Our 15-day road trip for a full tour of Iceland

Visiting Iceland is pretty much like visiting a new country everyday. That is how much the scenery changes from place to place, and the activities vary greatly according to the region. Of course, there is so much to see and do that, in our two-week trip, we had to make a lot of decisions and prioritize the things we most wanted to do and I am so happy with the way this trip turned out.

Since Iceland is a big circle, there are basically two ways to plan your road trip: you can go clockwise or counter clockwise. We opted to go clockwise as the western and northern parts of Iceland weren't going to be the main part of our trip, so we would be stopping less frequently and driving for longer distances while in that area. It seemed logical to us to get the most driving done earlier in our trip since we would be less tired and more impressed by everything around us so the road would appear to go faster. I have to admit that the shorter distances at the end of our trip were incredible as we were able to see multiple attractions in the same day and we were pretty tired after two-weeks of hiking, so it was easier. I did get used to the quieter regions though and it was a shock when we got to the busy southern part of Iceland. Anyway, I don't think there is a bad way to go around, it just depends on what you prefer.

This is the itineray that we did, but it could easily be shortened if you only had 10-14 days. Honestly, I wouldn't try doing the whole ring road in less than 10 days since you would only have time for the drive and not enough to actually stop at any of the sights. You could also add many days as there is so much to see and do in Iceland!

day 1 - reykjavik

Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland and its biggest city (which honestly doesn't mean much). It is a really pretty city, although we only spent one day there. We walked around all afternoon, visited the church Hallgrimskirkja and the conference center (Harpa), and also went to the Sun Voyager statue.

Walking in the streets of the town center was fun. There are plenty of cute restaurants, the buildings are colorful and often have fun paintings on them, the city is also very easy to navigate which I was grateful for after our red-eye flight.

Visiting cities wasn't our main interest in traveling to Iceland, so one day in Reykjavik was plenty for me, but I can also understand why someone would want to stay longer. There are fun museums and activities and everyone was really nice.

​For more information, check out my article on Reykjavik here.

day 2 - sneafellsnes peninsula

Sneafellsnes peninsula is one of the reason we decided on a full two-week trip. It is not on many itineraries, but it is so beautiful. We stopped for a hike at Glymur waterfall (more info on that here), took some pictures at the stone bridge and Budakirkja (the black church), and then drove to Kirkjufell where we were spending the night. It was a long driving day, but I wouldn't have changed it. We unfortunately didn't have time to visit the cave of Vatnshellir, but the view along the whole drive was incredible. Waterfalls, glaciers, lakes, the ocean, it was all beautiful and we could have stopped for pictures every minute.

day 3 - Grundarfjordur to Humavatnshreppur

We started the day at the most photographed waterfall in Iceland: Kirkjufell. We then drove all day to our AirBnB in Humavatnshreppur. We of course stopped along the way at every viewpoint, waterfall, crater, pretty bend in the road, etc. We ended the day at our AirBnB where our hosts had a ranch with maybe fifty horses and we made new friends. Icelandic horse are just so stinking cute! They are tiny, with long bangs and lashes and they seem so gentle.

day 4 - Akureri and myvatn area

The next day, we quickly drove past Akureri to make our way to Namafjall, Leirhnjukur and the active area around lake Myvatn. This was one of my favorite days in Iceland. We saw lava fields, walked around mud holes that bubbled and smelled of sulfur, saw craters and so much more. It is one of the most unique areas in a very unique country. There aren't many places in the world where you can see so many geothermal features in one place. I have been to Yellowstone also and this felt completely different. We drove back to spend the night in Akureri and enjoy the atmosphere of the second biggest city in Iceland.

day 5 - Husavik, asbyrgi and dettifoss

We started the day at Godafoss waterfall which is basically a smaller version of Niagara Falls, but in a much cooler landscape. And then we made our way to Husavik, a small port town known for its whale excursions. We didn't go on the boat tour as we have seen whales many times in Canada in similar excursions and we had to make choices. There was no way we could see everything in two weeks. The village of Husavik is so pretty though. You can see glaciers accross the bay and some of the boats seem to have been inherited from Vikings. I also wish we could have driven to the northernmost point in Iceland, but we chose to visit Asbirgy canyon and Dettifoss. Both were impressive, though not my favorite parts of Iceland.

day 6 - myvatn area and egilsstadir

On our last day in the Myvatn area, we went to Grjotagja and its caves full of warm and blue waters, and then spent some relaxing hours in the warm waters of Myvatn baths. Myvatn baths is a smaller, still under construction, version of the Blue Lagoon. Though it is smaller and not as mainstream as the Blue Lagoon, it is just as blue and just as fun. The main differences are that Myvatn is much quieter, quite a bit cheaper, but doesn't include the mask and cocktail that comes with the package at Blue Lagoon. We then drove to Egilstadir for the night.

day 7 - seydisfjordur and faskrudsfjordur

On day 7, we drove to the town of Seydisfjordur. The road there was amazing. There were a lot of waterfalls, the fjord was impressive and I loved the history of the town which used to be completely cut off from the rest of civilisation during the winter months. We then drove around a few of the eastern fjords to our AirBnb in the heart of the fjords, of course stopping along the way everytime we saw something interesting.

