Iceland Ring Road & Snaefellsnes 12 days
Self Drive Tour
This relaxing road trip includes all the major sights along the ring road and the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.
BP44 Map
Upon your arrival at Keflavik airport a meet and greet service is provided by a TOURIS representative who will take you to your Reykjavik hotel.
Highlights of the day:
Reykjavík
Overnight:
Reykjavík
Optional activity:
Reykjavik City Card
Pick up your car in the morning and head for the beautiful Thingvellir Þingvellir National Park, a unique place from a geological point of view and a place of great beauty. Research has shown that Thingvellir is a natural wonder on an international scale. The faults and fissures of the area are clear evidence of the rifting of the earth's crust. Thingvellir is also the most historical place in the country and a place of exceptional beauty. After exploring the area, drive across Lyngdalsheiði to the school center Laugarvatn and further inland to the Great Geysir area. Explore the numerous hot springs and see the famous Great Geysir and Strokkur, a very active geyser that spouts every few minutes. The Geysir Service Center offers a hotel, restaurant, a swimming pool, snack bar, souvenir shop, gas station, a geo-center multimedia show, horse rental, quad bike tours, and a camping area. From here, drive to the majestic waterfall Gullfoss one of Icelands most beautiful waterfall. Turn around at Gullfoss and head back on the same road as before a little further than Geysir. Take road number 35 and don´t miss the pretty waterfall Faxi. Rafting on the Hvítá River is available during summer from Drumboddsstaðir. Continue to the impressive volcanic crater Kerið a bit further. Head on the south coat towards Hella.
Driving distance
200 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Þingvellir
Gullfoss Waterfall and Geysir Hot Springs
Faxi waterfall
Kerið
Overnight:
Selfoss /Hella area
Continue to the east heading for the Eyjafjöll district and stop at the waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss. In summer, it is possible to walk behind Seljalandsfoss waterfall, - this is a quite unique experience. The glaciers Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull are capping the mountains above.
On March 20th 2010, a volcanic eruption started on Fimmvörðuháls, a mountain ridge between the glaciers, Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull. The eruption on Fimmvörðuháls lasted a couple of weeks. After this eruption came to an end a new and bigger eruption started underneath the nearby icecap of Eyjafjallajökull Glacier. This eruption came to an end on 23. May 2010.
Hidden underneath the icecap of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier is Katla, one of Icelands most dangerous volcano. During summer, snowmobiling is available on the Mýrdalsjökull glacier. Make a detour to the glacial tongue of Sólheimajökull, a part of the Mýrdalsjökull Icefield before continuing to the Dyrhólaey natural reserve and a nesting colony of numerous seabirds. Drive to Reynishverfi, with beautiful coast, spectacular rock formations and thousands of nesting seabirds which nest in almost every crevice in summer. Continue to Vík, a small village on the black beach. Drive across the Mýrdalssandur floodplains and Eldhraun, the largest lavafield ever to flow on Earth in historical time, and to the small village Kirkjubaejarklaustur. Fjaðrárgljúfur is a narrow and beautiful canyon a few km to the west from Kirkjubæjarklaustur, worth taking a look at. At Kirkjubæjarklaustur, see Kirkjugólfið (the Church Floor), a protected natural monument just east of the village. Kirkjugólfið is columnar basalt, shaped and eroded by water and wind.
Driving distance
170 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
Skógafoss Waterfall
Dyrhólaey Nature Reserve
Vík Town
Reynisfjara beach
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
Kirkjubæjarklaustur town
Kirkjugólf Basalt Columns
Overnight:
Kirkjubæjarklaustur / Síða area
Recommended optional activity:
Glacier Walk
Snowmobiling on Solheimajokull Glacier
LAVA Centre
Continue from Klaustur over Skeidarársandur, vast tracts of black sandy desert washed down by numerous torrential glacial rivers. Stop at Skaftafell national Park, an oasis wedged between glacier and sand. Its natural beauty is a result of unusually favorable weather conditions and the interaction of ice and fire. See the interesting Visitors Center where you can learn the history of fire and ice in the region and a video of the volcanic eruption and the catastrophic flood in the area in 1996 can also be viewed. Beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, towering above Skaftafell is Grímsvötn, one of Iceland’s most active volcano. In the afternoon of 21. May 2011, a sub-glacial eruption started in the Grímsvötn volcanic system underneath Vatnajökull Glacier. Later the same day, the eruption broke the ice cover of the glacier and started spewing volcanic ash into the air. The amount of ash fall was the greatest close to the village Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The eruption went on for about a week. It ceased on 28. May 2011. An interesting hiking trail takes you to Svartifoss, one of Icelands most picturesque waterfall, framed in by beautiful basalt columns that surround it. In the Skaftafell area are many other interesting hiking trails. Continue to the great Jökulsarlón, the Glacial Lagoon where huge icebergs, sculptures of nature, float and grind together in the deep blue waters of the lagoon. An interesting cruise among the icebergs on the Lagoon is available in summer. From here, drive further east towards the Höfn area.
