How to Tackle the Ring Road in Iceland in Summer

Disclaimer: This is a guide for an eight to ten-day trip. Seven days is not enough to do the ring road!

So, you're planning on doing a trip to Iceland in the summer. Lucky you! Now, you can't exactly go to Iceland without a real plan or you'll miss out on a bunch of stuff, and that's a fact! Even when you plan out everything, you're still going to miss a few things while you're driving around there. This guide will hopefully help you plan everything a little bit better, as I've personally done this trip a few weeks ago. Don't forget that it does not get dark in Iceland in summer, so your biological clock might get a little confused.

Keep in mind with everything I point out that EVERYTHING is expensive in Iceland. To put that in perspective: ordering a small tray of fish and chips from a food truck will easily cost you 25$, and ordering two lemonades and some nachos will probably cost you around 40$. So no, I wasn't joking when I said that.

I also made a post about what to pack for a summer trip to Iceland.

I will also be making a post about where to stay the night in Iceland for free and where to shower if you're traveling in a campervan very soon! Check out my profile for that! :-)

For pictures, check out my Instagram: @evelienagram

How to get around

In the summer, I definitely suggest renting a campervan. It's relatively compact, it's independent, it doesn't slow you down, and it's one of the cheapest options. There are countless other options such as a car and a tent, a caravan/camper, a car and hotels, hitchhiking, etc. but those all have their disadvantages.

- Car + tent: an advantage is that you can pretty much put a tent up anywhere in Iceland as long as you don't disturb anyone. It's small and not in the way of anything or anyone, but it does get very cold, windy, and rainy in Iceland. I personally wouldn't want to spend 10 days in a cold and possibly wet tent.

- Car + hotel: an advantage here is that you have a clean bed and a shower every night/morning. A major disadvantage, though, is that you really need to get to a specific place every evening. All of the other options don't have that problem.

- Caravan/camper: When you have a camper or a caravan, you have the advantage of having a toilet, a shower, and a comfy bed but you're almost forced to pay for a camping spot every night which can drive up the prices fast.

- Hitchhiking: You might think this is not a good idea to begin with, but Iceland is a very safe country and normally you shouldn't have any problems with hitchhiking. However, as most people on the road are tourists and they usually only hire a vehicle that's *just* big enough for them, it might be hard to find someone who can take you to your next destination.

- Campervan: Like with a tent, you can park your campervan pretty much anywhere that doesn't say 'no camping' (you'd have to be outside city centres at all times, though). So this means you can save money by not having to go to a camping every night! The only 'issue' with a campervan is the lack of showers, but Icelanders found a great way to fix that problem: in most swimming pools you can just pay for a shower alone! There are swimming pools in every small or big city, and you can also shower at places like the Blue Lagoon or the Myvatn baths.

Keflavik - Reykjavik

Assuming you arrive by plane, you will land at Keflavik airport. It's a very small and cute airport, and it takes about 40 minutes to go from Keflavik to Reykjavik by car. On the way, you will pass the Blue Lagoon. Pro tip: do not visit the Blue Lagoon on your first day! I will tell you why later on.

Once you arrive in Reykjavik, you will want to walk around for a while there. There are some nice touristic spots to visit such as:

- Harpa concert hall

- Perlan (viewpoint)

- Solfar sun voyager sculpture

- Hofdi house (the end of the cold war was discussed here)

- Hallgrimskirkja (a beautiful church)

Don't be fooled by the word "capital" when you talk about Reykjavik. It's a very small city. You'll be able to see the whole city in about two to three hours.

Reykjavik - Golden Circle

The golden circle is what most tourists do who come to Iceland. You will drive from Reykjavik to Thingvellir National Park (which, by the way, have free camping spots available). You can walk around there for quite a long time. You can also go diving there if you'd like to, or walk up a mountain and get a beautiful view from above.

Next is Geysir! This geyser erupts every 3-4 minutes and it's surrounded by other smaller geysers that unfortunately do not erupt, but they're still beautiful regardless.

After that, you will make your way to Gulfoss. This is a huge waterfall that is definitely worth the visit! If you have a poncho, bring one! On the way back you can also visit a waterfall called Faxi which is a little bit smaller.

Next, you will go to Skálholt, which is a small cathedral in the middle of a very tiny town. It's a perfect break to stretch your legs for a while before continuing your journey.

Then, you will come across Kerid, which is a huge crater. It does cost money to go in here, but it's definitely worth the visit!

You will then arrive in Selfoss.

Selfoss - Vik

The first stop when leaving Selfoss is Seljalandsfoss. This is a waterfall that you can walk behind (again, bring a poncho if you have one)!

Then, you will drive to Seljavallalaug. This is the oldest swimming pool in Iceland that is tucked away in the mountains. It takes quite the hike to get there, but it's definitely worth it! The water is warm (not the warmest you'll experience in Iceland, but still) and it's a lovely swim.

