The Complete Iceland Ring Road Travel Guide.mp4

There are few places on earth that are as raw, untamed, and otherworldly as Iceland, a country shaped by fire and ice, where waterfalls pour from moss-covered cliffs and black sand beaches stretch endlessly towards the horizon. In this video, we're taking you on a full journey around the legendary Ring Road, one of the most beautiful road trips in the world. We only had one week to explore, which means it's impossible to see everything, but this isn't our first time coming here. Back in 2021, we did a similar road trip, so we're going to combine both trips into one cohesive travel guide. From glacier lagoons and basalt canyons to the roaring waterfalls of the south coast, from the shifting tectonic plates at Thingvellir to the quiet and dramatic west fjords, we'll show you every must-visit landscape throughout, including ones that most people overlook. So buckle up, because this is the ultimate Ring Road adventure. After landing in Iceland, we picked up our camper van and stocked up on groceries at Costco. This is also a great place to pick up any clothes or gear you may have forgotten, like we did with gloves. With our food and other necessities stocked up, we went straight for our first stop, Seljulandsfoss. When we were here a few years ago, it was pouring rain, so we had the place all to ourselves, but now there's quite literally 100-200 people sitting here. It's kind of crazy, it is looking beautiful, but man, it's busy here. This is honestly pretty epic though. Seljulandsfoss is one of the few places you can actually walk behind the waterfall, but do watch your step though. You're going to get pretty wet. The rocks are a little bit slippery, but that is absolutely epic. Unbelievable. Oh, we are completely drenched. Right at the very end. I think if we had just waited like a millisecond, that gust of wind would have been settled down, you know? Yeah, so we are very thankful that we have these rain jackets because, yeah, literally my back feels a little wet. My leggings are soaked. Yep, fun times. Oh my gosh. This is so cool. We escaped the freezing, cold, wet Seljulandsfoss to come over to this hidden waterfall, and it is so much colder, and we are almost soaked if it wasn't for these rain jackets. We're like shivering, babe. I am actually really cold, but it is so beautiful. We missed it last time, but we finally got to see it. I'm so glad that we did. It's so gorgeous in this little secret cave. It's completely hidden, and there's barely anybody here, so really glad that we came here. After visiting the two waterfalls, we made our way over to the mighty Skogafoss. We're not sure if it's higher rainfall this year, but back in 2021, we were able to walk right up to the falls. It was exhilarating feeling the cold mist blasting against us as we took in one of the most powerful waterfalls in Iceland. This memory got us very excited to come back to a familiar location, but this time, we could no longer access the base of the falls since a giant pool of water was now accumulated. Also, just look at how busy it is here now. We practically had the falls all to ourselves a few years back, but now you need to get there bright and early to avoid the incoming tour groups. With that said, we decided to camp at the Skogafoss campsite for the night so we could wake up early and enjoy without the crowds. The campsite was located right by the waterfall, which is why we picked it, but the facilities were pretty horrendous. It's seven o'clock in the morning. We got up to see a little bit of sunrise hitting around Skogafoss. You can already see all the photographers heading up close to the waterfall. They've got their rubber boots on and everything right before all the tour groups get here. We're predicting that the tour groups will get here around 9 a.m, so if you want to come and avoid them, definitely come before. No matter how much I wear, like I'm wearing a fleece along with an outer shell, Iceland just humbles me in how cold it actually gets here in the morning. I was shivering trying to take photos and video, but honestly, right now, we have the car on full blast trying to warm up as we head over to our next spot. Now, the next place we're going to is probably one of the most famous places in all of Iceland, Reynisfjara, the famous black sand beach. Now, we have a little bit of trauma from this place because last time we went over there, it was so insanely windy. It seems a lot better today, so we're just praying that once we get there, the wind will settle down and hopefully, we'll warm right up. It's actually not too windy this time. I'm not getting pelted in the face by black sand. It's a little bit chilly, but we can actually enjoy it this time. I think we're going to go check out the waves, not get too close because there are a little bit of creep waves, and probably get a photo on the columns. There are a couple of spots we visited on our last trip that you might want to consider visiting if you have the time. Both are located before Reynisfjara, so make sure to check them out on your way to the famous black sand beach if you choose to. Just a 10-minute drive from Skogafoss, you'll find the trailhead to the iconic Solheimarsandur plane wreck. The path is completely flat and takes about 2-3 hours round trip. We found the walk extremely boring, but there is a shuttle you can take, which costs about 3,400 ISK per person. To be fully honest, we don't feel like this is worth the time-consuming walk or the price of the shuttle, so maybe keep