Itinerary help/feedback please! 12 days in Iceland and Norway

I recommend to do a search on the Travel Forum for both countries to find older matching entries.

Western fjords region has a lot of rain days and amounts in October statistics. Be prepared for this.

Worth reading are Getting around in Norway and 5 spectacular trips around Fjord Norway by rail, bus, and boat.

More time is always better:)

As for Iceland, what exactly are you meaning by the Ring of Fire? With 7 days you can do the south coast and Snaefellsness, but you will be on the move with no downtime. Also, most campgrounds in Iceland are closed in October, and there is no wild camping, so you would need to really check ahead of time what campgrounds are open and if they are open, will they have bathrooms etc available. Some campgrounds are open but have no services. Also, weather in October can be anything, and most people do not recommend a camper van that time of year, partly due to the winds as the campers get blown off the road. Every year there are a handful of those that make the news, and the locals do not take their campers out then, FWIW. I would highly suggest skipping the camper and renting a car. You will also need to check road and weather conditions multiple times a day and have plans a, b, and c in case of road closures. You will also want to be back close to KEF/Reykjavik the night before your flight out in case of this.

By the ring of fire, I meant the sites along the southern coast.

I’m flexible with my dates and camping is a priority so I can move it to September. I read somewhere that the third week of september (fall equinox) is one of the best times to see the northern lights so I think it’s better that way.

Ok, that is just referred to as the south coast. If you say ring of fire, people will look at you like you have two heads:) I would move the trip to September since you are able. Campgrounds do start closing mid month, so again you will need to really keep an eye on what is available. As for the northern lights, we have seen them a number of times on trips there, including this past September (end of the month)

Just an FYI, we have used Happy Campers before and were very pleased with them. We will be booking them again for summer of 2026.

Thank you for letting me know. Google informed me that the ring of fire was the name of a region along the southern coast, but maybe that term isn’t so popular.

Would I have decent luck seeing the northern lights in the beginning of september?

We are also looking into Happy Camper :)

Yeah, Google, lol. We have been many times and I have never heard that term, which is why I asked. Yes, even early September it is possible to see the aurora. If by chance you want to take a tour for it, I highly recommend Aurora Experts. Heimer is excellent and this is all he does. Small groups, doesn't follow the masses, just overall really good! Otherwise I would not drive to go look for the lights, just stay where you are camping. Driving on dark, unfamiliar roads with no shoulder is not a good choice. The roads there are narrow, and there are basically no shoulders and the roads are built up above the ground, so if you go off the road you will be rolling down, not merely just veering off.

I found a very affordable flight with Norwegian air to get between
Oslo and Reykjavik.

Skip the Norwegian flight, the cheapest way to book this is probably to book a return trip to Norway with Icelandair and add a stopover on the way back.

Would I have decent luck seeing the northern lights in the beginning
of september?

Not really. It's certainly possible, but the odds are not in your favour.

Would I have decent luck seeing the northern lights in the beginning of september?

Possible at the right place (best above polar circle). I was lucky to see them on a Sept 3 on Lofoten islands. Check aurora forecast and weather forecast for clear sky (https://www.yr.no/en) - seldomly more than 48 hrs reliable ahead. More about the northern lights in Norway.

I read somewhere that the third week of september (fall equinox) is one of the best times to see the northern lights so I think it’s better that way.

I never found a scientific credible source at which times of year or at which place the northern lights are more likely to appear. Like my uncle (German diploma degree in meteorology) once said: weather, climate and astrophysics are chaotic systems with too much influencing factors and dependencies we did not discover at all. Rest in peace, dear uncle Thomas.