Iceland, known as the land of fire and ice! We traveled for a week to see both the fire and the ice and the jaw-dropping beauties of Iceland. İzlanda who made a full tour around the whole island on our trip and Ring Road We followed the route called If you have a week in Iceland instead of a few days, you can follow the Ring Road route like us and plan your Iceland trip to see places to visit in Iceland.
I wanted to share the places we visited by dividing our seven-day trip into days, so that you can follow a similar route while making your route. Our trip, which started at Istanbul Atatürk Airport on Friday, September 14, ended again at AHL on Sunday, September 23. With Lufthansa airlines, we flew from Istanbul to Iceland via Frankfurt, and followed the same route on the way back.
Iceland Attractions | Ring Road Route
It would be best to describe our Iceland trip by dividing it into days. Thus, I thought that for those who have 7 days like us, the Iceland travel route will be clearly ready and it will be more comfortable to read. It would be great if you write your views as comments on the article.
Ring Road; It is a touristic route that circumnavigates the island of Iceland, allowing you to see the whole country except the West Fjords. The road is designed to pass close to the must-see places in Iceland. Most of the tourists who come to Iceland on their own make this route by renting a car. There are those who make the route in three days, and those who do it in a month. The duration may vary depending on the places you want to see, the activities you want to do, and the time you want to allocate. Our 7-day period was not bad, but if we had one or two more days, I think we could see everywhere we wanted, including the places we skipped. In the article below, I also stated the places we planned to go or not.
Most of the places to see in Iceland are free, so I specifically mentioned the paid places in the article. If I didn't specify, know that it is free.
Regions of Iceland
Iceland is divided into 7 regions. Since I will talk about these regions frequently while describing the Ring Road route, I wanted to give you some preliminary information. Iceland Regions in the order we visited;
- Reykjanes,
- south Iceland,
- east Iceland,
- northern Iceland,
- western fjords,
- West Iceland,
- And the capital district where Reykjavik is located.
Iceland Ring Road Route – Day 1
It was already past midnight connecting Friday to Saturday when we landed at Iceland Keflavik Airport. It was 02:00 Iceland time when we took our rental car, which we had previously arranged from Lotus Car Rental, and went to the Base Hotel, which we had previously reserved. We went straight to bed and recharged for the next day. On Saturday morning, we made our breakfast with the pastries we brought with us and left the hotel early. After stopping by the Bonus Market to buy our small needs such as bread and juice, we were ready to hit the road!
Our hotel was very close to Keflavik Airport, and since the distance between Keflavik and Reykjavik is 45 km, we started our Iceland trip from the Reykjanes peninsula, one of the seven regions where Keflavik is located, without ever going to Reykjavik.
Intercontinental Bridge – Bridge Between Continents
Iceland is a very special country due to its location. The North American and European continental plates were broken apart by the tectonic movements in Iceland. Icelanders also use this situation very well as touristic material. This is one of the clefts caused by the breaking of the plates. They built a bridge over this rift and the name of the bridge is "Intercontinental Bridge". The black volcanic rocks and the bridge were an interesting experience. Although it is not one of the must-see places, you can visit it if you have time. You can reach the bridge with a short walk from the parking lot.
We may have deviated from all the signs we saw with the excitement of the first day 🙂
Brimketill Lava Rock Pool
Here is the excitement of that first day 🙂 This is one of the places we stop by, saying that we should definitely stop by all the places to visit in Iceland. If it was summer, maybe we could swim, but we weren't impressed when we went in the cold 🙂
Blue Lagoon
Iceland's most popular and, of course, tourist spot must be the Blue Lagoon. It definitely deserves its popularity. As you approach the lagoon, it is possible to see the steam rising to the sky from further away. Once you get into the biggest parking lot I've seen in Iceland, you may have to take two turns to find a seat, which we went at the end of the high season. I don't even want to think about the crowd in the summer months.
Of course, they made an impressive entrance to the Blue Lagoon. You reach the lagoon entrance through a road between the rocks made of lava. If you follow the road to the right here, you can visit the free area in the photo below. The color of the lagoon is the same, but you cannot enter the water here. There is also a long hiking trail. You can walk around this white lake as a full tour.
