Last updated on May 18th, 2024 at 12:06 pm
Iceland is becoming popular with travelers at an exponential rate. Even that would be an understatement. And why not? The pristine beauty of this little country is out of this world. While some prefer private tours to see it in chunks and others spend several weeks exploring Iceland. We did a self-drive Iceland road trip in 7 days in the summer.
After helping many friends plan their Iceland holidays, we have finally put together this useful 7 days Iceland itinerary based on our experiences. Fair warning – this is a very lengthy but helpful post due to the depth of information we are covering.
Note: While penning this guide we realized that there was way too much information to be shared. So, we have broken this up into 3 blog posts –
- 10 Useful Tips For Visiting Iceland
- 7-days Iceland itinerary (which is what you are reading now)
- Packing List for Iceland
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Driving in Iceland
- Are 7 Days Enough to See Iceland?
- Best Time to Visit Iceland?
- What to Pack For the Iceland Road Trip?
- 7-Day Iceland Itinerary
- End of Iceland Road Trip
- Budget
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.
Driving in Iceland
Ring Road, also known as Route 1, runs around the entire island covering a total distance of approximately 1300 Kms. We drove around Iceland on the entire Ring Road in 7 days and returned our rental car with over 2000 Kms including several off-roading adventures. 🙂
TIP: We highly recommend that you rent a 4×4 vehicle. To get the best deal make sure you compare the prices for car rentals in Iceland.
Iceland is almost circular in shape and we chose to drive counter clockwise but you can easily do this in a clockwise direction heading up the west side of the island first. We recommend driving at your own pace here rather than taking organized tours, just saying. Here are some more tips on driving in Iceland.
Are 7 Days Enough to See Iceland?
Before we dive into our Iceland itinerary, let’s answer a few basic questions to help you plan your trip.
In the summer, a week is just perfect to see the below-mentioned highlights in Iceland. However, you won’t have enough time for any long hikes along the way.
In winter, you’ll definitely need more days to do a full Iceland road trip. However, there are some really cool adventures that you can only do by taking one of these Iceland winter tours (think ice-caving!).
If you have less than 7 days then consider driving only up to South Iceland and return back to Keflavík airport or Reykjavík at the end of your trip.
TIP: We have mentioned below where it makes the most sense to add extra days. But at the very least you will need 7 full days to complete this circle without rushing yourself.
Best Time to Visit Iceland?
The time of the year that you want to take your Iceland holidays will decide how many days you need. We visited Iceland at the end of May i.e. at the beginning of summer and experienced the “Midnight Sun,” which gave us more daylight to explore. We saw twilight for about two hours past midnight after which the sun rose again at around 3 am.
FUN FACT: Midnight Sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in places closest to the poles where in the summer months sun barely or never sets. However, if you decide to go during winter months, you are in for incredible shows of Aurora Borealis or the Northern lights.
The opposite happens in the winter months i.e. shorter days, longer nights, and less daylight. Also, in winter weather conditions, parts of Ring Road in the North and East could be closed.
Our recommendation for driving around Iceland in 7 days would be from May-August. In other months you will need more days to cover it all.
What to Pack For the Iceland Road Trip?
Here are our suggestions for must-pack items for summer in Iceland:
CLOTHES
- thermals
- warm jacket
- waterproof jacket and pants
- scarf, gloves, warm hat
- hiking boots
- bathing suit
ESSENTIALS
- packing cubes
- reusable water bottle
- sleep eye mask
- universal adapter
ELECTRONICS
- waterproof cases for phones and cameras
- portable charger
- extra camera batteries and memory cards
For more suggestions and details, see our full summer packing list for Iceland.
7-Day Iceland Itinerary
Here we go, detailed day by day itinerary –
DAY 1: West Iceland
We landed in the early hours of the morning with Play Air (lands 5am local time) from the US and headed straight to Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon, only 10 mins away from the airport, is a totally different experience than any other spa you can imagine. Going early in the morning helped us beat the crowds, it is a touristy place but totally worth it!
