By Karlie Marrazzo
In less than one week I will be touching down for my first Icelandic adventure. We will be spending 11 days and 10 nights there, starting and ending in Reykjavik. After settling in for a couple of days, we will be picking up a rental car and heading out on the Ring Road, circumnavigating the entire island counterclockwise.
We spent lots of time reading guidebooks and articles online and asked many questions on travel forums. We were also lucky enough to (virtually) meet Inga from Tiny Iceland, who helped us fine tune our ideas.
I think it will be interesting to share our itinerary now, and then revisit it after the trip to share what worked and what may not have worked; where we would have liked to spend more time and what we would recommend.
Day 3: Golden Circle
– We’ll be seeing Þingvellir National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), geysers, waterfalls, and snorkeling between continents!
Day 4: Driving to Vik
– This will include a visit to the infamous Eyjafjallajökull volcano, more waterfalls, and black sand beaches.
Day 5: Driving to Höfn
– I am super excited to go on a Zodiac boat tour of the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon!
Day 6: Driving to Mývatn
– Exploring the volcanic lake and relaxing at the Mývatn Nature Baths
Day 7 and 8: Akureyri
– The second largest city in Iceland, plus whale watching in Húsavík.
Day 9: Driving to Stykkishólmur
– Venturing to the edge of the Snaefellsness peninsula
Day 10: Driving to Reykjavik
– June 17! Iceland National Day!
Day 11: Home
– We’ll check out the luxurious Blue Lagoon before flying back home.
To find out how it all went, click here for part two!
*Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. I will receive a small commission for any bookings made through this link with no additional cost to you. Rest assured that I only promote or endorse websites that I personally use and trust. Happy travels!
My husband and I went to Iceland a couple years back and toured around the ring road as well.
It was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken.
If you’re interested, you can check my blog and search Iceland for stories of our trip.
Have fun!
Sounds like a very exciting and interesting trip. Looking forward to pix and stories. Have fun.
This looks amazingly exciting. 🙂 Will there be photos later on?
Have fun on your adventure!
Hannah
We are headed out today for our 11 day trip! Perhaps we will cross paths. Have a great time!
Cheers,
Evan & Hilary
You better find out all about the food while you’re there. Nothing else interests me.;)
Thanks for this! We will definitely be saving it for future reference as Iceland’s on our bucket list. 🙂
Excellent!
Awesome Trip, it’s gonna be, I am sure !
I would be reaching Iceland on the 1st of Aug & would be spending a week exploring this lovely country .
You’re going to have an incredible time! Are you renting a car?
Hey Karlie,
We had found your site on google when researching for our Iceland trip and found the tips helpful 🙂 We came back from Iceland a week ago and have written about our experience here: Iceland .
Thanks for the tips 🙂
BTW what was your favourite part ? (It’s a tough question I know :))
Cheers
Hi, I found you while researching for my Iceland trip on TripAdvisor. I’m so glad I found your itinerary because it’s essentially how long I’m planning on going there in June 2015 and looks like you hit all the places I would love to go. I’m going to be reading your posts in more details, but I just wanted to say thanks for posting this!
You’re very welcome, it’s my pleasure. If you have any other questions about anything (gas, rental car, accommodations, etc.) I’d be happy to help!
Great info! Can I ask what your budget was for the trip?? 🙂 This is similar in duration to what I have planned and it would be great info to have!
Hi Paige!
We booked our flights in October 2012 and paid about $2000 Canadian.
As far as accommodations go, I wanted to try to stick to $100 a night. I think we did pretty good as we came in at $1200 overall for 10 nights. Stick to guesthouses and Air BnB/avoid hotels!
Looking back on my notes, we paid approx 5000 ISK (around $45) for a tank of gas in a small Hyundai, and we only filled up twice (plus at the airport upon returning the car).
Dining isn’t cheap, but you can always self-cater (especially for breakfast). The famous Icelandic hot dogs are only a few hundred krona a piece. On the days when we were on the road, we ate at quite a few gas stations, many of which have full roadside cafes in them, serving burgers, hot dogs, fries and that type of thing.
Please let me know if you have any more questions!
Loved reading your post regarding Iceland. We’re looking to go in September. Did you also keep a listing of hotels, B&B’s you stayed out. We like you have traveled the world quite a bit. In fact, just changed our trip from India to Iceland. Any help you can provide is appreciated.
Joel
Wow, that is quite the change! I’ve sent you an email with all of the accommodation information. Working on a post about it as we speak, too!
Wow, nice trip and nice description 🙂 I definitely will follow your advices. Pity you did not ended up the whole’s trip narration:( 🙂 . Anyway, I hope to have some much fun as you had when you guys were there! Cheers!
Hello!!
Many thanks for posting you itinerary as it exactly reflects what we had in mind: 10 days through the ring road and circumnavigating Iceland!
I have one doubt about accomodation… How did you organize them? did you book all of them in advance or just look for a place when you arrived in the daily destination?
Thanks for all the suggestion you can give to me, they all will be very very helpful!!!
Absolutely book in advance! Iceland is so popular and accommodations fill up fast. You might be able to get a room if you try to book on the spot, but I’m doubtful about this during high season.
thank you very much…. we are going in three weeks…we rented a camper van… no idea how that will work out …but we are 60 years old adventurers…. love to all
That’s awesome – you’ll have a wonderful time!
Great information on what to where yo go and accommodations. Hoping to go in fall of 2018, will drive on my own.