After that, you will come across Skógafoss. This is a huge waterfall that is 60m wide and 25m high. You can go very close to the waterfall if you want to, and you can also walk to the top which is definitely worth it!

If you want to visit the DC-3 plane wreck, this is your chance. It does require a long walk (7.5km/4.6 miles) but it's a nice and quiet walk and I thought it was definitely worth it! Bring some food and drinks with you as well, you might need it on the way. There is a sign that says it takes 4 hours to walk there and back, which is not true in summer. My friend and I are fast walkers but it took us 35mins to walk there and 30mins to come back. In winter, this might be different because of the snow, though!

Reynisfjara beach is next. This is a black sand beach with some strange-looking rocks that you might want to check out! Right next to that is also Dyrholaey, which is a beautiful viewpoint. The drive there can be a bit scary for people who have never driven in the mountains or on gravel (or both) before but you'll be fine!

You will then arrive in Vik.

Vik - Diamond Beach

After driving for about an hour, you will come across Fjadrargljufur. This is a huge canyon and one of the most photogenic places I've ever been. Although they have closed some of the paths you let nature recover from the amount of tourists, you can still visit the place!

After that, you will visit Skaftafell. This is a huge glacier. There are also many different hikes you can do, we took the shortest one that just takes you to a beautiful and hidden waterfall. Be prepared: this hike does require some climbing!

You can visit two other glaciers, called Fjallsarlon and Jökulsarlon. If you've never seen a glacier from close-by before, I suggest you go visit both of these because it is breathtaking. Next to Jökulsarlon is diamond beach. This is where the ice from the glacier moves into the sea. It's beautiful.

Diamond Beach - Seydisfjördur

This day requires a pretty long drive. Also, we did this specific trip to ensure we had a free place to sleep that evening. If you don't need that, you can slightly adapt your trip here depending on what you want to see.

After driving for about an hour or two, right before going into a tunnel (you will only go through two tunnels normally, this is the first one). There is a small street on the right side of the road that takes you to the Viking Cafe. Here you can drink and/or eat something (it's pricey, though) and you can visit what used to be a small Viking "town". You can also drive to the coast and possibly spot some seals! Unfortunately we didn't see any but some other people did! :)

Along the way to Seydisfjördur you will be able to enjoy beautiful landscapes and stop on the side of the road to take some pictures. Seydisfjördur is a small but beautiful town that requires you to drive through the mountains to get there. This is where we stayed the night.

Seydisfjördur - Akureyri

This is another long drive. On the way to Akureyri you will come across a cave called Hverir. This is the infamous cave where Jon Snow and Ygritte from Game of Thrones did their "thing". Because of that, this place is pretty crowded. You can't swim in the cave anymore like you used to, but it's still very pretty and definitely worth the visit!

Right next to that are Myvatn nature baths. This is kind of like the Blue Lagoon but more natural, and a little cheaper. Definitely worth a visit!

After that, you visit Godafoss, which is another waterfall.

Then, you arrive in Akureyri.

Akureyri - Kirkjufell

In Akureyri, you can go whale watching. They take you with a boat into the fjord and for about 3 hours, they show you as many whales as they can. Dress well for this, because it gets pretty cold on the boat. Usually these companies will also provide you with some extra clothes, but you never know for sure ;)

After that, you drive straight to Kirkjufellsfoss. This is the most photographed mountain in Iceland. This might be the longest drive on your trip, but I think it's worth it!

Kirkjufell - Reykjavik

On the way back to Reykjavik, you might find some other hot springs. We didn't find them, but we know they're there somewhere! When coming back to Reykjavik, you can do some souvenir shopping, go to the hard rock cafe for the ones who collect the t-shirts and sweaters, go can go for a drink and just relax for a while. After spending more than a week on the road, you're going to enjoy some time off there.

Reykjavik - Keflavik

Before hopping on a plane back home (you could also do this the night before if your plane leaves early in the morning, just sleep somewhere close to Keflavik then), visit the Blue Lagoon! There are multiple reasons why you should do this on the last day. First: you have to pre-book your visit and you have to know at what time you want to be there. Your trip might come with some unexpected changes, so don't count on your plane being on time. It's better to book a day or two in advance when you're on the road and you know you're going to be in Reykjavik on schedule. Another reason is that this water is the warmest out of all the hot springs because it's not naturally heated (sorry to break it to you). It's also the biggest pool with the most people and you get treated the best (including face masks and drinks). If you do this at the beginning, you might not get so excited about all of the other beautiful hot springs.

THE END

This concludes your trip to Iceland! Of course, you can develop your own plan based on what you like the most, but this is the plan that worked for my friend and I. I hope I gave you some valuable tips that you can use on your holiday!