Traveling on Iceland's Ring Road (Preview)

Traveling on the Icelandic Ring road or Road 1 is one of the “classic” trips you can do on the Nordic island. My wife and I are heading on to a eight day trip to explore Iceland together. For my wife, the North and East will be new territory, while I am especially curious about the East of Iceland, which hasn’t been on my travel list so far (apart from my Icelandair domestic flight trip to Egilstadir Airport (EGS)). We decided to take you with us on this very special trip, on which we will have a certain focus on a couple of natural baths and spas en route. Here is a preview what you can expect during this eight day trip.

Iceland’s Ring Road – Our Trip

Due to some Covid-19 related vouchers, we went for a trip with Icelandair. Their elder Boeing 757-200 Saga Class is a quite nice product for their relatively short flights. However, on this trip, we have been scheduled to fly their Boeing 737 MAX for our very first time (I had a 737 MAX booking with them already, but they changed equipment to their legacy airplanes).

Date	Flight	from	to
29.04.2023	FI 521	Frankfurt T2 (FRA)	Keflavik (KEF)
07.05.2023	FI 529	Keflavik (KEF)	Frankfiurt T2 (FRA)

For the road trip, we decided to go for an anti-clockwise direction, i.e. we travel along the South Coast first, heading towards Egilstadir, before going back to Greater Reykjavik via the North, visitng Husavik and Akureyri, my favorite Icelandic town. There is also some additional time to explore the Icelandic capital, Reykjavik, at the end of the trip. Below is a rough map of the trip which lies ahead of us. However, it is only connecting the hotels we are staying at (see below) and does not contain detours like going to Seydisfjordur, which is on our bucket list:

Due to the sights we want to see and the general geography of Iceland, the stages are very unevenly distributes. Especially Day 2 and A key focus on the trip will also be to explore some of the new thermal baths, which have opened in Iceland during the last years. Namely, we aim to visit

I assume that the total distance of the road trip will be about 1,800 to 2,000 km. For that trip, we went for a Dacia Duster provided by Blue Car Rental, which I generally favor among the Icelandic car rental companies.

Iceland’s Ring Road – The Hotels

One of the typical features of the Ring Road trip is that you go for another accommodation every day.

Date	City	Accommodation
29.04.2023	Hella	Stracta Hotel
30.04.2023	Hrafnavellir / Höfn	Hrafnaveillir Guest House
01.05.2023	Egilstadir	Hotel 1001 Nott
02.05.2023	Husavik	Post-Plaza Guesthouse Husavik
03.05.2023	Akureyri	Hafdals Hotel
04.05.2023	Reykholt	Fosshotel Reykholt
05.05.2023	Reykjavik	22 Hill Hotel
06.05.2023	Keflavik (Airport area)	Airport Hotel Aurora Star

Before the trip, we are planning to have a night at the DoubleTree by Hilton Frankfurt Niederrad, which is some ten kilometers away from the Frankfurt Airport (FRA).

Iceland’s Ring Road Trip Report – Featured Postings

Apart from the hotel reviews and spas listed above, here is a list of postings which have additionally been written (i.e.: they contain a hyperlink below) or will be written (no hyperlink) based on this trip, given in chronological order of visit.

Air France / KLM Lounge Frankfurt Airport (FRA) Terminal 2
Icelandair 737 MAX Saga Premium Class
Seljalandsfoss and adjacent waterfalls
Skogar Museum
Dyrholaey Cliff and Light Tower
Jokulsarlon Glacier
Walk through Seydisfjordur
Puffin Watching at Hafnarholmi
North Sailing Whale Watching Husavik
Husavik Whale Museum
Husavik Eurovision Exhibition
Daladryd Petting Zoo
Glaumbaer Farm House Museum
Arbaer Open Air Museum
Icelandic National Museum
The LAVA Show Reykjavik
Reykjavik Family Park & Zoo
The Geothermal Exhibition
Hveradalir Geothermal Area
Skyrland

Iceland’s Ring Road Trip Report – Daily Episodes

Here are the episodes planned for this trip report. The reprise posting is also holding a gallery of major size pictures of the whole trip:

There will be no Day 9 report, as this would only cover the flight back to Germany.

Travel Postings about Iceland

Here are all my travel-related postings about Iceland:

Food I Had Onboard XX (November 2024 – early January 2025)

While quite a lot of traveling is ahead of me during the next weeks, November and December 2024 was rather ...

