Iceland itineraries are everywhere – think of this one as another option to spark ideas rather than the definitive way to see the country.
This isn’t an “ultimate Iceland itinerary” that squeezes in every corner of Iceland. It’s simply how we chose to spend ten days on the road, based on what appealed to us.
Our priority was the landscapes – waterfalls, canyons, glaciers and those jaw-dropping views that had us constantly pulling over to say “wow” yet again.
I hope following along with our route helps you shape your own trip and pick out a few stops that feel right for you.
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Day one – Arrival & Reykjavik
We landed in Iceland to sunshine – I couldn’t believe it!
We used the FlyBus to get us from Keflavik Airport into Reykjavik. It takes about an hour and dropped us off at the main bus stop, with was only about 10-minutes walk from our accommodation.
We got to the Guesthouse Aurora about 7:45pm, dropped everything off and headed out again immediately – I wanted to take advantage of the sun.
Read my review of Guesthouse Aurora here.
We quickly visited the iconic Cathedral, Hallgrimskirkja which was right nearby. We walked in at 7:57 for a couple of minutes when closing time was 8pm, so just time for a glimpse inside.
While there was still some great even light we continued down to the Sun Voyager for some lovely photos there.
Next we made our way into the centre, picking up Simon’s Hard Rock Café t-shirt and eating a traditional hot dog for dinner at the popular Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur.
We had a bit of a look around the city centre before returning to our room at almost 10 o’clock – and it was still kinda light!
Day two – Reykjavik
We only have a few hours today to explore Reykjavik some more before we pick up our camper van and hit the road.
I thought a good way to see some of the city was to search out some of the street art.
I found a map to get us started – you can see it here – but it wasn’t the most reliable.
While it doesn’t have a date, I’m guessing it’s a few years old now, and as with everywhere, the art comes and goes.
It did get us out of the main tourist area for a bit, and we saw parts of the city we probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise, so we had a great day.
We stopped into another popular Reykjavik institution for lunch – Brauð & Co has some delicious pastries. There are three Reykjavik locations for you to choose from.
As a tip, we found a good, free place for views over the city. I’m not exactly sure if it’s allowed, but no one questioned or stopped us, so act confidently and I’m sure you’ll be fine too 🙂
Go to the Centre Hotels Plaza and head up to the eighth floor. There will be a door on the right out onto a walkway around the building, where you will be able to see all over the city.
The rest of the day was spent picking up our camper van, which was a complete shemozzle and took 3 hours longer than anticipated.
We then had a quick stop at Costco for some supplies before driving an hour to our first stop in Selfoss, arriving about 9:30.
Tomorrow we really start exploring Iceland 🙂
Day three – The Golden Circle
After a decent night of sleep in our camper van we were on the road pretty early, excited to be driving the Golden Circle.
This drive is very popular as a day trip from Reykjavik, so it’s busy with visitors who are only staying in the capital, tour groups and others like us who are travelling further afield.
There are so many different possible stops along the way, but these were my choices.
Laugarvatn hot springs
This was more of a driving break for us because the hot springs baths were not open until later in the day, but it was fun taking a short walk around the town and seeing our first bubbling water while being encased in sulphur-steam!
This area has been traditionally used to cook bread in the ground. The sign said a rock is placed on top of the mounds, and we saw some like that, so maybe there was bread cooking.
Brúarfoss Waterfall (incorporating Midfoss & Hlauptungufoss too!)
This was our very first waterfall of the trip, and while it may not be as wide or as high as some of the others, it was a beautiful shade of blue.
We then continued on, walking to two other downstream waterfalls, Midfoss & Hlauptungufoss – making sure we got our steps in for the day!
Strokkur Geyser (and others)
The geysir area is home to a dozen or more of them, but there are two here that are notable.
The Strokkur Geysir regularly erupts every 8-10 minutes and shoots water up to 25 metres in the air. One of the eruptions we saw was a double one.
The second notable geysir is, well, Geysir!
This is the origin of the word and gave it’s name to all geothermal water spouts. It is now considered dormant, rarely erupting, just once in a while, usually after nearby earthquakes – most recently in 2016, and before that in 2000.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is one of the more spectacular waterfalls in Iceland due to its double cascade – and it’s very popular! There are multiple view points, and of course, we had to check them all out.
Bru Horse Farm
We spotted this place on the way to Gulfoss and came back afterwards to have a look. It’s basically just an opportunity to see the Icelandic ponies up close.
It’s free, but you can buy some “horse candy” to feed to the horses if you like.
Friðheimar
This is the insanely popular tomato farm that has branched out into tourism by selling tomato soup to visitors in their greenhouses.
To eat here you need to book weeks in advance, and I missed out on getting a booking – but decided to take a look anyway.
As it works out, there is a bar for drinks – some of them look, let’s say, interesting! – which also serves a cup of tomato soup too.
So we got to try the famous soup anyway. I’m not really a tomato soup fan, but this was tasty enough, and you should stop in here and take a look. It’s worth it just for the setting.
Skálholtsdómkirkja – Skálholt Cathedral
This was going to be another very quick stop, but we arrived to hear the bells ringing and suddenly a whole group of people piled out the church – it was a wedding!
This Cathedral was once the centre of religion in Iceland, and it has a small museum underneath it and some lovely geometric stained glass windows, so worthy of a short stop.
Kerið Crater
An almost perfectly circular crater with a lake at the bottom. It reminded me a lot of the Blue Lake at Mount Gambier here in South Australia, just a lot smaller and not quite so blue.
After we finished our lap of the Golden Circle we were back in Selfoss where we did the rest of our grocery shopping. We grabbed some things from Costco last night, but still needed some other bits and pieces.
From there it was on to Hvolsvöllur, where we are staying tonight before continuing on tomorrow.
Day four – Hvolsvöllur to Vik
We were on the move again by about 8:30 with awesome weather for what was another busy day (25k+ steps and counting!).
Seljalandsfoss
Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss, a huge waterfall with the claim to fame of being able to walk behind it. Wet weather gear is 100% recommended here.
We continued along the path about 500m to the hidden Gljúfrabúi, which required careful balancing on rocks to access – and another nice soaking, just when we had dried out a bit!
Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool
Next up was Seljavallalaug Swimming Pool. I had been reading up on it the day before and decided not to swim (the pool is only cleaned once a year so full of algae) but it was still recommended to take a look because it is in a stunning setting.
I didn’t realise how far the hike to it from the car park was. While it is spectacular, I wouldn’t recommend this if your schedule is tight.
I didn’t even get great photos of the pool due to the topless swimmers and the couple in the corner doing who-knows-what – I didn’t think they would appreciate it.
Skógafoss
Next was another big waterfall – Skógafoss. This is widely considered one of the most beautiful in Iceland due to the almost-permanent rainbow – and the crowds attested to its popularity.
We first walked up above the waterfall, and hiked a little to see two more upstream falls.
Once we came back down, we joined the throngs at the base of the waterfall. We found a way to get close to it for some great solo pics – and we got drenched again, but this time we didn’t have the wet-weather gear on.
Sólheimajökull Glacier
After lunch, it was on to Sólheimajökull glacier. We debated about this because it’s almost opposite to the famous plane wreck on the beach – which one should we do?
We’ve seen and walked on glaciers before, be we again loved seeing this one, even touching it. It was probably another 20-minute hike each way.