Use the rest of your first day to settle in and explore the funky capital city, Reykjavík. There is a lot to do in Reykjavík city center such as,
- Hallgrimskirkja Church,
- Sólfarið (Sun Voyager) and
- Harpa Concert Hall
- Restaurants & Bars on Laugavegur St. (we loved Lebowski Bar & Old Iceland Restaurant)
- Cafes in Reykjavík
If you have more time, there are a bunch of activities to do in Reykjavík such as whale watching, lava tube caving, helicopter rides, etc. You could also try the food tour in Reykjavík.
ACCOMMODATION
We recommend staying closer to the city center within walking distance of Hallgrimskirkja Church and Laugavegur street where all the action happens.
A few good options in this area are Sandhotel, Fosshotel Reykjavik, Reykjavik Residence Apartment Hotel, and Old Charm Reykjavik Apartments; the last two are more of an apartment style accommodation rather than a hotel.
Check out our captions in photos below to see what to do in Reykjavík.
DAY 2: Golden Circle
Before jumping on the Ring Road, take a mini detour on day 2 and head to the famous Golden Circle in Iceland. Points of interest in Golden Circle are listed below, the ones we stopped at are highlighted in bold.
We wrote a separate blog post on driving the Golden Circle if you want more details.
- Thingvellir National Park
- Silfra Snorkeling Tour
- Geysir Geothermal Area
- Gullfoss Waterfall
- Bruarfoss Waterfall (if skipping snorkeling then this is a great addition)
ACCOMMODATION
If you are snorkeling between the tectonic plates in Silfra then you end up spending at least half a day there. Hence it is a good idea to stay back this night in the Golden Circle. Our recommendation would be Hotel Litli Geysir or Hotel Gullfoss. We stayed at Hotel Gullfoss and passed by Hotel Geysir, both of them are at a fantastic location.
If you plan to skip snorkeling then most likely you should be able to get ahead of the schedule past Kerid crater from day 3 below. In that case, any hotels in Selfoss should be a good spot to spend the night. We stayed in this amazing cabin in Selfoss (on another Iceland trip) which had a hot tub and cannot recommend this place enough – Cabin in Selfoss with hot tub.
Check out our captions in the photos below to read about the location.
DAY 3: South Iceland
This is the most exciting part of Iceland! Heading to beautiful South Iceland from Gullfoss. Don’t you worry if you happen to stop every 5 mins on this Iceland road trip, you won’t be the only one! The best part about Iceland is not the final destinations but the drive itself.
TIP: Do keep in mind though if you stop way too often then you might never make it around in 7 days 😉
Points of interest highlighted in bold are the ones we stopped at. And I am really stretching it by listing them all in one day since we backtracked our way to cover the last 3 spots the next day.
- Kerid Crater
- Gljúfrabúi/ Gljúfrafoss Waterfall (Hidden waterfall)
- Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
- Eyjafjallajökull Erupt (the volcano that erupted in 2010, we passed by it)
- Seljavallalaug pool (Seljavelli – the hidden free geothermal pool which might take some time to find)
- Skogafoss Waterfall
- DC-3 Plane wreck site (SRK’s Gerua song filming location for Bollywood fans)
- Dyrhólaey
- Reynisfjara (Black Sand Beach)
2023 UPDATE: There is now a parking fee that you’ll have to pay to park at Sellfoss and Seljalandsfoss and pretty much at most touristy spots in Southern Iceland.
TIP: Definitely add those extra days in this part of Iceland! There are tons of great vistas, hikes, and adventure activities.
ACTIVITIES
- Hiking on top of Skogafoss waterfall
- Hiking to the US Navy plane crash site – 45 mins one-way hike with no elevation
TIP: There are no signs for the DC Plane Crash site but there is a small unpaved free parking lot on the side of the main road. It was incredible to see an old rusting DC-3 US Navy plane which crashed 40 years ago still lying at the same spot in the middle of nowhere.
