The Ring Road, or Route 1, circles the country of Iceland. And with one week you can take the perfect Ring Road trip all the way around Iceland and see all of the best things that Iceland has to offer. Iceland will not disappoint! More than just the Land of Fire and Ice, you’ll see glaciers, waterfalls, volcanoes, geothermal springs and MORE! We had an absolute blast traveling around Iceland and we know that this Ring Road trip itinerary will help you to have an amazing Icelandic vacation as well.
Top Things To Do
Getting There and Around
This Ring Road trip starts and ends at the international airport. Here, you’ll be able to rent a car. All of this Ring Road trip is suitable for a 2WD vehicle. This will save you money on the rental but you may want a 4WD vehicle as some of these roads are unpaved.
The Ring Road trip is a loop. As such you can drive it in either direction. We chose counter clockwise because we like nature and wanted to start there rather than in the city. However, you can also do this in reverse. After having done it counterclockwise, there isn’t a strong reason for doing it that way or doing it clockwise. Flip a coin and enjoy.
Ring Road Trip Itinerary
Day 1 – Southern Iceland
Morning – Seljalandsfoss and A Swimming Pool
Start your first morning on the Ring Road. Iceland’s highway 1 will take you all the way around the island and this is the road that a majority of this Ring Road trip itinerary will follow. From the international airport, make your way to Selfoss and pick up Route 1.
The first stop along the way is Seljalandsfoss. This is one of the most famous waterfalls in Iceland. You can walk behind it!
Continue driving on Route 1 until you find the turnoff for Seljavallalaug swimming pool (242). There are signs here leading you to a parking area. You’ll have to hike about 15 minutes to get to the pool. This outdoor swimming pool is old and covered in algae. However, it’s a really cool experience to walk there amongst the beautiful hills and then swim in the open air on the side of a mountain. Pack your picnic lunch for this short hike and eat along the river here.
Afternoon – Skógafoss and Black Sand Beach
Next, visit the Skógafoss waterfall area. Park in the car park and see Skógafoss from ground level. Then climb the steps to see the waterfall from the top. Continue hiking up river as you continue to see waterfall after waterfall. Skógafoss is the most impressive of these waterfalls in terms of size, but there are all beautiful. You’ll spend a majority of your afternoon here.
In the late afternoon, take route 221 to the base of the Sólheimajökull Glacier. You cannot walk up on this glacier without a guide but there is a car park area and a short path that will take you up to the base.
Next, visit Dyrhólaey on your way to Vik. Drive on route 218 to reach the coast. From this stop, you can view the black sand beach from afar and hike to Dyrhólaey, a sea arch.
By this time, you may be hungry, we were! We headed into Vik and ate at Ströndin. The food here was great!
Next, back track a bit to get to the Black Sand Beach. After driving down route 215, you get to the beautiful Reynisfjara Beach. You’ll find black sand and towering columnar basalt here. It is a beautiful spot for photos. However, the waves are dangerous and this is not a place for swimming.
Stay overnight in Vik. We stayed in the cute Vík Cottages in town, right off of Route 1.
Day 2 – Glaciers
The second day of this Ring Road trip is the longest day. Driving isn’t excessive but we crammed a bunch into this day because while there is a lot to do along this stretch of the Ring Road, there aren’t a lot of towns. So on this day, we wanted to see everything but still end up in a town where accommodations weren’t limited.
Morning – Fja∂rárglijúfur
Continue driving along Route 1. Stop at the scenic overlooks for the lava fields on the south side of the road. This is just a short stop for stretching your legs.
Turn off onto 206 and drive to Fjaðrárgljúfur. The road to this canyon is a rough dirt road but we were able to drive it with a car. When you get to Fjaðrárgljúfur, hike along the canyon until you get to Mögáfoss at the end of the canyon. There are several viewpoints along the hike. Hike back to the car and continue on Route 1.
Next, we did a quick stop at Foss a Sidu. This only took a few minutes and it was super cute tucked behind a little church.
Afternoon – Vatnajökull National Park
The big stop of the day is at Vatnajökull National Park. Here you’ll park at Skaftafell and spend a few hours enjoying the hiking at the base of the Skaftafell glacier tongue. You can do two things here: hike on a glacier and hike to Svartifoss. You’ll also be here during lunch time, so make sure to pack a picnic lunch.
If you can hike to Svartifoss before doing your glacier tour, that will work out better for decreasing your driving time for the day. However, glacier tours are only offered at certain times of the day so you’ll have to work the hike to Svartifoss around that.
After hiking on the glacier (which was one of my favorite things to do in Iceland), continue on route 1 to Fjallsárlón Lagoon. This is the first Iceberg lagoon that you will come to. Iceberg lagoons are beautiful. Spend some time enjoying this one with a short walk along the beach enjoying the icebergs and the sounds of ice cracking.