this one low on your priority list. The next spot is on the sea cliff just west of Reynisfjara. The Dirhalaj viewpoint is quite beautiful, seeing the black sand beaches from a higher vantage point and the insane rock formation that jut out of the sea. On our visit, we also made a quick stop at Gjergau, also known as Yoda Cave. This lava cave sits at the base of a mighty mountain on Iceland's south coast. We didn't feel like the cave was particularly interesting, but the mountain itself was unbelievable. Staggering cliffs rising straight out of the ground, and more than likely you'll be able to avoid some of the crowds here. Great spot to make some lunch if you're camperpanning, but for this trip, we decided to continue straight ahead for our next location. The Vikimjordal church will always remain one of our favorite photo spots in southern Iceland. There isn't so much going on up here, but just being able to get away from the crowds, being up here at the cemetery, being able to see this higher vantage view of the church, the sea stacks, the black sand beach, and the water, it's just so peaceful. Yeah, we're going to spend a little bit more time here before we make a quick stop at the supermarket down there, the Kronan, to restock on some stuff before hitting the ring road. Unfortunately, the weather turned for the worst. The forecast wasn't showing any signs of the rain lifting for several hours as we pulled into Fredroguver canyon. We were really hoping to redeem this spot because last time it was the same situation with the rain. We weren't able to see it in all of its beauty, but you'll see soon enough there's a canyon that we believe is even more stunning. But for now, despite the rain, we still went out there to take in the views. We have one final spot to head to before we set up camp here on day number two, which is actually a new place that we've never been to before, which is called Svenafellsjokull, which is this mighty glacier. And as you can see, the sky has cleared up quite a bit. I mean, it's still quite cloudy, but at least it stopped the rain, which we're super happy about. I think it should take about another 10 minutes or so for us to reach the glacier. We'll take a look and then we'll go set up camp. After seeing the Svenafellsjokull glacier, we can't believe we didn't come here last time. And this is definitely an underrated location with relatively few people. We set up camp at the Svenafellsjokull campsite really close to the glacier for the evening. It is an extremely cold and windy start to our day three here in Iceland. Yeah, we did not wake up to this. We woke up to very calm weather, not a single gust of wind. But as soon as we came around the bend around the glacier, the winds completely picked up now that we're close to the coast and it's 40 kilometers an hour for the rest of the day. 4-0, that's actually insane. But as you guys can tell, there is not a single cloud in the sky, which is a sight I thought I would never see here in Iceland. But we are heading off on a hike today, which is over to Milgrufu canyon, which is one of the most beautiful canyons in Iceland. It is 7 kilometers round trip, 380 meters in elevation gain. It should take about two and a half to three hours. But of course, knowing us, we're going to spend way longer as once we get there, we're going to shoot all the beautiful content. Hopefully the wind dies down a little bit once we kind of get into the crevices of the canyon. That right there is the ending and it is so windy, but the panoramic views are actually pretty crazy. You see the entire stretch of ocean. You see the other glacier right over there and you can see where the icebergs are. And that's actually where we're going to head to next. Continuing along the ring road, we come to what we believe is a couple of pretty overrated spots, the Jökulsárlón glacier and diamond beach. Every single tour group comes here and it's just packed with tourists. Sure, you can pick up a few diamonds or hop on a boat tour to get close to the icebergs, but we don't think it's worth the crowded setting. We saw a seal, so that didn't make it a total loss. If you did want to see the icebergs, we highly recommend visiting the nearby Fjörsárlón glacier. There are significantly fewer people and it's just stunning, especially with a mighty glacier as the backdrop. We started off the morning very windy and we're going to end it even windier, but we are here at one of our favorite places in all of Iceland, which is Stokksnes. And it is absolutely beautiful, minus the crazy wind and the sand blasting in my face. So we're kind of just going to enjoy it. We might not catch sunset because actually a better sunrise spot. So we're actually staying at the campsite, like literally right at the entrance called Viking, Viking campground or something like that. So we're going to stay there for the night and then tomorrow morning we're going to come back here for sunrise and hopefully it's going to be absolutely amazing, especially when the sun just peaks right behind those peaks. The sand is moving over the beach here and it looks like we're on a desert, not at a beach. And that guy dressed in black behind me looks so funny. He looks like he's in Dune. Sadly, we didn't get the sunrise we were hoping for and it was just as windy. We feel like we should have stayed for sunset as the colors were coming out a bit. We got our hopes up as when we previously came, we experienced one of the most incredible conditions we've ever seen. The soft golden glow and the clouds