How To Drive Iceland's Ring Road in 10 Days

All credit goes to my mother for putting together this map and, well, the whole trip.


How has half a year passed since I went to Iceland? Since my mom has only just stopped posting her travel photos on Facebook, it seems like it wasn't so long ago. Yet, winter is nigh. And I have another trip upcoming. Before we move into 2017, I feel compelled to wrap up 2016 by checking off the to-dos I have waited a six months to accomplish--including recounting our summer trip to Iceland.

My mother spent an extraordinary amount of time researching the island and meticulously planning our route. May her effort and forethought help future travelers. Here's your ten day Icelandic itinerary.

Day #1

Recover from your flight by soaking in the Blue Lagoon

As I've written, a soak in the Blue Lagoon is an excellent way to shake off any post-flight stress before making your way around Iceland. (This is the only part of the trip for which I can actually take credit. My mom had suggested dune buggies and a trip to the Blue Lagoon before departure back to the states. Fearing parental injury before we even started the tour, I suggested this instead.)

We stayed at the Frost and Fire Hotel and loved it. The chef there blew us away, introducing us to the fresh cuisine we would come to enjoy across the country. For breakfast the next morning we slowly made our way through the buffet of steamed rye bread with farm-fresh butter, local preserves, green juice, skyr with nuts and seeds, and other local fare. The best part? I steamed my own soft-boiled egg in a geothermal stove outside the hotel. (A bit sulfuric but cooked to perfection.)

Day #2

Accomplish at least part of the Golden Circle

The Golden Circle is a staple of any trip to Iceland, even the for the weekenders. Our first stop brought us to the rusty Kerið Crater. Then, as if we hadn't drifted long enough in the Blue Lagoon, made our way to the Laugarvatn Fontana Geothermal Baths. While the baths are more natural and the vibe is less touristic (read: less expensive), we didn't find Laugarvatn to be worth too much of our time. If you're going to soak away your stress, by all means, but the novelty wears quickly and we ended up just sitting in lukewarm water with an ever-growing number of flies circling ahead.

Geysir, which named all the world's geysers, shows up on every Golden Circle agenda. If you've been to Yosemite, though, this won't knock your socks off. However, just behind Geysir is a short "hike" (as my mom would call the steep walk). From the top we saw down to Geysir and little pools below on one side as well as a stunning vista of farmland down the deep drop of the other side.

Gullfoss was our first waterfall. (I realized later it would be one of many.) The best waterfall we saw on the trip was Seljalandsfoss at sunset (around 11pm!). The midnight sun cast itself across the mountains, and the water took on the ever-changing color palate. It's possible to walk behind the waterfall, so we spent a long time exploring it from every angle.

We spent the night at Hotel Skogar, just a few minutes away from Skogafoss. The hotel was no Frost and Fire, but it was clean, comfy, and convenient.

Day #3

Action-packed day including a bird sanctuary, canyon, and glacial lagoon

Skogafoss takes Gullfoss any day. This second waterfall entailed a short yet steep walk to the top of the fall. A rainbow shoots over the water, and the greenery all around makes this look like a small paradise. Hikers and campers had their tents set up all around the waterfall, creating dots of human activity downstream.

Driving to the glacier tongue didn't take too long. Once there, it was a 30-minute walk along a rock-covered path to get to the tongue. If you've ever lived through winter in a city, I'm sure you've seen ice and snow become dark and dirty from foot traffic and pollution. This wasn't too much different--just on a much bigger scale.

The next stop, Dyrhólaey, impressed me much more. This protected nesting area is a bird-watcher's delight. Even if you're not an ornithologist, the scenic view from the cliffs still make the destination worthwhile.

A short drive away is the Black Beach, where we kept our eyes open for Puffins. Hard to spot, we ended up catching a few as they went fishing for their young.

To get to the fjaðrárgljúfur canyon we had to drive through the sandur--about 40 km of glacial wasteland. After the long stretch of barren brown, the mossy green of the canyon looked like another world.

Though we could have seen another glacier, we opted instead for the Glacial Lagoon. It was a long drive yet to our hotel for the night. Even before the navigation system told us about a destination, I caught a glimpse of an icy lake through a break in the rolling hills and shouted to pull over the car. And there it was:

Though I could barely force myself to put my camera down, our stomachs pulled us away. Welcome seafood lovers: Hornafirði is where you should indulge in Icelandic langoustine.

That night we rested at the quirky Hofn Inn, but not before I could chase the sunset.

Day #4

Lazy day of driving through small Icelandic towns

Day three was our most scenic, so our fourth day, which consisted mostly of driving along the fjords, didn't quite compare.

Djúpivogur barely met the threshold of the very low bar I had set after reading about the egg installation. (The "town" attraction is a line of gigantic marble bird eggs.) This is not to disparage the artist. As I feel about most modern art, this installation is very cool in concept--even quite well executed--but hardly mesmerizing. We spent about 15 minutes passing from egg to egg before moving on to something more important--lunch. In my opinion the fish stew at the big red farmhouse was more of a work of art.

We stopped to see Petra's Stone Collection, which soared above my incredibly low expectations. The diverse colors and shapes would have amused any mineral enthusiast, but I got caught up in the eccentricity of the overgrown garden and oddities of Petra's knick knacks.

Somehow I was more enthralled with the giant red chair we happened upon while driving along the windy roads. This was not a pre-arranged destination, but we certainly made it a real stop by taking turns posing atop the installation.

Another small pit stop was in Egilsstaðir -- a fairly large town where we bought groceries. This was just on the other side of the mountain from our destination that evening.


