Rugged, remote, breathtaking. Three words that barely even touch the surface when describing the sheer beauty of Iceland. And if you really want to get the full experience of the country – you’ve got to step beyond the typical golden circle route.
In September this year we hit the ring road. Iceland’s main highway which loops around the country. We saw countless waterfalls, rainbows, glaciers, mountains, whale, sheep and geysers. It really was an incredible way to spend ten days. Like the sound of this? Watch the video below to see just how beautiful it was, and for the full itinerary, keep on reading.
Before we start
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes. Iceland is expensive. But you can limit the amount you spend by being smart. Car rental and petrol were reasonable, while the hotels and guesthouses we stayed in each night had a kitchen we could cook in. This is essential. Where your money will go is on eating out. I think we spent about 20 pounds on a soup!
For ten days we’d suggest a comfortable budget of at least £2000 (for two people), which includes flights, accommodation and food shopping. We dined out just twice – in Reykjavik on the first and last day.
The majority of the ‘attractions’ are free, it just simply involves driving and visiting them, the only additional activity we paid for was whale watching, which, while expensive, was so worth it.
Look beyond the expensive meals and Iceland is so one of the most incredible and breathtaking places you’ll ever visit. Here’s our ten day itinerary.
Day one – Reykjavik
We landed in Keflavik, Reykjavik’s international airport early on the first day. The first thing we noticed was just how much colder the country was in September compared to the UK. I guess that’s why they call it Iceland.
After picking up our rental car from northbound rentals, we set off to Reykjavik. On this route people will often stop off at the Blue Lagoon. However, we knew we were to visit a hot spring later on our trip so we passed on the opportunity. If you do visit – make sure you book ahead, and prepare to pay a premium!
After arriving in Reykjavik, you’ll have the afternoon to explore the city and admire the mish mash of architecture dotted across the city. In our experience, this is more than enough time to do a walking tour of the main attractions, including the concert hall, church, viewpoint and parliament buildings.
Day two – The Golden Circle
The second day had us hitting the road with an early wake-up. This route is the famed Golden Circle, starting at Þingvellir National Park, where the the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, the first site of Iceland’s Parliament (and allegedly the beginning of the world’s oldest democracy). You’ll then continue driving to the sight of the famous sulphuric springs of dormant Geysir, and the impressive explosive spout of water from Strokkur. Stand well back and marvel at the heights the spout reaches. After this, you’ll head to Gullfoss falls, which were huge and had such force it sent water flying upwards as well as down.
We then spent the night at Guesthouse Arnarvoll in Hvolsvöllur.
Day Three – the best drive of your life
Today will involve alot of driving, but this was by far one of our favourite days in Iceland. Vatjanakull national park is one of the most beautiful parts of Iceland, and the scenic drive will be one of the most memorable of your lives.
Starting off early, we visited Seljalandsfoss waterfall, a striking column of water falling from a classic Icelandic mountain, while it also offers the unique opportunity to walk behind it. We’d recommend getting there just as the sun rises over the horizon, not just because you’ll have the place virtually to yourself, but it’s an unforgettable moment watching the suns rays creep over the fields ahead of you.
After taking in the beauty, you’ll then need to do a short drive to the famous Skogafoss waterfall. You’ll have seen this heavily Instagrammed waterfall before, usually with someone with a yellow rain-jacket in front.
After taking your photos, you can do a short walk up to the top of the falls, which lead to a beautiful river and a few extra waterfalls, too. Worth it for a short detour, and the chance to get away from the horde of yellow rain jackets below.
Returning to the road, the drive will then take you to Langjokull Glacier. Here the worlds of fire and ice really combine – the glacier is housed on the site of two volcanoes! – spot the blackened ice to really understand the sheer power of the forces that created Iceland.
After a quick walk to see the glacier and the glacier lagoon, head back onto the road for a crazy hour or so drive across old lava fields, spot glaciers and mountains in the background and just take it in. There really isn’t anything else like it. It will genuinely be one of the most scenic drives of your lives.
After an hour of driving, you will visit the famous black sand beach and the basalt columns accompanying it. This blew our minds. The colour of the sand and the crashing waves nearby provide the perfect backdrop to the legend of a troll who fell asleep here.
Continue along the ring-road before your last two sights. The Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, and diamond beach – where chunks of the receding glacier end up. Witness global warming in action, with this glaciar fast receding, before heading off.
After a long old day, rest up in Dilksnes Guesthouse in Hofn, before starting it all again the next day.
Day four – Vesturhorn mountain
Day Four will be a bit more chilled than day three, but it was no more spectacular.
After a big day yesterday, feel free to have a little bit of a lie-in, before heading off to Vesturhorn mountain.
Visit Hofn, where it’s rumoured the first settlers of Iceland landed and lived. In its place is a slightly dilapidated viking settlement, which is actually an old film set, but should give you a flavour of just what an old viking settlement looks like.
