Key takeaways
- A ski cabin in the hills, not an address in the capital.
- On paved road the whole way, in normal conditions.
- One turning, and then no more turnings until the cabin.
- The operator says so explicitly, which tells you how often it happens.
Where you are actually going
Nothing about this day begins in the capital. It begins at a mountain hut run by the Blafjoll ski area, up in the hills south-east of town, and mistaking that is the commonest error people make with this booking.
The hut goes by Breidabliksskali. Reaching it takes about half an hour of tarmac from town in ordinary conditions, and it is where gear is fitted, where the briefing happens, and where the soup is served at the end.
It is worth fixing this in your head early, because a person who has assumed a city-centre pickup and not selected the transport option has a problem that only becomes visible on the morning.
The route, as the operator gives it
The directions are unusually explicit on the booking page, and they are worth following rather than trusting a mapping app to interpret the destination correctly.
From Reykjavik, find road 1 and head east, towards the south coast. Stay on it for about fifteen minutes. Then turn right onto road 417, which is Blafjallavegur.
After that there are no further turnings. Road 417 runs to the meeting point and you stay on it until you arrive.
And then the instruction that matters most: do not turn onto the gravel track. The operator states this in plain language, and an instruction that specific on a booking page exists because a meaningful number of people have done it. A gravel track in the Icelandic highlands is not a shortcut and a hire-car insurance policy generally has opinions about it.
The pickup option
Pickup and drop-off at selected locations in Reykjavik is available, and it is an option you choose when booking rather than something that happens by default. If you want it, tick it.
Taking it changes the shape of the morning: collection happens earlier than the stated meeting time to allow for the drive, and you are returned to the city at the end. It removes the need for a car entirely, which for a great many visitors is the deciding factor.
Not taking it means driving yourself, which is straightforward on this route and gives you your own timing at both ends. If you already have a hire car for other reasons, self-driving is the simpler choice.
The road climbing towards the Blue Mountains
Parking and arriving
There is parking at the cabin. It is a ski area car park rather than anything organised for tourism, and in the operating season it is not busy, so this is not something to plan around.
Arrive ten minutes before the stated departure time. The operator asks for this and the reason is practical: helmets and harnesses are fitted as a group, and a late arrival holds up a schedule with a winch at the far end of it.
Leave anything you are not carrying across the lava in the car or at the cabin. Ahead of you is a three-quarter-hour march followed by an hour of standing about in cold air, and the right load for that is close to nothing.
Saving the location before you leave
Mobile coverage on the way up is adequate rather than dependable, and the last thing you want is to be relying on a live map somewhere on road 417 with a departure time approaching.
Save the meeting point offline before you set off, and take a note of the cabin name as well as the coordinates. A search for the operator by name will often drop a pin at an office in the city rather than at the hut, which is precisely the failure mode this whole page exists to prevent.
It is also worth glancing at the route on a map the night before, purely to fix the shape of it: one long road east, one right turn, then nothing. A journey you have seen once is much harder to get wrong at seven in the morning.
Driving in Iceland, briefly
The route to the cabin is entirely paved and entirely ordinary. This is not a highland track and no special vehicle is needed.
The general Icelandic rules still apply. Headlights are on at all times. Speed limits are lower than most visitors expect and are enforced. Off-road driving is illegal and taken very seriously, which is part of why the gravel-track instruction is phrased the way it is.
Weather can change quickly on the way up, particularly the last stretch as you gain height. The road is maintained through the operating season and is not the difficult part of the day; the ground beyond the cabin is.
Getting back
The day ends at the cabin with soup, and then either your own car or the return transfer to Reykjavik.
Either way, the finish time makes an evening plan a poor idea. Six hours plus driving at both ends is a full day, and the drive back down is at the end of it rather than at the start.
If you took the pickup, the drop-off is at selected points in the city rather than at your accommodation, which is the normal arrangement and worth checking against where you are staying before you rely on it.
Thirty minutes out of the city, on tarmac
Check datesBefore you book
Where exactly is the meeting point?
Is it in Reykjavik?
Can I drive myself?
What is the route?
What is the gravel track warning about?
Is there a pickup from Reykjavik?
Where do I park?
How early should I arrive?
The drive, turn by turn
Leave Reykjavik on road 1
Heading east, towards the south coast.
Stay on it about fifteen minutes
No turnings needed in this stretch.
Turn right onto road 417
Blafjallavegur. This is the only turn you have to make.
Do not take the gravel track
Stated explicitly by the operator. It is not a shortcut and your insurance will disagree with it.
Continue to the cabin
Breidabliksskali, the ski hut. No further turnings.
Arrive ten minutes early
Gear is fitted as a group and the schedule works backwards from a winch.