day 8 - the eastern fjords to hofn

This was our only rainy day of the trip and, honestly, it was the best day for rain as we had planned on driving most of the day, only stopping when we saw something interesting, but we didn't have much planned. We did end up visiting the viking village that was pretty underwhelming in my opinion. It could be a great tourist attraction, but it was very expensive and not well maintained at all. It used to be a movie set, but was just left there to rot. We spent the night in Höfn.

day 9 - diamond beach and jokulsarlon

Day 9 was also one of my favorite days in Iceland. Diamond beach, although very crowded, was incredibly beautiful. More so than you think looking at the pictures. It seems strait out of Frozen. We then spent part of the afternoon on a zodiac tour of the lagoon that was so much fun. For more info on the zodiac tour click here. We saw some seals and saw icebergs fall from the glaciers, it was great!

day 10 - glaciers, skaftafell and road to vik

We started the day going back to diamond beach for a quieter time enjoying the scenery. I 100% recommend going early in the morning or in the evening so you can peacefully enjoy the view. We then headed to Skaftafell national park and stopped on the way for glacier pictures. We then visited Fjadrargljufur canyon which is absolutely beautiful!

day 11 - reynisfjara, plane wreck and vik

A lot of day 11 was spent at Reynisfjara beach. Although the waves are treacherous, the view is stunning and the beach is beautiful and fun to walk. We also walked to the plane crash. Honestly, if you are short on time, you could easily skip it. We went to get some photos, but it is a long walk and there isn't much left from the crash. We went back to Vik for the night and really enjoyed the atmosphere of the small town. The restaurants all seemed great and the streets were animated and fun.

day 12 - all the waterfalls on the way to selfoss

Day 12 went by so fast! We seemed to be stopping every 15 minutes and there was so much to do! We started with Skogafoss that offered us this beautiful rainbow, than headed to Seljavallalaug swimming pool (it's in such a nice landscape, but one of the pipes bringing the hot water seemed to be broken and the water was very murky so we didn't end up swimming there), to Irafoss and to Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabui. We spent the night in Selfoss and were treated to some auroras in the evening.

day 13 - golden circle

The golden circle is probably made of the most popular attractions in Iceland since they are closer to Reykjavik and can be easily visited in a day by hiring a tour. Most people stopping in Reykjavik on cruises will take this excursion. Honestly, I really loved the geysirs, but the rest was nice, but not great after seeing everything else Iceland has to offer. I would have been disappointed to only see this part after coming all the way to Iceland. 

Anyway, we went to Kerid crater, Gullfoss, Strokkur geysir and Thingvellir, the places where the two techtonic plates meet. That was also pretty neat and I enjoyed watching the people who were diving in the crevace in between the two techtonic plates.

day 14 - Hveragerdi and road to keflavik

This was our last day of road tripping before heading back to Keflavik. We were completely exhausted, but still visited the town of Hverargerdi for its geothermal features and to visit a natural hot spring. The hot spring was an abosulte highlight of the whole trip. It was called Reykjadalur and you have to work for it as it is about an hour hike uphill to the hot spring, but it is so worth it. The trail brings you to a shallow spring with multiple bassins where you can sit, relax, soak in the hot water and look at the sheep walking around. Although it was quite popular, it didn't feel crowded and we easily found a spot were we could be by ourselves. There are also little walls for privacy where you can change. Don't be like me and bring plenty of water and snacks because after being in the hot water for a while I almost fainted...

day 15 - blue lagoon

Day 15 was our last day before our flight back to Canada and we took full advantage to soak in the warm waters of the Blue Lagoon and sip on cocktails. The Blue Lagoon is so spacious that, even though it is without a doubt the most popular attraction of all of Iceland, it doesn't feel crowded at all. It was super relaxing and we took our time exploring the whole lagoon, getting algae masks and enjoying our drinks. What a perfect way to end a perfect trip!

Like I said, our itinerary wasn't perfect, but it allowed us to see and do what we most wanted and to maintain our energy levels. To be fully honest, Iceland can be a challenge physically. You have to walk a lot, mostly uphill, and the distances are longer than they seem on a map as the roads are so narrow and the speed limit so low. The conditions are also everchanging and we were lucky to have beautiful weather almost everyday, but the weather can turn very quickly and can make your plans impossible even with the best of intentions. 

My main recommandation is to plan for extra days in case of bad weather around the activities you most want to do if possible so you can switch the plan around if you need to. Also plan on easier days along the way. If, like us, you are active, but not a marathon runner, Iceland won't require particular training, but you will need rest days where you are still walking, yes, but not hiking or walking long distances.

Our trip was in September and I ended up spending days in t-shirts where I could have easily worn shorts, and days in my winter jacket. Sometimes both happened on the same day. Plan for layers, hiking boots are saviors on the uneven terrain, and don't forget rain pants. If it ends up raining during your trip, you won't want to spend the whole time inside when you could be exploring.

Let me know if you have any questions about Iceland in the comments below and I hope you enjoy your visit to the country of fire and ice!

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