After visiting the Viking settlement, head to the black sand beach and go for a walk and marvel in the sheer size of Vesturhorn Mountain. After the walk, get back into your car and prepare for another beautiful drive across Iceland. The ring road will take you along the majestic fjords of the East Fjords, some of Iceland’s most spectacular rise and falls, with greens and blacks mixing together and remote fishing villages dotted along the route.
Day five – volcanic landscapes and more
Prepare for the temperature to drop as you head over some of the most sparse terrain Iceland has to offer. This volcanic landscape is eery, and can be made even spookier if the weather takes a turn, which is what we got when we visited. The scenery was still impressive, and it really hammered home the otherworldly landscape.
Along the route feel free to stop at any waterfalls you see. There’s many, and a lot of them will have hardly any tourists. Like Rjukandafoss, huge falls that just cascade from the nearby mountains, carved by ancient glaciers.
After an hour or so, you should arrive at Dettifoss. These waterfalls genuinely look like they could be on another planet, the white water providing the perfect contrast between the black rocks nearby. And if you got that 4X4 – prepare to use it. As the road between Detifoss and the next stop – Ásbyrgi Canyon – was still being built when we visited. Prepare to get your shiny rental dirty.
Head on to the sleepy village of Husavik, and dry off, go for a walk by the harbour and watch the sunset. If the sky is clear we recommend heading to the hot baths of GeoSea. This is where we saw the northern lights (we went the next day, as the sky was cloudy on this one). Relaxing in the hot pools, sipping on a beer and watching the sunset on the mountains before seeing the Northern Lights come out. Words can’t do it justice. You have to do this.
Day Six – enjoy a whale of a time
Husavik is famed for being one of the best places to see whales up close. Prepare to be wowed. We bought our tickets the night before with North Sailing, and chose the first boat out to sea. This boat gets out before any others, and it means you potentially have the whales all to yourselves.
After an hour sailing across the choppy seas (prepare to feel a little seasick), we were treated with an up close view of about three or four humpback whales. To be able to see these majestic creatures up close was simply incredible. We were very lucky.
After returning to the dock, warm up with a coffee in the really nice cafe by the seafront, before heading off to do the diamond circle. A distant cousin of the famed, but heavily touristic, golden circle you will have done from Rekyjavik.
Visit the huge lake Myvatn and marvel at the nearby mountains, before heading over to the thermal pools at Námaskarð Pass. Prepare to gag on the sulphuric steam as you can get up pretty close to the steaming pools of mud.
Finish the day off with a descent down another incredible fjord into the picturesque Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest city.
Day Seven – chasing waterfalls
Explore the city of Akureyri in the morning, before heading off to two incredible, but contrasting waterfalls.
The first – Godafoss- which literally translates into waterfalls of the Gods, is the rumoured site of a thousand Norse relics, cast into the pools once the local population converted to Christianity. These pretty waterfalls are the perfect contrast for the next waterfalls at Akuyeri.
Heading 2km up a dirt track via car, you will come to the breathtaking Akureyri falls. This looks like something straight out of mordor, with basalt columns surrounding a falling common of clear blue water. These waterfalls are far enough away and down dirt tracks that there aren’t many tourists around, so take as long as you want to take it all in.
We spent a second night at Akureyri, but if you’re short for time, this day can be merged with Day 8.
Day Eight – sheep, seals and dragons…
This day is full of the beauty of the Icelandic highlands, rolling hills and exposed cliffs look out onto the freezing cold waters of the North Atlantic. This day will see you spotting some of Iceland’s most famous animals. Sheep, horses, seals and dragons.
Wait, what? Ok, not a real dragon. But you will visit a beautiful black sand beach and visit the famous Hvitserkur rock formation, which is said to resemble a dragon drinking from a bucket of water. Personally, I (Jack) thinks it looks like a rhino but what do I know. Take in the rugged terrain and follow roads off around the coast, and just breathe in the salty sea air of the north atlantic, where the next landmass is either Greenland or the arctic.
Day Nine – Snæfellsnes Peninsula
The penultimate day will see you arriving back to the now-familiar towering green cliffs of south west Iceland and the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, offering the chance to see even more incredible rock formations, dormant volcanoes and ancient lava fields.
Take in the sights one last time, view the glacial stratovolcano, Snaefellsjokull, from afar, visit Rauðfeldsgjá Gorge, where an Icelandic Saga where half-giant Bardar threw fellow giants into the canyon in revenge for killing his daughter. Once you’ve visited the gorge, head to the coast nearby to see the crashing white waves hitting the Londrangar basalt columns, towering out to sea.
This is also one of your final chances to see the northern lights. So make sure you head out in the evening, watch the sunset and then hope for more aurora borealis.
Day ten – Waterfalls and home
What you do on the final day is down to you. We decided to head back to Reykjavik via Bjarnarfoss to get our waterfall fix one last time, before spending the last day souvenir shopping and stumping up for a vastly overpriced, but tasty meal in town.
Having our final afternoon back at where we started our adventure, we were given the chance to reflect on just how much we had done and seen over the course of ten days.
Iceland made a profound impact on us. From the friendliness of its people, its varied history and the sheer incredible variety of landscape on offer. It truly was the land of ice and fire, and we would go back there in an instant.
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