Next visit Jökulsárlón Lagoon, just a few more minutes down the road. This lagoon is larger in size and tends to be bluer in coloring. After exploring the lagoon, walk along the river toward the ocean until you arrive on Diamond Beach. Here enjoy watching the chunks of icebergs washing up on shore like diamonds from the sea.
Drive to your accommodations for the evening in Hofn.
Day 3 – Waterfalls and Geothermal Activity
Continuing on Route 1 as you wind your way through the East Fjords.
Eat lunch in Egilssta∂ir.
Afternoon – Dettifoss
Continue on the Ring Road. Take the turnoff for Dettifoss. This will either be the east side of the falls (Route 864) or the west side of the falls (route 862).
Whichever side you choose, make sure to see Dettifoss, Selfoss and Hafragilfoss, three of the most impressive waterfalls in Iceland.
Next, visit the Mývatn Nature Baths. These thermal pools are similar to the Blue Lagoon, however the views from the pool are really amazing! They overlook Lake Mývatn.
Lastly, drive to Lake Mývatn and find accommodations near the lake. You’ll be staying here for two nights.
For dinner in Mývatn, we highly recommend the Vogafjós Farm Resort. This was Scott’s favorite meal in all of Iceland. They serve farm to table ingredients prepared in traditional Icelandic ways.
Day 4 – Lake Mývatn
Morning – Mývatn
On day 4 of this Ring Road trip itinerary, you’ll be exploring the Lake Mývatn area. This is a popular tourist destination in northern Iceland.
The first stop of the day is the Krafla Lava Fields. Here, you can walk around a volcanic crater with beautiful blue water bubbling up in it.
Next, stop at the Hverir geothermal area. Here, you’ll find boiling mud pots, steaming hotsprings and beautiful geothermal pools. Be warned, it stinks here. The smell of sulphur is very strong, especially on a calm day. However, the trails here are nice and easy. Consider hiking up the trails to the top of Mt. Namafjall for some amazing views of the Mývatn area.
Next, take Route 860 to get to the Grjótagjá. This cave enclosed hot spring used to be a place to bathe. However, due to littering and vandalism it is now just a viewing area of a cave enclosed hot spring.
Next, hike to the top of Hverfjall to see the impressive volcanic crater. You can also walk around the outer edge of the crater. The path to get to the top is very steep but well groomed. The black flies in the Lake Mývatn area were horrible. Obviously, we rocked some pretty stylish head nets when hiking here. We were met with either looks of “those people are crazy” or “those people are brilliant and where do I get one”. We would recommend packing one if you dare be as stylish as us.
Next, head to the Dimmuborgir Lava fields. The trails through these lava fields were some of the best kept and most accessible trails in all of Iceland. Enjoy an hour or so wandering the lava fields. Have you picnic lunch here.
Afternoon – Lake Mývatn and Go∂afoss
Continue driving all the way around Lake Mývatn. Consider stopping at Skútaís for after lunch ice cream.
One the west side of the lake we stopped at several viewpoints to look for birds. Lake Mývatn is a popular resting spot for migrating birds.
Next, stop at Go∂afoss for a quick viewing of another impressive Iceland waterfall.
Lastly, drive in to Akureyri and check in to your accommodations there.
Dine out in Akureyri. We ate at Strikið. This was a beautiful restaurant with views overlooking the water. Reservations are needed. The food here was amazing! They served us the best desert we had in all of Iceland.
Day 5 – Western Iceland
On the fifth day of this Ring Road trip, you’ll be doing a lot of driving. We tried to break up our day with stops but the reality is there weren’t many place we were interested in stopping.
So continue on Route 1 until you reach 75. Head north for a bit until you arrive at Glaumbær Farm and Museum. Here you’ll get to see the famous Icelandic turf houses and learn some history of them. You’ll also get to walk through some beautifully preserved traditional Icelandic farm buildings.
Next, buckle in for a good chunk of driving along the Ring Road. We ate lunch as we drove.
Afternoon – Waterfalls and Volcanoes
Grábrók is the next stop. Walk to the top of this volcanic crater and take the short hike around the rim. From here you can also see structural ruins at the base of the cone.
Next, make your way inland following Route 50 and then 518, until you reach the Hraunfossar parking area. At Hraunfossar, you’ll find a series of two waterfalls. The first is Hraunfossar a waterfall spouting out of the rocks. The river that creates this waterfall is underground in old lava tubes! This is such a magical waterfall Scott and I spend some serious time in search of the wizards responsible for it. If you hike up the path, you’ll next see Barnafossar, another neat waterfall.
