I Spent A 48 Hour Stopover In The Safest Country On Earth & The Adventure Completely Blew Me Away

On our strategy to Paris to go to a fellow Journey Off Path-er ( you Vini!), we pulled the final word two-for-one journey trick: a free Iceland stopover on a transatlantic flight.

Each PLAY and Icelandair allow you to pause your journey in Iceland with no further airfare, which is how a fast layover grew to become a full-blown micro-adventure.

It additionally helps that Iceland ranks #1 on the World Peace Index but once more—stress ranges are low, and the surroundings is off the charts.

It is the form of place that makes you wish to hop in a campervan and hit the street stress-free… and that is precisely what we did!

Our 48-Hour Recreation Plan (Really feel Free to Steal This)

Day 1: Land Early → Blue Lagoon → Seljalandsfoss Waterfall → Vík

We landed at Keflavík (KEF) round 6 a.m., grabbed the free airport shuttle to Happy Campers, and picked up our van.

The crew there’s dialed: quick orientation, a intelligent “leave-behind” shelf of traveler extras, and an limitless Wi-Fi hotspot within the van.

That connectivity made maps, messaging, and slightly work on the go easy.

Proper from the beginning, once we drove away in our van, I knew we had made the precise name, skipping a resort and choosing this expertise as an alternative.

After grabbing our van we drove about 20 minutes to the Blue Lagoon—the proper jet-lag reset earlier than hitting the street. Soak, bathe, change within the van, brew a espresso, and roll out. (The lagoon sits conveniently near the airport; prebook a timed entry.)

@traveloffpath

The last word jet-lag remedy, powered by Glad Campers Iceland and the Blue Lagoon✨ There is not any higher feeling than beginning a street journey this refreshed and able to discover. Our van is already our favourite journey companion!

♬ original sound – Travel Off Path

In case you’re trying on the costs and questioning whether it is price it… we did the identical factor, belief me.

My sincere take? It is a type of vacationer objects you need to verify off your listing not less than as soon as, however I might most likely go for one of many many different lagoons the following time we go to.

You’ll be able to, nevertheless, get some actually superb images.

Subsequent up after the proper spa morning was the Ring Highway to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall.

That is the South Coast basic with a path that allows you to stroll behind the 60-meter curtain—magical and really splashy, so deliver a rain layer (you need to just about all the time have one with you in Iceland, actually).

We parked, hiked, and made a van-side lunch with the falls roaring within the background. It felt like we had been dwelling in a film, and I’m dreaming of going again asap.

We wrapped the day in Vík with dinner at Ströndin Pub Vík (consolation meals + native beers) and a simple late check-in at Vík Tenting—standard with different vans doing the South Coast dash.

Amenities embrace showers, Wi-Fi, a shared kitchen space, and laundry.

Day 2: Vikurfjara → A Rainbow For The Ages → Reykjadalur Sizzling Spring River → Þingvellir

Once we wakened the following morning, I jokingly began taking a video bragging about how attractive Iceland was as I opened the curtain on one among our van home windows.

It had been pouring rain all morning, so I figured it could be a humorous video to ship to our Journey Off Path group.

Nevertheless, whereas it was wet, it was GORGEOUS. Critically, each time I turned my head whereas we had been in Iceland, one thing unbelievable can be staring again at me, rain or shine.

@traveloffpath Don’t simply fly over Iceland, cease and discover it for FREE! 🇮🇸✨ Right here’s the journey hack it is advisable know: airways like Iceland Air and PLAY Airways and allow you to guide a stopover in Iceland for as much as 7-10 days with NO further airfare. We packed a whole journey into simply 48 hours, and the MVP of our journey was our van from Glad Campers. It was our transport, resort, and kitchen multi functional, giving us the liberty to see the perfect of the South Coast with out lacking a beat. In 48 hours, we: 💧 Soaked within the Blue Lagoon 🚶 Walked behind Seljalandsfoss waterfall 🌊 Watched the dawn on Reynisfjara’s black sand seaside ♨️ Hiked to a scorching spring river 🌍 Walked between two continents at Þingvellir Renting a van from Glad Campers turned a fast layover into one among our most epic micro-adventures ever. The in-van Wi-Fi and 24/7 drop-off made the whole lot utterly stress-free. SAVE this publish to plan your individual Iceland stopover! You gained’t remorse it. #IcelandTravel #FreeStopover #TravelTips #HappyCampersIceland #IcelandAdventure ♬ original sound – Travel Off Path

We had slept in additional than we meant to, so we wrapped up on the campsite and took a fast drive over to a beautiful seaside, Vikurfjara.