Driving distance
200 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Skaftafell National Park
Svartifoss waterfall
Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon
Höfn
Overnight:
Höfn area
Recommended optional activity:
Amphibian boat Tour on Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Drive from Höfn past the colourful Lónsöræfi District, a mountainous wilderness ringed by extinct volcanoes and traversed by glacial rivers. Drive past towering mountains, and to the magnificent East Fjords, some now deserted. Enroute stop at the small fishing town Djúpivogur and at Stöðvarfjörður the Stone Collection of Petra is an interesting place to visit.
Driving distance
260 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Egilsstaðir town
Hallormsstaðaskógur Forest
Overnight:
Egilsstaðir/Hérað area
Continue across the highland plateau towards Lake Mývatn. Make a detour to Dettifoss, the largest waterfall in Europe. Stop at Námaskarð pass where boiling mud pools and flashing colors of the pass merge with ash and lava from nearby volcanoes. Explore the phenomenal natural beauty of the Lake Mývatn area. The lake area is known worldwide for its exceptionally many breeding duck species and the abundance of other birdlife. Visit its highlights Dimmuborgir, Mt. Hverfjall, the pseudocraters of Skútustaðir and Krafla volcanic system where the most recent eruptions were 1975 - 1984. In summer visitors can have a guided tour through the Kröfluvirkjun Geothermal Power Station where steam pressure is harnessed for generating electricity (admission is free of charge). The explosion crater Víti is near Krafla and the Mývatn Nature Baths are an outstanding attraction too not to be missed.
Driving distance
240 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Lake Mývatn
Nature Baths
Dimmuborgir
Overnight:
Mývatn/Húsavík area
Recommended optional activity:
Nature Baths
Start the day by lake Myvatn and see the sites you might have missed from the day before then continue to Húsavík. Húsavík was the first place in the country to offer very successful Whale Watching cruises and of course we suggest a Whale watching tour. During summer Whale Watching cruises are available daily from morning until late evening. The Whale Museum in Húsavík is an educational centre on marine wildlife. From Husavik head to Ásbyrgi canyon a strange and spectacular horseshoe shaped canyon. Continue to Vesturdalur Valley and Hljóðaklettar, the Echo Rocks, an extremely beautiful canyon carved by the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum. This area offers many interesting hiking trails to explore the many wonders of the Jökulsárgljúfur National Park.
Driving distance
240 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Ásbyrgi Canyon
Hljóðaklettar rock formations
Húsavík Town
Overnight:
Mývatn / Húsavík area
Recommended optional activity:
Whale Watching From Húsavík
Please note that in winter and early summer road to Jokulsarglufur and Hloðaklettar are usually not passable.
Head towards Akureyri, the capital of the north. Stop enroute at the beautiful waterfall Goðafoss. One of the most extraordinary aspects of the town is its unusually warm climate. Although it is situated only 40 km south of the Arctic Circle, it has some of the best weather in the country. See the famous Botanical Gardens of Akureyri and some of the many museums and art galleries. Drive road 1 through the majestic mountains surrounding Öxnadalur Valley and across Öxnadalsheiði Pass which leads to the Skagafjordur district. Popular horse riding tours for beginners and experienced riders are available here. In Skagafjörður you will also be able to join some of the best white water rafting in Iceland. Here we recommend a visit to the old turf and stone farm / museum at Glaumbær and the old tini church at Víðimýri.
Driving distance
200 - 250 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Goðafoss waterfall
Akureyri
Glaumbær Folk Museum
Overnight:
Skagafjörður area
Recommended optional activity:
Different option:
Explore Tröllaskagi Peninsula. Take road 82 to the north along the western shore of Eyjafjörður Fjord to Dalvík town. Drive further to the north to Ólafsfjörður town and Siglufjörður fishing town, a remotely located fishing town that during the herring boom in early 20th century used to be the most prosperous fishing town in Iceland. Visit the award-winning Siglufjörður Herring Era Museum. It charts the rise and decline of the former "Herring Capital of the World" and the great Herring Adventure that lasted until 1968. Continue on 76 to the south along the shores of Skagafjörður Fjord to Hofsós town and further to Sauðárkrókur.