Reaching our destination of Seydisfjordur entailed a mountain-crossing. The only way was up and over. During our evening journey a low hanging fog settled over everything. Crossing solo through the ethereal moonscape felt like a portal to the next world. Yet descending on the other side we found a happy artist haven nestled in the valley.

Dinner at the bistro behind the gas station turned out to be quite tasty. Our lodging that night, Hotel Aldan, was one of my top three favorites, if only for the sweetest nook in which I slept.

Day #5

See how luxurious a farm stay can be at Vogafjos

Before leaving Seydisfjordur we went to see the musical sculpture. (The steep and rocky climb took only about 20 minutes, but as there were no man-made stairs or handrails I suppose this would be the only part of our travel I would allow my mom to label as a "hike", albeit a short one).

One out-of-tune version of Row Row Row Your Boat later (the acoustics are to die for), we hiked back down to drive on to Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in all of Europe. Photos of this hydro powerhouse are abundant, but I don't think as many people are calling attention to the 1960s si-fi movie set we had to trespass in order to get there.


Our guidebook indicated there might be yet another waterfall, but we decided to skip it to prioritize our destination: Mývatn Lake. Checking in at the Vogafjos Guesthouse we sat as gluttons at a 4pm dinner of warm, homemade bread and meat so tender we reserved our knives only to smear our berry preserves. The floor-to-ceiling windows that we came to understand as a hallmark of Iceland's architectural greenhouse effect made the dining area warm as a New England summer. It also opened up the view to the farmland beyond.

Trying not to slip into a food coma, we created a sub-itinerary of the must-dos in the area.

We started with Dimmuborgir--a natural rock garden formed by lava. These grandiose formations rise to such heights and complexities it would make any Chinese Scholar's rock petrified. (Get it!?)

Next stop was Hverir hot spring area with boiling pots. Then we walked halfway around the elevated Stora Viti Crater, which was similar but less scenic than Kerið.

My personal favorite activity was simply walking around the Skútustaðagígar pseudo-craters. Along the winding trail we stopped every few moments to track a different bird specie. When my dad tired of birding, we went to Hotel Grigor for a midnight snack as we watched the sun set.

Back to Vogafjos, my parents retired while I snuck off to the lake to let the sun finish setting.

Day #6

Settle in for a long driving day to the capital, Reyjkevik

Leisurely breakfast at the farmhouse. This food is worth savoring.

Waving goodbye to the cows, we drove on to Godafoss. While the waterfall lacked the cliché Icelandic rainbow, the fall was much prettier. Tropical blue water fell to icy white, creating a more vivid panorama against the lush green backdrop of the valley. Beautiful or not, we'd had just about enough waterfalls to satisfy us for life.






We quickly drove on to Iceland's second-largest city: Akureyri. Be sure to check out the Bookstore and wander through the other quirky shops.

However, kayak with caution. I capsized into an arctic fjord.


What made this all the more tragic was that our next stop--a lovely horse farm I had been looking forward to--had a Booking.com mishap that left us with no room at all. The patrons were exceedingly apologetic (for something that wasn't their fault), and though they offered all kinds of reasonable alternatives, we decided to just make the long haul (another 4 hours on top of the 3 we had already driven) straight through to Reykjavik.

Thankfully, we dined at an excellent new restaurant, Sjavarborg, to break up the trip. The horse farm proprietress had been meaning to try this new "trendy" restaurant above the Seal Museum, and it lived up to her expectations.

Day #7

Explore the artsy Icelandic capital

We stayed at the Hotel Fron. Excellent location, surprisingly large room, and the worst breakfast we had on the whole trip.

Like good tourists, our first stop was to the Hallgrímskirkja church. It's an architectural spectacle more so than a religious one. The rest of the day was very enjoyable, too. We stopped at the quirky Modern Art museum by the harbor, walked around the cute shops in town, and ate at The Laundromat.



All that was overshadowed, however, by our epic Norðurflug Helicopter ride. Our Waterfalls and Valleys tour gave us a two-hour thrill of stomach-turning banking over the undulating landscape. We crossed over the continental divide in Þingvellir and landed near a hot spring area where we toasted my dad's 60th birthday with a bottle of champagne.

We wrapped up the day on a humorous note at Harpa. Our show, the Icelandic Sagas, boils thousands of years of Icelandic history down to 75 minutes. (Despite how superficial the show is, I admit it is the extent of my familiarity with Icelandic history.) Even without the show, the building would have been worth a visit. The modern, glass event space is strikingly beautiful, especially as the sun sets through each of the refractive panes. 

Day #8

Go ahead - Relax for a day in Pingvelir National Park

One gigantic city map and Penis Museum later, we were driving to the Ion Luxury Adventure Hotel. Sadly, this was the most disappointing aspect of the trip. It at least afforded us the opportunity to relax on site. My mom and I went for a hike (a real one!) and got just tired enough to deserve a warm soak in the geothermal bath back at the hotel. Dinner, while very pleasant, certainly did not exceed any of the fine dining experiences we had already enjoyed throughout our trip. The most luxurious aspect of this hotel is the expansive view of Þingvellir National Park.

Day #9

Explore Þingvellir National Park before driving back to Reykjavik

We spent all day in the park. It's massive, so we had plenty to see. Still, with this as the only "activity" for the day we were done with plenty of time to drive back to Reykjavik for one last gourmet Icelandic dinner.

Day #10

Drop off your car and try not to cry as you fly back to your "real" life

The last day of the trip depends on your flight, of course. We took a relatively early flight, so we stayed at an airport hotel the night prior.

We had come full circle.