Apparently, we are maxxing everything these days. There’s sleep-maxxing, looks-maxxing, money-maxxing… so naturally, I’ve decided we need to talk about Iceland-maxxing. And yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but stick with me because there’s actually a useful idea behind this.
What Does Iceland-Maxxing Actually Mean?
If you’re traveling to Iceland, you’re probably spending a significant amount of money to get here. You might be using a week or two of precious vacation time. Maybe this is a trip you’ve been dreaming about for years. So how do you get the most value out of the time, money, and energy you’re spending to be here?
When I say Iceland-maxxing, I absolutely do not mean cramming as many attractions as humanly possible into your itinerary. In fact, I think that’s one of the fastest ways to make your trip worse.
After living in Iceland for almost ten years and helping people plan trips here for years, I think a great Iceland itinerary comes down to something much simpler: everything on your itinerary should earn its place.
How to Create Your Own Itinerary for Iceland
This is actually a big part of why I created my Iceland Itinerary Blueprint. I kept seeing people with dozens of amazing places saved for Iceland, but they didn’t necessarily know how to turn all of those places into a trip that made sense geographically or fit the amount of time they actually had.
The Blueprint walks you through the process I use to think about your priorities, driving time, where things are located, and how to put everything together into an itinerary that works for your trip.
I’ll tell you a little more about it later on in this blog.
1. What Is This Stop Actually Costing You?
Here’s something I don’t think enough people consider when planning Iceland: even a free attraction has a cost.
Let’s say you’ve found an incredible waterfall. There’s no entrance fee, so technically it’s free. Except… is it?
Maybe it’s 45 minutes away from the route you were already planning to drive. That’s 45 minutes to get there and potentially another 45 minutes to get back to where you would have been. Then you spend 30 or 45 minutes at the waterfall. Suddenly, your “free” waterfall has cost you more than two hours of your day.
And that’s before we’ve even talked about fuel or your energy.
This is why I don’t just ask, “Is this place worth visiting?” There are hundreds of places in Iceland that are worth visiting. The better question is, “Is this place worth what it costs this particular day?”
That’s a completely different question.
If you’re already driving right past it, fantastic. If visiting it requires a huge detour from three other things you care about more, maybe it doesn’t belong on that particular day.
This is also where backtracking comes into play. Sometimes I’ll look at someone’s itinerary and they’re driving east, then west, then east again because they’ve planned individual attractions instead of planning a route.
You’re paying for that mistake with your time.
And in life, time is one of the most valuable things you have.
2. What Is Your Anchor during your Day?
The second thing I want you to do is stop treating everything on your itinerary as equally important, because it isn’t.
Ask yourself, “If I could only do one thing today, which thing would I be genuinely disappointed to miss?”
That’s your anchor.
Maybe you’ve wanted to hike on a glacier for ten years. Maybe your dream is soaking in the Blue Lagoon. Maybe you desperately want to see puffins. Maybe there’s a particular restaurant you’ve been dying to visit. Maybe you’re a photographer and there’s one location you specifically came to Iceland to photograph.
Whatever it is, put that thing on the itinerary first. Then build around it.
What I don’t want is for the thing you care about most to become something you’re rushing through because you scheduled six other attractions that day.
Your anchors will also be different from somebody else’s, and that’s important.
I can give you my perfect five-day Iceland itinerary. Someone else on YouTube can give you theirs. You can download 17 itineraries from Pinterest.
But none of us know what your anchor is.
That’s why I think starting with your priorities is so much more useful than starting with somebody else’s itinerary.
3. What Is This Experience Actually Adding to Your Trip?
Here’s where I’m potentially going to offend Iceland lovers: there is such a thing as too many waterfalls.
I KNOW.
Coming from someone who lives in Iceland, that feels almost illegal to say. But hear me out.
Let’s say your Tuesday looks like this: waterfall, waterfall, waterfall, lunch, waterfall, waterfall. By waterfall number five, you may have reached what I am officially calling waterfall diminishing returns. It’s not that the fifth waterfall isn’t spectacular. It’s that you have limited time.
Maybe instead of waterfall number five, you could visit a geothermal area. Maybe you could have an incredible Icelandic food experience, go horseback riding, visit a museum and learn something about Icelandic history, soak in a geothermal pool, or simply sit somewhere beautiful for an hour without worrying about getting to your next pin on Google Maps.
When I’m thinking about an itinerary, I want to experience diversity.
I don’t necessarily want to maximize the number of attractions. I want to maximize the number of different ways you experience Iceland.
That’s a subtle distinction, but I think it can make a huge difference in how a trip actually feels.
And to be clear, this doesn’t mean you should only visit one waterfall during your entire trip. Iceland has some incredible waterfalls that look completely different from one another. It’s about asking whether every stop is bringing something worthwhile to that particular day.
Leave Room for Flexibility in Your Plans
There’s one more thing that doesn’t fit neatly into those three questions: you have to leave some breathing room.
Because Iceland is going to Iceland.
The weather changes. Road conditions change. You see something from the road that looks incredible. You meet somebody who tells you about something you hadn’t considered. You find a café you love. You stop to photograph horses. Or you’re standing somewhere beautiful and realize, I don’t want to leave yet.
A completely optimized itinerary with zero flexibility isn’t actually optimized.
It’s fragile.
If one thing goes wrong, the entire day collapses.
So leave some space.
Sometimes the best part of an Iceland trip is the thing you didn’t know to put on the itinerary. And I think this is where the whole idea of Iceland-maxxing becomes a little ironic. Sometimes the best way to maximize your trip is actually to do less.
Give yourself time to stand at the waterfall. Sit by the ocean. Have lunch without staring at the clock. Pull over somewhere safely because the landscape is incredible.
Build an Iceland Itinerary That Works for You
If you’re reading to all of this and thinking, Okay, Jewells, this makes sense. But I have 30 places saved for Iceland and I have absolutely no idea how to turn them into an actual itinerary, that’s exactly why I created my Iceland Itinerary Blueprint.
I don’t give you my perfect Iceland itinerary because my perfect trip might not be your perfect trip.
Instead, I walk you through the process of figuring out your priorities, looking realistically at driving time, grouping places geographically, deciding where it makes sense to stay, and turning everything into an itinerary that actually works for your trip.
Because you don’t need me to hand you my perfect Iceland itinerary.
You need to know how to build yours.
You can find the Iceland Itinerary Blueprint here through the link in the episode description.
And there you have it. We have officially Iceland-maxxed.
I still can’t believe I’m saying that. 😂
The next time you’re deciding whether to add another pin to your itinerary, remember those three questions: What’s the real cost? What’s my anchor? And what is this actually adding to my trip?
If you can answer those, I think you’re already on your way to building a much better Iceland itinerary.
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