Road Trip Around Iceland’s Ring Road
The Land of Fire & Ice
I finally made it out to the Nordic island of Iceland. I had heard many great things about this beautiful place and could not wait to see it for myself. My cousin and I spent 10 days driving the Ring Road and had the most wonderful time.
Day One: Land in Reykjavík → Drive to Vik
After landing, locating our Wi-Fi box rental and securing our rental car, we started driving counterclockwise around the famous Ring Road. I had reserved the Wi-Fi box through Trawire and picked it up at the convenience store in the arrivals area of the Reykjavik airport. I highly recommend renting one while in Iceland - it was only $80 and worked flawlessly for the duration of our trip. Our rental car was from IceRental4x4, which is located off the airport, but is easy to get to via shuttle.
I highly recommend getting an N1 gas station prepaid card well before you need it. We ended up going through around four 10,000 kroner cards throughout our road trip. Credit cards don’t work at their gas pumps because they only take credit cards with pins, which most US credit cards do not have. I had heard a local boy on the plane telling the flight attendant she needed to try the gas station hot dog, so we promptly got one as well. It was a great suggestion and I recommend everyone tries one with everything on it.
Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss, one of the most popular waterfalls in Iceland. It is an hour and 45 minutes from the airport and is a sight to behold. Walking behind the waterfall was a unique experience and although we got soaked, it was one of our favorite stops. A rain coat is essentially mandatory when visiting the falls because the wind direction can and will cause the falls to drench the visitors.
We then drove another 30 minutes to another waterfall, Skogafoss. There is a short hike to the top to get a different perspective of the falls and is worth checking out. Another 30 minutes of driving brought us to Dyrholaey, a small peninsula with epic views of the surrounding glaciers, coastline, and mountains. It featured a nice view of Reynisfjara, or black sand beach, which was our next stop. Reynisfjara is a beautiful stretch of coastline that is covered in black pebbles instead of sand. The main beach has some incredible basalt columns, but watch out for sneaker waves. There are signs everywhere that no one should turn their back on the sea.
Our final stop of the day was in Vik. We had an early dinner at the bar and restaurant, Smiðjan Brugghús, and went to bed ridiculously early to try to beat the jet lag. We stayed at the Barn Hostel, which was a lovely place but I discovered hostels are not my thing.
Day Two: Vik → Hofn
We woke up early and drove an hour to Fjadrargljufur Canyon, also known as “The Majestic Canyon.” There, we did a 2 mile round-trip hike along the top of moss-covered rocky cliffs overlooking the Fjaðrá river. Another hour of driving brought us to Vatnajokull National Park, where we did a glacier hike.
I booked the hike through Get Your Guide and it included all the equipment required to hike a glacier and a guide for all five hours. We were hiking in the area “beyond the wall” from Game of Thrones and it looked just like the scenes from the show. Be sure to wear hiking boots and warm, water-resistant layers.
After the hike we were exhausted, so we decided to skip Svinafellsjokull. It’s one of the most accessible, close-up glacier views in all of Iceland and the front view of “the wall” from Game of Thrones. About 30 minutes down the road, we stopped for lunch and then started a gorgeous hike in Mulagljufur Canyon. This is not as popular as many of the other locations along Iceland’s South Coast, so we didn’t see many other people. The hike out to the viewpoint at the top of the canyon is around 3 miles round-trip and one of our favorite parts of our trip. This place looks truly magical and the hike itself was a lot of fun.
Next was Fjallsarlon, a small glacier lagoon overlooking the Fjallsjokull glacier. The ice from the glacier breaks off and floats around, which makes for some good photo opportunities. Jökulsárlón was just down the road and is one of the most famous and beautiful places in Iceland. It’s essentially just a much larger version of Fjallsarlon, but the water is more clear and blue in appearance.
Another famous spot, Diamond Beach, was across the road. Ice is taken out of Jokulsarlon with the tide and then washes up on this stretch of coastline with the waves. It was such a unique thing to see - there aren’t many other places in the world where ice washes up on the beach.
