Iceland Itineraries: My Favourite Places

Posted on by Julie

Happy Christmas! Yes, it’s Christmas Day and there’s a new blog post. Well, it’s a Monday, you see, and I post on a Monday! Maybe I could do something a bit more festive but we haven’t had an Iceland Itinerary in December and I thought I’d do something happy. All my favourite places! Expect to see a lot of hot water, a lot of volcanoes and my favourite campsites. If you’re not in the market for an itinerary, it turns out this is a pretty good post for Iceland eye candy.

Turning my into an itinerary is a bit tricky but I’ve made a kind of Ring Road trip out of it, and it’s probably as good as any.

Day one – the South West

Þingvellir on a summer day, looking across the rift valley from the viewpoint, with cliffs in the foreground and a snow-covered shield volcano in the distance.

Now, you genuinely can’t beat the Golden Circle but I’d like to emphasise Þingvellir. I like to linger on the viewpoint, walk down through the canyon to the Law Rock, down to the Drowning Pool and then take my time ambling around the plain, absorbing the place’s history. I want you to feel the Vikings here in the tenth century, just a few hundred people living on this island, coming together for two weeks every July, ostensibly to deal with the law but in practice, to meet up with all their friends and neighbours, to drink and fight and play and just have a good time. I want you to picture the emissary from Norway coming to tell the Icelanders to abandon Odin and Thor and to take up Jesus and I want you to picture the Icelandic religious leaders making the decision that you can keep Odin and Thor, as long as you don’t let Norway know.

Next, up to Geysir. I can while away hours at Geysir because it takes a long time to get tired of boiling water exploding out of the ground. Tour buses tend to whisk you through with barely time to see two eruptions, and that’s only if you don’t take the time to see any of the other boiling and simmering pools. You can pop the ten minutes up the road to Gullfoss if you like – as I’ve said before, these itineraries are guides and ideas and anyway, I have no way to enforce you following them to the letter – but I don’t love Gullfoss like I love Þingvellir and Geysir.

A portrait photo of a geyser erupting, with a ring of tourists standing in front of it.

Next I would go down the road to Laugarvatn Fontana, the first hot spring experience on this itinerary. Favourite. It has four pools of very different size, shape, temperature and character and if you’re brave, you can also dip in the lake. It’s supposed to have hot springs along the shore which keep it warm but in practice, it’s freezing, even in summer.

Laugarvatn Fontana, a series of pools of various shapes, sizes and colours set on the side of a lake. I seem to have taken the photo from the turf roof of the building that shields it from view from the village.

Last, I would probably return to Hveragerði for the night and because I adore hot water, I’d go to their pool for the evening. I’d also do some food shopping down at the Bonus at the entrance to the village.

Day two – the South Coast

I’m going to make today a bit awkward by suggesting you hop on the ferry over to Heimaey and climb Eldfell. This is the volcano that erupted in 1972 and caused the evacuation of the entire island at 2am on a stormy January night. Maybe you’ve watched events in Grindavik in the last few weeks – imagine that happening on a tiny island in the middle of the night with no warning, just a volcano suddenly opening up in the back garden. It’s a very climbable volcano these days and if you scuff the gravelly surface, you’ll find it’s still warm half an inch down.

A timer selfie standing on the red crater rim of Eldfell, overlooking the town of Heimaey, the cliffs and the ocean.

Back on the mainland, drive east to Skaftafell. If you’ve got time, stop at Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss and maybe even make a detour to Seljavallalaug but it’s a bit of a trek and I don’t know how much time you spent on Heimaey. Anyway, I’d pitch camp at Skaftafell (take a mallet; the ground is rock solid) and then I’d spend my evening walking the 2km or so to Skaftafellsjökull, the most convenient of the three glacier tongues that surround the area.

Another wonky timer selfie, this time of me in shorts in front of the glacial tongue Skaftafellsjokull. The sky is blue without a single cloud and the foreground is gravelly lava but with splatters of green and purple vegetation.

Day three – heading east

First stop, 45 minutes up the road, Jökulsárlón, the glacier lagoon! Now, I personally would have a kayaking trip booked but maybe you prefer someone else to be driving and you might want to go out on the amphibian boats or on the Zodiacs or maybe you’d prefer to just wander the shoreline and take in the beauty. You can cross under the bridge to Breiðamerkursandur, the black sand at the mouth of the river where icebergs wash up. Yeah, you probably know it better as Diamond Beach.

Striped blue icebergs floating in a blue lagoon under a blue sky.

Then there’s a long drive up to Egilsstaðir, the main town in the east. Take the Ring Road around the fjords – I like the 939 over the mountains myself but the fjord road is much easier and it’s also less of a detour to the viewpoint between Reyðarfjörður and Eskifjörður.

The view across a fjord reflecting the blue sky patched with cloud. On the opposite side, the mountains are steep with patches of snow. On this side, the mountains are basaltic and their slopes covered in grass.

