Camping

There are campsites everywhere in Iceland and maybe surprisingly, they've been packed.

There tends to be a carpark and some grass next to it. People with tents carry their stuff onto the grass and vans sleep in the car park almost touching each other. Which is fine until you get people who like to run their diesel heaters all night and it feels like the noise is right next to your head. Or when there's a knock at your door as you're about to get into bed asking you to move up a bit as the owner wants to squeeze another van in next to you.

Before I left work I was given the money to buy a camping card which would cover me for 28 days of camping on affiliated sites but when I looked into it, sites are going to gradually close through September so instead of buying the card I planned to use the money to stay on sites when I wanted them or until they close and the rest of the time I'd wild camp. I like to wildcamp for far more reasons than to save money.

As the ferry came along the fjord on the first day I spotted a van parked up in the middle of nowhere - perfect, that's where I could go for the first night. And I did, deserted and peaceful a successful first night of wild camping.

Then the weather changed, I had to drive up a huge mountain road to get out of the port and after a long afternoon out walking, I took the easy option and stayed on a site. I did this for the next 5 nights at various sites but it was the van with the heater running all night which broke me, I needed to wildcamp.

That night was the night when I laid in bed watching the northern lights and listening to whales, far better than any campsite and since then I've only spent one night on a site, the other nights have been spent tucked away in the mountains and two nights just back from a fjord.

Every town (often just a cluster of houses and a petrol station) has an outdoor heated swimming pool so having a shower is easy. I've carried enough water and refilled at a water tap on the side of a public toilet block but a waterfall would do for a refill if I need, and then it's just a matter of needing to empty my toilet once a week or so.

I'm sure I'll use some more sites but there is so much space in Iceland that I don't feel an urge to spend my nights feeling like a sardine surrounded by tourists.