In June 2023, I travelled to Iceland and drove the ring road in two weeks. We discovered the city of Reykjavik, the amazing waterfalls, the glaciers, the breathtaking hikes, the black sand beaches, the hot springs, and so much more!

I have made this 5 day itinerary in Iceland, focusing on the absolute best things there is to see in a small amount of time. Although I highly recommend at least spending 10 days in Iceland to drive the whole ring road, I understand that we don’t always have that many travel days, so we need to make the most out of the time that we have.

This itinerary does not include the whole ring road because 5 days is too little of a time to drive the entirety. Instead, I have focused on the best attractions within Reykjavik, which is where you will be landing. This itinerary therefore focuses more on the south and the west of Iceland.

I have included in this guide not only the activities that we did, but also useful google maps links that we used, our ratings for each activity, whether we think it is overrated or not, whether there is a parking fee, the duration of each activity, if drones are allowed, and many more useful information.

If you are looking for a 2 week itinerary around Iceland, click here to read more.

Table of Contents

• General Information
• Day 0: Arrival
• Day 1: Snæfellsnes Peninsula
• Day 2: Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Dyrhólaey, Svínafellsjökull Glacier
• Day 3: Múlagljúfur Canyon, Jökulsárlón, Diamond Beach, Vestahorn
• Day 4: Þakgil
• Day 5: Hot Springs and Reykjavik
• Useful Links

General Information

Should I visit Iceland during the summer or during the winter?

It depends on the type of experience and activities you are looking for.

In the summer, you will be able to witness the Midnight sun, which is when the sun never sets, leaving the country in brightness for 24 hours. In addition, during the summer, the F-roads are open, which gives you access to explore the Highlands. Ice cave tours are offered by a few companies, although less than the wintertime. Most camping sites are open.

During winter, the days get shorter and shorter. However, the dark nights leave the opportunity for seeing northern lights. The F-roads are closed due to the snow. Ice cave tours are a very popular activity. Many campsites are closed in the winter, so make sure to check in advance.

What is the ring road?

The ring road, also named Highway 1, is a road that makes a circle around Iceland. The road is very well maintained and is the most popular road in Iceland. It is also very accessible to many tourist attractions.

For transportation, should we pick a base in Iceland and do daily trips from there? Or should we go along the ring road in one direction?

Personally, we decided to go along the ring road in one direction, counterclockwise. We felt that it helped us save on traveling time since we did not have to come back on the same route. However, there are pros and cons in doing either of them. By going in one direction, you get to save time on transportation, but you constantly move locations, which could be unenjoyable for some people. By picking a base location, you can come back to familiarity. If staying at an Airbnb, you do not need to unpack your bags every day. It all depends on the way you would like to travel.

For accommodations, should we go stay at hotels, Airbnbs or camping sites?

The accommodation that you choose really depends on your personal travel style and/or the way you want to experience your trip. We personally opted for camping because it was the cheapest option and allowed for a lot of flexibility. Camping sites ranged from 10.00 to 25.00 CAD per person per night. We also chose our camp site for the night right after our last activity of the day, and the campsites always had availabilities. Therefore, if we were early or late on our original itinerary, we were flexible to changes. 

Staying at an Airbnb or hotel is more comfortable. However, it will be a lot pricier. In addition, it allows for less flexibility, since it is recommended to book the accommodations many months in advance, and the longer you wait, the less choices you will have (except for camp sites).

Should we do activities with a tour company? Or should we rent our own car and go by ourselves?

This also really depends on your personal travel style. We personally rented our own car and explored by ourselves. We rented a 4×4 Suzuki Grand Vitara with a rooftop tent. We prefer discovering places on our own and deciding our own schedule. Also, going by ourselves is a lot cheaper. The only tour that we did do was a Puffin Tour in Reykjavik, but we did that tour because we were unfortunately unable to see puffins on our own during our ring road trip. Tour companies can be helpful however because you do less planning. In addition, the transportation is included, so you do not need to worry about driving in certain difficult conditions.

Do we need to pay for parking at the different attractions?

In this itinerary, I will state whether the parking is free or not. For each activity where it was mentioned that a fee was required, it was around 5.00 to 12.00 CAD. 

Are drones allowed in Iceland?

Drones are legal in Iceland. However, you need to follow their rules. In some locations, they also have a sign if drones are prohibited. We also included in the guide if drones were allowed for each activity. Please make sure to also check when you arrive because regulations are always changing.

Click here to get the drone that I used.

Should I travel to Iceland as a solo female?

Iceland is one of the safest countries. Therefore, as a solo female, you can travel without major safety concerns. As for the experience, whether you are a solo female or not, I personally recommend traveling with another person if you don’t like spending a lot of alone time. Traveling around Iceland is very different compared to other European countries because the country is very remote. Therefore, you do not get the hostel experience of meeting many other people as you would for example in a social hostel in Spain.