Stracta Hotel Hella (Iceland)

The pictures already suggest it: this hotel review is in fact not based on a recent stay. My wife and ...

Husavik Whale Museum

Husavik used to be one of the key whaling spots in Iceland. Nowadays, the city is still famous for the ...

Krauma Geothermal Spa (Reykholt, Iceland)

The last geothermal spa my wife and I visited on our tour through Iceland in May 2023 was Krauma. Compared ...

22 Hill Hotel (Reykjavik)

Reykjavik has been the last stop (before staying at the Aurora Star at Keflavik Airport KEF) of the Icelandic Ring ...

A Short Roadtrip along Northwest Reykjanes

The recent seismic and volcanic actions on the Reykjanes peninsula really touch me. Dung the last years, Iceland has more ...

Hveradalir Geothermal Area (Pictured Story)

I recently introduced you to the Geothermal Exhibition at the Hellisheidi Power Plant. Due to the high geophysical activity in ...

The Waterfalls near Seljalandsfoss (Pictured Story)

The are numerous and spectacular waterfalls in Iceland, spread all over the island. However, the Seljalandsfoss is one of the ...

Post-Plaza Guesthouse Husavik

Husavik - as you recently have learned, the small town in North Iceland is one of my most favorite spots ...

Reykjavik Family Park & Zoo

Reykjavik and the surrounding cities are the core of Iceland. Even though the area does rather feel like other Nordic ...

Vök Baths (Egilstadir)

Our Ring Road Trip through Iceland in April and May 2023 took us to three geothermal spas. I already introduced ...

Daladyrd Petting Zoo (near Akureyri)

Sometimes, you just need to learn where your steak - or your Icelandic sweater is originally coming from. What is ...

Icelandair Boeing 737 MAX Saga Premium Class

After I introduced you to the Boeing 757-200 Saga Premium Class, the premium product of Icelandair, in 2021, I felt ...

Airport Hotel Aurora Star Keflavik

The first night in Iceland or the last night before going back home - that's about the time when quite ...

Skyrland Selfoss

There are a bunch of iconic dishes in Iceland. One which made it globally is Skyr. Isey, one of the ...

Hafdals Hotel Akureyri

Akureyri in Northern Iceland is my favorite city of the island. Also as I expected to be there just the ...

Whale Watching with North Sailing Husavik (Iceland)

Husavik is not only known due to the Fire Saga Eurovision movie on Netflix, but is more than that one of the ...

Dyrholaey (Iceland, Pictured Story)

The black lava beaches of Iceland are one of the must visits to many tourists. One of the most well-known ...

Lava Show Reykjavik

Minor and major volcanic eruptions happen regularly in Iceland. People pay a lot of money for helicopter trips or do ...

Puffin Watching at Hafnarholmi in Northeast Iceland

Puffins are one of my favorite animals. Thus, being able to say hello to them in wildlife conditions is always ...

Hrafnavellir Guest House (Hornafirdi, Iceland)

During our 2023 Ring Road Trip through Iceland, we had a wide range of stays: from guesthouses to hotel chain ...

My Traveler’s Thoughts About… Renting a Car and Driving in Iceland

Iceland is definitely one of the countries I love to travel to most. The unique nature, a very interesting culture ...

Forest Lagoon Akureyri

Our April and May 2023 trip along the Icelandic Ring Road had also been dedicated to visiting some of the ...

Food I Had Onboard VIII (April 2023 til Mid-May 2023)

Oops, I did it again. Just within about a month, I feel that I had a nice volume of flights, ...

Husavik Eurovision Exhibition

On the week at which I am publishing this review, many people are focusing on Liverpool. They look forward to ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Reprise)

Eight days of traveling along the Icelandic Ring Road are done. The trip was just intense. My wife and I ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 8 – 6th May 2023) – Day in Reykjavik & More

Last full day in Iceland. We decided not to start too late (also because the car had to be moved ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 7 – 5th May 2023) – Reykholt to Reykjavik

The circle is closed on Day 7 - we are back in Reykjavik, where the trip more or less started ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 6 – 4th May 2023) – Akureyri to Reykholt