resting on the peaks were just beautiful. Leaving Stokksnes, we enter the eastern fjords, which is a really underrated region as tour groups don't usually go this far. Driving along the roads felt really peaceful and the views were equally as stunning. One hidden gem you can consider stopping at is Skudafoss, which requires some light trekking at a distance of only one kilometer and takes less than 30 minutes to complete. Once you get there, you'll encounter a duo of waterfalls tumbling off the edge of broken earth under you. We made a quick stop at the Valmis Nature Reserve to take in the wild mountains and black sand beaches. From there, you can continue along the ring road to enjoy the coastal drive. But since there weren't any notable stops and the views were becoming quite similar to what we've already experienced, we saved hours of driving by taking highway 95 to cut through the mountain pass rather than around. The drive was more beautiful than we had expected and we couldn't help but stop at a couple of waterfalls and witness the landscape change from grassy plains to snowy covered rocks as we ascended in elevation. Our main activity for today is hiking to one of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of Iceland, which is called Hengifoss. Now the trail itself is relatively easy but it is so windy which has been like this for the entire day. For the last two days actually. So kind of two for two here but it's looking like a beautiful day with clear skies. We are starting off later in the afternoon so the trail is a little bit busier than what we had yesterday but mind you it's looking so gorgeous. We can actually see the waterfall from the trail and what makes it so iconic is not just the waterfall itself but the surrounding area and it's basically like a curved wall with rings of red. The trail itself takes about two hours to complete. It's only about five kilometers round trip, 350 meters in elevation gain and it kind of does a loop. You go on the left side of the canyon and you exit on the right which is kind of nice because then you kind of see different views along the way. We are hoping that the wind kind of dies down which is momentarily it has. Hoping it keeps this way because that would be so epic to fly the drone over there. Just as we left Hengifoss, the rain started coming down and continued to pour even as we checked into Camp Eglestadir for the night. This has been a really cold September. We were here around the same time four years ago and it definitely wasn't this cold like there's literally snow all over the floor. Yeah the ground is completely compact there are even puddles that are completely iced over so it's definitely very freezing but at least the trail is quite easy for us to get to Studlegill Canyon. Now the canyon is known for having these basalt columns on the walls and a river flowing through it so that's kind of like the hero of this place and the walk is pretty easy like I said but we're walking through farmland so we're going to encounter some sheep and they're dropping so we're going to be watching every step that we take and it's going to take about five kilometers for us to go there and come back. With pretty minimal elevation gain should only be about 100 meters or so so it's quite relaxing pretty chill should only take about what half an hour or so to get there yeah but the one issue is that if you come during the right season which we're predicting is around June the river is much calmer and it's much bluer versus right now the water is actually pretty gray so we're not expecting the most beautiful sight there but we are hope we still have a lot of fun. We're getting pretty close to the canyon itself but there's one piece of information that you guys should really know about and that Stula gill actually has two different areas you have the right side of the canyon and you have the left side now if you want to get lower to the canyon where you see those iconic photo spots you need to make sure you're on the left side of the canyon on the right side there are multiple viewing platforms which is really cool there's a little campsite up there as well as a little guest house but do not make the mistakes a lot of people head onto that side and you head over to the viewing platforms which is still really cool because you get to see everything but a lot of people are disappointed by knowing that they can't actually get down into the canyon so you do actually need to park at the parking lot that is located right by Stula Foss. That waterfall is where you want to go. We will go ahead and link the exact map location in the description below so you guys don't get lost. As we entered the northern part of Iceland the landscapes changed once again from the tall jagged cliffs to flatter pastures teeming with volcanic activity. Some notable spots we recommend are firstly Deity Foss, Iceland's most powerful waterfall. There's a western side and an eastern side and when we visited we took the road to the western bank where the views of the falls are more direct but the paved paths and viewing decks are busier. Heading further along the ring road you'll find Krafla crater with its incredibly blue water and geothermal activity and just south of there on the other side of the road is Færir. Bubbling pools of mud and sulfuric gas it was pretty cool to see but the smell can be quite intense. We ended our day at Göta Foss which also has a western and eastern side but in this case are easy to access so we recommend to hop over to both in one visit. It