Dawn at Vikurfjara Black Sand Beach delivered these moody sea-stack views—and a security reminder: sneaker waves right here aren’t any joke.

Maintain a large buffer from the surf and heed closures.

We spent a while taking within the views, snapping photos, and listening to the waves crash earlier than heading again to the van to make breakfast. The perks of a house on wheels imply home-cooked meals anyplace!

After breakfast, it was time to hit the street in direction of a hike we could not anticipate, however we had a beautiful shock alongside the best way!

On our drive towards Hveragerði, Iceland flexed its climate magic: the brightest, fullest rainbow we’ve ever seen arced throughout the fields, so vivid that visitors actually pulled over to stare.

(With sunbursts and showers tag-teaming all day, rainbow sightings are frequent—maintain your digital camera useful.)

Then we hiked about an hour as much as Reykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River. We took our time and snapped images alongside the best way. There’s a nice photograph op about midway there of a fairly waterfall.

Be sure you deliver water and perhaps a snack if you will make a day of it.

There’s a small paid parking lot on the base, and easy wood privateness screens by the river—no enclosed altering rooms—so put on your swimsuit underneath layers when you do not wish to change in entrance of individuals (when you do not care, no person else does both).

We slid into hot-tub-warm water mid-river and stayed ~45 minutes, thawed to the core. It was a brilliant enjoyable expertise and effectively well worth the hike. The hike again down was simply as fairly because the hike up, and our subsequent cease was a Nationwide Park proper close to the place the journey all started.

A day at Þingvellir National Park capped it off—strolling the rift the place the North American and Eurasian plates pull aside is a geology-nerd dream and ridiculously photogenic.

Begin at Hakið or stroll Almannagjá gorge for the basic “between continents” shot (the one proper under).

This was sadly our final journey in Iceland earlier than heading off to Paris within the morning, however we made certain to get pleasure from our final evening (even when we solely slept 4 hours 😂).

We overnighted subsequent to the Glad Campers base at their Glad Campsite Keflavik so we might roll 30 ft to drop off the van.

Their shuttle runs during business hours, so for a 6 a.m. flight we pre-booked a taxi; the 24/7 drop-off for the van made the return painless.

Why A Camper Van Makes 48 Hours Really feel Larger

• Final flexibility: Iceland’s climate flips quick; with a van we might change, snack, nap, or pivot plans immediately—like pulling over with everybody else to gape at that once-in-a-lifetime rainbow on Route 1.
• All killer, no filler: Espresso after the Blue Lagoon, lunch at Seljalandsfoss, film evening throughout Vík rain, breakfast with sea stacks—zero time wasted.
• All the time linked: The in-van Wi-Fi hotspot stored maps, bookings, and work easy the entire method.

Fast Logistics You’ll Need

• Stopover 101: PLAY’s “Stayover” allows you to pause in Iceland as much as 10 days at no further airfare; Icelandair’s Stopover presents as much as 7 days at no further airfare (flex fares can enable longer). Lodging not included.
• Blue Lagoon distance: Roughly 20 minutes from KEF and 50 minutes from Reykjavík; it’s simple to go to straight after touchdown.
• Seljalandsfoss: Well-known “walk-behind” waterfall proper off Route 1; anticipate spray and slippery paths in poor climate.
• Vikurfjara security: Maintain a large margin from the waterline as a result of sneaker waves.
• Vík Camping: 1 km from city heart with showers, Wi-Fi, eating space, and laundry; standard with camper vans in season.
• Happy Campers shuttle & hours: Free shuttle within the Keflavík space throughout enterprise hours; for very early flights, taxi. Drop-off is 24/7.

How To Ebook The Free Stopover (2 Minutes)

1. Search your transatlantic route on PLAY or Icelandair. (PLAY is ending flights from the U.S. starting October twenty fourth, 2025).
2. Select Stayover/Stopover and decide your Iceland dates (PLAY as much as 10 days; Icelandair as much as 7 days for many fares).
3. Full the reserving—there’s no further airfare only for splitting the journey.

Ultimate Take

In 48 hours we soaked on the Blue Lagoon, lunched at Seljalandsfoss, tucked into consolation meals at Ströndin Pub Vík, camped in Vík, made breakfast on a black-sand seaside, chased the wildest rainbow we’ve ever seen, floated in a mountainside hot-spring river, and walked between continents.

It was only a style, and we’re already plotting two weeks in a Happy Camper to go deeper.

Iceland isn’t simply stunning—it’s constructed for journey, even on a layover.