ACCOMMODATION
We recommend staying the night in or around the town of Vik. We stayed at Hotel Edda Vik (now called Hotel Vik). However, on our recent 2023 trip to Iceland we stayed in this gorgeous cottage very close to Vik – Cottage Vestri Petursey. We saw Northern lights straight outside this cabin. highly recommend this place, it’s very kid friendly too.
Other really nice recommendations for stay in this region are – Vik Cottages, Black Beach Suites, Hotel Katla (They have a nice outdoor hot tub which can be used for a small fee even if you don’t stay here), Hotel Dyrholaey, Volcano Hotel, and Hotel Skogafoss. We enjoyed a nice dinner with a great view of the waterfall at Hotel Skogafoss before heading to our hotel in Vik.
Check out our captions in the photos below to read about the location.
DAY 4: Southeast Iceland
Another exciting day driving Southeast towards Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon where you get to see floating glaciers from the parking lot itself. Points of interest on this stretch are listed below, in bold are the stops we took. Many tours start from the Lagoon’s parking lot. They now have food trucks and a small coffee & souvenir shop at the parking lot.
TIP: If you want to experience the glaciers intimately then we recommend taking the Glacier Lagoon boat tour.
- Laufskálavarða
- Fjaðrárgljúfur
- Skaftafell National Park (Also called Vatnajökull National Park – Svartifoss Waterfall hike is very popular) – We skipped it!
- Jökulsárlón – Glacier Lagoon
- Diamond Beach (across the bridge from Glacier Lagoon)
FACT: Glacier Lagoon, however pretty, is an ugly reminder of Mother Earth’s trouble in paradise- as this lagoon keeps growing in size we keep losing our precious glaciers in the Arctic.
Locations in South and Southeast Iceland are most popular with tourists. Lots of hiking and activities to do here, however, we could only accommodate the boat tour in our itinerary.
ACTIVITIES
- Hiking in Skaftafell National Park (Also called Vatnajökull National Park)
- Glacier Hiking Tour (open all year round) OR you could do a combined Glacier hiking + Ice Cave Tour
- Crystal Ice Cave Tours (Crystal Ice Caves tours only run until mid to end of April as it’s not safe in the summer time)
- Boat tours at Glacier Lagoon (Amphibian boat tour open all year round, Zodiac boats only in summer)
- ATV rides (around Skogafoss)
- Horse riding (near Black Sand Beach)
TIP: Spend extra days on this stretch of your Iceland road trip if you can.
ACCOMMODATION
At this point, you really are in the middle of nowhere and there are very limited BnB’s and hotels in this area. We wanted to stay closest to the lagoon, but we didn’t get availability in the hotels we wanted including Hali Country Hotel and Skyrhusid Guesthouse. Another place to stay is Hotel Skaftafell which is 45 mins north of the lagoon and just a few mins away from Skaftafell Visitors center.
We ended up staying at Guesthouse Nypugardar, a lovely farmhouse, which is about 30 mins drive south of the lagoon. Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon also looks like a nice modern alternative about 20 mins from the lagoon.
Check out our captions in the photos below to read about the location.
DAY 5: East Iceland
Continue driving due East – this is when you skip the tourist junction and come in contact with what I like to call ‘raw Iceland’. Town of Höfn and Stokksnes peninsula are a detour from Ring Road but if you have the time it’s worth taking that detour. Check out the famous Vestrahorn mountain in Stokksnes near Höfn.
TIP: Consider adding an extra day here if you want to spend more time in the peninsula.
Ring Road cuts through this peninsula giving you a splendid view of Stokksnes for a few minutes. Town of Djupivogur can be a great alternate stopover for lunch if you want to skip Höfn, which is what we did. Points of interest on this stretch are listed below.