If you say I want to swim in those warm waters, you turn right from the road you came in and you will see the building entrance immediately. There is a ticket sales/consultation office inside, you can use the restrooms behind it for free.
If you want to enjoy the Blue Lagoon and swim in the pool, you have Comfort, Premium and Retreat Spa options. In the Comfort option, which is the cheapest option, ticket prices change according to the time you enter, you already make your reservation by choosing a time. If you want to enter after 08:00 in the morning and 18:00 in the evening, the prices start from 79 usd and go down to 62 usd. but fixed 88 euros during the day. Premium ranges from 88 usd to 115 usd. The only extra difference of the premium package seemed to me to be champagne. Retreat Spa is a package where you can benefit from 4 hours of spa services. Since they have prices between 500-600 usd, I haven't looked at the details anyway 🙂
At the end of the day we didn't enter the Blue Lagoon because the main activity I want to do in Iceland Silfra diving was. We spent our extra budget there.
Seljalandsfoss and Gljufrabiu Waterfalls
They call Iceland the land of fire and ice, but I chose to call it the land of waterfalls and rainbows. There are dozens of beautiful waterfalls in the country and magnificent waterfalls that come out when the rain stops for the first time and stay in the air for a long time.
Without further ado, we had aimed to go to Seljalandsfoss for 2 hours after leaving the Blue Lagoon. But on the way, horses and sheep invited us, after a short break and petting them, we reached Seljalandsfoss in the afternoon. We are now in southern Iceland. South Iceland is famous for its waterfalls and glaciers.
Seljalandsfoss was the first high waterfall we saw in Iceland, as if we were not enough to wander behind it and get wet, we also walked to the Gljufrabiu waterfall, half a kilometer away from Seljalandsfoss, which was half a kilometer away from Seljalandsfoss, which was a good thing.
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano
Do you remember the volcano that erupted in Iceland in 2010 and ash all over Europe? I remember it very well because I was in Madrid and I was stuck in Spain for about a week (wow! :)). Here is that volcano Eyjafjallajökull is now behaving well. We did not go up to the volcano, but we did not neglect to stop and take a photo at the visitor center on the way.
Seljavallalaug Hot Spring
At the end of such a long, wet and cold day, we decided to give ourselves a hot spring award. But let's not pay for the spa either 🙂 Then we came across the Seljavallalaug spa. This hot spring, which you can reach by car for 3-5 km on the main road and then walking for 1 km, is free. Since it's free, it's pretty neglected. There are dressing rooms, I can say that they are the dirtiest places I have seen in Iceland, but in cold weather you have no other choice.
Seljavallalaug hot spring was one of the first hot springs in Iceland. There is a pool filled with hot water mixed with cold water. On the one hand, you can enjoy yourself in the hot water pool while the icy glacial water flows from the stream. The pool, which was crowded when we went, suddenly emptied when it started to rain, so we enjoyed the pool to the fullest and alone with my husband.
After feeling like jelly in the pool, we set off for our next stop, Skogafoss, to spend the night. When we arrived at Skogafoss, Iceland's most popular waterfall, it was now dark, and the rain was pouring with an unending pace. Leaving for the next day to tour around the waterfall, we quickly got our fill and fell asleep in our tent under the mingling sounds of the wind and waterfalls.
Iceland Ring Road Route – Day 2
On the second day of our trip; After a rainy and windy night, the sun must have decided to show us its face, so we woke up to a bright and bright day.
Skogafoss
Skogafoss may account for half of Icelandic photographs 🙂 Waterfalls falling from a height of 60 meters and 23 meters wide, Skogafoss is one of the largest waterfalls in Iceland. The closer you get to the waterfall, the more you feel its power. As you get closer, the water sprays make you drenched. But that fallout also creates beautiful rainbows.
There are hiking trails where you can see the waterfall from the top and even walk towards its source. Even if you don't go all the way to the source, you should definitely go to the top of the waterfalls, the views as beautiful as the bottom and of course the fat Icelandic sheep are waiting for you there.
