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The Icelandic ring road (or Route 1) circumnavigates the entire island/country and is 828 miles long. If you have the time (perhaps a solid week), it is not only recommended, but strongly suggested you rent a car from Reykjavik and explore the other parts of Iceland.

It’s a matter of personal preference but most people I talk to, locals and others, say the southern part of Iceland is more stunning than the north. Nonetheless, if you stay on this road, you’ll be sure to hit most of the sites the country has on offer.

A map of the road trip can be seen at the end of this post.

Heading east from Reykjavik, you will come across Þingvellir National Park (pronounced – ‘Thingvellir’). This is one of the country’s most famous attractions with the Gulfoss waterfall and Strokkur geyser. These sights are easily accessible from well marked paths from the car park.

Perhaps one of the lesser-known sights is the Silfra Fissure, a small rift between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates that you can snorkel and dive through. You may have to go through a tour operator to see this place however it is absolutely worth it. The water temperature is close to freezing and is the most clear you will ever see on earth. 

Venturing further down the southern coast, heading east, prepare yourself for some of the best scenery around, especially in winter time. Every twist and turn of this road trip can boast a postcard-worthy photo, so if you do decide to stop, make sure you are well off the road and out of the way of passing traffic.

The first major landmark you will hit is the Seljalandfoss Waterfall. The waterfall is 60 meters high and has a small cave behind it you can explore. The cave was however closed during the wintertime as ice prevented anyone from getting near it, so you can get the full view of the waterfall in summer time. 

Another waterfall down the road is Skógafoss. The same height as Selfjandfoss, but wider, the spray from this waterfall is considerably more and you can always spot a rainbow within the mist coming from it. The pebbled façade and small river leading to the power waterfalls makes this an excellent photo location for a budding photographer. You can take the trail to the right of the waterfall to see the view from the top. 

Perhaps a peculiar but beautiful site to see is the wreckage of a DC-3 plane from the 1970s. The cause of the crash is still unclear but the plane ultimately went down and everyone survived. Instead of cleaning up the wreckage, the US navy stripped the plane of vital components and left the plane sit where it currently is. It’s advised to not hike to this area in winter as people have died trying to find the wreckage under the snow. Nonetheless, the exact coordinates are here: 63 27.546, -19 21.887.

Near the very southern portion of Iceland lies a small town called Vík í Mýrdal about 110 southeast of Reykjavik. This is a great place to get out and stretch your legs and have a sit down meal in the road trip. What is especially nice is the black sand beach showing Reynisdranger, the sea stacks that appear in the distance over the ocean waves. You can see these stacks up closer at nearby Reynisfjara beach, just before you get to Vík. The unique hexagonal rock formations make this place eerily beautiful, and can be reminiscent of the same stacks seen at Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. 

Side note: if you’re driving across and notice Icelandic horses near the side of the road, feel free to stop and see them up close. They are incredibly friendly and will walk right up to you. A word of wisdom: Icelandic horses are smaller than normal horses, but Icelanders definitely prefer them to not be called ponies.

After the stop, keep heading east until you get to the Skeiðará Bridge Monument. These mangled steel beams are a reminder of the powerful force of nature. They were once part of a bridge in this area that was wiped out by glacial flooding in 1996 after the eruption of volcano Vatnajökull melted a large portion of the Skeiðarárjökull glacier. This bridge was once part of the Icelandic Ring Road and now is adorned with graffiti in the Icelandic plain. 

If you like some of my photos that you have come across, just know that I have many prints showcasing a variety of landscapes in Iceland, available for purchase below! (Sold as Posters, Canvas, or in Metal-Frames).

No trip to Iceland in winter is complete without visiting an ice cave. Trips to these caves usually are through a guided tour, as some caves are very unstable and trespassing in them can result in grave injury or death due to the ever-shifting ice. Some of these caves reside in Skaftafell and Hofn and tours of them are all-dependent on weather conditions, and cave integrity. Book this type of excursion in advance. You will be glad you did. 

The last stop on this southern coast expedition is the famous Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, near Vatnajökull National Park. This area is adorned with blue icebergs of all sizes that drift in and out from the ocean. The stunning contrast of the blue ice with the black sand beach at sunset make this place ideal for sunsets and sunrises, especially for those wanting to capture its beauty in a photo. 

I fully intend on returning to Iceland to complete this ring road trek, however if you have only a limited amount of time, I believe this route gives you the most bang for your buck when it comes to the beauty of Iceland. Places I’m still absolutely dying to see in the North of Iceland is Goðafoss, Dettifoss, as well as the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. 

You will naturally fly into Keflavik airport, which is close to the capital of Reykjavik. I strongly suggest spending a few days in this amazing capital city before you head out on this road trip. For more info on that, check out my post here on Reykjavik!

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