Idyllic Iceland

One of my favorite facts about Iceland comes from its name. Iceland was discovered during the Viking Age. It is thought that the Vikings wanted to deter other people from coming to the lush island so they named it "Iceland" and Greenland "Greenland", when in reality Iceland is more "green" than Greenland.

Iceland does have ice, and you can even see glaciers, but in certain months there are beautiful green hikes you can take.

Things to know: For all my girlies out there who hate mosquitos and love women in power, Iceland had the first female President (Vigdís Finnbogadóttir from 1980 to 1996) who was elected to an office. Very importantly, there are no mosquitos.

Outside the infamous Blue Lagoon, there are many natural hot springs to relax in. During the summer months, they have a midnight sun so there are very few hours of darkness, which means more time to explore!

The population is small, about the size of the city of St. Louis, Missouri, but the people are so kind and it is very friendly to visit as tourists.

We decided the best way to visit Iceland was to go all-in, so the itinerary below will detail going completely around the Ring Road. It was about 23 hours of driving, but an adventure of a lifetime!

If you are interested in having some drinks at night during the journey, I recommend buying liquor at the airport store before you leave. The government owns the alcohol so it can be difficult to buy outside of restaurants and it is expensive.

This is only a week, if we had more time we would have loved to stay in a couple more spots along the road.

Here are the driving points we used:

Ring Road - Road Trip  

Ring Road Trip:

Bo aw SkybarJin Bo Law Skybar

Reykjavik (Day 1)

• We rented a car for this journey and landed very early.

• At the time, the Volcano was erupting so we wanted to hike and see it.

  • Before heading out, we stopped at a store in Grindavik for breakfast, snack, and lunch food to keep in the car during our road trip journey.

  • Head to Fagradalsfjall Volcano - 20 minute drive from airport

• Blue Lagoon - Make a reservation in advance  

  • https://www.bluelagoon.com/book/packages
    

• Hotel: Skugg Hotel (has free parking)

• Points of interest:

  • Laugavegur Street. This is one of the prettiest streets in Reykjavik and also their main street. You will find beautiful murals on the walls, street art, great restaurants, bars, and souvenir stores on Laugavegur Street. 

  • Hallgrímskirkja Church

  • Harbourfront

  • Sun Voyager

• Food options:

  • Old Iceland 

  • Skal

  • SushiSocial (below)

  • bæjarins beztu pylsur (“Europe’s best hotdog”)

  • Caruso (Italian)

  • Noodle station (Ramen)

  • The Drunken Rabbit 

Golden Circle (Day 2)

• Stop 1 - Thingvellir National Park (45 minute drive)

  • This park really caters to tourists. A lot of is paved and the hiking is pretty easy. As you walk, you will see old churches, ruins, and waterfalls. It is a great way to start your exposure to the beauty of Iceland. The fun fact about the hike is that as you walk, you will be on the mid-Atlantic rift, meaning you are walking on two continents simultaneously. Pretty cool. Iceland is the only place in the world you can do this.

• Stop 2 - Geysir (50 minute drive)

  • The is a rest area and tourist shop near the Geysir. A good spot to eat lunch on the road.

• Stop 3 - Gullfoss Waterfall (10 minute drive)

• Stop 4 - Kerid Crater (45 minute drive)

  • If you are up to date on controversial history and the world chess tournaments, you can see Bobby Fisher's grave here. 

• Food: Olverk microbrewery and pizza. Great spot after a long day of hiking.

• Stay: Hotel South Coast

South Iceland (Day 3)

• Seljalandsfoss Waterfall (1 hour drive)

• Gljúfrabúi Waterfall (2 minute drive)

• Skógafoss Waterfall (24 minute drive) 

• Kvernufoss - Hidden Waterfall (Skogar Museum) (4 minute drive)

  • You can find this near the Skogar Museum. Walk east and you can find a fence that is easy to hop over. If you keep going you will find the waterfall.

• Dyrhólaey Lighthouse Viewpoint (25 minute drive)

  • Puffin spot!

• Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach (18 minute drive)

• Stay: Vik Cottages

• Food option: Strondin pub. Good fish and burgers, don’t get the pasta

South East Iceland (Day 4) - Stay near Hofn

• Svartifoss (2 hours from Vik)

• Tour around Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

  • Highly recommend: Boat Tour Reservations

• Diamond Beach 

• Hofn (1 hour drive)

• Stay: Arnanes Country Hotel

• Food option: Pakkus restaurant - pricey but worth it. Langoustine is the lobster dish and locally caught. 

Seyðisfjörður, Iceland (Day 5)

• Stokksnes (15 minutes from hotel) 

• Fauskasandur Black Sand Beach (50 minutes) 

• Seyðisfjörður (2.5 hours)

  • Seyðisfjörður is a really cute town. It is very small, but has some great shops and restaurants.

• We stayed in an Airbnb in Seyðisfjörður:

  • https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7262888?source_impression_id=p3_1720559057_P3QNHi1nTQhBTlo2

• Gufufoss waterfall 
  

Husavik (Day 6)

• 3 hour drive to Dettifoss waterfall (most powerful in Europe) and Selfoss - 1.6 mile hike 

• Asbrygi canyon (adds 30 minutes to drive)

• Eyjan

• Botnstjörn Pond, Ásbyrgi is a 1.3 kilometer moderately trafficked loop trail

• Husavik: Where Eurostar is filmed, hey Will Ferrell!

  • Known as the Whale Capital of Iceland, Husavik is one of the best towns in Iceland to spot whales.

  • We loved eating dinner and relaxing in this town.

• Stay: Fosshotel Husavik

• Highly recommended: The Geothermal Sea Baths (.9 mile from the hotel). You can relax with a cocktail in warm springs while overlooking the Artic Circle.

Reykjavik (Day 7)

• 6 hour drive from Husavik

• Akureyri (1 hour) - Good place for gas and food

• Hraunfossar Waterfall

• Stay: Center Hotels Arnarhvoll

• Museums:

  • Iceland Maritime Museum

  • Icelandic Phallological Museum

  • National Museum of Iceland 

  • Arbaer open-air museum 

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Final thoughts: This road trip is so worth the time. I would love to add more days if you can swing the PTO. If hiking is part of your journey, make sure to bring your water-resistant hiking boots and outside wet layers. Layer, layer, layering is key for packing! If you want to add this onto another trip, Icelandair lets you add a free stopover in Iceland if you are flying to any other location for up to a week. You could couple this itinerary with another destination with the flight being a free add-on, not bad!

Safe travels!