Iceland Itineraries: 5, 7, 10 and 14 Days Plus a Winter Trip

Iceland looks small on a map, but the Ring Road is 1,322 km long and most visitors stop every 30 minutes. These are typical times for the legs used below in good conditions.

Fuel stations thin out in the east and north, so fill up whenever you drop below half a tank. Several are unmanned and need a card with a PIN, or a prepaid card bought at the station shop.

The classic short trip, and the right one for a first visit in any season. You stay two nights in Reykjavík and two on the south coast, so you only pack up twice.

Day 3 is a full day. Þingvellir, the rift valley where the old parliament met, needs about 90 minutes for the walk down the Almannagjá gorge to the Law Rock and the Öxarárfoss waterfall; parking costs about ISK 1,000. Geysir’s neighbour Strokkur erupts every 5 to 10 minutes, and Gullfoss is 10 minutes further on. Both are free. Arrive at Geysir before 10am or after 5pm to avoid the tour coaches.

On day 4, walk behind Seljalandsfoss (waterproofs needed) and up the 527 steps beside Skógafoss for the view up the river. At Reynisfjara, stay well back from the water: sneaker waves have killed several visitors, and the beach has warning lights for a reason. In winter, swap the glacier walk for an earlier start, because you have only five hours of light to see everything.

Cost: about ISK 160,000-230,000 (US$1,300-1,850) per person for five days mid-range, including car hire shared between two, guesthouses at ISK 25,000-40,000 a room, fuel, the Blue Lagoon and a glacier walk. Winter is 20 to 30% cheaper.

Seven days adds the southeast, where Vatnajökull’s outlet glaciers come down almost to the road. It is an out-and-back route on paved Route 1, so it works in winter too, and it is the best week in Iceland if you are not set on the full loop.

The highlight is day 5. Jökulsárlón’s amphibious boats run from about April to October and cost around ISK 7,000-8,000 (US$55-65) for 40 minutes; zodiac trips get closer to the ice for about twice that. Across the road, chunks of ice wash up on the black sand of Diamond Beach, best at sunrise. If you have the budget, sleep near Jökulsárlón and drive back over two days instead of one. Between November and March, add a guided ice cave tour from Jökulsárlón or Skaftafell on day 5 (ISK 25,000-35,000).

Cost: about ISK 220,000-320,000 (US$1,750-2,550) per person, mid-range, including a glacier hike and the lagoon boat. Rooms between Vík and Höfn are scarce in summer; book them first.

Ten days is the shortest sensible Ring Road loop and works best from late May to mid-September. Driving anticlockwise puts the south coast early, while you are fresh, and leaves the long Akureyri to Reykjavík run for the end.

Days 6 and 9 are the long ones. The Eastfjords coast road winds in and out of every fjord, and the shortcut over Öxi saves about an hour but is steep gravel and only sensible in summer. On day 7, Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe, is a 25 km detour north of Route 1 on paved road 862; allow two hours there and back including the walk. If you want whale watching, swap Mývatn’s second morning for a trip from Húsavík, an hour north.

Cost: about ISK 300,000-430,000 (US$2,400-3,450) per person, mid-range. Allow more in July, when a small rental car alone runs ISK 12,000-20,000 a day.

Two weeks lets you slow down on the Ring Road and add the west. This plan follows the 10-day route to Akureyri with an extra night for whale watching, then turns into the Westfjords and returns via the Baldur ferry and Snæfellsnes. The Westfjords section is for mid-June to early September; outside that, use the Snæfellsnes version below.

The Westfjords are the least visited and slowest region: long fjords, steep passes and gravel sections even on main roads, so average speeds are low. The Baldur ferry carries cars but has limited space in summer; book it as soon as you know your dates.

Snæfellsnes version (any season): follow the 10-day route to day 8 at a gentler pace with a whale-watching day in the north, drive from Akureyri to Stykkishólmur on day 11 (about 4.5 hours), spend days 12 and 13 on the peninsula, and return to Reykjavík on day 14. Snæfellsnes packs black and golden beaches, lava fields, Kirkjufell and a glacier-topped volcano into a 90 km loop, and is only 2.25 hours from the capital.

Cost: about ISK 400,000-570,000 (US$3,200-4,550) per person, mid-range, including the ferry for a car and two people and a whale-watching trip.

From November to March, the Ring Road is a gamble and the highlands are closed, so the best winter plan is a short loop in the southwest with nights in the countryside. Daylight runs from about 4 hours in late December to 11 hours in mid-March; February and March give the best balance of light, snow and aurora.

Start every drive at first light and plan to arrive before dark. Book a winter 4x4 with studded tyres, carry snacks and water, and check road status before each leg; a storm day is a good day for a lagoon or a museum. Aurora tours from Reykjavík cost about ISK 9,000-15,000 and most offer a free retry if you see nothing, but a self-drive trip with countryside nights gives you more chances. The Vatnajökull National Park website and tour operators list ice cave dates once the season opens. For winter in the north, fly Reykjavík to Akureyri in 45 minutes and base yourself there and at Mývatn instead.

• First-timers: the 7-day south coast route gives more of Iceland’s best sights per hour of driving than any other plan. Do the Ring Road on a second trip, or allow 12 days for it.
• Families: cut daily drives to 2 to 3 hours, base yourself for two or three nights in one place, and use public swimming pools, which cost a fraction of the lagoons and have slides and hot tubs.
• No car: stay in Reykjavík and take day tours to the Golden Circle and the south coast, plus a 2 to 3 day tour to Jökulsárlón. Strætó buses reach Vík, Höfn and Akureyri in summer but too rarely to see much.
• Hikers: add the Laugavegur trek from Landmannalaugar to Þórsmörk (3 to 4 days, July to early September) to the 7 or 10 day plan.
• Campervans: camping is only allowed at registered campsites, and many close from October to May; budget about ISK 2,500-4,000 per person a night.

Our Iceland getting around guide covers car hire, insurance, buses and domestic flights in detail, and the Iceland costs guide breaks down daily budgets. See when to go to Iceland for the season-by-season trade-offs.

Iceland travel guide · Best time · Costs · Getting around · Safety