- Hofn
- Stokksnes/ Vestrahorn
- Djúpivogur
- Egilsstaðir (It’s a long unpaved scenic drive till here)
We did not list any activities here because this drive is insanely wild and in itself an attraction. In this stretch, Ring Road turns into a dirt road going up and down the mountains. It is an adventure to be the only car driving on several parts of Ring Road, which happens more often than not.
ACCOMMODATION
Spend the night in the biggest city in Eastern Iceland, Egilsstadir. Hotel Edda Egilsstadir or Hotel 1001 Nott are good options here.
Check out our captions in the photos below to read about the location.
DAY 6: North Iceland
Not many people driving in Iceland make it this far North so this stretch was exceptionally exquisite to us. Heading North towards Akureyri which is the second-largest city in Iceland after Reykjavík was full of pleasant surprises just like the South – more gigantic waterfalls, more hot springs and geysirs, more volcanic craters, geothermal spas.. you name it and North Iceland has its share.
Akureyri is a tiny city located on Eyjafjörður or Eyja Fjord, take out some time to explore it. Points of interest on this stretch are listed below.
- Krafla Viti Crater
- Hverir
- Mývatn (lake and a geothermal area around Lake Mývatn)
- Godafoss Waterfall
- Dettifoss Waterfall
- Explore Akureyri
We didn’t have time to explore Lake Myvatn area in its entirety which is something we want to do on our next trip. There is a lot to explore and do in North Iceland, so this would be another great spot to add a day or 2.
TIP: If you are spending extra days here consider going to the fishing town of Húsavík.
Both Akureyri and Húsavík, being closest to the Arctic, are very popular for their whale watching tours. We took a zodiac boat whale watching tour from Akureyri and half the fun was zodiac boat ride in the fjord.
TIP: Highly recommend zodiac boat over regular whale watching boats/ships.
ACCOMMODATION
Spend the night in Akureyri. We stayed in Hotel Kjarnalundur which was about 5 mins driving distance from the city center in Akureyri. View of the mountains and the fjord from our room was the best thing we could have asked for after a long day of driving.
You can choose to stay right in the city center – there is an Berjaya Iceland Hotels and Hotel Edda in Akureyri as well.
Check out our captions in the photos below to read about the location.
DAY 7: West Iceland
Final day! While driving back from Akureyri to West Iceland we stopped at Snæfellsnes Peninsula. If you wish to skip this peninsula then drive straight to Reykjavík and enjoy an extra day there. We drove around Snaefellsnes and stayed the night in the town of Borgarnes. Our main motivation was to see the most photographed mountain in Iceland, Mt. Kirkjufell. After spending a really short time in Snaesfellsness, we are now certain that this is where we need to return back to explore more.
ACCOMMODATION
Depending on where you want to end up – spend the night in one of the villages in Snæfellsnes Peninsula or Reykjavík.
We stayed at Ensku Husin Guesthouse in Borgarnes in between Snæfellsnes and Reykjavik, and couldn’t have asked for a better place for our last night in Iceland.
On the peninsula, Kirkjufell Guesthouse and Apartments and Arnarstapi Hotel are good options.
Check out our captions in the photos below to read about the location.
END OF ICELAND ROAD TRIP
Driving in Iceland showed us that one country can be a one-stop-shop for travel lovers. The varied landscapes we experienced in one week ranged from black sand beaches to volcanic craters to waterfalls and more waterfalls to Geothermal hot springs to arctic glaciers.
Don’t even get me started on the handsome looking Icelandic horses. With nature in its back pocket, the capital city Reykjavík turned out to be one of the trendiest cities in Europe full of funky nightlife and relish restaurants. Needless to say, we have fallen in love with this country.
BUDGET
After receiving so many questions on our Iceland budget, we’ve added this section. Below is the breakdown of our road trip in USD.
