside of a glacier.

Solheimajokull Glacier calving as it melts

Be warned that food in Iceland is very expensive. My recommendation, courtesy of my mother, is to visit grocery stores throughout the country and grab your snacks and food rather than trying to find restaurants everywhere you go. Shops are few and far between and you should know that when you see a sign that says no towns ahead, they mean it. Grocery stores are much more reasonably priced, but if you do go to a restaraunt, ask about the specials. I lucked out and heard the specials at Surf & Turf in Selfoss and got the Minute Steak. It was Icelandic horse and it was delicious!

Minute Steak in Iceland. It was horse and it was delicious.

More driving led to more adventure and beautiful vistas everywhere. I took so many panoramic shots of this country, I couldn't believe it. I have to share.

It is truly neverending.

Viking Settlement on the Western Coast of Iceland.

Ok, so the places that we stayed were really cool. I booked cabins the whole way. Three nights in various places with the idea of packing up and going each day and seeing the things along the way in between That meant that I wanted to place our cabins far enough apart to have plenty in between, but close enough together that the stuff in between wouldn't keep us from getting to the cabin altogether.

North Star Cottages, the first night's stay in Iceland in the mountains on the SOuthern Coast.

I have also made the error of not taking picture of the outside of the second two cabins, my apologies. I let you down. Know that it was not my intention, but we also stayed at the Laxarbakki Hotel and Minniborgir Cottages. Both of which were amazing. I'm afraid that all I can do is drone on and on about all of the amazing landscapes around the country. I will tell you though that the Tectonic Plates are worth a visit. There are two places above sea level where the seam in the Tectonic Plates are visible. I have now walked through one of those places. This was a super nerdy place to go and I'm not ashamed. It was well worth it for the bragging right.

The road goes on and on and the sights were wonderful. I do have some more gorgeous meal photos, just in case you're in to that sort of thing.

These amazing dishes were prepared by Linden Grill in Laugarvatn. Everything was delicious. Even if you don't like fish. Go there! It is well worth the steep price tag to make this stop your pricey dinner of the trip. We paid roughly $85 (USD) per person for a three course meal each. I know this is steep, but if you eat primarily out of the grocery store during your stay, it is worth the splurge to hit a local spot like this one.

SUM IT UP

The long and the short of it is:

Hit the grocery stores
Keep the tank fueled up throughout your trip
Pick up your wine at the airport grocery store prior to leaving. The only place to buy alcohol is at a proper liquor store.
Rent a standard transmission
Budget plenty of time between destinations
Drive everywhere!

I hope you enjoyed the stories and pictures. Check out the gallery on Pinterest.

Thanks, y'all!