We set off again with the happiness of discovering the surroundings of the waterfall in sunny weather. Come on, new stops!
Solheimajökull aka Solheim Glacier
When you go down to the south coast of Iceland, you see signs such as glacier and glacier walk in many places on the road. Thinking that we would open our second day with a glacier, we turned to one of the signs we saw.
Solheim glacier is one of the most preferred spots for glacier hikes as it is the closest glacier to Reykjavik. While we were traveling around the glacier, many groups came here for glacier trekking. The Solheim glacier was very impressive for us as it was the first big glacier we saw up close in Iceland. There is a path where you can walk for a while without technical walking, in the huge glacier pieces scattered in the glacial lake in front of it and the huge Solheim glacier that stretches like a tongue by splitting the mountain. needs.
Solheimasandur | Famous Plane Wreck
In 1973, a US military aircraft had to make a forced landing on the south coast of Iceland because it ran out of fuel. Fortunately, everyone on the plane survived, but they left the plane on the spot, since it almost cost the plane to get the plane from there. After a while, the number of people who came to see the plane increased, and this place became a touristic spot.
After parking your car on the side of the Ring Road road, a 3,5km stony walk awaits you to reach the plane wreck. It is easy to walk as the road is straight. You will have walked a total of 7 kilometers round-trip.
We started walking in the open air, when we reached the wreckage it started to rain. Unfortunately, we had to walk the whole way back in the rain. Now we understood, our Iceland trip was going to be very wet 🙂
It looks like it came out of pulp fiction movies with the black lava soil on top of the plane wreckage and its aged state. Although it is very touristic, it is worth seeing. It is worth remembering that there are no toilets or cafes/restaurants in the parking lot or the wreck. Don't say you didn't tell me, you get hungry while walking.
Dyrholaåey and Reynisfjara
Our next stop is Dyrholaåey, if it wasn't for the extreme wind and rain, we could have enjoyed the wonderful black beach view and the Reynisfjara beach from here. But the wind was blowing so much that we didn't know how we got ourselves into the car. I think it was a nice place 🙂
While Dyrholaåey is at one end of the beach, Reynisfjara is at the other end, a beach so long that you cannot reach it on foot. So we got back in the car and continued on our way to Reynisfjara, that is, Black Sand Beach. It was pouring rain when we got out of the car, and we waited for the rain to calm down in a cafe/visitor center-like place at the entrance. In this cafe, the toilet is free to the customers, but the cafe is so crowded that no one is in a position to follow it, so we entered the toilet without giving 200 ISK 🙂
When the rain subsided and we came out of our shelter, we set foot on our first pitch black beach. Actually, since Iceland is all volcanic, all the beaches are black, but this beach is a very interesting place with its cave made of basalt stones and three rocks standing in the sea at the end of the beach. Therefore, it is a very touristic spot. It definitely deserves its reputation, we loved both the basalt rock formations and the black beach as well as the Dyrholaåey arc, which looks vague from afar.
The city of Vik is very famous for its black beach, but we did not stop by the city. We did not visit any city except Reykjavik during our Iceland trip, I think this was one of the most beautiful parts of the trip.
Fjadrargljufur Canyon
The name Iceland is full of hard-to-read places. If anyone can read the name of this canyon, please let me know 🙂 While we were heading east, among the beauties of Iceland, we turned inland from the main road and stopped by this canyon. It was getting dark when we came here, if we had arrived a little earlier, there are walking paths along the canyon coast, I wanted to walk in this area, it was not my destiny.
What we call a canyon is a huge rift, and what is it/creek/water flowing through it. This is one of the places I wish I could have stayed longer.
Svartifoss
While we were looking for the camping area where we will stay for the second night, as it was dark, we missed Svartifoss, one of the places we would love to see. The next day, we couldn't see Svartifoss, which is 5-10 km away, as we continued directly on the road, so I wanted to write it here so you wouldn't miss it. Svartifoss is one of the waterfalls worth seeing with its different floor formed by basalt stones.
When we arrived at Svanifell Campground to spend the night, it was dark and we were already hungry. After the cold and windy camping in Skogafoss, the shared kitchen at the Svanifell campground felt like a luxury hotel to us. Although we were tired, we had a long chat in the kitchen and finished the day in our vehicle tent again late at night.
