10 DAY
ICELAND RING ROAD

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day One:

We arrived at Keflavik Airport (not in the capital of Reykjavík, but a 40 minute drive south ) early in the morning. The first time we went to Iceland, we didn’t have a 4x4 car, and while it was fine, I knew I wanted a capable car in case there were storms or even snow in late May in northern Iceland. We rented a 4x4 car from Star Car Rental and we rented through NorthBound.is. Let me state - you need a car in Iceland. Everything from May - September is easily accessible by car, and there is too much to see without a car.

While I don’t recommend this to the majority of people, we drove immediately from the airport to Akureyri. Instead, I HIGHLY recommend going straight from the airport to the Blue Lagoon. It’s only a 20 minute drive, and it’s quite the experience and welcome to Iceland. There is nothing like sitting in a cramped airplane seat for 8+ hours to then swim in luxuriously warm water with volcanic rocks and turquoise blue waters. It’s geothermal heated, has hot waterfalls, get facials, find cooler or warmer areas to swim, and enjoy something completely unique.

Anyway, we chose to drive 5 hours from the airport to the “capital of the north” - Akureyri. Along the way, we stopped at the stark and minimalistic geothermal Krauma Spa. They have temperature controlled pools within its sleek black exterior, along with saunas, ice baths, and an infrared steam bath. After this, we ate some food at the greenhouse food stand next to the spa. I love this place.

For your visit - if you choose to go north on the ring road first, please stay in this region for one night. You can stay at Hotel Husafell or a local guesthouse, visit the Husafell Canyon Baths, explore the Vidgelmir Lava Cave (we did it in 2018!) see the Hraunfossar Waterfalls and Barnafoss Waterfall, and honestly so much more. In 2018, we went to the only goat farm (featured in Game of Thrones) and it would be fun to take kids here too. This region is a great base point before heading somewhere new!

We stayed at the Hotel North in Akureyri. It is a little out of the city (I think 10-15 minutes east of the town), and we went into the city to eat at Centrum Kitchen. I can’t recommend this place enough - it is outstanding. We all had variations of Atlantic cod and were blown away. While there are other amazing restaurants, this vibe is cozy and classy. On our trip, we were waiting for the highly anticipated Forest Lagoon (a geothermal pool built into the mountainside) to open up, and it opened three days after we left. Truly, I was sad, but it only means we will return there next time! However, add it to your list of things to do.

Day Two:

We called this day our “Waterfall Day” and the goal was to visit three waterfalls; Godafoss, Dettifoss, and Selfoss. Be prepared and bring your waterproof… everything.
Our first waterfall of the day was to visit Godafoss, the only waterfall my mom wanted to visit. It looks like a fairy’s wonderland, with trails up and down the mossy hills surrounding the several waterfalls.
Then we went to Dettifoss and Selfoss. Fun fact, Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in all of Europe.

We stayed at Fosshotel Myvatn for the next two nights, and I genuinely enjoyed the experience. It’s part of a chain of hotels, and yet it was affordable and felt luxurious. This hotel is built into volcanic lava fields, and the green moss against the black rock and light blue waters felt enticingly desolate.

While a goal was to visit the geothermal Myvatn Nature Baths, we were told by some tourists we met earlier in the day that the midges (the bugs) were unbearable in their quantity, and it made the bathing experience miserable, so we chose to use the allotted time for the hot springs for a little excursion to Grjótagjá (that cave from Game of Thrones) and to the stinkiest place I’ve ever smelled, Hverir. It looks like Mars, but it smells like Earth’s grossest pimple popping.

For dinner, we ate at the local farm, Vogafjos Farm Resort. For anyone with a food allergy, this is your place. Considering it is a dairy farm, that had food/milk alternatives for everything. I am gluten, dairy, and egg intolerant (I know, it’s a bummer) and I was able to eat pizza and cake safely.

Day Three:

Ja-Ja, Ding Dong! If you know that reference, you know where we are going today. Husavik, Iceland is located on the Diamond Circle, and is the backdrop to the Netflix Film, “Eurovision Song Contest.” It's a small fishing village, but so picturesque. We ate lunch at Gamli Baukur (best Korean BBQ wings!) and walked around the town, the harbor, before going to our second geothermal pools for a swim. We chose not to do whale watching, but it is the hub for whale watching in Iceland if you want to see some whales!

My favorite part of our entire trip was visiting Geosea Geothermal Spa. It’s perched up on a top of a cliff overlooking the ocean and surround Arctic Circle fjords, it felt heavenly. Amazing design, great directs, incredible views, and perfectly warm waters. I could soak there every day.

We drove up the Diamond Circle peninsula and found some trails off the road and got a short hike in. Bonus, we saw puffins on the side of a cliff! That night, we ate dinner at the Fosshotel Myvatn restaurant, and it boasted amazing views with an entire wall of windows.

Day Four:

We departed from my mom and her partner and after a quick coffee break at Beitarhúsið, the middle of nowhere at made our way east to Egilsstaðir. In my original plans, we were going to spend more time in this region because there is so much do. This is a great base point for the northeast, but we decided to eat lunch at Askur Pizza (allergy accommodations!) before driving to Vök Baths. This geothermal pool was built into a lake, so while you sit you perfectly warm water, you can put your arm over the edge of the pool and touch the frigid lake. It was mostly locals here, and they jumped in the lake every now and then. Bonus points - tea is included in your ticket here.

We drove to the fjord town of Seydisfjordur. You’ve probably seen the rainbow street that ends at a church on Instagram, and this is the town! To get here, you drive over the mountain pass that is used in “A Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” The part where he longboards down a road and there is a waterfall in the background? Yes, all on this road. I love this pass, because there are random pull offs and trails off the side of the road. I would love to hike in this region sometime in the future!

The town of Seydisfjordur is fine. Almost everything was closed or being renovated before the busy season, including the grocery store, yet we found one open restaurant. Kaffi Lára El Grillo Bar had a fun atmosphere, good conversation with locals, and delicious food!

Our accommodation was gorgeous at the Old Bank - Hotel Aldan. Hotel Aldan is actually in two historic buildings in the city, the bank and the post office. The views all around were epic, and within 50 feet of restaurants and that famous church. We spent the rest of the evening hiking up to the several waterfalls that fall directly into the city.

Day Five:

This was our driving day, which ended up being good because a storm rolled through. Driving on the east fjords in crazy rain and wind was an adventure itself, and it unfortunately hid all the gorgeous views. We had planned to go to several places, like Djúpavogskörin - small geothermal pools in bathtubs on side of road, Djupivogur Lighthouse - small town close to the bathtubs, famous orange lighthouse, and Hengifoss - the red rock waterfall, but in the end, the weather won and we continued on.

The most epic accommodations we stayed in was this night at the Viking Cafe. It’s located at Vestrahorn in Höfn. We were recommend to eat dinner at Pakkhús in town, and it was one of the best meals of our trip. If you have food allergies, go here, because they have desserts for all sorts of allergy combinations. It was a dream!

Major tip here: stay at the Viking Cafe (the accommodations are just okay, but it’s the location you are paying for) because you will have the entire abandoned viking village to yourself after hours. This place is busy during the day, but after dinner time, you will be the only ones there. Plus, when the sun doesn’t set, it’s still light out at 10pm, which is when we went out here. It was amazing being able to walk around with no one in sight, other than 50 horses running around in the wildflower fields next to the village.

Day Six:

My 30th birthday - what a day it was.