Arrival
Our flight landed at 15:30. Firstly, we got tested for the Covid-19 at around 16:15 and we received negative results both in app and via SMS early in the next morning. Easy. Overalls, very quick and smooth process. Again – kudos to Icelandic authorities for this. You can read more about our experience with Covid-19 in Iceland here.
Shuttle bus sign at Reykjavik International airport towards car rental lot
What followed was our car rental. For our first day in Iceland, we decided to rent a cheap 2wd car due to several reasons mentioned here in detail. In a nutshell – we saved around 80Eur compared to 4×4 rental and saved even compared to a return journey from Keflavik to Reykjavik by bus. Our rental experience was great because we chose a good car rental company. Again if you are interested in details, serve yourself here.
Go Car rental, one of the best Icelandic car rentals
One additional piece of advice: I suggest WALKING from the airport to the car rental lot rather than using the shuttle bus. At least when the weather is OK. The walk takes some 5 minutes and you don’t have to wait for the bus, load all your luggage in and then unload all your luggage out.
Reykjavik
18:00-22:00
Reykjavik is a decent Nordic city where you can spend a couple of hours mainly just soaking up the atmosphere of the region. But let’s be honest, you usually don’t come to Iceland to see Reykjavik. You come to Iceland to see Iceland, and Reykjavik stands in your way as a first stop, because in 99% of cases you arrive somewhere nearby. And we can only confirm this – there are so many beautiful places around Iceland that Reykjavik (compared to them) simply isn’t that jaw-dropping.
Looking for cool places in Reykjavik? Get inspired by the Reykjavik VR tour!
Hallgrimskirkja, the most famous Icelandic church
Our accommodation stood a 3-minute walk from Halgrímskirkja. I recommend this area to anyone else spending just a couple of hours in the city because all you want to see in such a short time is really close.
At the end of the day, we took a long walk around Reykjavik’s center, covering Halgrímskirkja, Harpa concert hall and park around Tjornin lake. Nice, but nothing jaw-dropping. If I came to Iceland next time, I would skip Reykjavik and go directly for our main trip. But, because it was our first time, I don’t regret it.
What time of year did you go on your trip to Iceland?
This trip mentioned in this article was the first week of August. However, we went several times – July, August, September, February, March and more.
Should one get a satellite beacon for doing this ring road trip with a bit of highlands?
Well it depends what you mean by “a bit of highlands” 🙂 If you go somewhere potentially dangerous without cell service, then yes, you should get a satellite beacon. Are you going to Landmannalaugar for 1 day only? Then probably no, because there’s network coverage. However, if you’re planning a more remote hike like Graenihryggur there, then it’s better to have the beacon for this part of the trip.
The accommodation link goes to the rooftop tent rental page. Can you let me know which area you stayed in and which hotel?
Hi Farieda, I’ll correct that, thanks for letting us know! We stayed a walking distance from Hallgrimskirkja in this guesthouse: Guesthouse Andrea
Hello Igor. I love your website and have spent absolutely hours on it trying to plan a pending trip in Iceland. We arrive on the 1st September and leave on the 14th September in the early morning.
I love your 13 day ring road trip. Aside from just driving and sight seeing, we also wanted to factor in kayaking around the ice, diving/snorkeling the rift, and visiting an ice cave. We have no desire to do any boat trips.
I have looked at the option of hiring a 4×4 camper, as we are not keen to camp in tents when it’s cold as we are in our 50’s, although super fit. I am keen to drive the F roads that this would permit to see the must see highland sites. But as these campers are not cheap I have also tried looking at just hiring a 4×4 and staying in cheap hotels etc. We are probably past the dorm room thing to be honest. I have also looked at a 2WD camper but obviously this would exclude a lot of must see amazing sites.
I have found it difficult deciding on budget accommodation and even finding options, as I really don’t know what is feasible in a day.
I know our time frame is short and we will have to compromise on what we can see and stick to the must see sites. I would really value your input so we can finish booking things.
I have booked a Darcia 4×4 rooftop camper, but are looking at cancelling that as my wife is not keen on the rooftop thing in bad weather, and I understand that.
You are so lucky to have traveled so extensively in this amazing country, and if you ever decide to come to New Zealand I can certainly give you a heads up on must see sites.
Thank you for reading this.
Hi Shane and thank you very much, appreciate your kind words!
Both options our viable in Iceland (sleeping in 4×4 campervans, or a combination of car + cottages/hostels/guesthouses). Our personal favorite is to have a normal, yet simple accommodation, such as a guesthouse with private room and bathroom. These are typically still affordable compared to hotels, you just have to book many months in advance to find a vacancy. And then we always have like Plan A, Plan B and sometimes also Plan C and travel according to weather, see: https://epiciceland.net/nice-weather-in-iceland/
The main advantage of a campervan is full accommodation flexbility, so you can just end your day based on where you are and go for the nearest campsite. The biggest disadvantage is (dis)comfort of a campsite’s shared facilities. I can’t answer this for you, you have to do it based on your personal preferences 🙂 You can surely reach the easier, and still very beautiful highlands spots also with a 4×4 campervan (Landmannalaugar, Thakgil, Kerlingarfjoll, …), though some places you won’t be able to reach (Maelifell, Fjallabak, Thorsmork).
As per Kayaking, Snorkeling and Ice Caves in September I can recommend:
P.S.: If you like what we do at Epic Iceland and/or if you appreciate my response, please a short review on Google: https://g.page/r/CaJt1bHCTbF1EBM/review would really help us 🙂 Thanks in advance.