Do you think that rain jackets and/or rain pants necessary?

Before arriving, we heard that Iceland’s weather can be raining during the summer. So, we had only packed a rain jacket. However, we did not think that rain pants were necessary. 

Being someone who goes outside rain or shine because “I did not travel thousands of miles to be indoors”, I really should have bought rain pants beforehand. In fact, we went to buy rain pants at a store in Iceland around halfway through our trip. There was too much rain for us to continuously be outside while having our legs soaking wet. However, if you would rather relax a bit more during rainy days and find indoor activities, rain pants might not be necessary for you.

Invest in good clothes if you plan on doing a lot of outdoor activities.

With whom do you recommend booking your rental car with?

We booked with Northbound.is. We had a great experience with them! They are a company that finds the best car rental deals in Iceland. Our pick up experience was also super smooth. They picked us up at the airport with a shuttle earlier than we had planned since we arrived earlier. They are also super easy to contact if ever you have questions (we contacted them a few times for questions and they always responded very fast).

Tent camping or camper van?

We chose the tent camping option (on the roof of the car) because it was a lot cheaper. However, if we could go back (and have more money), I would choose a camper van.

Do they speak English in Iceland?

Yes! There is no need to use google translate.

For the campsites, did you book in advance?

For each of our campsites, we always chose it after our last activity of the day and just showed up. We never encountered a situation where the site was full.

Which gas stations did you go to?

We got our gas at N1 and Olís because we had discounts at those companies. Our rental car company gave us special gas discounts.

Since you were camping, how did you cook your meals?

In Iceland, we bought gas tanks at the gas stations. In two weeks, we used two gas tanks. However, we also cooked a few times using the kitchen stoves at some campgrounds. From home, we brought cooking pots and a small stove.

Do the activities that you did require a lot of physical activity?

For each activity, I graded on a scale from 1 to 4 the level of physical activity. 

1. You can see the sight from the parking lot without major physical movement.

2. You can see the sight from the parking lot after a short walk that is less than 500 meters.

3. You can see the sight from the parking lot after a longer walk that is more than 500 meters.

4. You can see the sight after a hike.

How often did you need to go to the grocery store?

We went to the grocery store every day, particularly because we needed to buy ice for our cooler.

Day 0: Arrival

Arrive in Iceland by the airport in Keflavik, Iceland’s international airport. From there, pick up your rental car. We rented our car with Northbound.is. If you are taking a red-eye, pick up your car in the morning of day 1.

Day 1: Snæfellsnes Peninsula

9:00 am: Glymur Waterfall Hike

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 5 hours
• Rating: 9/10
• Drones allowed: Yes
• Physical activity: 4/4

We arrived at the parking lot of the Glymur Waterfall hike. It is free to park here. There are no toilets. The parking lot is labeled “Botnsá and Glymur Parking” on Google Maps. When we arrived, the parking had many available spots left. However, you might want to be careful if you go early afternoon and/or during high season (July and August).

Distance: 8 km round trip (Red and Yellow trails)

• Elevation gain: 463m
• Difficulty: Hard
• Length of Time: 3 to 5 hours

There are two different ways to do this hike: as a loop or as an out-and-back hike.

If you do it as an out-and-back hike, you will hike up the red path and return the same way. On this hike, you will do one river crossing with the help of a log.

If you do this as a loop like we did, you will hike up the red path, and return by walking down the yellow path. The second river crossing, between the red and yellow path, adds a nice little twist to the hike and you get a different view of the waterfall from the yellow path.

The red path has one river crossing. It is also a lot more difficult than the yellow path, but it is gorgeous. As for the river crossing, I would recommend getting water shoes. The river crossing is easily done. For the first half of the crossing, you step on rocks and on the second half, there is a big tree that you can walk on. You also have a rope to hold onto. If you do not have water shoes, you can even do this crossing without shoes since people have told me that is it not slippery. However, I crossed with my sneakers (not waterproof). 

Between the red and yellow path, there is a second river crossing. It is a longer one, a lot colder, and you are walking on rocks the whole time (no rope or tree). I would recommend wearing shoes in this case (whether it is water shoes or not) since the rocks can be a bit painful if bare feet, which then slows you down when you walk. This river is also the river that forms the Glymur Waterfall.

Before crossing, make sure to evaluate the best location to cross. That would be where the current is smallest and where the water is shallow. Also, most people did not complain about this, but I thought that the water was freezing. My feet were in so much pain from walking in the water.

The yellow path is an easy walk down. There are no river crossings or particular challenges.

The hike is absolutely gorgeous. We were so lucky to have the perfect weather. The sky was blue, and the sun was shining. Also, there were not that many people hiking the trail, which is always a plus. We saw around 8 people total. This place is so underrated, and we recommend it so much if you are physically capable!

