Iceland · 2026
Driving the Ring Road
A 12-day journey around Iceland's Ring Road.
Around Iceland by road
Our 12-day trip around Iceland covered about 3,000 km, pretty much all the way around the Ring Road, with lots of stops along the way.
Waterfalls, glaciers, black-sand beaches, mountains, little fishing villages, geothermal areas, and plenty of times when we just had to pull over because the view was too good.
And yes, I took way too many photos. :)
South Coast
We started along the South Coast with Seljalandsfoss, Gljúfrabúi, Skógafoss, Kvernufoss, Reynisfjara and Dyrhólaey.
From there, we continued east toward Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, Stokksnes and Vestrahorn.
The scenery just kept changing, and it was honestly hard to stop taking pictures.
Two different adventures
One day we ended up having two completely different adventures. Part of the group took on the 25 km Fimmvörðuháls hike, with about 1,286 m of elevation gain. It was a long and challenging hike, but they were rewarded with some incredible scenery along the way.
I decided to skip the big hike and went in a completely different direction, taking the ferry over to Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). I spent the day exploring the island, and it turned out to be one of those unexpected highlights of the trip. Definitely a very different day from hiking through the mountains, but a great one in its own way.
East and North Iceland
We continued through the East and North, visiting Seyðisfjörður, Dettifoss, Hverir and Akureyri.
The drive itself was a big part of the experience. Around almost every corner there seemed to be another mountain, waterfall, coastline or completely different landscape.
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
From the north, we headed west to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.
Kirkjufell, the little black churches, cliffs, beaches and small towns along the way were some of my favourite parts of the trip.
Reykjavík and the Golden Circle
We finished with a few days around Reykjavík and the Golden Circle, including Reykjadalur, Friðheimar, Hveragerði and Strokkur.
After one last walk around Reykjavík, it was finally time to head home.
Lots of driving, lots of walking, lots of good food, and way too many photos.
Definitely a trip I’ll remember for a long time.