just booked our tickets!

Hey @athorste, I think you'll find that most people will say that's not enough time for the ring road, even if you skipped Grindavik.

I have been to Iceland twice and have not done the whole ring road. I would love to go back with about two weeks and do the whole ring. Both times I just did day trips and I saw plenty.

The first time I stayed in an Air Bnb just outside of Reykjavik. We did the 'small circle' you mention - Kleifarvatn Lake (which is beautiful and you'll probably have it to yourself), the Seltun Geothermal area, the lighthouse, etc. One day we spent a full day doing the Golden Circle. Another day we drove all the way to Vik and back with stops along the way. And our last day we spent in downtown Reykjavik (we spent the two previous days in the car and just wanted to do something close by). Rick has a nice free audiotour of downtown Reykjavik that I enjoyed.

The second time I went to Iceland I was solo, and I stayed in an Air Bnb in Mosfellsbaer, which is a little north of Reykjavik. One day I drove into Reykjavik and took the ferry to Viðey Island and hiked around and had lunch. Another day I drove all the way up the west coast to the Snaefellsness Peninsula, with stops along the way, and out to Hellnar, where I hiked along the coast to Arnarstapi and back. And another day I hiked on Mt. Esja, which is just outside Reykjavik.

There's plenty for you to see in the amount of time you have. I would not try to squeeze in the ring road.

I agree that you would not have enough time to do the whole Ring Road. We just went last year, having already done the Golden Circle and Snæfellsnes Peninsula on previous trips. We had ten full days to drive the Ring Road with lots of stops for sightseeing, hiking, hot pools, beaches, etc. Even with those ten days there were some things that we skipped.

I suggest focusing on the Reykjannes Peninsula and the south coast as far as Höfn. Don't just do day trips out of Reykjavik -- you'll be backtracking waay too much. You could also add a one day tour around Snæfellsnes Peninsula, although it will be a very long day.

Thank you for your feedback! I am glad someone told me not to do the Ring Road. I was feeling like we'd miss out on something if we didn't do the whole thing, but that is a lot of driving/stopping/hotel check-in,etc.

Don't worry about what you might miss out on by not doing the whole Ring Road. Yes, you'll be missing out on some interesting things to see, but you can do those on your next trip! With IcelandAir offering the "free" seven day layover, it's easy to come back again and again. :-)

I agree that the ring road is too much fir this trip. We have been 4 times so far, and our ring road trip was 12 days and we still missed so much.

I would take a couple days for Snaefellsness, a day for the Reykjanes Peninsula, and the remainder for up the south coast. That way you will see a lot but without racing.

Definitely get things booked asap as you are already late for planning this summer.

A tip for the rental car. Don’t skimp and get something larger and more comfortable. People often forget how much room their luggage takes. You don’t want those in the backseat to be squished since you will be doing a lot of driving.

Our next trip is in July as well and I’m so ready to get back there!

Thanks for the advice! Do you have a recommendation for a car rental?

Okay, how's this? After consulting others in the group, I thought I'd present them with three itineraries (2 do not include Ring Road) This is my Option 3. My questions-the Diamond Beach area to Akuyeri looks to be a 7 hour drive, no stops. After seeing the rest of Iceland's beauty, what else would we be missing by doing just a straight 7 hour drive? We are into short walks/hikes, not rugged, mountainous hiking. And, how many days would you suggest in Akuyeri?

Possible Itinerary (July 2-10):
2: arrrive early am, drive to Grindavick and the small peninsula near airport (taking into account we will be tired, don't want to go too far). Stay either in Grindavik or Reykjavik (probably Grindavik)
3: Golden Circle and stay in Vik
4: two nights in Diamond Beach area (glacier tour, lagoon tour)
5, 6, 7: drive to Akuyeri and explore the area (or maybe take just two days for this and add a day to Reykjavik)
8-9: drive to Reykjavik (5 hours, no stops), spend the night there.
10: Back home!- go to Blue Lagoon in early am (with reservations), because we don't need to be at the airport until 1:15.

I would never consider driving from Diamond Beach to Akuyeri in one day for several reasons. One, drive time in Iceland is WAY off from Googlemaps etc. You need to allow at least 20% more time, at a minimum. Also, you will miss SO much as you just plain wouldn't have time for any stops.

We have used Blue Car Rental on 3 of our 4 trips so far, and ha ve them booked for this summers 5th trip. They have been great to work with.

Thanks, Mikliz! I was trying to figure out a way for it to work, but I just don't see it. I guess we need to decide if we want go to Akuyeri or the Diamond Beach area. It's so hard!

I've seen others recommend Blue, so I'll check them out.

athorste--The problem is there is so much to see all over the country and there just is never enough time. Just figure that you will have to come back to fill in the gaps. Once you are there, you will be mentally planning a return trip anyway;)

mikliz97 :) You are correct!