The Icelandic Seal Center at Hvammstangi town is an interesting place to visit. It is a research and exhibition center investigating the lives of seals found in and around Iceland. Around Vatnsnes peninsula you have a unique opportunity to watch both harbour seals and grey seals in their natural habitat. After driving through the fertile farmlands of Húnavatnssýsla County and along the shores of Hrútafjörður Fjord continue to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and towards the charming village of Stykkishólmur.
Driving distance
260 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Vatnsdalshólar mounds
Hvítserkur Cliff
Stykkishólmur Town
Overnight:
Stykkishólmur area
Spend the day to explore the countless natural wonders of the Snæfellsnes peninsula that divides the west coast of Iceland into two large bays. Head to the west towards the tip of the peninsula, passing the small fishing towns Grundarfjörður, Ólafsvík, Rif and Hellissandur. During midsummer, Whale Watching tours are available from Ólafsvík town. Much of interesting geological phenomena and historic sites can be found in the Snæfellsjökull National Park, the most recent one in Iceland. Among many places of interest are Dritvík, Djúpalónssandur and Öndverðarnes a former fishing station. Make a short detour to Djúpalónssandur and take a short walk along a marked path to the beach. Drive around the tip of the peninsula at the foot of Snæfellsjökull, a glaciated volcano, the backdrop for the famous novel “The Journey to the Centre of the Earth”. Þúfubjarg is a spectacular cliff and a nesting colony of numerous seabirds, only a few minutes’ walk from the road, shortly after passing Lóndrangar. Continue to Arnarstapi and Hellnar to view beautiful and spectacular coast and interesting birdlife. There is an interesting museum at Hellnar. Visit Búðir, a pretty site located on a natural inlet. From Búðir continue along the south coast of the peninsula. Seals can often be seen on land or in the water at the farm Ytri Tunga, only a few hundred meters drive from the main road.Head to the Borgarfjörður district and to Borgarnes.
Driving distance
230 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Djúpalónssandur
Snæfellsjökull Glacier
Lóndrangar rock formation
Arnarstapi
Hellnar hamlet
Overnight:
Borgarjörður area
Recommended optional activity:
Unique Adventure Cruise on Breiðafjörður bay
From Borgarnes continue towards Reykholt. Stop at Deildartunguhver hot spring, the largest hot spring in Europe. Continue a short distance further to the historic site Reykholt. Visit the interesting historical museum at Reykholt and see the hot pool Snorralaug. Drive further inland to the beautiful Hraunfossar and Barnafossar Waterfalls. Make the waterfalls a turnaround point and head back towards Borgarnes and then further towards Reykjavik. You can make a detour along the shores of Hvalfjörður Fjord to Reykjavik. From Reykjavik, head out to the Reykjanes Peninsula and to Bláa Lónið, - the Blue Lagoon. Enjoy a relaxing bath at the Blue Lagoon in an otherworldly setting where lava and thermal water complement each other to prepare you for your journey home. Soak in the refreshing waters of the lagoon and have a wonderful last unforgettable taste of Iceland that ensures you will be fully relaxed when you leave the country. If you plan to take a bath at the Blue Lagoon, we strongly recommend that you book your ticket in advance. It can be booked at www.bluelagoon.com Return to Reykjavík and drop off the car.
Driving distance
190 - 280 kilometers
Highlights of the day:
Borgarnes town
Deildartunguhver
Reykholt town
Hraunfossar
Overnight:
Reykjavik
Recommended optional activity:
The Settlement Exhibition and The Egil Saga Exhibition
Krauma Baths
Private transfer from the hotel to Keflavik International Airport.
Transmission: Manual
Seats: 4
Suitcases: 1
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 4
Suitcases: 1
Doors: 5
Transmission: Manual
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Suitcases: 2
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 2
Doors: 5
Transmission: Manual
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 2
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 2
Doors: 5
Transmission: Manual
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 4
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 4
Doors: 5
Transmission: Manual
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 3
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 3
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 3
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 4
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 4
Doors: 5
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Suitcases: 3
Doors: 5
Transmission: Manual
Seats: 9
Suitcases: 4
Doors: 4
Transmission: Manual
Seats: 9
Suitcases: 4
Doors: 3
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