Trip notes
If you are going yourself
Everything practical for Ring Road, Iceland in one place — where it actually is, where to sleep, how to move, what to eat, what the weather does, and what to put in the bag. The story itself follows.
Travelled
With friends — Three of us and one camper van, which is exactly one seat more than the van was designed to make comfortable.
The route
16 stops · 9 slept in · 13 nights · 2263 km by road
Drag to pan, use +/− to zoom, tap a pin for detail.
Keflavík Airport
Passed through · arrival
Reached 27 Apr, 12:40Good with kidsNo dogs
Land, collect the van, and resist the urge to start driving the ring the same day.
Good signal — Fast 4G and free airport wifi. Buy a data SIM here rather than roaming.
Reykjavík
1 night · camper pickup
Reached 27 Apr, 14:20Good with kidsDogs welcome
One night to shop, fill the water tank, and learn where everything in the van lives.
Good signal — 5G everywhere, and open wifi in every café. The last easy supermarket too.
By road · 47.7 km · 47 min driving
Reykjadalur
Passed through · hot river
Reached 28 Apr, 11:00Good with kidsNo dogs
An hour's walk uphill to a river you can sit in. The first of many towels hung on a wing mirror.
Patchy signal — Signal at the car park, gone up the valley. Nobody minds.
By road · 49.7 km · 49 min driving
Vík í Mýrdal
2 nights · campsite
Reached 28 Apr, 16:30Good with kidsDogs welcome
Base for the waterfalls and Reynisfjara. The wind here decides what you do.
Good signal — 4G across the village and along the black beach.
By road · 145.7 km · 2 hr 11 min driving
Skaftafell
1 night · campsite
Reached 30 Apr, 15:20Good with kidsNo dogs
Under Vatnajökull. Walk to Svartifoss before breakfast and you will have it alone.
Patchy signal — A bar or two at the visitor centre, nothing on the glacier trails.
By road · 140.3 km · 2 hr driving
Jökulsárlón
Passed through · glacier lagoon
Reached 1 May, 09:40Good with kidsNo dogs
Icebergs on their way out to sea, and the black-sand beach opposite where they land.
Patchy signal — Enough to send one photograph, not enough to upload the folder.
By road · 54.7 km · 1 hr 1 min driving
Seyðisfjörður
2 nights · East Fjords
Reached 1 May, 17:10Good with kidsDogs welcome
Over a 620 m pass and down into the fjord. The reason the long eastern drive is worth it.
Good signal — Solid 4G in town. The mountain pass in has none, and that is where you want it.
By road · 278.4 km · 4 hr 12 min driving
Mývatn
2 nights · nature baths
Reached 3 May, 15:50Good with kidsNo dogs
Sulphur, craters and the quieter, cheaper answer to the Blue Lagoon.
Patchy signal — 4G near the baths and Reykjahlíð, thin around the rest of the lake.
By road · 201.4 km · 2 hr 55 min driving
Akureyri
1 night · campsite
Reached 5 May, 14:00Good with kidsDogs welcome
A town after eight days of not being in one. Do the laundry. Eat something you did not cook.
Good signal — 5G, a laundrette, and wifi you can actually back up photographs over.
By road · 77 km · 1 hr 13 min driving
Dalvík
1 night · whale watching
Reached 6 May, 10:20Good with kidsNo dogs
Forty minutes north of Akureyri, and the boat we took out into Eyjafjörður. Humpbacks, and a lot of standing still.
Good signal — 4G across the harbour and the town — enough to book the tour the night before.
By road · 42.6 km · 40 min driving
Djúpidalur
Passed through · waterfall & hot pool
Reached 7 May, 13:30Good with kidsNo dogs
Off Route 60 on the way into the Westfjords: a waterfall behind the farm and a geothermal pool fed straight off it.
Patchy signal — One bar at the farm, none up the valley. Route 60 drops in and out either side.
By road · 345.2 km · 4 hr 56 min driving
Rauðisandur
2 nights · campsite
Reached 7 May, 17:40Good with kidsDogs welcome
Ten kilometres of red-gold sand at the bottom of a gravel switchback. In early May we had all of it to ourselves.
Patchy signal — A signal at the top of the pass, next to nothing down on the sand.
By road · 184.8 km · 2 hr 37 min driving
Látrabjarg
Passed through · bird cliffs
Reached 8 May, 10:50Not one for kidsNo dogs
Europe's westernmost point: 440 m cliffs and puffins that let you sit down beside them. Do not go near the edge.
No signal — Nothing at the cliffs, and nothing on the road in. Tell the campsite when to expect you back.
