Day-by-day programme of this 8-day itinerary across Full Ring Road.
Day 1 — Arrival in Reykjavík
Pick up the rental car at the airport: Keflavík is about 50 minutes from Reykjavík. Take the first afternoon easy — a walk along the waterfront is the best way to start.
- 📍 Keflavík Airport — Welcome to Iceland, a stunning land — the island of ice and fire. You land at Keflavík Airport, which sits about fifty kilometres from the capital, Reykjavík.
- 📍 Rental car pickup — Pick up your rental car right inside the airport; we recommend Blue Car Rental. You could also reach the capital by taxi, public buses or the Flybus shuttle.
- 📍 Hallgrímskirkja — Start your discovery of the capital at the great Lutheran church towering over Reykjavík, inspired by basalt lava flows: climb the tower for the view over the colourful rooftops. Entry to the church is free, but going up the tower requires a ticket — you'll find all the details on their website.
- 📍 Sun Voyager (Sólfar) — This steel sculpture shaped like a Viking ship is perfect at sunset, with Mount Esja behind it. Continuing along the seaside walk, a few steps bring you to the Harpa concert hall.
- 📍 Harpa Concert Hall — Walking along the seafront promenade you reach the Harpa concert hall in just a few steps. Step inside for free to admire the honeycomb glass facade that shifts colour with the light. For info visit the Harpa.is website; you can find the opening hours here.
- 🍽️ Sægreifinn (Sea Baron) — A historic harbour spot famous for its lobster soup and very fresh fish skewers in a seafaring atmosphere. After dinner you head back to the hotel: tomorrow you set off early for the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
- 🏨 Local 101 Vesturbær
Day 2 — Snæfellsnes Peninsula
A scenic driving day: the peninsula packs in waterfalls, cliffs, beaches and the Snæfellsjökull volcano. Aim to reach Kirkjufell around golden hour for the best photos.
- 📍 Hraunfossar and Barnafoss — After breakfast you set off. Get in the car and head toward the Snæfellsnes peninsula. The first stop is Hraunfossar. Along the river, dozens of small falls flow straight out of a lava field — a one-of-a-kind sight — and nearby rushes the powerful Barnafoss.
- 📍 Búðakirkja — Búðakirkja is a small black wooden church standing alone between lava fields and the ocean, one of Iceland's iconic images. After the stop you continue along the peninsula's southern coast to the village of Arnarstapi.
- 📍 Arnarstapi — At Arnarstapi you'll find natural rock arches, basalt columns and a coastal walk among seabird colonies. From here you head north, to the other side of the peninsula, up to the iconic Kirkjufell mountain.
- 📍 Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss — Kirkjufell is Iceland's most photographed mountain, with the little waterfall in the foreground: spectacular at sunset. You spend the night in Grundarfjörður, the town right at its foot.
- 🏨 Kirkjufell Central Apartment
Day 3 — Heading North: Akureyri
A long transfer leg (about 4-5 hours of driving) along the Ring Road heading northeast. Best to leave early and keep the afternoon for Akureyri.
- 📍 Downtown Akureyri — After the long drive you reach Akureyri, Iceland's second city, lively at the end of a long fjord, with its cafés and famous red heart-shaped traffic lights. From the centre, climb the stairway up to the church that overlooks the town.
- 📍 Akureyrarkirkja — Akureyrarkirkja overlooks the town from the top of its stairway and is the stylistic twin of Reykjavík's Hallgrímskirkja. In the late afternoon you head down to the harbour to board the whale-watching tour.
- 🎯 Whale Watching — A boat trip into the long Akureyri fjord, one of the areas with the highest whale-sighting rates in Iceland (optional stop, to be booked). On your return you stay overnight in Akureyri.
- 🏨 Sæluhús Akureyri
Day 4 — Goðafoss, Mývatn and the geothermal Northeast
The fullest day: volcanic and geothermal landscapes around Lake Mývatn. For Dettifoss use the paved road 862 (road 864 needs a 4x4).
- 📍 Goðafoss — After leaving Akureyri, the first stop is Goðafoss, the "waterfall of the gods": a wide turquoise semicircle to admire from both banks, linked by a path. Then continue east to Lake Mývatn and the Dimmuborgir lava fields.
- 📍 Dimmuborgir — Dimmuborgir is a maze of bizarrely shaped lava formations with loop trails and, nearby, the Grjótagjá spring cave. A little beyond, on the other side of the lake, the Hverir geothermal area steams away.
- 📍 Hverir (Námafjall) — Hverir is an ochre expanse of bubbling mud pots and hissing fumaroles with a strong sulphur smell: an almost Martian landscape. A few minutes away you can then soak in the warm waters of the Mývatn Nature Baths.
- 🎯 Mývatn Nature Baths — The Mývatn Nature Baths are the quieter, less crowded alternative to the Blue Lagoon: blue thermal waters overlooking the lake (online tickets recommended). Refreshed, you then take the detour northeast to the mighty Dettifoss.