- Flights – $600 (you can find cheap deals on Iceland Air & Wow Air from the US)
- 4×4 SUV Car Rental (incl GPS & insurance) – $900 (Here’s a quick Car Rental Price Check)
- Gas – $350 (we filled a couple of times during our road trip)
- Accommodation (double room with private bathroom) – $150-$200/night (We prefer private rooms but if you are on a budget consider staying in hostels or renting a camper van)
- Food – $50-$60 (you can save on food by buying groceries and making your own meals through the road trip)
- Blue Lagoon – $60/person for the lowest Blue Lagoon Package
- Silfra Snorkeling – $130/person to snorkel and you can read about our experience before booking.
- Glacier Lagoon Amphibian Boat Tour – $50/person if you book directly from the Glacier Lagoon Boat Tour website
- Akureyri Whale Watching Zodiac Boat – $190/person
We spent roughly over USD 4000 on our entire 7 days Iceland road trip. Depending on the extra activities you do on your Iceland holidays, your budget will either go up or down.
There is definitely LOTS to see & do in Iceland and one visit will never be enough. But we hope that this Iceland itinerary not only helped but inspired you too. This island definitely opens up a can of treasures and we can’t wait to catch more amazing hidden gems in the future.
Any questions? Just shoot us a comment below or on our Facebook page and we would love to help out.
Happy Traveling!
After reading your post I feel like this is all I need for my Iceland trip! Most blogs show a “happy camper” itinerary, I am so glad I found yours. I have something I would like to ask, how far in advance did you book your hotels? Do you think it would be hard to find rooms within that price range if we book the same day? I would love to have the flexibility, we are planning to go in September.
Hi Lianet, First of all Sorry for a super delayed response but we were taking a break amidst all this pandemic. And secondly, thank-you ‘coz we love our time staying in BnB’s and hotels in Iceland. Since it’s almost September end, I am guessing you must already be on your awesome Iceland trip.
For the benefit of our readers I’ll answer your question – we booked our stay a good 2-3 months in advance. Whether you will find rooms on the same day depends on which season you go and which part of, for e.g. the answer is no during summer but in the shoulder season yes you may expect to find rooms on the same day. Similarly if you are looking at room in the remotest part of Iceland I’d book in advance just to be sure you are not stranded in the middle of no where.
An amazing and detailed itinerary guide on Iceland! Iceland is beautiful and I’m stunned by its beauty even though it is a cold place I will visit this place to experience the beauty. Thank you for sharing this blog.
You should definitely visit some day Kanika! Thanks for dropping a note 🙂
HI,
I loved your blog about Iceland. Thank you. We are going to Iceland in August with our 2 teen daughters.
I don’t think I want to drive around the island all 7 days we are there, so which area/which activities would you say are must-do?
Do we need hiking shoes or our sneakers would do the job too?
Thanks
Hi Ferie, if this is your first time in Iceland I would recommend you to cover all the highlights I mentioned in the Southern region for sure. Perhaps add in a hike for hot springs too since you have the time. You might also be able to go and explore the town of Hofn. Let’s say you cover this part of Iceland in 2-3 days then you could also drive the Golden Circle as well as the Western Peninsula (which was the last day in our itinerary). Definitely spend a day in Reykjavik if not more. You even might have chances of seeing Northern Lights there in August! Yay 😀
About Hiking shoes, I will recommend water-resistant hiking boots from our experience with the Icelandic weather.
Hi
Lovely blog- thank you for all the great insights! Just one question though – we plan visiting during Summer and mainly plan to visit South, South east & western Iceland. Do you recommend we rent a 4WD or will a 2WD will do? Thank you very much!
Glad you found this useful Sharmila. If you get a good deal on 4WD drive then we recommend that but if not, you will be fine with 2WD in summer as long as you stay on paved roads. The other issue in Iceland is heavy winds so even if you do get 2WD, make sure to rent a sturdy and heavy vehicle. Have a great trip! 🙂
This guide has been a huge help! Would you mind sharing what whale watching company you used?
