Oh boy. Iceland.
Iceland ranks up there among our favorite places we’ve ever visited, no questions asked. The spectacular landscape can’t help but take your breath away, and for avid hiker like us, it’s hard to imagine a more exciting destination.
Ben and I visited Iceland in August of 2021 and spent ten days road-tripping around Iceland’s Ring Road, which is the itinerary pretty much everyone does when they visit Iceland. I did a lot of research for this trip, and I mean a lot. And we stopped at a lot of places. The idea of trying to write a comprehensive blog post on our itinerary is, frankly, daunting. So what I’ve decided to do is write this post which will outline our itinerary with links to more detailed blog posts about any particular something on the list that you may want to know more about. There’s a lot (and I mean a lot) of information out there about Iceland, and frankly, many of them list all the same things. This itinerary will include those things, along with a few others that are, if not off the beaten track, at least off to the side.
Day One
-Early morning arrival in Iceland
-Hike to Fagradalisfjall volcano
-Overnight in Reykjavik
Total drive time: 1.5 hours
Day Two
-Snorkel at Silfra fissure
-Geysir
-Gullfoss
-Overnight in Fluðir
Total drive time: 2.5 hours
Day Three
-Þjaðveldisbærinn Viking house
-Haifoss
-Kerid Crater
-Overnight in Ölvisholt
Total drive time: 4.5 hours
Day Four
–Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfuràrbui
-Skógafoss
-Sólheimajökull glacier
-Fjaðrárgljufur
-Overnight in Kirkjubæjarklaustur (just go ahead and try to say that one)
Total drive time: 3 hours
Day Five
–Glacier hiking and kayak combo tour
-Jokulsarlon
-Diamond Beach
-Overnight in Höfn
Total drive time: 2.5 hours
Day Six
-Vestrahorn
Total drive time: 3.5 hours
Day Seven
-Krafla
-Hverir
-Dimmuborgir
-Goðafoss
-Overnight in Akureyri
Total drive time: 5 hours
Day Eight
-Return to Reykjavik
Total drive time: 5 hours
Day Nine
-Buðakirkja
-Rauðfeldsgja Gorge
-Arnastapi
-Londrangar
-Saxhóll Crater
-Svortuloft lighthouse
Overnight on Snæfellsnes Penninsula
Day Ten
-Glymur waterfall
-Drive to airport and return home
Phew. Just typing out all those Icelandic names was a challenge. Please forgive any misspellings or incorrect symbols. I did my best.
This Ring Road itinerary is packed to say the lease. Because we were travelling in the summer, light was not an issue, and we were generally on the road by about 7:30 each morning, and would check into our accommodation around 8:30 at night most nights. I’m not sure this itinerary would even be possible if you were travelling at other times of the year. But if you want an Iceland itinerary that is filled with hiking, exploring beautiful places, venturing into the wilderness, and marveling at the magnificence of nature, this itinerary offers all that and more.
But even if you don’t want a vacation where you walk miles and miles every day, Iceland should definitely still be on your bucket list. It is an otherworldly destination that should be on everyone’s bucket list!
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