The Ring Highway (Route 1) is Iceland’s best hits album – however not the overplayed type.
It’s huge landscapes, tiny cities, and all of the jaw-dropping drama you’d count on from a spot constructed on fireplace and ice.
Driving it’s much less like ticking off sights and extra like watching the world consistently re-invent itself: one minute you’re coasting previous moss-covered lava fields, the subsequent you’re in entrance of a glacier lagoon or showering beneath a sizzling waterfall in the course of nowhere.
This street journey is epic not simply in scale, however in selection. From volcanic seashores to Arctic-feeling fjords, that is Iceland unfiltered.
Plan for a minimum of 7–10 days, longer should you’re liable to spontaneous detours, which you have to be – Iceland rewards curiosity.
Route Overview
Reykjavík → Vík → Höfn → Egilsstaðir → Akureyri → Borgarnes → Reykjavík
Whole distance: Approx. 1,300 km
Advisable time: 8 – 12 days
Greatest time to go: June to September for street circumstances, longer days and no snow-blocked detours
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Begin: Reykjavík – fill up, decelerate
Iceland’s capital is small however full of character – a mix of unpolluted Nordic design, quirky road artwork and eating places that in some way make fermented shark a nationwide speaking level.
Spend a day or two getting your bearings. A metropolis strolling tour is an effective way to start out, serving to you uncover hidden gems and native insights.
Stroll round Harpa Live performance Corridor, poke into the retailers alongside Laugavegur, and seize a cinnamon bun at Braud & Co. earlier than it sells out (which it all the time does).
The Solar Voyager sculpture is an compulsory picture cease, and should you’re after views, the Hallgrímskirkja tower delivers a full 360 of the town and surrounding mountains.
Professional tip: Do your main grocery and provide procuring right here. When you hit the street, choices turn into fewer and considerably costlier.
Cease 1: Vík – waterfalls & black sand
Heading south, the panorama escalates quick.
Inside a few hours, you’re in volcano nation, with snow-capped peaks on one facet and windswept shoreline on the opposite.
En path to Vík, find time for Iceland’s celeb waterfalls.
Seljalandsfoss helps you to stroll behind the cascade (convey waterproofs), and Skógafoss is thunderous, dramatic, and generally blessed with an ideal rainbow.
Additionally price a cease: the Sólheimasandur aircraft wreck, although the stroll is longer than most count on (enable 45 minutes every manner).
Simply close by, adventurers can be part of a guided glacier hike on Sólheimajökull, an unforgettable strategy to expertise the uncooked, icy energy of the area up shut.
Vík itself is a blink-and-you-miss-it city, however the seaside is subsequent stage.
Reynisfjara, with its jet-black sand and towering basalt columns, appears to be like prefer it was constructed by historical gods.
The waves are wild – don’t flip your again on them – and the encircling cliffs usually host puffins in summer season.
Cease 2: Höfn – glaciers, lagoons & mars-like landscapes
This stretch is the place issues get surreal.
You’ll move by way of Eldhraun lava discipline, an limitless moss-covered expanse that feels post-apocalyptic, earlier than edging into glacier territory.
Don’t miss Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon – Iceland’s most photogenic gorge (and for some time, one among its most overtouristed because of a sure Justin Bieber video).
The primary occasion is Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, the place blue-hued icebergs float silently towards the ocean.
Stroll throughout to Diamond Seaside, the place chunks of ice lie scattered throughout the black sand like outsized jewels.
Höfn is an effective in a single day base. It’s small and quiet however serves up glorious lobster (technically langoustine, however nobody’s correcting you).
Höfn Cottages provide a comfortable, handy place to remain whereas exploring the world.
Cease 3: Egilsstaðir – distant roads & east fjords appeal
This a part of the Ring Highway is commonly skipped – don’t. The East Fjords are rugged, distant and really feel correctly off-the-beaten-path.
You’ll drive hairpin bends alongside sea cliffs, move tiny fishing villages like Djúpivogur, and possibly see extra reindeer than individuals.
If you happen to’ve received time, take the slower Route 96/92 coastal detour as an alternative of the direct Route 1. It provides time however offers you unbelievable views and quiet stops with not a soul round.
Egilsstaðir is extra purposeful than charming – place to restock and refuel – however the surrounding space is gorgeous.
Take a brief detour to Seyðisfjörður, a vibrant fjord city that appears prefer it fell out of a Wes Anderson movie.
The drive there (throughout a mountain move with waterfalls on either side) is price it alone.
Cease 4: Akureyri – abandoned highlands & detour gold
This leg cuts throughout the wild, desolate inside.
Lengthy stretches of lunar terrain provide you with that middle-of-nowhere buzz, after which – all of the sudden – issues go full sci-fi round Lake Mývatn.
If you happen to’re quick on time or need a guided expertise, think about a Lake Mývatn & Goðafoss Waterfall day journey to absorb the highlights with out the effort.
Cease at Dettifoss, one among Europe’s strongest waterfalls. It’s much less about magnificence, extra about brute power – just like the earth simply cracked open.
Then proceed to Hverir, a geothermal space with effervescent mud pots, sulphur-stinking steam vents, and a Martian palette.
Simply up the street is Krafla, a volcanic caldera you possibly can hike round for much more alien vibes.
Akureyri, your subsequent cease, is Iceland’s second-largest metropolis – although it feels extra like an enormous city.
It has a stunning harbour, respectable eating places and even a botanical backyard (as a result of why not develop roses slightly below the Arctic Circle?).
It’s place to catch your breath, heat up in a café, and chat to locals who’ll inform you how bizarre final winter was.
Keep: E book a keep at Akureyri Vacation Flats to take advantage of your time on this charming northern hub.
Cease 5: Borgarnes – horses, craters & hidden sizzling springs
Heading west, you’re again in rolling-green-meets-mountain terrain. It’s much less excessive than the east or south however filled with character.
Find time for Goðafoss, a horseshoe-shaped waterfall with a very photogenic backdrop.
If you happen to’re up for a detour, Hvitserkur (aka the “dragon rock”) is a basalt sea stack that appears like an elephant sipping from the ocean.
Or take a spin across the Vatnsnes Peninsula – nice for seal recognizing and wild, empty seashores.
Additional alongside, you’ll discover Grábrók crater, which you’ll be able to climb for a 360-view of lava fields and distant peaks.
Borgarnes is a quiet, pleasant city with fjord views and probably the greatest native museums (Settlement Centre) should you’re craving a little bit of historical past together with your soup.
Closing cease: Reykjavík – again to base (however not earlier than waterfalls)
You’re on the ultimate stretch, however don’t coast by way of it. This area has some main sights.
Take a detour by way of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula – usually known as “Iceland in miniature” as a result of it has a little bit of every thing: volcanoes, waterfalls, fishing villages, lava fields and dramatic coastal cliffs.
It’s an extended route, but it surely rounds out the journey completely.
Again in Reykjavík, reward your self with a dip in a sizzling pool (locals love Laugardalslaug, and it’s far cheaper than the Blue Lagoon) or a ultimate bowl of fish stew someplace heat and candlelit.
Closing ideas
The Ring Highway isn’t simply probably the greatest drives on the earth – it’s one of the vital various.
It’s not all glaciers and geysers. It’s the spontaneous detours down grime roads that result in nothing and every thing.
It’s wild climate and empty roads and the sensation that you simply’re a really small human in a really giant, stunning world.