I’m a great believer in ending the day in hot water so I’d either stop at the pool in Eskifjörður (great views from between two sweeping mountains) or go to the pool at Egilsstaðir where I’d suggest you camp. There are also multitudes of supermarkets here and it’s a good opportunity to stock up – there’s only one in the next couple of days and it’s allegedly the most expensive in the country.

Day four – Myvatn

In theory, it’s a two hour drive up to Myvatn across Ódáðahraun, the Desert of Misdeeds, a vast grey-brown inhospitable lava field. It took me much longer because I keep stopping to look at it and take photos of it. Anyway, I would camp at Bjarg, right on the lakeside at Myvatn. In fact, I keep saying I would camp here or there – obviously, you can stay where you like. Reykjahlíð, the village where the Ring Road hits the lake, is the tourist centre for the area and has a few hotels.

A good tarmac road running through a gravelly grey-black plain with mountains on the horizon and heavy cloud low overhead.

My first stop would be before I reached Reykjahlíð, though. I’d stop at Hverir, right next to the Ring Road, a hot springs area where the ground bubbles with blue-grey mud and sulphur wafts through the air. There’s nothing like a hot springs area to appreciate the power of the Earth. Next, I’d head into the mountains and go up to Leirhnjúkur, via the Endless Shower (it’s a hot shower by the roadside) and the Krafla viewpoint, which overlooks a valley full of geothermal power plant (prettier than it sounds).

The viewpoint at Krafla, looking into a wide shallow valley criss-crossed with thick silver pipes, with a geothermal power station sending up clouds of steam.

Then I’d go up the road to Leirhnjúkur, a still-steaming lava field from the 70s/80s and go and explore. I love Leirhnjúkur. Well, I love most of these places, that’s why they’re on this itinerary, but this is one place where you can really get to know what a lava field is like. It’s really wild and really natural but it also has trails marked by yellow pegs to guide you around and see for yourself what it looks like when lava pours out of the ground for months.

A timer selfie, wearing a blue windshirt under a black raincoat with bucket hat, on the black background of the Leirhnjukur lava field.

Back down to the valley and I’d spend the evening in Myvatn Nature Baths, the Blue Lagoon’s smaller wilder northern cousin. It has the same warm velvety milky blue water but it has views across to the lake and up the slopes of the orange-streaked active volcano that it sits on the side of. A little disclosure – when I was there in the summer, the volcano-side view was obscured by construction work but by the summer of 2024, the new extension – as I assume it is – should be open which should mean more hot water and unobscured views.

Another timer selfie, this one of me floating starfish-style in the blue waters of Myvatn Nature Baths, with a triangular mountain peak behind it all.

Day five – expedition to Askja

You’re going to need to go on a tour for this one. The cheapest way is via Myvatn Tours’ volcano-going high-clearance coach but they also do superjeep tours for small groups or superjeep private tours. You’ll see the same trips offered by other companies but I think they’re “codesharing” and the tours are still run by Myvatn Tours.

Me, in a green fleece, standing in front of a giant black jeep. My nose is about level with the Ford badge on the front of it and there are steps for passengers to climb in.

Askja is a big flooded caldera in the middle of the Desert of Misdeeds, so you’re looking at a good few hours to travel the 130km from Reykjahlíð, with stops at various interesting places along the way, followed by a 2km hike across the caldera from the car park to the lake. In the side of the caldera is an explosion crater called Viti, flooded with warm milky-blue water. A few years ago, this was an amazing place for a swim but volcanic activity is affecting Viti at the moment and the water temperature keeps dropping to a little less than you’d probably enjoy swimming in. More importantly, the pH has dropped as well and it’s currently as acidic as battery acid. No one’s going to stop you swimming but they’re going to strongly suggest that you don’t and probably look disapprovingly at you as you make your way down the steep, slippery, muddy side of the crater.

A steep muddy-sided crater flooded with milk-like water on the edge of a much bigger lake in a flooded caldera, its waters navy blue with mountain-like sides containing it opposite.

Tours are due back at Myvatn around 7.30/8pm so if you want to save the Nature Baths for tonight, that’s a possibility. Just be aware that I’ve done this tour three times and twice we didn’t get back until 11pm.

Day six – drive to the west

This is a long driving day. I would break it in two places. The first is at Goðafoss, less than an hour from Myvatn. This horseshoe-shaped waterfall is where the Lawspeaker, the highest office in Iceland at the time, threw his chiefpoles in 1000AD as a sign that he renounced Odin and Thor and was taking up with Jesus. They’re good waterfalls, the God’s Falls, worth a stop.

Goðafoss, a horseshoe-shaped waterfall falling among irregular boulders. A group of tourists in bright raincoats are far too close to its edges.

You’ll pass through Akureyri, Iceland’s second city although 18,000 inhabitants is pushing the definition of city a bit. I don’t love Akureyri particularly so I haven’t marked anywhere but of course you’re welcome to stop in this thriving metropolis. The drive across the north-west is scenic but there’s nothing in particular to do except enjoy mountain passes and wide green valleys and bubbling rivers.