By road · 51 km · 48 min driving
Arnarstapi
1 night · Snæfellsnes
Reached 9 May, 16:10Good with kidsDogs welcome
Basalt arches, a glacier behind you, and the last night in the van.
Patchy signal — One bar at the harbour, none along the coastal path.
By road · 409.3 km · 5 hr 53 min driving
Borgarnes
Passed through · the last leg
Reached 10 May, 11:15Good with kidsDogs welcome
Ninety minutes from the airport. Empty the toilet cassette here, not at the rental desk.
Good signal — Back in coverage, with a petrol station that sells the good hot dogs.
By road · 120.1 km · 1 hr 44 min driving
Keflavík Airport
Passed through · flight home
Reached 10 May, 13:40Good with kidsNo dogs
Back where the ring started. Drop the van, take the shuttle to the terminal, and allow three hours — the fuel level and the cleaning both get checked.
Good signal — Fast 4G and free terminal wifi, which is where two weeks of photographs finally leave the camera.
By road · 115.1 km · 1 hr 46 min driving
Route 1 clockwise, with a Westfjords detour after Dalvík64.9631° N, 19.0208° W
Open route in Google MapsOpen in OpenStreetMapDay by day
14 days, start to finish · 27 April – 10 May 2024
Day 127 Apr
Keflavík AirportBy road toReykjavíkStaying Reykjavík
- Mainly clear, 10°/-1°
Day 228 Apr
Starting from ReykjavíkBy road toReykjadalurSaw: The Reykjadalur hot riverBy road toVík í MýrdalStaying Vík í Mýrdal
- Drizzle, 8°/4° · 1.4 mm
Day 329 Apr
Vík í MýrdalSaw: SeljalandsfossSaw: SkógafossSaw: ReynisfjaraStaying Vík í Mýrdal
- Drizzle, 8°/3°
Day 430 Apr
Starting from Vík í MýrdalBy road toSkaftafellSaw: SvartifossSaw: A glacier walk at SkaftafellStaying Skaftafell
- Overcast, 11°/1°
Day 51 May
Starting from SkaftafellBy road toJökulsárlónSaw: Jökulsárlón at first lightBy road toSeyðisfjörðurSaw: The pass into SeyðisfjörðurStaying Seyðisfjörður
- Overcast, 4°/1°
Day 62 May
SeyðisfjörðurSaw: The rainbow streetSaw: The wooden churchSaw: The pool at EgilsstaðirStaying Seyðisfjörður
- Snow, 5°/2°
Day 73 May
Starting from SeyðisfjörðurBy road toMývatnSaw: DettifossSaw: The Krafla cratersStaying Mývatn
- Drizzle, 3°/-1°
Day 84 May
MývatnSaw: The Mývatn nature bathsSaw: The lake roadStaying Mývatn
- Overcast, 5°/-1°
Day 95 May
Starting from MývatnBy road toAkureyriStaying Akureyri
- Overcast, 8°/2°
Day 106 May
Starting from AkureyriBy road toDalvíkSaw: Humpbacks in EyjafjörðurStaying Dalvík
- Overcast, 6°/3°
Day 117 May
Starting from DalvíkBy road toDjúpidalurSaw: Route 60Saw: The Djúpidalur waterfall and hot poolBy road toRauðisandurStaying Rauðisandur
- Snow, 5°/2° · 5.8 mm
Day 128 May
Starting from RauðisandurBy road toLátrabjargSaw: The Látrabjarg cliffs and their puffinsBy road toRauðisandurSaw: Ten empty kilometres of RauðisandurStaying Rauðisandur
- Snow, 5°/1° · 6.3 mm
Day 139 May
Starting from RauðisandurBy road toArnarstapiSaw: The Snæfellsnes peninsulaStaying Arnarstapi
- Overcast, 7°/2°
Day 1410 May
Starting from ArnarstapiBy road toBorgarnesBy road toKeflavík AirportTravelling home
- Rain, 10°/5° · 6.2 mm
What to pack
Dressed for four seasons in a car park
- Clothing
- Thermals
- Shoes
- Waterproof boots
- Money
- Cards everywhere
- Medicine
- Sea sickness
Where to stay
Campsites on Route 1
Municipal campsiteGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Roughly £10–15 a head, with hot showers usually charged separately by the coin. The Camping Card pays for itself in about six nights.
Vík and Seyðisfjörður
Sheltered pitchesGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Pick sites with a wall or a bank to park behind. Wind, not cold, is what ruins a night in a van here.
Akureyri
Town campsiteGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Worth one night purely for the laundrette, the pool and a kitchen block you can stand up in.
