Iceland's Ring Road is 1,300 kilometres. Attempting it in a week means four to five hours of driving a day and stopping only at the roadside. Most people who do it remember the car.
How long the Ring Road actually needs
Ten days minimum. Two weeks comfortably.
That allows the East Fjords, which are the emptiest and most beautiful stretch and the first thing cut on a compressed schedule, and Mývatn in the north, and time to walk to things rather than photograph them from a lay-by.
What a week should be instead
The south coast, out and back.
Reykjavík, the Golden Circle, then Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, Reynisfjara's black sand, Vík, Skaftafell for the glacier walks, and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Return the same way.
Add Snæfellsnes peninsula, two hours from Reykjavík, which is sometimes called Iceland in miniature and takes a full day.
This covers the country's best-known landscapes with time to hike, and no day is more than three hours of driving.
F-roads and 4x4
F-roads — the highland tracks to Landmannalaugar, Þórsmörk and the interior — are legally restricted to four-wheel drive and open roughly late June to September.
The Ring Road and the south coast are paved; a standard car is fine.
Rental insurance is void if you take a two-wheel-drive vehicle onto an F-road, and this is enforced through damage claims.
River crossings on F-roads are not covered by any standard insurance, including in a 4x4.
The two websites
road.is for road conditions and closures. vedur.is for weather and aurora forecasts.
Check both every morning. Roads close with little warning, particularly in winter, and Icelandic wind can rip a car door off its hinges — which is a specific, common and expensive rental claim.
Take the sand and ash damage waiver on the south coast; it is a real risk.
Winter
The Ring Road is maintained, and conditions change fast. Daylight in December is four to five hours.
Winter works if you accept a shorter route, check conditions daily, and are willing to abandon the day's plan. It does not work as a fixed itinerary.
The aurora needs darkness and clear sky — September to March, and no guarantee.
The cost
| Item | Rough |
|---|---|
| Restaurant main | €30–45 |
| Beer | €10–13 |
| Guesthouse double | €120–200 |
| Car hire, per day | €60–150 |
| Fuel, full Ring Road | €180–250 |
Cook. Bónus and Krónan supermarkets cost a fraction of restaurants, and guesthouses with kitchens are the standard accommodation.
Tap water is excellent — buying bottled water in Iceland is money set on fire.
Skip the Blue Lagoon if budget matters. The Secret Lagoon, Mývatn Nature Baths and the many municipal geothermal pools cost a fraction and the pools are where Icelanders actually go.