Our final stop of the day was Hofn, a small fishing village in Southern Iceland. Our accommodation for the night was Guesthouse Hvammur, which is conveniently located next to a popular seafood place, Hafnarbudin. We got there right as the sun was setting and it was one of the prettiest sunsets I’ve seen. The food was amazing and I would recommend going while in Hofn.
Day Three: Hofn → Seydisfjordur
This was a big driving day. We started out driving past Vestrahorn, a spectacular mountain that is supposed to be gorgeous for sunrise. The rest of the drive was through the East Fjords. The plan was just to drive through and stop when we saw something interesting. The entire drive was stunning and we ended up stopping numerous times to take photos and enjoy the view. We tried to stop at Djúpavogskörin Natural Geothermal Pool, but it was closed for water testing.
Eventually, we made it to Hengifoss and Litlanesfoss waterfalls. There was a cute little food truck at the bottom of the hike and we got sheep's milk ice cream and some traditional Icelandic soups. Hengifoss is the third highest waterfall in all of Iceland and is famous for the red banding in the cliffs around it. The hike is steep and 3-miles round trip but there are stopping points along the way for those not wanting to do the entire hike.
Our final stop of the day was Seydisfjordur - our favorite town on this road trip. A popular attraction here is the rainbow road leading to the town’s church, a symbol of Iceland’s progressive nature. The town itself is surrounded by fjords and the sunset over the water was beautiful. We went to Nord Austur for sushi and it was absolutely the best meal we had in Iceland. The waiter told us they had seen the Northern Lights four days prior and that we should try to go find them that night.
We went back to Hotel Snaefell to sleep for a few hours and then woke up at midnight to try to find the aurora borealis. After driving out of the town for a bit, we started to give up and turned around to head back. Suddenly, I started to see green in the sky and there they were! Watching the Northern Lights dance in the sky was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. We were so lucky to have seen them in August!
Day Four: Seydisfjordur → Husavik
This was another big driving day for us. We got up early and drove about an hour and 20 minutes to Borgarfjörður Eystri, also known as Puffin Paradise. It’s a famous puffin viewing area in the East Fjords. We stood and watched the puffins in their natural habitat for a bit before continuing on our way.
Studlagil Canyon was an hour and 40 minute drive from Puffin Paradise. This place is famous for its Basalt columns that rise from a bright blue river. However, the road to get there was absolutely horrible, on top of there being construction at the time and no guardrails on the way up the mountain. This actually was a low point of the trip because of how hard it was to get there and by the time we did arrive, we didn’t even want to do the hike anymore. So we got a hot dog and walked down the stairs to view it from above.
After making our way back down the treacherous road, we went to Viti and Krafla. Krafla lake features the vibrant blue Viti crater with epic views of the surrounding area from the top. We then stopped at a smelly geysir on the way to Myvatn, a large volcanic lake in Northern Iceland.
We spent the night in the fishing town of Husavik in Arbol Guesthouse. The town has gorgeous mountain and coastal views and amazing fresh seafood. We had an early dinner at Fish and Chips and went to GeoSea geothermal pool for a sunset soak.
Day Five: Husavik → Akureyri
After getting breakfast at a nearby cafe, we went to meet our guides for whale watching! I did a bit of research on the best whale watching guide company and ended up choosing North Sailing. It was a three hour tour and they provided overalls for us to wear and keep warm out at sea. The guides were very knowledgeable and we saw dolphins, Northern Bottlenose whales and some porpoises. The Northern Bottlenose whales are “amazingly special whales,” according to our guide, and rare to see in this area. On the way back to the marina, they gave us all hot chocolate and cinnamon buns.
After saying farewell to the whales, we drove 40 minutes to Godafoss. This translates to “Waterfall of the Gods” and sits between Husavik and the city of Akureyri. We stayed in Akureyri that night, the second largest city in Iceland. Our Airbnb was this beautiful studio with a view overlooking the city. We got happy hour and some drinks in town before going through the snack and hot dog drive-thru and calling it a night.
