Our itinerary for Iceland was one of the hardest to plan so far, partly because of the limited amount of time we had and partly because there is so much to see in different areas of the country. On the map, you will notice what looks like a road that circles the entire island. Although Iceland is not massive, it will take you around eight hours to drive from the West to the East on this road, passing the North on your way. Although there are some highland roads that cut through the country, they can only be accessed with a 4x4, and it is recommended, that only those experienced in driving these roads access them.
With this in mind, here are the two most popular ways to travel the country. You can either take off from the West and lap Iceland completely, arriving back in the West at the end, OR you can base yourself somewhere like
Hótel Rangá, which is in a good position to take day trips to the areas and things you want to see around the Golden Circle. (If you plan to book this hotel, make sure you use the code CAMP-RANGA at the checkout for 20% off their Best Available Rate. We do not receive money when you book, it is simply a discount code for our readers and followers.) Staying somewhere like this will also give you a bit more flexibility to adjust your schedule, according to the ever changing weather reports. There are some activities for example, you may only want to do with low winds and light or no rain. If you commit to lapping the country, you may not have this choice, or may miss out on it altogether if you have to keep moving to stick to a schedule. Which option you choose will depend on what kind of traveler you are, how much flexibility you want, what you want to see and how much time you have.
Due to severely bad weather on some days, we had to move some things around, to make sure that we were hiking on the best days, but this also meant we had to leave some things out altogether. We detailed our original itinerary for you below, with driving distances from where we based ourselves, next to the day number. Logistically, this is a brilliant schedule which allows you to fit a lot of the sights in, but you can always mix it up and adjust for whatever weather you get. Look out for next blog, with more information about what we actually managed to fit in, with our review for the hotel.
DAY 1 - Reykjavík
0 min to Explore Reykjavík City
DAY 2 - Day Trip From Reykjavík
2 hrs 23 min to Kirkjufell
37 min to Búdir Black Church
8 min to Bjarnarfoss
18 min to Arnarstapi Lonely House
2hrs 29 min back to Reykjavík
DAY 3 - Travel From Reykjavík To Hótel Rangá
1 hr 34 min Enjoy the beautiful drive with freedom to stop along the way. Check in and settle into the hotel, enjoy the hot tub, other facilities and an evening meal
DAY 4 - Day Trip From Hótel Rangá
1hr 12min to Reynisfjara Black Beach
26 min to DC3 Plane Wreck (This only takes you to the car park. There is between a 60 and 90 min walk there and back, to reach the wreck)
15 min to Skógafoss Waterfall
26 min to Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
22 min back to Hótel Rangá
DAY 5 - Day Trip From Hótel Rangá
3 hrs 32 min to Jökulsárlón Glacier (Diamond Beach)
48 min to Svartifoss Waterfall
1 hr 7 min to Fjadrargljufur Canyon
1 hr 58 min back to Hótel Rangá
DAY 6 - Day Trip From Hótel Rangá
1 hr 15 min to Gullfoss Waterfall
9 min to Strokkur Geyser
36 min to Kerid Crater
49 min back to Hótel Rangá