Melanes, Rauðisandur
Beach campsiteGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
A field above the sand with a composting toilet and a view worth more than plumbing. Cash, and no booking.
Anywhere else
Not an option
Wild camping in a vehicle has been illegal since 2015. Fines are real and the rule exists because the moss does not recover.
Getting around
The vanGood with kidsDogs welcome
A two-wheel-drive camper does the whole ring. You only need 4x4 for the F-roads inland, and your insurance almost certainly excludes them anyway.
Fuel
Budget more than you think and fill up whenever you pass a station in the east. N1 and Orkan cards work at unmanned pumps.
Tunnels and passes
The Vaðlaheiði tunnel is tolled online within 24 hours. The pass into Seyðisfjörður closes in bad weather — check road.is every morning.
Single-lane bridges
Common on the south and east coasts. The vehicle nearer the bridge goes first, and nobody hurries.
Food stops
Cook in the van
Bonus and KrónanGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Eating out for eleven nights costs more than the van. Two supermarket shops — Reykjavík and Akureyri — cover the trip.
Petrol-station hot dogs
PylsurGood with kidsDogs welcomeLittle for vegans
A genuine national institution. Ask for one with everything, which means both onions, both sauces and remoulade.
Seyðisfjörður
Fjord restaurantsGood with kidsNo dogsVegan options
The one place worth breaking the cooking rule. Fish landed that morning, an hour after it was landed.
Dalvík harbour
Fish soupGood with kidsNo dogsLittle for vegans
Eaten straight off the boat after the whale tour, with bread and more refills than anyone needs.
Skýr and rye bread
BreakfastLittle for vegans
Cheap, filling and everywhere. The rye is baked in geothermal ground near Mývatn, which is not a marketing line.
Main attractions
22 in 14 days
The Reykjadalur hot river
Day 2
Seljalandsfoss
Day 3
Skógafoss
Day 3
Reynisfjara
Day 3
Svartifoss
Day 4
A glacier walk at Skaftafell
Day 4
Jökulsárlón at first light
Day 5
The pass into Seyðisfjörður
Day 5
The rainbow street
Day 6
The wooden church
Day 6
The pool at Egilsstaðir
Day 6
Dettifoss
Day 7
The Krafla craters
Day 7
The Mývatn nature baths
Day 8
The lake road
Day 8
Humpbacks in Eyjafjörður
Day 10
Route 60
Day 11
The Djúpidalur waterfall and hot pool
Day 11
The Látrabjarg cliffs and their puffins
Day 12
Ten empty kilometres of Rauðisandur
Day 12
The Snæfellsnes peninsula
Day 13
Arnarstapi
Day 13
The story
Three of us, one camper van, eleven nights, Route 1 clockwise — planned around where you could next get warm rather than around waterfalls.
Hot water decides the route
- Every village of any size has a geothermal pool: open till nine, cheaper than a coffee. Shower properly first.
- Reykjadalur — an hour up a valley to a river at bathing temperature. Before nine.
- Seljavallalaug — 1923, cut into a hillside near Skógar. Cold-ish, unstaffed, extraordinary.
- Hoffell — five tubs on a gravel track near Höfn, facing a glacier.
- Mývatn Nature Baths — the north's Blue Lagoon at a third of the price.
Camping is about wind, not cold
- Nose into the weather, behind an earth bank. Broadside to a gap between buildings cost us a night's sleep at Vík.
- Wild camping in a vehicle has been illegal since 2015. Moss takes decades to regrow over a tyre track.
You do not park where the view is. You park where the wind is not.
— A man at the Vík campsite, gesturing at our terrible choice
Worth the detour
- Dalvík for whales, not Reykjavík. Earliest sailing — the fjord roughens through the day.
- The Westfjords: two days, a lot of gravel, and Djúpidalur's hot pool empty at four.
- Rauðisandur — ten kilometres of red-gold sand and four other people on it.
- Látrabjarg — 440 m of bird cliff, puffins a metre away. Lie down; the grass on the lip holds nothing.
- The east that people skip: Jökulsárlón to Seyðisfjörður, a 620 m pass, a rainbow street at the bottom.
Thirteen nights, three of us, one camper van, and a route planned entirely around where you can next get warm.
- #camping
- #hot springs
- #whales
- #westfjords
Keep reading
The Atacama Sky Is a Different Sky
San Pedro de Atacama, ChileTravelled 2 min
How to Plan a Faroe Islands Trip Around Weather You Cannot Predict
Faroe IslandsTravelled 3 min
One Night at Angkor, Five in Vietnam
Cambodia and VietnamTravelled 4 min