Eventually you’ll come to Bifrost, a university town in the lava which happens to have a roadside volcano. Take some time out of your drive to climb Grábrók, an extinct crater which is deep red underneath but covered in green moss, low enough to not be too much effort but high enough to give you views across the other craters and the lava field in the area. There are wooden steps and a boardwalk along the top so it’s all very tidy and easy.

A dark red crater, covered in grey-green moss with a wooden boardwalk running across the rim and down into the middle.

Then I’d carry on into Borgarnes. If you’ve got time, stop for an hour or so in the Settlement Centre and at least do the Egil’s Saga exhibit, which is magnificent and atmospheric and a bit scary. Evening in the pool at Borgarnes, which has views across the fjord to Snæfellsjökull.

A skull, possible a horse's although it has big fangs, draped in a mangy fur of some kind and made especially creepy by a greenish light shone on it.

Day seven – back to Reykjavik

If you didn’t have the time or energy for the Settlement Centre yesterday, do that before you leave. Then drive back to Reykjavik via the Whale Fjord. The quickest way is via the tunnel at the mouth of the fjord but if you do that, you’re just making it difficult to get to Hvammsvik, which is my favourite hot spring. It’s ten or so little pools of varying temperatures on a gravelly beach on the fjord – or, at high tide, in the fjord. It’s very natural and very rustic and when I was there in February, very quiet.

A (non-wonky!) timer selfie sitting in the hot pool at Hvammsvik, with a row of snowy mountains behind me.

When you’ve bathed to your satisfaction, keep driving back to the Ring Road on the south side of the fjord and head for an afternoon in Reykjavik. My personal first stop would be at FlyOver Iceland and the Lava Show, both in the Grandi district. FlyOver is a great big cinema show in a spherical screen where you get lifted off the ground and you get to experience “flying” over some of the most gorgeous landscapes, through waterfalls and clouds and all sorts. Brilliant. A couple of doors up is the Lava Show, where they funnel actual lava into a theatre. Definitely not to be missed.

In a darkened theatre, lava flows down a steel slide, illuminating the room in orange although it glows white itself. A man with a steel pole has scooped up some lava which is dangling from the pole like thick custard.

Back downtown, I love to stand on the edge of Tjörnin, the Pond, and watch the ducks and geese and swans. I admit, that’s a particular pleasure in winter where a geothermal pipe keeps one corner ice-free and means all the birds are packed into a tiny area, honking and splashing and slipping on the ice, but it’s nice in summer too. I’d walk along the shore to the Sun Voyager, the gleaming Viking ship with views across the water to Esja. And then – surprise surprise – I’d finish at a pool. Sundhollin is most convenient for downtown but Laugardalslaug is a huge place with 50m indoor and outdoor pools, four hotpots, a saltwater spa and a warm pool for just sitting and relaxing. But Sundhollin also has indoor and outdoor pools, rooftop hotpots and a great big trough of a hotpot for socialising. I went there at least three times in February and when I was in Rekjavik in April 2022, I definitely went on my first evening and last morning.

A gleaming stainless steel stylised Viking ship sits on the shore, looking out towards a turquoise blue bay with a mountain range on the other side.

Day eight – the last day

I don’t know when your flights are or if you’re sick of geothermal hot water yet but I’d personally make sure I didn’t miss the Blue Lagoon before I left. Well… I might. I’ve been lots of times and it’s very expensive. But in an itinerary of my favourite places, I can’t leave it out because the Blue Lagoon is as good as the hype. Of course, it may still be closed due to the volcanic unrest, in which case stop at the Sky Lagoon instead – just 15 minutes from downtown Reykjavik. But be aware, it’s much smaller than the Blue Lagoon and even when it wasn’t doing double duty as the tourists’ choice of hot spring, it would often sell out. You need to pre-book both of these, and do it as early as you possibly can.

The famous blue waters of the Blue Lagoon, with a mountain in front. Between the lagoon and the mountain is the geothermal power station that provides the famous water.

A couple of extras

I can’t fit them into my itinerary because you need to go on a specialist tour, and probably from Reykjavik – don’t drive there yourself! But I do like Landmannalaugar, a colourful oasis in the Highlands with a natural hot spring heated by the 500-year-old lava field next door, and I do like Þórsmörk, a very green oasis at the top of a very wild gravel river. You can hike here, you can go up canyons to find hidden waterfalls or you can just enjoy nature. There are campsites at both and if you really want, you can hike the four-day Laugavegur trail between the two, using the hiking bus to get to the start and home from the end. But you can also just do a day trip to either or both. Definitely something to look into.

Me lying in a gravel field looking at the camera. Behind me are yellow striped mountains with thick dark green moss growing on them.

And that’s it! All my favourite places in Iceland in one eight-day itinerary! Of course, there are thousands of other places you can add and if you really want to do the Ring Road properly, you need two or three weeks minimum but I think for Christmas, these are my favourite places.