Super happy to hear your feedback Hannah! We went with a family owned company called “Elding Whale Watching” and their office is conveniently located in the heart of Akureyri city. Here is their link if you want to check them out – https://elding.is/tours?type=whalewatching
Great Guide & thank you for sharing. I am keen to add Iceland to my list & judging by your photos it is a must! Originally planning to go for northern lights but May sounds fab too! Decisions, decisions ….
I mainly travel solo & have heard that camper van is the best way to go. Do you think it’s sfae for a woman alone?
Iceland, in general, is one of the safest countries for solo traveling Sue. I’d say that if you are parking your camper van in a designated spot for the night you should have no problem at all.
Great post, great inspo! Would love to go to Iceland
Thanks! 🙂
I’ve never been but I have clients traveling there in June (Im an agent). I planned a road trip for them from Rekiyavik, to hof, vik and back. I pinned this for reference when I get ready to get their tours together!
Sounds great!
Incredibly thorough guide! Iceland is one of those places that I think we’d have to visit twice because I’d love to see it in both winter and summer as they are such different experiences!
I couldn’t agree more! We definitely plan to visit Iceland again in winter some day. I’m dying to see northern lights and do a ice cave tour 🙂
Literally, this morning I was updating my list of countries I can go to with direct flights from home and added Iceland to the list, thinking hmmm, this summer or next, I just have to go! And now I came across your post, this must be fate :)) I have heard that summers tend to “sell out” in terms of cars, hotels etc. How much in advance would you advise starting to book stuff?
My tip here would be to go just before the onset of summer. For e.g. we went in May which is not technically considered summer so the hotel prices were not too bad. We booked about 2 months in advance and yet found that some remote area BnBs we wanted were sold out. So that is a real issue you bring up. Over-tourism has hit Iceland very hard I hear, they closed down one of my favorite canyons for tourist as of last week.
Great itinerary. We had 17 days in Iceland so for a short stay this is a great.
Ah, I would love to go back and cover more though! 🙂
Love all the details you provided on this post. It is extremely helpful for planning a trip to Iceland.
Thank-you!
Fantastic website and pics. We are planning to travel to Iceland in June and planning almost the same route and destination as yours. Did you visit any ice caves ? If so any suggestions ? What about snowmobiles.?
No, the ice caves are usually closed in the summer for safety reasons. Most companies offer that as a winter activity only. However, there are some glacier walking/hiking tours available (in vatnajökull glacier) that you could do all season. If you are going in June why not consider an ATV off-roading ride? We were so close to booking one in South Iceland but didn’t make it in time for the tour. Snowmobile might be another better winter activity I’d say.
Hey, You guys are amazing. I am planning for Iceland in June with my husband and we are travelling from Houston, TX. Your guide to 7 days trip look perfect we don’t need to make one. Am sorry to ask you this question but how much it costed around? And is it safe for couple to drive in less populated area?
Hi Shruti! So happy to hear that you found our itinerary useful 🙂 And yes, it is very safe for couples to drive in remote areas. In fact, Iceland is one of the safest countries in Europe. Get a GPS device along with your car or have offline google maps downloaded for directions so you don’t get lost. As for the budget, we spent a little over $3000 including car, gas, hotel, food, and all our tours. I will include the breakdown of our expenses in this blog post to help you further.
I just booked my entire 7-day trip in June using this itinerary so thank you so much! You had mentioned getting a 4×4, but I don’t see a lot about traveling through the highlands on your trip. Is the 4×4 necessary and if so, do you have any recommendations for highlands stops?
Also, I’m wondering if I should stay an extra day in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula before flying back. Could I fill an extra day here?
Thanks again!