Iceland Ring Road Route – Day 3
How sweet it was to wake up to the bleating of lamb. While the sheep in the village of Svanifell were waving their big butts around the campsite, we quickly had our breakfast and set off again. On the third day, we had extremely beautiful places on our route.
I can't help but underline that we forgot Svartifoss with the excitement of those extremely beautiful places 🙂
With the Vatna Glacier on our left, Iceland's largest glacier, and the ocean on our right, we will travel a long way today, driving across all of eastern Iceland.
Glacier Lagoon – Jökulsárlón – Glacier Lagoon
Another of Iceland's symbols is Jökulsárlón, in English Glacier Lagoon. A huge glacier stuck its tongue out to sea. A lagoon was formed at the point where the glacier was closest to the sea. This is one of the many glacial lakes in Iceland, and of course the most famous. With a depth of up to 150 meters, it is the third deepest lake in Iceland. The images of magnificent glaciers turning from white to blue and from blue to transparent covering the lake are dazzling. Boat tours on the lake and glacier walking tours on the glacier are organized.
Diamond Beach – Diamond Beach
The glacial lake is connected to the sea and the glacier pieces reach the sea through this connection. But because the sea water is cold and choppy, pieces of ice are hitting the shore. Of course, volcanic soils are pitch black. Thanks to this magnificent cycle of nature, the pieces of ice that hit the beach shine like diamonds on the black beach. That's why this beach is called Diamond Beach, that is, Diamond Beach. You can enter the beach swaying your hands and take pictures on these giant glaciers, whether you sit or take them in your hand.
Do not think that the beach is empty as in the photo. You can catch the beach empty by walking a little further.
Stokkness Viking Village
The Viking Village of Stokkness, showing ancient Viking life near the city of Höfn, was on our list of places to see. However, we decided not to extend our way, both because we have a long way to go and because it is a paid private property. The price was around 800 ISK, or 8 euros.
Djupivogur
Another stop in East Iceland was the city of Djúpivogur. We took a short break in a cute little fishing town and continued on our way to the north.
Folaldafoss – Folalda Waterfall
After the city of Djúpivogur, we took a road guided by the navigation to go to Hengrifoss waterfall. Good thing we entered because we entered a valley with high hills as in the photo below. I would say that there was a waterfall flowing from every corner in the valley. Folaldafoss was one of the most beautiful of these waterfalls, so I included it.
Hengrifoss – Henri Falls
We had spent almost the whole day on the road, and it was quite cold when we reached Hengrifoss. However, we missed a small detail. To reach Hengrifoss, there is a very steep walking track for 2,5 kilometers from where you parked the car. Result: we walked for a while, we can't cope with the cold and wind, we turned back 🙁
Mývatn Vogar Camping
We ended our 3rd day in the city of Mývatn, in the Vogar Camp area. At the end of the day, we had done a long road, like 450km, and we were tired. But nature had a surprise for us. The weather, which was closed all day, started to clear when we came to the campsite and started preparing food. While we were finishing dinner and getting ready for bed, the northern lights came to visit us. We watched the dance of lights for a very long time. Unfortunately, we do not have photos of the lights, but the images that are engraved in our memory were magnificent.
Photo courtesy of Guide to Iceland.
Iceland Ring Road Route – Day 4
Myvatn is one of the stops on the route called Diamond Circle. We chose to stay here to visit the Diamond Circle stops. Diamond Circle; Whale-watching Husavik includes the impressive horseshoe-shaped Asbrgy Canyon, Detti Falls, Godda Falls, and continues to Iceland's second largest city, Akureyri. We devoted our fourth day to the exploration of the Diamond Circle. You will see our daily routes on the map at the end of the article, and you will see the Diamond Circle more clearly there.