Finally, drive to the Borgarnes area for the night. You’ll be staying here for two evenings. Grab dinner in town and then head to sleep.
Day 6 – Reykjavík
In the morning drive to Reykjavík.
On the final day of your Ring Road trip, learn about Iceland’s history with a walk through Reykjavík.
Start the morning at Hallgrimskirkja. Take photos in front of the church and walk in to look at the interior if it is open to the public.
Then walk to Hljómskála Park. Walk around The Pond here. You’ll see City Hall and the National Gallery. You’ll also be able to feed the swans if you bring some bread. The park itself is beautiful!
Next, walk to the piers and grab a light fish lunch.
Then wander along the coastal walk until you get to the Sun Voyager sculpture.
Relax for the rest of the day doing whatever pleases you!
Finally, have one last amazing meal in Iceland! Go all out and order a side dish of lobster tail just because you can.
Stay one night in Reykjavík.
Day 7 – Return journey
Make your way to the airport and head home!
If you don’t have a flight until later in the day, consider visiting the Blue Lagoon on your way to the airport.
Want to Adjust the Ring Road Itinerary
If you have extra time there are a few areas where you could use it. First, you could spread out your time on Iceland’s southern coast. This was one of our favorite areas and we would have liked more time there. You also could spend more time in northern Iceland by doing a whale watching tour which is very popular and we have friends who’ve really enjoyed it.
If you have less time, you really should choose a different road trip. Consider basing yourself in Reykjavík and then taking road trips from Reykjavík to several of these destinations. The only thing you’ll miss is Northern Iceland. People will tell you that you can do this road trip in 5 days. However, we went from 7AM-9PM every day to accomplish the above Ring Road trip. There wasn’t any room in here to shrink this itinerary to fewer days and still get a good night’s sleep.
When To Visit The Ring Road
This Ring Road trip is the best road trip taken in the summer. In fact it may only be passable in the summer. Most of this road is open year round. However, portions have been known to close in the winter due to rough weather. Check the current road conditions here. From May through September you’ll likely be able to travel all of the roads and experience relatively pleasant weather.
Also, we loved Iceland in the summer. It was exactly how we imagined Iceland with rolling green hills and beautiful sheep. We think that’s the best time to visit Iceland.
What to Budget
Our Ring Road Trip cost us about $450 USD/day. This includes the price of our flights, rental car, accommodations, food, and attractions.
Regardless of budget, you’ll want to book your accommodations, rental car and tours ahead of time.
One area that will help you save a lot of money is a meal plan and dinning plan. Check out our full post on dining in Iceland including money saving tips.
We hope this has helped you to plan your own Ring Road trip through Iceland. We loved Iceland and this was the perfect way to see the country. If you have any questions as you plan your own Ring Road trip please leave them in the comments section below and we’d be happy to help.
Thank you. We are planning our trip to Iceland for 2024. Great to hear from someone who been there and not as a selling point. Sounds amazing. We can’t wait. Thanks for all the tips from budget to itinerary. The hikes were our concern too. We can walk say 8 Km but not use to the hills. Hopefully will be able to do some of the hikes. Thanks.
I’m glad you enjoyed our resources. We had such a great time in Iceland and I hope you do too! I think you should be fine with a majority of the hikes. I feel like a majority of more popular attractions had pretty level trails.
Thank you for your review, very helpful. My husband and I are in our early 70’s and won’t be doing much hiking. With that said, what would you suggest we do instead of hiking and probably walking on glaciers by ourselves?
So when you say you won’t be doing much hiking, do you mean you are still able to walk short distances or do you use walking assistance devices?
If you still are up for short walks, I think you should be able to do everything here just on a smaller scale. The things that required more of a “hike” were Seljavallalaug (swimming pool), the Skogafoss hike (you should still stop to see Skogafoss), Skaftafell and Svartifoss, and Hverfall. Most of these are just small bits of this itinerary so you can fill them with extra roadside stops like at fun restaurants or strange stores (we stopped at a bones of Iceland store).
However, Day 2 is mostly hiking. So I’d recommend filling that instead with a boat tour or two in the glacier lagoons in that area. The glaciers were our favorite stop (could you tell ;)) and this way you’d still get to experience them while resting your legs.
If you do use walking assistive devices (wheelchair, walker, etc.) honestly Iceland doesn’t have many paved walking trails. Reykjavik and the Snaefellsnes peninsula seemed the most accessible areas to us.
https://acoupledaystravel.com/road-trip-to-the-snaefellsnes-peninsula/
I know that was a very long answer so I hope it helps.
Brilliant review… I am so going back to do the Ring Road… thank you!!!
Thanks so much 🙂 It was such an amazing trip. We hope you make it back.