So glad we could help you out with this itinerary Nick. We used our rental 4×4 on the patch from Hofn to Egilsstadir, that patch was a dirt road cutting through the mountains. If you aren’t going that far east then you shouldn’t need 4 wheel drive but consider getting a sturdier vehicle since the wind speed in Iceland can be crazy. We skipped highlands on purpose since 7 days were not enough to do it all, to be honest. If we weren’t circling around the entire island I think we would have driven through the highlands. That’s definitely a perfect alternative.
For Snaefellsnes Peninsula – Absolutely you can totally spend an entire day and more here. We have a list going on things we want to see here when we return. To name a few we’d love to see the Budir church, the lava caves, the shark museum (where they show you how the local shark delicacy is made) and of course go back to the Kirkjufellsfoss. PS: Snaefellsnes has some tough dirt roads as well.
Thank you so much for all this info! This is the best site I’ve come across so far on the Iceland trip with lots of useful information, pictures, direct links to activities, maps, accommodations, packing list, etc.. We went in the last week of July for 7 days and used your suggested itinerary and accommodations as a baseline and it was perfect for our family of 4! Keep up the good work!!!
Thanks a lot for stopping by and giving your valuable feedback after your trip Kate, we really appreciate it! <3 I hope you and your family enjoyed every bit in Iceland 🙂
I’ve been researching itineraries for our upcoming family Iceland trip in May 2019 and your site is THE BEST so far. I love how you organized your information (visual and descriptive with direct links). I will be using this post to guide me. In fact, I booked a hotel thanks to your useful information and links!
Thank-you so much Jennifer! That means a lot to us and I hope you have a wonderful trip to Iceland, it’s like being on another planet. And yes… I love visual descriptions so much that I can’t help use it on our posts 🙂
What an amazing and fascinating place to visit. I really didn’t know much about this but after reading this post I will surely visit one day. Thanks for sharing such an amazing post.
It is and I’m sure you can relate to it’s beauty coming from Iceland 🙂
Your blog is really good, after reading it I really want to visit Iceland, especially south coast and glacier lagoon.
Thank-you!
Great blog! I fell in love with Iceland too after our trip there in winter, you can see what we did there for 4 days. My dream is now to visit Iceland in the summer.
And we have to turn tables and say we really wish to visit Iceland in the winter time 😀 High Five to that!
Hi. My wife and I are planning a 8 day trip around the Ring Road. Which part of Iceland would you have added an extra day? Also, you mention that the diving in Silfra will require 1/2 day. Why does it take that amount of time?
Hi Greg,
Definitely add that extra day in the South as there are many worthy stopovers here. Silfra is about 45 minutes drive from Reykjavik and it takes a good hour for everyone in the group to wear waterproof gear and listen to the intro talk. After that, it’s a short hike to the starting point and you will spend about 30-45 mins in water. To get back to the parking lot is another hike. Considering all of this you should definitely keep a good 3-4 hours aside for silfra snorkeling/diving. After this activity, if you have the time then walk through the boardwalk (right behind silfra starting point) which leads to Iceland’s first parliament. Hope this helps and have an amazing time in Iceland 🙂
This is such a thorough guide to seeing Iceland! Saving this for later when I eventually get to tick it off my bucket list 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thank-you Alyse! I am so glad to hear that you found it useful, now hope you get to go there soon 🙂
OH MY! What a great and in-depth post! I have bookmarked this wealth of information for my next trip to Iceland!
Thanks a lot Crystal!! 🙂
These pics have me drooling. Really great tips here . I’m dying to do this exact trip. I spent a week in winter and went as far as Jokulsarlon because just wanted to do a slower paced trip. Pinning this for when I can go in spring or summer!
I hear ya, winter is very bad out there. Yes please try to do this ring during summer anytime between May-August would be perfect for this itinerary.
Wow such a detailed post with gorgeous photos and amazing tips! Iceland has been on my bucketlist forever and i can’t wait to tick it off. Your inclusion of maps is great and will certainly help. Thank you for putting this together.