Day 6 on your Iceland Ring Road trip - time to start counting down the kilometers towards Reykjavik and Keflavik ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 5 – 3rd May 2023) – Husavik to Akureyri

We arrived significantly later than expected in Husavik on Day 4, so that Day 5 was packed with Husavik action ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 4 – 2nd May 2023) – Egilstadir to Husavik

With the weather being much colder than expected, we had to alter our travel plans for the Iceland Ring Road ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 3 – 1st May 2023) – Hrafnavellir to Egilstadir

After the intense travel at Day 2 of our Iceland Ring Road trip, Day 3 was thought to be a ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 2 – 30th April 2023) – Hella to Hrafnavellir

After arriving in Iceland the day before, Sunday 30th April 2023 was thought to be the most intense travel day ...

Traveling on Iceland’s Ring Road (Day 1 – 29th April 2023) – Germany to Hella

Let's take you on a trip to Iceland. This is the first proper entry to my Trip Report, which takes on ...

Five Years of Flyctory.com – My 20 Most Popular Travel Posts (so far…)

Damn, it is already four years... And it is more than 2,750 postings since then. On 25th February 2018, I ...

Icelands South Coast at Routes 33 and 34 (Road Trip)

In this Pictured Story, I want to take you on a road trip in Iceland which I in fact already ...

Reykjavik Maritime Museum

The fishing industry has been (and still is) an important part of the Icelandic economy. The Reykjavik Maritime Museum is ...

Gullfoss – Iceland’s Most Famous Waterfall? (Pictured Story)

Many tourist traveling to Iceland put the day trip of the Golden Circle on the top of their list. Apart from ...

View Over Akureyri from Hlidarfljall

If you follow Flyctory.com for a while, you know that I love the Northern Icelandic city of Akureyri. This posting ...

Ystafell Auto Museum (Iceland)

Despite the country as such is rather small (measured by the number of people, not by area), Iceland has some ...

A (Partial) Trip along F899 (Flateyjardalsvegur – Pictured Story)

It's summer season in Iceland right now again. People explore the amazing highlands. While I still struggle to complete a ...

Icelandic Aviation Museum (Akureyri)

Flugsafn Islands - or the Icelandic Aviation Museum - has of course been a attraction I just could not miss while ...

Flying with Icelandair Domestic (Flygfelag Islands / Air Iceland Connect)

Icelandair Domestic, Air Iceland Connect or Flygfelag Islands - the inter-Iceland aviation connections nowadays driven by Icelandair have different historic ...

Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Natura

During one of my trips to Iceland in 2021, I decided to have two nights right at Reykjavik Domestic Airport ...

Akureyrarkirkja – Akureyri Church

Akureyrarkirkja or simply the Akureyri Church is one of the key eyecatchers of the Northern Icelandic city. The Lutheran church, ...

Cruising on the Herjolfur Vestmannaeyjar Ferry

The Vestmannaeyjar islands and especially Heimaey, the main island of the "West Men Islands", are a key tourist attraction of ...

Grenjadarstadur Turf House Museum

There are a few Turf House Museums you can visit in Iceland. The UNESCO is even thinking about putting this ...

Viking World (Nardvik, Iceland)

Apart from the legendary Blue Lagoon, the Viking World / Vikingheimar in Nardvik on Reykjanes is likely one of the most ...

Sagnheimar Natural History Museum Vestmannaeyjar

As some of my plans during my stay at Vestmannaeyjar did not work out as expected, I had time to ...

The Settlement Exhibition Reykjavik

The Settlement Exhibition Reykjavik (sometimes also with an added ± 871) gives you an insight of the 10th century settlement ...

Whales of Iceland (Reykjavik)

While whaling has been quite popular in Iceland's past, the large marine mammals are nowadays rather the stars on a ...

Vadlaheidargong Toll Tunnel and Alternatives

Going from Northern Iceland's largest city to the famous Myvatn Thermal Bath or even further on to Egilstadir - the ...

Keflavik Airport (KEF)

There is currently some effort to establish regular international flights from Akureyri (AEY) again, but in general, if you approach ...

The F35 Kjölur-Route in Iceland

The F35 - or Kjölur Route is likely the most famous road trip in Iceland, apart from route 1, the Ring ...

Rokksafn – The Icelandic Rock’n’Roll Museum (Reykjanesbaer)

Iceland is indeed a country, which is famous for its broad music culture. There are several Icelandic acts, which became ...