Day Six: Akureyri → Grundarfjordur
After sleeping in a bit, we drove about four hours to Helgafell Holy Mountain. Icelanders consider Helgafell Hill as a Saving Mountain and a sacred place. It’s believed that if you climb to the top of the mountain without looking back and not saying a word, and make 3 wishes, then they will surely come true if you never tell them to anyone. The hike itself is only 15 minutes and the view of the surrounding landscape is magnificent.
We then drove Kirkjuffellsfoss, a pretty waterfall, and finished our day in the town of Grundarfjordur. This town is pretty small and doesn’t have a lot of food options, so we got pasta and wine from the local grocery store and drove to our cute little Airbnb on a horse farm. A collie puppy greeted us when we pulled up and we walked around the horse stables before making dinner and watching Gone Girl in our cabin.
Day Seven: Grundarfjordur → Reykjavik
Arnarstapi was our first stop of the day - a nice little stop along the southern part of the western peninsula. It had great views of the Snaefellsjokull glacier and the stunning coastline. We then made our way to the nearby town of Hellnar and then to Budakikja, or Budir. This is a famous black church with dramatic mountain views, making for a great photo spot.
Twenty minutes from Budir is the Ytri Tunga Seal Beach - known for being home to a seal colony. We walked out on the rocks and saw two different types of seals basking in the sun.
We ended our trip around Ring Road back where we started, in Reykjavik. We stayed in the very affordable Downtown Guesthouse Reykjavik and had lunch at the first ramen place in Iceland - Ramen Momo. It was so good we went back again a few days later. We then got happy hour at PUNK Bar and phenomenal espresso martinis at a bar the next block over, Kofinn, before ending our night at American Bar, which is exactly what it sounds like. And yes, we loved it.
Day Eight: Reykjavik
Finally, the famous Blue Lagoon! We booked the premium package, which included bathrobes, three face masks and a complimentary drink. It was completely worth the hype and I think everyone should go. The Blue Lagoon is made up of 70% ocean water, 30% freshwater and is enriched with silica, algae, and minerals. It’s said to heal, nourish, and rejuvenate the mind and body. However, be sure to put your hair up as the silica makes it extremely knotty.
After returning to Reykjavik, we walked around and shopped a bit. The Magic Ice Bar had piqued our interest, so we had made a reservation in advance. It was very cold but worth doing once just for the experience.
Day Nine: Golden Circle
We started out driving the Golden Circle by going to Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park. It’s Iceland’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to Silfra, where people can dive and snorkel between the tectonic plates of North America and Europe. We did a three hour tour with Adventures.com, which included the dry suit and snorkel equipment. Silfra is made of glacier runoff, so it’s extremely cold but an absolute must do when in Iceland.
Our next stop was The Great Geysir and Strokkur Geysir within the Haukadalur Valley. The Great Geyser is the earliest documented geyser in European literature and the Strokkur erupts every 6–10 minutes, shooting hot water into the sky.
Gullfoss Waterfall is just down the road and is one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls. Then we had an amazing lunch at Friðheimar. It’s an adorable tomato farm and restaurant and was one of my favorite experiences of the trip. The tomato soup and bloody mary was the best I have ever had. This unique experience is popular so be sure to make a reservation in advance.
After driving back to Reykjavik, we went to our reservation at the Sky Lagoon, just 15 minutes from downtown. This amazing oceanside geothermal lagoon had beautiful views of the city and was the perfect way to end our time in Iceland. We had ramen at Ramen Momo again and laughed ourselves to sleep over our snorkeling photos from earlier in the day.
Day Ten: Flights Home
The airport is 40 minutes from downtown, so we left with enough time to drop off the rental car, shuttle to the airport and drop off our Wi-Fi box. Then we parted ways and flew back to America.
And that was our phenomenal trip around the land of fire and ice! I cannot recommend this gorgeous country enough and I would love to go back one day. Please go visit this Nordic island and experience all it has to offer.