5:00 pm: Kirkjufell and Kirkjufellsfoss

• Parking fee: Yes
• Time spent: 20 minutes
• Rating: 7/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 2/4

Kirkjufell is the name of the mountain. Kirkjufellsfoss is the name of the waterfall. If you want to photograph at the very famous location like the picture below, make sure to go to “Kirkjufellsfoss Parking Lot” on Google Maps.

From the parking, it is a very short walk to the viewpoint (around 150 meters).

The viewpoint is very picturesque and perfect for photography. However, we felt that this attraction was a bit overrated. Throughout your drive across Iceland, you will see so much random pretty scenery. Therefore, we felt that the mountain and the waterfall were very similar to the other scenery, so we did not get the hype around this one specific scenery as they were all gorgeous. Nevertheless, we still recommend for you to visit because it is gorgeous and of course, iconic.

7:00 pm: Accommodation

Get to your accommodation, whether it be a home stay or at a camping site.

Day 2: Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, Dyrhólaey, Svínafellsjökull Glacier

9:00 am: Seljalandsfoss

• Parking fee: Yes
• Time spent: 1 hour
• Rating: 8/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 2/4

To get to Seljalandsfoss, search “Seljalandsfoss” on Google Maps. The parking starts at Seljalandsfoss, but make sure to walk all the way to the left to see all the waterfalls! The last one is very impressive and skipped by many people. It is a waterfall inside a cave.

Seljalandsfoss is famous for the fact that you can walk behind it. Make sure to wear waterproof clothes or clothes that you don’t mind getting wet.

11:00 am: Skógafoss

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 1 hour
• Rating: 9/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 2/4

To get to Skógafoss, search “Skogafoss” on Google Maps. The parking is at the base of the waterfall.

Usually, I do not get impressed by over popular attractions, but Skógafoss was worth the hype. 

You can get close to the base of the waterfall but be careful because you will get wet. Make sure to bring waterproof clothing if you want to get close to the fall. There are also stairs on the right side of the waterfall that you can take to walk to the top of the waterfall. 

2:00 pm: Dyrhólaey

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 30 minutes
• Rating: 6/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 1/4

Dyrhólaey is a small hill on the coast of southern Iceland. You can also find a lighthouse and an arc. It is a popular spot along the south coast to see puffins. However, we did not see any here.

To get there, there are 2 parking lots. There is one at the top of the hill and one at the bottom of a hill. We parked at the one on top of the hill, which is also where the lighthouse is. To get there, search “Dyrhólaey Lighthouse” on Google Maps. 

From the parking lot, we walked along the coast and took in the view. You can also see the view of a black sand beach from a higher viewpoint which is nice.

4:00 pm: Svínafellsjökull Glacier

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 30 minutes
• Rating: 7/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 2/5

Parking on Google Maps is called “Svinafellsjokull Parking.” Compared to the other glacier, you can see it a lot closer! Reaching the glacier requires a short walk.

6:00 pm: Accommodation

Get to your accommodation, whether it be a home stay or at a camping site.

Day 3: Múlagljúfur Canyon, Fjallsárlón Glacier, Diamond Beach, Vestahorn

9:00 am: Múlagljúfur Canyon

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 3 hours
• Rating: 10/10
• Drones allowed: Yes
• Physical activity: 4/4

The coordinates of the parking lot are N 63.993021°; W 16.436285°.The hiking trail is well marked.

The hike is stunning. The cliffs are covered in vibrant green moss, and there are waterfalls everywhere. I recommend hiking all the way up, past the famous view of the canyon. The hike afterwards is quite steep and challenging, but it is very much worth the view.

1:00 pm: Fjallsárlón Glacier

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 1 hour
• Rating: 8/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 2/4

Search “Fjallsárlón Glacier Parking” on Google Maps, and it will lead you to the right location. The parking is very close to the glacier.

We got to see the glacier here! It was pretty, and the glacier was massive. We didn’t do much walking around the glacier. It was more of a sightseeing moment. We also got to see a seal on the shore.

3:00 pm: Diamond Beach

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 30 minutes
• Rating: 7/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 1/4

On Google Maps, it will show that Diamond Beach is accessible by “Diamond Beach Parking,” which is right before a small bridge. However, we found it to be better to be parked after the bridge. You would just need to continue on the ring road (road 1) until you cross the bridge, and you will see a parking lot on your left.

The diamonds are ice that come from the Jökulsárlón glacier and that get washed up onto the black sand beach’s shore. Being someone that does not like overhyped locations, I loved it so much. Even though we went in the evening and on a rainy day, there were a good amount of tourists, so during the peak summer months, it must be busy.

6:00 pm: Vestahorn

• Parking fee: 10.00 CAD/person
• Time spent: 2 hours
• Rating: 8/10
• Drones allowed: Yes
• Physical activity: 2/4

Search “Stokksness” on Google Maps and it will lead you towards it. 