Myvatn is the hottest region of Iceland with its many volcanic mouths and hot springs. It is constantly boiling from the bottom. Myvatn also has spa pools that rival the Blue Lagoon. It is also more affordable than Blue Lagoon in terms of price. You can see the prices below;
- 5000 ISK (02/07- 30/09 '18) – 43 euro in high season
- 4200 ISK (01/10 – 31/12 '18) – 31 euro in low season
Dimmuborgir Cliffs
The cliffs of Dimmuborgir are actually lava fields, the lava flowing from the erupting volcanoes cooled over time and formed these lava fields. There is a rock called a church here, it was also used as a church in the past. There are many long and short trails in the fields, we walked on the short route and continued on our way.
Hverir Hot Springs
I said that this area is boiling 🙂 Hverir Hot Springs, also known as boiling mud, is one of the places where hot water can't stand it and rises to the surface. With its intense sulfur smell and mud pools, this place also gives the impression of a place out of this world. No mud baths here, no facilities. However, there are walkways, you can see the hot water/mud pools, you can walk over the holes that spray sulfur gas.
Dettifoss
One of the most popular points of the Diamond Circle route is Dettifoss, about 70 km from Myvatn. It is said to be the strongest waterfall in Europe. Although it is in the north of the country, it must be said that the melting ice from the Vatna Glacier feeds this waterfall.
After you leave your vehicle, you reach the waterfall at the end of a 700-meter walking path through the lava fields. There is access to the waterfall from both sides, navigation brought us to the west. Seems to be a little closer to the east.
Selfoss
Selfoss is located on the same valley as Dettifoss, only 500 meters above it. Although Dettifoss looks much bigger and more magnificent, I liked Selfoss more in terms of its shape. Both must be seen while you're here.
Asbrgy Canyon
We continued our Northern Iceland route with Asbrgy Canyon. The canyon, with its horseshoe-shaped formation and the small lake inside, is one of the places preferred by those who want to go hiking. Again, we preferred the walking route that goes up to the lake, which is not too long. The walk among the autumn colors is quite romantic and enjoyable.
Whale Watching & Husavik
After the canyon, we turned south again. The city of Husavik, on this route, is one of the most preferred places for whale watching, and is considered one of the best sighting places in the world with the opportunity to see 23 kinds of whales. Daily whale watching tours are sold at prices like 150 USD. We didn't, I wrote it to give an idea for those who are interested.
Godafoss
Our next stop after Asbrgy Canyon was Godafoss, God Falls. Access to the waterfall on the Akureyri road is very easy. Right on the Ring Road. It is possible to approach this waterfall from both sides.
This waterfall has a legendary significance in Icelandic history. In 1000 AD, the ruler of the region declares that he has accepted Christianity, and to prove this, he throws the Pagan statues in his house into this waterfall.
On the fourth day of our Iceland Ring Road trip, we made our accommodation in Akureyri. Our guesthouse, towards the outskirts of the city, provided a very comfortable and enjoyable evening. The joy of finding a warm house and bathroom after days is priceless 🙂
Iceland Ring Road Route – Day 5
Our fifth day in Iceland was a long drive. Our stopovers were the town of Blöndous, Hvitserkur dinosaur rock, Grabrok Crater, and of course Iceland's must-have hot spring and waterfall.
Blondous Town
There's really not much to this town. The reason why it is on the list is that it is one of the places where you can find a big market due to its modern architecture church and being a big town. This is an important criterion in Iceland because the settlements are very small and it is very difficult to find markets. I'm not sure how religious Icelanders are, but they pay a lot of attention to church architecture. Many small settlements have very beautiful churches, this is one of them.
Hvitserkur Dinosaur Rock
Hvitserkur is a rock shaped by the waves in the sea and has the appearance of a dinosaur. At first we thought if we should extend our way and enter here, but we are glad we did, because this small peninsula enchanted us with its magnificent views. There are also spots where you can watch puffins and seals around this peninsula. We did not see any of them, but we saw a lot of horses and sheep 🙂
The Icelandic Seal Center is located at the western entrance of the peninsula. By visiting there, you can get detailed information about where and when to see the seals.
Grabrok Crater
We have now reached western Iceland. Heeding the storm warnings behind us, we proceeded west. Grabrok Crater is one of dozens of craters in Iceland. You can climb the stairs to the crater mouth and walk around it. It was a very windy exit for us. We got on and off quickly.
