Visiting Iceland is like stepping into another world, a world that is in complete harmony with and reverent to nature. There are few places that are as serene, picturesque, and humbling, and I am forever grateful that the Icelandic people have taken extraordinary measures to preserve the natural splendor of the island. If you want to explore Iceland’s highlights along the Ring Road, this guide will help you plan your perfect 10-day, self-guided road trip.
- O V E R V I E W
- DAY 1: Keflavík Airport → Reykjavík
- DAY 2: Reykjavík → Hveragerði
- DAY 3: Hveragerði → Vík
- DAY 4: Vík → Höfn
- DAY 5: Höfn → Egilsstaðir
- DAY 6: Egilsstaðir → Mývatn
- DAY 7: Mývatn → Akureyri
- DAY 8: Akureyri → Stykkishólmur
- DAY 9: Stykkishólmur → Reykjavík
- DAY 10: Reykjavík
O V E R V I E W
DAY 1: Keflavík Airport → Reykjavík
After arriving in Iceland, we picked up our car and headed straight to Reykjavik. Since we didn’t have to quarantine, we spent our time exploring, picking up travel essentials, and recovering.
DAY 2: Reykjavík → Hveragerði
We eased into our driving trip by seeing the sites around the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle is famous because you can get a little taste of everything Iceland has to offer less than an hour from Reykjavik.
We ended our day in Hveragerdi, which is a geothermal town an hour away from Gulfoss.
DAY 3: Hveragerði → Vík
Day 3 was one of our longer days. We started the day with horseback riding around the Hveragerdi Hot Spring Area before heading towards the South Coast. We went waterfall hopping on the way down, stopping at Bruarfoss, Seljalandsfoss, and Skogafoss. We checked into our hotel briefly before heading back out to see Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, which was conveniently located near where we were staying.
DAY 4: Vík → Höfn
Our first stop of the day was Fjadragljufur Canyon before heading to Skaftafell National Park. This was the first day when the weather was pretty gloomy and rainy. We originally planned to see a nearby glacier but weren’t able to do that because (1) I had to backtrack to our hotel to pick up an item I accidentally left behind and (2) we ended up getting lost in Skaftafell National Park due to visibility becoming extremely poor in the middle of our hike.
DAY 5: Höfn → Egilsstaðir
Day 5 was another long driving day. We started the day at Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, zipping through the glacier fall-offs and spent most of the day taking in the lush and dramatic Iceland landscape while driving east.
DAY 6: Egilsstaðir → Mývatn
We spent the morning and early afternoon hiking Studlagil Canyon, before driving north to Detifoss and Selfoss and ending our day in Lake Myvatn.
DAY 7: Mývatn → Akureyri
We explored sites around the Diamond Circle, starting with Krafla, Hverir, Grjotaja, and Dimmuborgir in the Lake Myvatn area. We then drove to Godafoss before going on our whale-watching tour in Husavik.
DAY 8: Akureyri → Stykkishólmur
After a quick stop to see the Laufas Turf Houses, we headed west to a quaint, port city called Stykkishólmur before exploring the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. The drive west took 4-5 hours but we were able to see everything, thanks to perpetual daylight.
DAY 9: Stykkishólmur → Reykjavík
This was our longest drive of the whole trip. We took the ferry to the Westfjords from Stykkishólmur to see the puffin colonies nested on Latrabjarg Cliffs. Otherwise, we spent the majority of the day driving around the Westfjords.
DAY 10: Reykjavík
On our last day, we started off by first taking our COVID test before relaxing at the Blue Lagoon. Although we didn’t purposefully plan for Blue Lagoon at the end of our trip, I’m glad it worked out that way – it was so nice to relax the tiredness of being on the go and was the perfect way to end our trip.
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