Iceland, an otherworldly island in the North Atlantic, is a Nordic country of pure rugged natural beauty.
Volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, lava fields, massive glaciers and dramatic waterfalls define the landscape, with one main highway – also known as the “Ring Road” – that loops all the way around the island, connecting most towns.
The 830-mile route takes a full week or more to drive, depending on how much you want to stop and explore. Along the way, the two-lane road has barely any trees to obstruct your view, so the scenery on a clear day varies from fields to farms, waterfalls, mountains, beaches, the ocean, lakes, and herds of the country’s native horses.
Even though flying out to Iceland isn’t exactly low-cost, we can all still experience the magic of this road trip, thanks to YouTube user Eye Of The Wanderer. They rented a campervan for almost two weeks to travel around the island, put together this enchanting montage of the many highlights, and even shared their full itinerary with us down below.
They kicked off their two-week trip by picking up their van in Keflavík, and drove two hours to the Fljótshlíð area, where they set up camp for the night.
The next day, they visited Seljalandsfoss – a beautiful overhanging waterfall, pictured below – and later on camped beside a dirt road overlooking the Mýrdalssandur delta.
Diego Delso , CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
On the third day, they passed the Glacier Lagoon, and later stayed the night in a little fishing town by the name of Höfn. The next morning, they headed up the east coast of the island to see the gorgeous Dettifoss waterfall, and then spent the night near Ásbyrgi canyon.
The fifth day, they stopped in the charming, quiet town of Húsavík to take photos of the seabirds. Afterwards, they headed to Lake Mývatn, explored the volcanic crater of Krafla, and were blown away by the mudpools and steam vents in Hverir.
Ab5602 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Day 6 was mostly spent driving. They did stop to explore around the Dimmuborgir lava fields, where scenes were filmed for Game of Thrones, and continued until they reached the tiny town of Hvammstangi.
On the seventh day, they drove up on the east coast of the Westfjords to the remote village of Djúpavík. Later that night, they found a comfy place to camp in a small town known as Reykhólar.
Anjali Kiggal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The eighth day of the trip, they drove south to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula to see the iconic Kirkjufell mountain (seen above), and spent their night at Langaholt – a 20-room guesthouse with a campsite, golf course and restaurant.
They met family at the airport the next day, and headed over to soak in the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s iconic geothermal spa.
McKay Savage from London
By evening, they reached the town of Selfoss. The next day, they drove the “Golden Circle” tour, which loops from Iceland’s capital – and largest city – Reykjavík into the southern uplands of Iceland and back. After it got dark, they camped on the headland at Keflavík.
On the 11th day, they dropped off their campervan rental in the morning and headed back to the city to spend the afternoon browsing museums (including a fascinating Photography Museum, Settlement Museum and Phallological Museum).
Later that evening, they drove up to a hotel near the airport, where they surprisingly caught the best views of the colorful beams of the Northern Lights on the whole trip. The next morning, just shy of 2 weeks later, they flew back home with plenty of spectacular footage to share with us.
For more information on renting a campervan (of various sizes) to tour Iceland, click here.
