Iceland’s Ring Road in 8 days

We rented a camper van from Camp Easy and drove the Ring Road in 8 days. We would never do Iceland in a different way. We loved having the flexibility of camping in whatever city we needed to, having our food and clothes with us at all time and getting amazing views to go to sleep and wake up to.

Some questions we got about the camper van:

Q: Was it cold:

A: Nope, they have a heater you can use all night that is charged by batteries, so no hook ups needed!

Q: How did you eat?

A: We had a small kitchen in our camper van! It had running water, a sink, a small fridge and cabinets. They also provided us with pans, silverware, dishes, a stovetop and cleaning supplies for dishes.

Q: Was the bed uncomfortable?

A: Nope, not at all! You break down the back living area into the bed and you get down comforter blanket and pillows. It was super comfy to us!

Q: How did you shower?

A: We stopped at campsites each night and if they were open, then part of your fees are to use the bathrooms, which usually had showers! And most of them even had shampoo and conditioner for us to use! We also got to shower anytime we went into hot springs!

See, the camper van life in Iceland really is not bad! We loved it and would do it again in a heart beat!

Now to get to why you are really here! To see our 8 day itinerary for the Ring Road in Iceland. We did go to Iceland in early May, so we did luck out with amazing weather and had no snow or rain, which can effect your driving schedule. We also were able to have really long days since the sun would set around 10:30pm, so you can bet we were out most days until 10pm exploring!

8 Day Itinerary:

Day 1:
Land in Reykjavik , go to Camp Easy and grocery shop at Bonus. Drive towards Vik and stop at the Kerib crater, Seljalandsfoss waterfall (there are also 2 more waterfalls to see in this area), stop at Skogafoss waterfall and walk up the stairs, hike to Seljavallalaug to the hot spring pool in the mountains, camp at Vik camping site.

Day 2:
Go to the black sand beach, hike the plane crash (about 45 minutes each way), drive towards glacier lagoon and diamond beach stop at waterfalls on the way, after the lagoon and beach drive to Hornafjordur and camp at Viking Cafe campsite.

Day 3:
Hike at the Viking Cafe’s trails on their black sand beaches, drive to Myvatn and stop at Dettifoss waterfall on the way, stop at the geo thermal field to see the thermals,

go to the lava formations and walk the trails, go to the GoT caves (Grjotagja), soak at the Myvatn hot springs ($40 per person), camp at the site on Myvatn lake.

Day 4:
Hike up the Hverfjall crater (pretty steep and then 2 miles around the top), go to Godafoss waterfall, get geyser bread sandwich a cafe near falls, drive to Akureyri and explore town (make sure to see the church and mini sun voyager), drive the coast of the Trollaskagi peninsula and stop at small fisherman towns, camp at Hvammstangi

Day 5:
Drive to the Snaefelsnes Peninsula, go to the

Kirkjufellfoss waterfall and also see views of the Kirkjufell mountain, drive the coast and stop at various beaches until you reach the westernmost point of the peninsula and walk to the orange lighthouse to get amazing cliffside and rock formation views, hike the slot canyon Rauofeldsgja, drive and explore the town of Arnarstapi with amazing cliffside, drive to the Budir black church, drive and hike to the secret hot spring Landbrotakaug, camp. 

Day 6:
Hike the Saxholl crater, drive to Glans waterfall, drive to Hraunfossar waterfall, drive to Barbafossar waterfall, hike to the thermal river Reykjadalur (about 1.5 hours each way to hike), eat dinner at Icelandic street food (unlimited soup refills and free dessert for about $18 a person), camp near Reykavik.

Day 7: Drive the golden circle, stop at the tomato farm Frioheimar (need reservation, about $20 a person for soup buffet) for lunch, stop at the farm Efstidular to get ice cream, drive to Gullfoss waterfall, go to Fusion fish and chips for dinner, camp at Reykjavik campsite.

Day 8:
Do a puffin/whale tour with Special tours, go to Loki’s cafe for their rye bread ice cream, explore the Hallgrimskirkja church, walk to the sun voyager, go to Noodle Station for lunch, go to some museums, go to the blue lagoon (get reservation in advance, includes free mud mask and alcoholic drink with price), go to Baejarins Best hot dog stand for dinner. Camp at Reykjavik campsite.

Iceland was an amazing trip that we will always treasure! Have you been there before? Did you do the ring road?

Happy Traveling!

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