Deildartunguhver Hot Spring
Deildartunguhver hot spring is Europe's most powerful thermal facility with its hot water capacity per second. Some of Iceland's heating needs are met here. In addition, the area around the spa is one of the regions where agriculture is rarely done in Iceland. Greenhouses are heated by thermal sources. Fruits that do not grow on trees, such as vegetables and strawberries, are grown in these greenhouses. There is also a facility in the section where the spa is located, if you wish, you can benefit from the hot water pools.
It is also quite cheap compared to other spas, about 32 usd, 28 euro.
Hraun Waterfall
There is another wonderful waterfall 20 km from the hot spring: Hraun Waterfall. All of the waterfalls I have seen in Iceland are more beautiful than the other, the next one always surpasses the previous one.
Barna Waterfall
Just behind the Hraun waterfall, there is also the Barna waterfall. This place has a sad story too. Two children fell into the river and lost their lives here, and the mother of the children had a bridge built over the waterfall.
Hverinn Hobbit House
After finishing the day at the waterfall, we started looking for a campground to stay. An accommodation option in the form of Hobbit houses caught my attention in the Hverinn campsite, which I found on the Internet, and we turned the steering wheel there. They have arranged in such a way that tents can be set up inside the old greenhouses. Since the hot water system is still working, the inside is quite warm compared to the outside. We spent the night in this different place.
Langjokull Glacier
There is also a popular route where you can take glacier hikes close to this area. Unlike the 3-4 hour glacier walking tours, you can walk inside the glacier caves. Prices are around 120 euros. LANGJOKULL glacier is where these tours take place. We did not participate in one of these tours, I wanted to write in case you might be interested.
Iceland Ring Road Route – Day 6
Our Iceland trip now continues with Iceland's western route. We will do a peninsula tour again.
Kirkjufell Waterfall and Kirkjufell Hill
Our first stop Game of Thrones Kirkjufell hill, which is one of the places that will be remembered by the viewers, attracts many foreigners with its interesting shape. The view of the hill from the waterfall is much more impressive.
The views along the peninsula are magnificent, and Iceland's beautiful churches cross your path.
Another one of the crater rims we are used to seeing in Iceland, Saxholl is on the way again on this peninsula.
Snaefells Glacier
If there is a place to see in Iceland, know that there is a glacier nearby. Snaefells glacier is located in the National Park and there are walking routes in it.
Djupalondssandur
When we first landed in Iceland, its beaches with black dunes seemed very different and interesting. Then we realized that beaches are like this all over the country. The difference of Djupalond beach is that there are huge round rocks on the beach and there is a shipwreck. The shipwreck belongs to a boat called Epine.
There are round rocks on the beach with weights ranging from 23 kilos to 100 kilos. Sailors used to lift these rocks to prove their strength.
You won't have a loss if you don't see it, we thought we'd stop by when we were on our way.
Budakirkja / Black Church
Our last point to see on the peninsula was the Black Church (Budakirkja). We marked the spots we liked in the photos we saw while making our Iceland travel plan, and this church was one of them.
On the sixth day, we had set our route to stop near Silfra, as we were going to dive in Silfra early in the morning on the last day. We spent the rest of the day reaching our accommodation.
Iceland Ring Road Route – Day 7
Our last day in Iceland (theoretically penultimate day but last as our eighth day was on the road) we spent on the Golden Circle route. I wrote the details of the Golden Circle route in a separate article, you can take a look at it: Golden Circle route
Briefly; Thingvellir National Park, Silfra, Geysir, Gulfoss were the main stops of our route.
I know it's a long article but I can't get enough of explaining Iceland 🙂
My Iceland Travel Articles
You can find my travel tips about Iceland such as transportation in Iceland, accommodation in Iceland, car rental in Iceland from the links below:
- Car rental in Iceland
- Iceland trip cost
- accommodation in Iceland
- Iceland Keflavik Airport
- Silfra rift diving and snorkeling experience
- Iceland Golden Circle Route places to visit
- Iceland travel guide
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2 Comments
It's been a wonderful and full article.
I'll admit, it took me a long time to finish it too 🙂