- 📍 Dettifoss — Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Europe: a 100-metre-wide wall of grey glacial water thundering into the canyon. After this spectacle you head back to Lake Mývatn, where you spend the night.
- 🏨 Hólssel Hólsfjöllum road 864
Day 5 — The East Fjords to Höfn
A long driving day along the East Fjords, one of the most scenic and least crowded stretches of the loop. Seyðisfjörður is a worthwhile detour if you have time.
- 📍 Seyðisfjörður — Seyðisfjörður is a fishing village tucked into a fjord, with its blue church and the famous rainbow street leading up to it (an optional scenic detour). From here you rejoin the Ring Road southward, hugging the East Fjords down to the foot of Vestrahorn.
- 📍 Vestrahorn (Stokksnes) — Vestrahorn is a jagged mountain mirrored on a black-sand beach with grassy dunes, one of photographers' favourite subjects. A few kilometres on you reach Höfn, the harbour town that is the realm of langoustine.
- 🍽️ Pakkhús Restaurant (Höfn) — Höfn is famous for langoustine: treat yourself to a seafood dinner with a view of the Vatnajökull glaciers. After dinner you stay here for the night, because tomorrow you enter the realm of ice.
- 🏨 Höfn Guesthouse
Day 6 — Jökulsárlón and the glacier coast
Today you skirt Vatnajökull, Europe's largest glacier. The icebergs on the beach depend on the tide, so it's worth lingering.
- 📍 Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon — From Höfn you reach Jökulsárlón, a glacial lake dotted with blue icebergs that break off the glacier and drift to the sea; seals are sometimes spotted. Just cross the road to find the stranded icebergs of Diamond Beach.
- 📍 Diamond Beach — Diamond Beach is a black-sand beach where blocks of clear ice wash up and sparkle like diamonds in the sun. From here, if you like, you set off on a guided glacier hike in Skaftafell park.
- 🎯 Vatnajökull glacier excursion — With a guide you walk on the glacier's crevasses or cruise among the lagoon's icebergs (optional activity, to be booked in advance). Continuing west, you then stop at the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon.
- 📍 Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon — Fjaðrárgljúfur is a deep, winding canyon carved by the river between moss-covered walls, with a panoramic path along the rim. In the evening you reach Vík, the town that will be your base for exploring the south coast.
- 🏨 Hótel Vík í Mýrdal
Day 7 — The South Coast: black beaches and waterfalls
At Reynisfjara the waves are sudden and dangerous: never turn your back to the sea. Bring a waterproof jacket to get close to the waterfalls.
- 📍 Reynisfjara black beach — A short way from Vík, Reynisfjara is a black lava-sand beach with basalt columns, caves and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks, to be admired at a safe distance from the waves. A little further west you climb the Dyrhólaey promontory.
- 📍 Dyrhólaey promontory — Dyrhólaey is a promontory with a large rock arch over the sea and a lighthouse; in summer puffins nest here. You then drive west to the Skógafoss waterfall.
- 📍 Skógafoss — Skógafoss is a perfectly rectangular 60-metre waterfall, often framed by a rainbow; a side stairway leads to the viewpoint at the top. A short distance away you can walk on the tongue of the Sólheimajökull glacier.
- 🎯 Sólheimajökull glacier — Sólheimajökull is an easily reachable glacier tongue, ideal for a short guided hike with crampons (optional, to be booked). The last waterfall of the day is Seljalandsfoss, the one you can walk behind.
- 📍 Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi — Seljalandsfoss is the waterfall you can walk behind along a path (you'll get wet!); nearby hides Gljúfrabúi, inside a cleft in the rock. You spend the night in the Hvolsvöllur area, halfway to the Golden Circle.
- 🏨 South Iceland Guesthouse
Day 8 — Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon
Last day with the Golden Circle classics and a soak at the Blue Lagoon, handy because it's near the airport. Book the Blue Lagoon well in advance.
- 📍 Gullfoss — Gullfoss, the "golden waterfall", is an imposing double drop plunging into a gorge: one of Iceland's most beloved. Heading south, you can make a short stop at the Kerið crater.
- 📍 Geysir and Strokkur — In the Geysir geothermal area, Strokkur erupts a jet of boiling water up to 20-30 metres high every few minutes. A few minutes' drive brings you to the Gullfoss waterfall.
- 📍 Þingvellir National Park — Þingvellir is a UNESCO site where you walk in the rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, birthplace of the world's oldest parliament. From here you continue along the Golden Circle to the Geysir geothermal area.
- 📍 Kerið crater — Kerið is a volcanic crater with a turquoise lake at the bottom and red rock walls, which you can walk around the rim in a few minutes (optional stop). From here you head toward the airport, with a last stop at the Blue Lagoon.
- 📍 Rental car drop-off
- 📍 Keflavík Airport