Aww thanks a lot Ketki!! I hope you get to go here soon and if you have any questions just give me a holler 🙂
I spent a week hiking Iceland last summer and it was just brilliant! What a stunningly beautiful place! 🙂 Thank you for this comprehensive guide 🙂
Now Ionna, I need to go hike there next time and would take tips from you then 😉 This trip of ours was mostly road tripping without any major hikes.
Very useful tips! Thank you. And those photos of yours are stunning
Thank you Mina!! So happy to hear you liked our photos 😀
Oh man! I can’t believe you did all this in 7 days! I would need at least two weeks, maybe more – I would stop way too many times to take pictures. We only did parts of the western side of Iceland in a week. We drove down to Vik with hopes of going further to the famous Glacier Lagoon but it was super rainy and we were super tired, so we skipped it. Definitely want to go back one day. It’s such an amazing beautiful country with landscapes I’ve never seen before.
Haha I know exactly what you mean by taking too many pictures! But wait is that even a thing? lol
But on a serious note, we only stopped at the places in bold here since we wanted to complete the roadtrip circle. I have listed additional places too for people who might want to go for a longer time. And I tell you what I probably wanna spend a good 3-4 days in western fjords next time.
This is on the top of my bucketlist for a while now! Will definitely save this as a guide for my future visit (whenever that may be). Thank you for sharing and I am soooo loving this post!
Thanks Kate!! Make that bucket list happen soon 😉
Loved the details and getting a little more information about the different sights. May not be able to see everything but not everyone travels the same and that is ok! Glad to just get more information in general 🙂
Yes and please take it at your own pace! It’s not too difficult to finish this loop in 7 days in the summertime. But any other time of the year I wouldn’t recommend doing it in 7 days anyway. I do have WAY too much information in here for people who might want to add additional days. PS: we only stopped at places highlighted in bold and we weren’t even rushing ourselves.
I feel like I’m the last person in the world who hasn’t been to Iceland! Love the photos. Thanks for sharing!
Haha.. I do feel like Iceland is getting a major tourist bump these days so don’t feel bad. Go when you can, you will love it!
Oh wow. Really nice post. We did so erging similar and your post brought back all those memories. I have that Iceland post also on my blog at BeeTravelista website. Hope that brings you memories too 🙂
Vry detailed itinerary, thank you very much! 🙂
Great Article and beautiful pictures! I am going to Iceland in December for 9-day tour. Hopefully, I will get to see northern lights. Can you describe what photo gear you used for taking these pictures? I am selecting on lenses I need to carry. I am also going through a lot of videos posted on youtube and other blogs. Any tips from you would be appreciated! Also, do have any recommendations for food stops/must go places while on wheels..? ( I am a vegan, so I know this is going to be tough!)
Hi Omkar, Yes we hope you get lucky with the Northern lights as well, download some Northern light apps to get notifications on them during your stay.
To answer your questions – About camera gear: We will highly recommend a tripod (esp for northern lights), a polarizer (for daytime), remote shutter and a water protective gear for your camera. For the lenses, we always have a wide angle in our bag and our go to lens is 18-135mm since we love shooting landscapes. Now to be honest we also carried our zoom 70-300mm with us to Iceland but probably only used it a handful of times shooting birds/horses and a few far away sunsets in the entire trip. I guess it boils down to what your ultimate goal of photography is going to be in Iceland. Man.. We should perhaps just do a quick post on camera gear to carry 😛
About food: Ah, you will have plenty of veggie options in Reykjavik. It’s a multicultural city. But as you drive further away from the city (for e.g. South Iceland) you will have very limited food stops. Restaurants are going to be a part of guesthouses/ hotels in these areas. If you are a strict Vegan (i.e. no diary etc) then perhaps keep some backup options in your backpack in case you can’t find true vegan food out in the dirt. But we are sure you can find vegetarian food here.
Hope this helps. 🙂
Thanks ! that is helpful!