Before entering, you will arrive at the Viking Cafe. You must go inside to pay for entry. The cost at the time was 10.00 CAD per person, and there were no additional charges for parking. 

The workers at the Viking Cafe will also explain this to you, but there are different viewpoints in the area. There is a mini viking village, a place to see seals, a lighthouse, and of course the black sand beach.

8:00 pm: Accommodation

Get to your accommodation, whether it be a home stay or at a camping site.

Day 4: Þakgil

Full Day: Þakgil

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 6 hours
• Rating: 9/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 4/4

To get there, type “Þakgil” on Google Maps. Once you get off the ring road, the road will be very bumpy. However, the drive is so gorgeous, so don’t forget to take in the view. I honestly recommend for you to stop once or twice to get out of your car (at safe locations of course).

We parked at the Þakgil campsite since we were camping there overnight night. However, if you do decide to go without camping, you can still park for free. 

We did the yellow trail loop hike. We started our hike at the campsite and did it clockwise. However, most people do the hike counterclockwise, starting with the purple trail. They then continue the yellow trail to complete the loop counterclockwise.

Unfortunately, we did not complete the loop. Once we were halfway, a lot of clouds blocked our vision, which lead to us not being able to find the right path to the trail. To not get lost further, we descended the same way we came up. Even though our day was a bit of a fail, I highly recommend for you to visit Þakgil because it is absolutely gorgeous. In the small amount of time that we hiked, it was honestly some of the prettiest scenery I have ever seen.

6:00 pm: Accommodation

Get to your accommodation, whether it be a home stay or at a camping site. Drive in direction of Reykjavik to be closer for the next day.

Day 5: Hot Springs and Reykjavik

7:00 am: Hot Spring

Spend the morning at a hot spring. Iceland has so many hot springs to choose from. Some of the most popular ones near Reykjavik are the following:

• Blue Lagoon
• Sky Lagoon
• Reykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River (this requires a hike to get to)

If you are looking to go to the Blue Lagoon or to Sky Lagoon, I highly recommend going in the morning. These are very popular places that can get crowded. If you arrive at the first time slot, you will be able to enjoy an hour because the crowds start coming since the tickets are by hourly waves.

For the Blue Lagoon

• Parking fee: Free
• Time spent: 3 hours
• Rating: 8/10
• Drones allowed: No
• Physical activity: 1/4

We went at 7:00 am, which is the first time slot available, and it did not feel crowded. I recommend going the earliest in the morning. Once it hits 8:00 am and 9:00 am, there was an accumulation of people from 7, 8 and 9 am, so it was a lot more crowded.

We got the comfort ticket. It included a face mask and a drink at the lagoon bar.

The Blue Lagoon is overrated BUT I do not regret going there. Because the Blue Lagoon is such an iconic place, I felt like I couldn’t come to Iceland without experiencing what it was like.

12:00 pm: Reykjavik

In the afternoon, arrive in Reykjavik. If you are renting a car, search “Free parking” on Google Maps in Reykjavik. You will be able to park there for free. This is where we parked when we visited.

Afterwards, walk towards Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. They are a hot dog stand in the city. They were honestly the best hot dogs that I have ever had. However, they are pretty expensive, but they are also one of the cheapest food that you will find in the city. If you are still hungry, two restaurants that I recommend are the following:

1. Messinn. They serve a lot of fish. Although I am not a fan of fish, I absolutely adored their cod.
2. Svarta Kaffið. They only sell two meals. It is a soup in a bowl made of bread. The soup is either made with lamb or vegetarian. I highly recommend.

Then, wander around Reykjavik and visit some of the attractions in the city. Click here to see the 7 best places to visit in Reykjavik, Iceland.

After spending a few hours in Reykjavik, make your way back to the airport to drop off your rental car, and catch your flight home or to your next destination.

Useful Links

• This link brings you to a Google Maps page with all the campsites in Iceland. The map is very accurate, but there sometimes are mistakes. Make sure to call in advance before going to the campsite. One time, we were driving towards one of the campsites mentioned on the map. However, we realized that the campsite did not actually exist.

• This link brings you to a Google Maps page with all the gas stations in Iceland. We did not use this link because gas stations were commonly found along the way.

• This link brings you to a Google Maps page with all the hot springs in Iceland. We did not use this link because we had already searched for hot springs to go to beforehand and did not have time to squeeze in more hot springs.

Vedur.is: Weather Updates

• This website shows the most accurate weather in certain regions in Iceland.

Road.is: Road Conditions

• This website shows the road conditions, as well as if the F-roads are open or not.

Safetravel.is: General Safety

• This website updates you on general safety information in Iceland.

Have you been to Iceland or is Iceland on your bucket list? Comment down below your favourite activity in Iceland or an activity that you would do when in Iceland!