A 10-Day Self-Drive Itinerary for Iceland

Turning dreams into plans

The Ring Road – Þjóðvegur 1 (National Road 1) – is the Icelandic road trip every Iceland fan dreams of. It’s an 820-mile (1,322 km) highway circling the country. VisitIceland and Rick Steves both say you can do it in seven days as a minimum; if you’re planning, see Driving Iceland’s Ring Road: All You Need to Know : Nordic Visitor. My brother and sister-in-law (Ron and Jo) were joining me for a vacation of ten days, starting before my birthday and ending after their anniversary, and were renting a car. My brother put no limits on his willingness to drive and explore. But as you’ll read, we did not make this a full Ring Road trip.

For the last four years or so, I’d been determined to spend my 70th birthday riding Icelandic horses, in Iceland, where I longed to return. Last fall, when Jo heard my intentions, she said she’d love to do that. Her turn to choose their vacation, luckily. Not only does she love horses, but all wildlife, so the chance to see whales and puffins added to the appeal.

Þjóðhátíð, like Heaven, must wait

I’ve dreamed of getting to Þjóðhátíð, the national festival on the Westmann Islands, and the 2023 dates were during our stay! Exciting opportunity! I hate crowds, am not much for popular music, but the atmosphere of this festival fascinates me. I would love to experience it. This blog post from Wilderness Coffee and Natural High will clue you in.

Exceptionally, I’ll listen to and like things in another language that I’d never abide in English. Check out my youtube playlist of Icelandic songs from the 50s till now, in a wide range of styles, that I’ve used to advance my Icelandic; songs are super for learning or teaching languages. The first on the playlist has been a theme song of the festival. (I’ve just added the song Vinátta to the list, because it repeatedly lets you hear the pronunciation of the the festival name.)

I’d thought I’d borrow camping equipment from a Danish friend and take it back afterwards …. But now we were three, and Ron and Jo were not up for sleeping out, and there was nowhere left to book. I imagine you must get lodging a year or even several years ahead. I could have gone on my own. But my brother and I have not had a vacation together as adults, and I thought our road trip would give me experiences I wouldn’t have any other time, and that it would be more meaningful than any festival experience no matter how cool. Turned out to be absolutely right.

Anybody want to join me for Þjóðhátíð in, maybe, 2025 or 2026? Let me hear from you! Or should I make that my 75th birthday goal? Hmm. Maybe 73rd is a better idea; why chance waiting? Whenever, will have to be the simplest and cheapest visit possible, but I will keep hoping.

Plans turn into bookings

Next plan. My suggestion was to forego driving the entire Ring Road. Not that we couldn’t have, but we’d want time for riding (several times!), for whale-watching tours, for detours and exploring whatever caught our eyes. I didn’t think the pressure of having to get back to Keflavik on a fixed date only 9 days off would let us feel as free and relaxed as one wishes on vacation.

Also, you know Iceland is very sparsely populated; there is not an abundance of lodging. It’s not a place where you can just find a room for the night if you didn’t plan ahead; outside Reykjavik, for summer, MONTHS ahead and possibly a year. The Ring Road seems to me to be best for campers.

I suggested flying to Akureyri on arrival. Flights are frequent and cheap. They’re from the national airport which is by the bus station that your Keflavik airport transfer will bring you to, so you do have to transfer, but it’s easy. We could have rides along the northern fjords, go whale-watching, explore the coast and Mývatn. Then, back in Reykjavik, we could make day trips around the south.

Ron was game to drive both ways instead, taking the western leg of the Ring Road and allowing some detours. We did keep the idea of lodging just in the two towns. Jo took my list of suggestions of things to see and do in Iceland, did her research and booked us a fantastic vacation. I outline it here as a sample of what you can manage to do in this amount of time. Since we liked everything about the trip, this is also a page of recommendations, peppered with links, of course!

I can’t not point out that Iceland is a very expensive destination. Lodging can be somewhat reasonable, about like any capital city even in a hamlet or village, but restaurants are high. Happily, so is the quality. Outstanding food and museums … and to my great surprise, Ron and Jo made everything we did that week a birthday treat. I was overwhelmed when Jo told me that at our first dinner. Am I the luckiest person you’ve come across?

A ride before hitting the road

I got to Reykjavik before Ron and Jo, spent three nights in a 52-bed dorm in the grungiest hostel ever, and got to have a ride with Eldhestar – something I did not want to risk missing. They’re southeast of the city, near Hveragerði, a town known for its geothermally heated greenhouses and its springs, earthquakes, and craftsmen. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have a car, as Eldhestar will pick up and drop off in Reykjavik with no extra charge. My post about that day is Eldhestar and Fálki!

Our road trip

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What did we miss?

Well, of course, the East Fjords, the southern and eastern coasts, and lots of towns! There is a lot to see in Iceland. You could easily fill four to six weeks taking the Ring Road and detouring to peninsulas, beaches, and interior mountains as well, while visiting all the towns and all the churches. Not to mention, the Westmann Islands.

Once upon a time, I was enthused about the possibility of snorkeling in the Continental Rift. I thought on this trip, Ron could get a thrill diving there, and Jo and I could snorkel. The Silfra Fissure is at Þingvellir National Park – site of the first Alþing (national assembly) in Iceland, around 930 – so I knew we’d get there. But then we read all the details: warnings, that is. For such cold water, you need a serious dry suit (tour operators will provide that) and then you have quite a challenging slog. None of us felt we could handle it, much less enjoy it. So sad.

On the other hand, in 2012 I went to a concert at the marvelous then-new concert and meeting facility (several concert halls, can’t just say it is a hall) on Reykjavik’s waterfront, called Harpa. The architecture and the materials used in the building are fascinating, and the evening was a delight. I would very much like to go to a concert there again, but there was nothing going on that fit into this trip.

My wish list, if I can return

• Þjóðhátíð
• A multi-day riding tour; probably with Eldhestar (which was my original birthday plan), but possibly Pólar Hestar
• an opera or classical concert at Harpa
• a solo or ensemble performance by the tenor Gissur Páll Gissurarsson
• a swim in a geothermically heated lap pool, as I enjoyed in Hveragerði in 2012 (with snowflakes falling on my face!)

btw

I found an interesting page with a video series on the Icelandic sagas. Haven’t seen them yet, but am sharing the link with fair confidence that it’s worthwhile.