We are very early in our planning for 2025 trip to Iceland and are unsure of how to tour Iceland. So we do the full ring road or just spend more time on the south coast? After watching the new Iceland special, the ring road looks very attractive but it appears that this would require multiple one night stays or a much longer vacation that we planned for. We want to enjoy the natural beauty of Iceland but we typically spend multiple days at a single lodging while taking long hikes of 8-18 miles experiencing naure. I am not sure if we would enjoy the hours in the car with small hikes to see specific sites. Our concern is that we would miss much of the natural beauty of Iceland if we limit ourselves to only a few stops. Please advise our best option.
Posted by
WI
370 posts
How long is your trip?
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2714 posts
And when are you going? Depending on time of year you may not face the best weather. There are many posts in the Iceland part of the forum that include information about itinerary options, as well as many good trip reports from mikliz97 (click on their posting history and scroll through to find Iceland trip reports).
Posted by
OP
24 posts
We plan on traveling in mid-August; we do have an event so the dates are pretty firm. We were thinking 6-10 days.
Posted by
Snohomish, WA
2635 posts
CL--Thank you:)
Nickben601--With even 10 days, IME that is not enough for the ring road, especially if you want to get out and do things. The time we did the ring road we had 12 nights and even that was a rush. And yes, every night was sleeping in a different place. Since you want to stay in locations at least a few nights each, I would do Snaefellsness and the south coast. It will still be a bit rushed as there is just so much to see and do. Since you like to hike, definreily stay in Thorsmark for a few nights as there is some phenomenal hiking there. Or another option would be to head up to the Westfjords, which are prime time in August. Do a hike up a Hornstrandir. We used Borea Adventure last year for that and it was a highlight of that trip! Best of all, you are far from, the summer crowds up there. We had 10 days for just the Westfjords alone on that trip, before we spent another week split between Thorsmark and Westmann Islands. There are so many options for you, so you will need to see what areas appeal most to you. Read some of my rip reports and take a look at Iceland With A View on You Tube, and then feel free to ask more questions. The one thing to note is that places in Iceland book up 9-12 months in advance, so you will want to narrow down your choices soon so you can get those booked.