Solo Iceland Trip - Ring Road!

I recently got back from my solo camping trip around Iceland! I went from Sept 3 - Sept 12 and rented a camper van and stayed in campsites along Route 1 while I made my way around the country. Iceland was absolutely beautiful and I'd go back in a heartbeat. The pictures do not do the sites justice!

Here was my rough itinerary and some thoughts to go along with it:

Sept 3 (Day 0):

  • Flew from Minneapolis to KEF

Sept 4 (Day 1):

  • Arrived in Iceland early in the morning
  • Picked up campervan (rented from Lava Car Rental)
  • Blue Lagoon - super cool experience! It is definitely a tourist trap but I thought worth it because it was such a unique experience!
  • Got groceries in Selfoss from Bonus (cheap grocery store) where I stocked up on ramen and ham sandwiches for the week!
  • Campground: Hvolsvöllur
  • Drive Time: 2 hours

Sept 5 (Day 2):

  • Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi (both very cool waterfalls that you can get super close too)
  • Skógafoss and Kvernufoss - I would go early to Skógafoss if you could, gets pretty busy when the tour buses arrive
  • Skógar Museum - a good museum with lots of artifacts and information about the history of Iceland including old buildings and homes!
  • Sólheimajökull (glacier)
  • Dyrhólaey - cool views of the coastline and a cool lighthouse
  • Reynisfjara Beach - iconic!
  • Vik Mydral Church - so pretty at golden hour
  • Campground: Vik Camping - very nice campground!
  • Drive Time: 2.5 hours

Sept 6 (Day 3):

  • Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon - again go early! 2 mile roundtrip hike to the viewpoint of the canyon
  • Svínafellsjökull Glacier - blew my mind! And parking lot is close to the glacier so easy to get to
  • Mulagljufur Canyon - one of the top sites of the whole trip! 3 mile hike round trip to see
  • Diamond Beach
  • Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon - did Zodiac boat tour here and it was SO WORTH IT. The guide gets you so close to the glacier and icebergs where we saw so many seals up close. Probably the best experience of the whole trip
  • Campground: Höfn Campground
  • Drive Time: 3.5 hours

Sept 7 (Day 4):

  • Vestrahorn on the Stokksnes Peninsula - really cool place! Right by the ocean and get cool views of black sand beaches and the coast. Also have a cool abandoned viking village movie set
  • Drove through the East Fjords and just stopped whenever it looked cool, no real set plan for this drive! The East Fjords were absolutely striking and so beautiful!
  • Hengifoss and Litlanesfoss
  • Vök Baths
  • Campground: Egilsstaðir
  • Drive Time: 2.5 hours

Sept 8 (Day 5):

  • Stuðlagil Canyon - parked on the east side parking lot. The most blue water I have ever seen!
  • Dettifoss and Selfoss - parked in the west side parking lot. Biggest waterfall I've ever seen
  • Hverir
  • Viti Crater
  • GeoSea - geothermal baths over looking the Atlantic Ocean. Incredible!
  • Campground: Húsavík Campsite
  • Drive Time: 4.5 hours

Sept 9 (Day 6):

  • Whale watching tour on the RIB boat - so so so amazing! Do a whale watching tour if you are able
  • Goðafoss Waterfall - again the water was so blue!
  • Then long drive through the north to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula
  • Campground: Grundarfjörður Campsite
  • Drive Time: 6.5 hours

Sept 10 (Day 7):

  • Kirkjufellsfoss
  • Svörtuloft Lighthouse
  • Dritvik in the Snaefellsjokull National Park - kind of just stumbled upon this and it was incredible!
  • Arnarstapi and Snaefellsjokull Glacier white house viewpoint
  • Búðir (iconic black church)
  • Ytri Tunga - saw some seals on the coast!
  • Sky Lagoon - best geothermal pool of the whole trip!
  • Campground: Reykjavik Campsite
  • Drive Time: 3.5 hours

Sept 11 (Day 8):

  • Went on a "bakery crawl" - stopped at Sandholt, 280 Bakery, and Brauð & Co
  • Went to a bunch of shops and explored the city
  • Got gelato at Valdis
  • Hallgrímskirkja Church - took elevator to the top to see city view
  • Wake up Reykjavik Food Tour - got to try so many authentic Icelandic dishes!
  • Campground: Reykjavik Campsite
  • Drive Time: 0 hours

Sept 12 (Day 9):

  • Flew home

Picture Locations: 1. Mulagjufur Canyon 2. Seal at Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon 3. Studlagil Canyon 4. Vestahorn 5. Fjadrargljufur Canyon 6. Some sheep 7. Kirkjufellsfoss 8. Reykjavík Skyline 9. Pastries by the harbor in Reykjavik 10. Budir church 11. Arnarstapi 12. Husavik harbor 13. Lighthouse in the East Fjords 14. Svinafeelsjokull Glacier 15. Vik Church 16. Skogafoss 17. Kvernufoss 18. Another seal 19. Godafoss 20. Coastline on Snaefellsnes Peninsula

TL;DR: Iceland absolutely blew my mind. A road trip on the Ring Road is a must!

Author: Unusual_Mouse_791