The Snaefellsnes Peninsula road trip is the perfect one day trip to give you a taste of Iceland. Often referred to as Iceland in Miniature, the Snaefellsnes Peninsula will give you a sampler platter of Iceland. You’ll see a volcano, lava fields, glaciers, black sand beaches and more! All on the relatively small Snaefellsnes Peninsula that can be seen in a single day. If you only have one day with a car in Iceland, this is where you should go.
When to Visit The Snaefellsnes Peninsula
The best time to visit Iceland and see the sights is in the summer months, between June and August. Many people visit in the winter in order to see the Northern Lights. However, as this Snaefellsnes Peninsula road trip takes you to beaches and along rivers, you’ll want to do it in the summer months so that you can enjoy them without freezing.
Getting There and Around
The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is about 2 hours from Reykjavík. You can easily drive there and back in a day. Driving the Snaefellsnes Peninsula takes about 3 hours, without any stops.
You can take one of many organized tours from Reykjavík that will drive you along their version of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula road trip.
However, we love a good self-drive tour. If you choose to drive yourself, you’re able to customize your own tour and stop wherever you choose and find some hidden gems, just like how we found Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge.
If you are going to drive yourself, you will need a rental car. You can rent cars in Reykjavík or at the international Airport. If you are renting a car for a single day, Reykjavík is the best spot for this as it will allow you to get there and back in a single day.
Snæfellsnes Peninsula Road Trip Itinerary
Start your morning heading north on Route 54 to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Turn off onto 574. This will be the main loop through Snæfellsjökull National Park.
Morning
First stop of the day is a visit to Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge. This made the list of our top 5 favorite things to do in Iceland! Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge is a very narrow gorge with a small river running through it. We enjoyed hiking up this river in the very eerie gorge. Hiking up this river does require some waterproof boots, pants and coat. However, we hiked up the river without any of this and had to change into dry clothes once we got back to the car.
Next, drive to Arnarstapi and park at the car park for the Snæfellsáss Statue. From here you can take the short and well groomed hike to the coast. Then walk along the coast to see Gatklettur and the lighthouse.
Next, enter Snæfellsjökull National Park and park at the Malrrif Lighthouse. Walk along the shore to see the lighthouse and Lóndrangar rock formations.
Afterwards, drive on to Vatnshellir Cave for a cave tour of old volcanic lava tubes. As tour sizes are limited, you should make a reservation ahead of time for this cave tour. Only one company is authorized to provide tours.
The next stop along road 574 is Djúpalónssandur Beach. This is a beautiful black stone beach. Don’t take the stones with you, it is not allowed. However, you can enjoy the beautiful water, wander through the tidal pools and walk along the ridge to get views from above. Be careful of the sneaker waves – random waves that will come much higher than all the other waves. We got hit by one and had to change or clothes for the second time that day. Consider eating a picnic lunch on the beach.
Afternoon
Next, visit Saxhóll Crater. Climb the hill and wander around the crater.
Then visit one final beach: Skarðsvík Beach. This is a beautiful sand beach where you are able to swim if you can handle the cold ocean water.
Continue driving until the road rejoins Route 54 and then head on to Kirjufell. This is that big pointy mountain for Game of Thrones that everyone wants to visit. Stop at Kirkjufellsfoss which is across the road from Kirkjufell mountian. This was the busiest stop in all of our Icelandic travels.
Finally, head back to the Borgarnes area by taking Route 56 south and then taking Route 54 south.
Eat dinner out in Borgarnes.
Spend the night near Borgarnes or make your way back to Reykjavík.
Want to Adjust the Itinerary
If you want to shorten this Snaefellsnes Peninsula road trip, you can’t. Between driving from Reykjavík and driving around the peninsula, if you tried to shorten this itinerary, you’d be unable to stop at any of these great stops.
However, if you want to extend your time in the area, you could easily spread this Snaefellsnes Peninsula out over two days. Or you could spend an extra day going inland and visiting Barnafoss & Hraunfossar, which were some of our favorite waterfalls in Iceland, or Glymur waterfall on your way back to Reykjavík.
What To Budget For A Snaefellsnes Peninsula Road Trip
This is a super cheap Icelandic road trip. A majority of the attractions along the Snaefellsnes Peninsula road trip are free. The cave tour and the car rental were the two things that had a price tag. We got our car rental for just under $100 USD/day and our cave tour is 4500 ISK.
Is the Snaefellsnes Peninsula worth is?
Yes. If you only have one day for a road trip in Iceland, this is the perfect route. Or if you have more than four days, you can drive the Golden Circle, Iceland’s Souther Coast and then visit the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.
However, if you only have 2-4 days for road tripping in Iceland, this is not the road trip for you. The Golden Circle and Iceland’s South Coast were better road trips in our opinion and we’d prioritize those.
If you only have one day for a road trip, the Snaefellsnes Peninsula road trip is the perfect thing for you and we hope this itinerary has helped you to see the beauty of this amazing destination. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave them in the comments section below and we’d be happy to help you plan your own Snaefellsnes Peninsula road trip.
Thanks so much for this self guided tour. You mention eating dinner in Borgarnes. Do you have suggestions on restaurants? Are there places to stop along the way to grab lunch? Always thinking about food. :).
I totally get it. You and Scott would get along well 😉 We packed a lunch for this day trip as we did our cave tour right after lunchtime. There are small towns that have restaurants and you could definitely find somewhere to eat. However, those small towns are at the beginning/end of the route so you may not be near them when you get hungry. I’d personally recommend packing a lunch/snacks but if food is important to you and you don’t mind a little extra driving, eating out shouldn’t be a problem.