might not be the tallest or the most powerful or the most unique but the waterfall gave us a sense of calm in its embrace. We also managed to walk down to the shoreline at the base of the falls on the eastern side of Göta Foss and visiting in the evening meant way fewer people which is always a bonus. The conditions were pleasantly sunny the next morning at the Vamstangi campground so we set off early for the western side of Iceland but if time is on your side this is the perfect point in your ring road itinerary to explore a lesser travel part of the country the west fjords. Though it's a long journey the drive itself sneaking up and down the fjords was reason enough to make the detour on our first trip. It was so quiet and we fell in love with endless snow-capped mountains, the calm waters of the fjords, the silver braids of streams that connected to the ocean and the red and gold sand beaches that you can find on this part of the island. We made our stop at Dinandi and even though we were driving eight plus hours in this one day to come all this way for one stop this waterfall alone was totally worth it. Continuing south we come to the Snefellsjökull peninsula which has such a diverse range of landscapes that it's often referred to as Iceland in miniature. Okay we have to be a little bit quiet because you don't want to scare the seals off but i'm counting at least six or seven of them and they're kind of just like sunbathing on the rocks they're so cute. I almost feel like i want to be one of them right now because we finally have some decently warm weather for Iceland so it just feels so relaxing and it's so gorgeous how they're sitting underneath those mountains. One thing to note though is that there's a lot of kelp sitting as we get closer to the water which honestly is a good thing. This kelp is very slippery and you do want to stay at least 15 meters away from it so this kind of creates that natural barrier for people not to get too too close. After seeing the seals at Eitritunga beach we check out the Reifjellskal Gorge. It's a fairly steep uphill climb to get to the entrance of the gorge and can be slippery while navigating on some large rocks amid the rushing water but once you get there you can look up and see the jagged carved walls covered in moss. We continued our drive along the south of the peninsula to the small town of Arnastapi where we walked along the cliff's edge which was much more awe-inspiring than we predicted. There are quite a few restaurants and food trucks here so it's a great place to grab lunch. Not long after that we crossed into Snefellsjökull national park, the culmination of our drive across the peninsula with a volcano of the same name at the park's center. The Landryngard viewpoint was the most scenic spot in the park with this dramatic volcanic basalt formation that is completely out of this world. Finally we visited the Saxal crater on which you can climb up the ridge using the red metal staircase that wraps around it. It's a relatively small crater but incredible to see it alone amidst the flat topography. In the evening we finished the day at one of our favorite places in the entire country, Kirkjufellsfoss. The waterfall with Kirkjufell mountain in the back creates such an iconic image which is probably why a lot of photographers were out here capturing the sunset conditions. What a way to end the day. Another renowned part of Iceland that extends inland from the ring road is the golden circle which is an incredible loop that you can do in a single day's drive. We explored the circle on our previous trip and really enjoyed it. Some must-visit spots are the Keri crater which holds a blue shimmering lake that you can walk down to, Gullfoss a mighty and misty waterfall, and geyser which is teeming with explosive hot springs. But the best area of all in our opinion is Thingvellir national park. It's perfectly situated at the site where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart and you can literally walk or swim between them. Strolling through the Almanangil gorge feels like you're whisked away to a fantasy destination especially at the foot of Oxalfoss waterfall. On our last day we checked off a bucket list experience in Iceland and one that pretty much everyone is familiar with, the blue lagoon. This massive geothermal bath with the most incredible milky blue mineral-rich water was so relaxing and warming in the brisk temperatures. Every ticket comes with a drink and of course the silica mud mask. There are several steam rooms and a sauna which were all lovely but we really enjoyed just hanging in the waters. Another really famous geothermal spot is the sky lagoon which we checked out on our previous visit. It's a much newer and arguably better facility and the design is beautiful with the rocks and the infinity pool overlooking the ocean. There's a seven-step ritual you can undergo which begins with an extreme cold plunge followed by different hot and cold cycles before using your own body scrub to rejuvenate your skin. It's hard to make a fair comparison between the two spots but our take is that the sky lagoon gave us a better overall experience while the blue lagoon offered a unique and more natural setting that is visually stunning. Honestly if you have the time and budget you'll want to visit both. With this final experience to wrap up our Icelandic adventures we hope you enjoyed all the incredible spots this fascinating island has to offer and let us know if there are any spots we may have missed in the comments below.