An 8-day, action-packed Ring Road road trip of Iceland
There are endless possibilities awaiting when you first hit the ground in Iceland. Luckily, the island is set up extremely well for travelers, with one major highway circling the country. Commonly referred to as Ring Road (Þjóðvegur 1 or Hringvegurinn in Icelandic), this road circles 828 miles (1,332 kilometers), with major sightseeing attractions and activities along every mile.
We chose to travel the Ring Road for seven full days, saving one full day at the end of our trip to explore Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavík. If you plan to explore Iceland by car, summer is a great time to visit. We landed in Iceland on Sunday, July 10th and said our goodbyes early in the morning on Monday, July 18th. After picking up our lovely Subaru Forester from KuKu Campers, stocking up on groceries at Bónus and Krónan, and getting Google Maps all set up, we hit the road. Here’s everything we did on our action-packed Ring Road tour of Iceland:
Day 1 - Sunday
We hit the ground running, starting our counter-clockwise Ring Road tour with stops at Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi, two gorgeous waterfalls. You’ll see the word “foss” constantly in Iceland, which is no surprise, as it means “waterfall” and the island has over 10,000 of them!
Next, we stopped at Skógafoss - one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls. Here we got two views of the waterfall - one right under it and another from the top of a (very long and steep) set of mountainside stairs.
We ended day one with a walk along the black sand beach in Vík. Vík is a picturesque oceanside town and is where we decided to settle in for our first night. Each night we pulled out the mattress in the back of our car, rolled out our sleeping bags, and put on our eye masks (remember, the sun doesn’t ever fully set during Icelandic summers). I’m not sure why, but I got some of the best sleep ever throughout our entire trip!
Looking up at Gljúfrabúi - a gorgeous waterfall inside of a mossy cave
Day 2 - Monday
On Monday, we realized we had passed a couple sites we wanted to go back and see. We backtracked just slightly from Vík to hit Dyrhólaey Lighthouse and Reynisfjara, the famous black sand beach with gorgeous shoreline basalt columns. Unfortunately, we should have checked the Icelandic Met Office’s website, as the fog was heavy this morning, so views were obstructed at the lighthouse. However, this is Iceland! The weather is unpredictable and, no matter what, you will see countless breathtaking sights.
The second part of our day included some of my favorite spots of the whole trip - Fjaðrárgljúfur, a gorgeous canyon featuring some of the bluest, flowing water, Diamond Beach, and Glacier Lagoon. We saw plenty of seals this day and really thanked ourselves for packing layers - Diamond Beach does get its name from the ice along the sand - so be prepared to get cold!
We settled down for the night at the Myllulækur campground, which was included on our Camping Card - a flat-fee card that will grant you access to dozens of Iceland’s campsites.
View of Fjaðrárgljúfur from one of the lookouts along the canyon
Standing on the shore of Glacier Lagoon - watching the seals was so much fun!
Day 3 - Tuesday
We started Tuesday morning at Stokksnes, a beautiful area frequented by photographers surrounded by breathtaking mountains and black sand, with an old Viking village nestled into the mountainside.
Further down the road we stopped at Stuðlagil Canyon. This was probably the stop I was most disappointed by on the trip, simply because we did not plan out our visit well. There are countless trails visitors can use to access the canyon, however we directed ourselves to an overlook that did not offer access into the canyon. Plan your visit here according to what you want to see. I kicked myself for not using All Trails to find a better route!
After our longest day of driving yet, we were happy to pull into Möðrudalur Camping & Cottages - the cutest roadside campsite with a quaint cafe where we met fellow travelers while drinking beer next to the fire.
The old Viking village nestled into the mountainside at Stokksnes
Overlooking Stuðlagil Canyon, the famous basalt column canyon
Day 4 - Wednesday
With so many waterfalls to visit in Iceland, it’s hard to choose a favorite, but Dettifoss and Selfoss are at the top of my list. We chose to drive out to the east lot, which takes a bit longer, but offers a clearer view of the waterfalls and has much less foot traffic than the west side.
After our morning of hiking, we relaxed at the Mývatn Nature Baths. We enjoyed hot springs at this point in our trip, as it is far less busy to do so in the northern part of the country.
On our very long, very gorgeous drive to the Flókalundur Campsite, we stopped at Goðafoss, another favorite waterfall of mine.
Relaxing at the Mývatn Nature Baths which overlook a beautiful mountainous region - we were so happy to see the sun this day!
Day 5 - Thursday
If you are up for the journey, do NOT skip the West Fjords. You will be in the car for long periods of time, but the views will be well, well worth it.
On our one, very full day in the West Fjords we visited Látrabjarg, Rauðisandur, and the Dynjandi Waterfall. This was our favorite day of our entire trip. Pictures are worth a million words - you can clearly see why!
We decided to make a long day longer and trekked on to Varmaland Campsite to be closer to the sites we hoped to see on Friday. Remember, the sun never fully sets, so we never had to drive in the dark!
Bird watching on the cliffs of Látrabjarg (this is where I wanted binoculars the most!)
Walking on the seabed at Rauðisandur during low tide
Sitting under the beautiful Dynjandi Waterfall - we drank right from the waterfall after this photo was taken!
Day 6 - Friday
After a long day on Thursday, we decided to take Friday slow. We stopped at Hraunfossar Restaurant for one of my favorite meals of the whole trip - a buffet of home-cooked soup, bread, lamb, fish, and vegetables. Right outside of the restaurant, we explored the walking trails around Hraunfossar and Barnafoss.
As we started to make our way back toward Reykjavík, we stopped in Akranes to visit the Höfrungur AK 91 shipwreck, walk around at the Old Akranes Lighthouse, and set up camp for the night.
Day 7 - Saturday
Being Midwesterners, we are used to driving long distances, so we ended up making it back to Reykjavík one day earlier than planned, packing a lot of driving in on Thursday and Friday. With our extra day in the city, we visited the Árbær Open Air Museum where we learned about the history of Iceland through interactive exhibits.
We ended the day with shopping and exploring in downtown Reykjavík and then spent our last night in the Subaru at Sandgerði Campsite.
A beautiful, original Icelandic house at the Árbær Open Air Museum
Salted, preserved fish at the Árbær Open Air Museum - a staple of Icelandic diets
Day 8 - Sunday
We had to save one full day for excursions in Reykjavík, starting with an Elding whale watching tour. We got great views of the bay, watched minke whales and white-beaked dolphins dive around the boat, and enjoyed the commentary of the marine biologists on board.
Our very last excursion in Iceland was one of our favorites - The Reykjavík Food Walk. Not only did we get to try Icelandic classics like fish smash, rye bread, smoked hake, and fermented shark, we also had a great tour guide who gave us a comedic history lesson of downtown Reykjavík.
We spent our last night at the cozy A. Bernhard Bed and Breakfast and said goodbye to the adventure of a lifetime on an early morning Monday flight.
The rainbow painted street running through downtown Reykjavík
The appetizer course on our Reykjavík Food Walk featuring local lamb and fish
Want to know more about traveling in Iceland? Check out our blog posts on what to pack for a summer trip, important things to know about transportation on the island, and things I would love to do next time I visit.