Airport Hotel Grasteinn (Keflavik)

When I visited Iceland in October 2021, my Lufthansa flight from Munich Airport (MUC) to Keflavik (KEF) arrived at the ...

Egilsstadir Airport (EGS)

Icelandair gave me a very short-term cancellation for my flight to Vestmannaeyear, when I visited the island. However, I definitely ...

Hallgrimskirkja Reykjavic – Church and View from Tower

The unique architecture, the significant height of 75 meters and its location on top of the hill right in the ...

Saga Museum Reykjavik

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Hilton Reykjavik Nordica

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Reykjavik Domestic Airport (RKV)

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Flying Norlandair from Akureyri (AEY) (not) to Grimsey (GRY)

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Iceland Road F347 (Kerlingarfjallavegur) and Hveradalir

I did a couple of interesting road trips in Iceland during my summer stay in August 2021. Even though I ...

Hotel Kjarnalundur (Akureyri, Iceland)

Especially due to a scheduled flight with Norlandair, I looked for a stay not too far away from Akureyri Airport ...

Aurora Reykjavik

While nature lovers, highland road freaks and horse riders roll over Iceland in summer, the key attraction in fall and ...

LAVA Centre Hvölsvollur (Iceland)

Lava and volcanic eruptions are a regular part of life on Iceland. In 2010, for example, the Eyjafjallajökull slowed down ...

Geysir Hot Spring Area (Iceland – Pictured Story)

What is your first thought about Iceland? I think many people associate the stunning, unique nature with the Nordic island ...

Food I Had Onboard (Oct 2021 til Nov 2021)

In October 2021, on a flight from Munich (MUC) to Keflavik Airport (KEF), I decided to go for a new ...

Car Rental Review – Blue Car Keflavik Airport (KEF) – Dacia Duster 4WD

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Hotel Laxarbakki (Akranes, Iceland)

On my summer 2021 trip to Iceland, I had the last night before heading into Greater Reykjavik in Akranes. Hotel ...

Urridafoss – The Highest Flow Waterfall in Iceland (Pictured Story)

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Hotel Duus (Keflavik)

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Icelandic Punk Museum (Reykjavik)

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Olis Deildin (Icelandic Handball Premier League) with Fram Reykjavik at Safamyri Hall

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Hertz Deildin Div. 1(Icelandic Ice Hockey League) with Fjölnir Reykjavik at Egilshöll

Relative to their population, Iceland is the sixth biggest ice hockey nation in the world. Out of 100,000 people, some ...

Car Rental Review – Procar Keflavik Airport (KEF) – Dacia Duster 4WD

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Hverir Geothermal Area (Pictured Story)

Hverir is one of the most popular geothermal areas in Northern Iceland. Two the key drivers is obviously that it ...

Eyjafjördur Jolahusid – The Christmas House

We all know that Santa Claus is living in Rovaniemi, Finland... Or is he home to Russia? Northern Canada? There ...

Myvatn – Natural Thermal Pool in Northern Iceland

Having a swim in a (somehow) natural geothermal pool in Iceland feels to be the equivalent to the Blue Lagoon ...

Car Rental Review – Geysir Keflavik Airport (KEF) – Dacia Duster 4WD

After so many other options failed, I opted to extend the coverage on Flyctory.com to the wonderful island of Iceland ...

The Bridge Between Europe and North America (Pictured Story)

What is the shortest flight time between Canada and the European Union? Can you walk from the USA to Russia? ...

Boeing 757-200 Icelandair Saga Premium Class

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Litli Geysir Hotel

The first overnight during my August 2021 trip to Iceland was right next to one of the most iconic places ...

Icelandic Phallological Museum (Reykjavik)

Half of us got one - and most of them love it/him. The philosopher Nietzsche even defined a penis envy ...

Saga Lounge Kefklavik (KEF)

In August 2021, I finally visited a place which has been hidden from me for so long. I had so ...

Akureyri Airport (AEY)

In Iceland, Akureyri is called the Capital Of The North. Excluding the Reykjavik Metropolitan Area, it is the largest city on ...

Sky Lagoon Reykjavic / Kopavogur

I would say that at the time of writing (August 2021), Sky Lagoon is something like the hottest product in ...

Postings about Road Trips

Here are all road trips on Flyctory.com