I know it seems I talk about Iceland ALL THE TIME (#notashamed), but this post comes as a popular request. A lot of you have felt inspired by our most recent Iceland adventure to book your own trips to the country, and most of you have been asking for our Iceland itinerary details. This post shares every detail all in one place! After 9 blog posts and 8 travel vlogs, I know some of you were hoping for a post listing out our exact itinerary to help plan your own travels.
We came up with this itinerary and schedule ourselves after months of research. I worked hard to make sure our itinerary made sense and was even doable for our time frame. Our Iceland itinerary was a bit hectic because we were trying to see and do as much as possible for the blog, but it was all worth it! We spent 16 days driving around the entire country seeing, eating, and even smelling the most interesting things that Iceland has to offer. Check out our entire itinerary below.
Illustration by Wendy Nooney.
OUR ULTIMATE 16-DAY ICELAND ITINERARY
DAY 1
Land at Keflavik International Airport from NYC early in the morning and pick up rental car // Check in at Silica Hotel at Blue Lagoon // Dinner at Lava Restaurant
DAY 2
Check out of Silica Hotel, snorkel at Þingvellir with DIVE.IS // Stop and visit Hraunfossar // Check in at Hótel Húsafell in the afternoon // Relax in the Húsafell thermal baths // Dinner at Hótel Húsafell Restaurant
DAY 3
Snowmobiling with Mountaineers of Iceland and exploring Langjökull ice cave with Into The Glacier // Dinner at Hótel Húsafell Restaurant
DAY 4
Check out of Hótel Húsafell // Drive 4 hours north to Heydalur in the Westfjords (stop in Holmavík for gas and a snack/lunch) // Check in to Heydalur and have lunch at their restaurant // Relax in the natural hot pot across the river // Dinner at Heydalur restaurant
DAY 5
Drive north to Ísafjörður for lunch at Tjöruhúsið or Húsið // Return to Heydalur for horse riding on the beach // Relax in the geothermal pools at Heydalur // Dinner at Heydalur restaurant
DAY 6
Check out of Heydalur // Drive 3 hours east to Hvammstangi // Have lunch at Sjavarborg Restaurant and go grocery shopping // Drive 1 hour east to Hestasport Cottages in Varmahlíð and check in // Cook dinner in cottage
DAY 7
Check out of Hestasport Cottages and drive 90 minutes north to Siglufjörður // Have lunch at Harbour House Cafe, Kaffi Rauðka, or Torgið Restaurant // Drive to Deplar Farm and check in // Activities and dinner at Deplar Farm
DAY 8
Activities and all meals at Deplar Farm
**DAY 9
Check out of Deplar Farm // Drive 90 minutes south to Akureyri // Have lunch at Bláa Kannan and tour the city // Drive 90 minutes east to Lake Mývatn and Námafjall // Drive 2.5 hours to Fáskrúðsfjörður // Check in at Fosshotel Eastfjords // Dinner at hotel
**DAY 10
Check out of Fosshotel Eastfjords // Have lunch in Djúpivogur // Stop at Stokksnes beach // Check in at Fosshotel Vatnajokull // Dinner at Humarhöfnin in Hofn
DAY 11
Check out of Fosshotel Vatnajokull // Stop at Jökulsárlón and Diamond Beach // Stop at Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon // Go grocery shopping in Vík // Check in at Götur Cottages // Visit Dyrhólaey and Reynisfjara beach // Cook dinner in cottage or dine at Halldorskaffi in Vík
DAY 12
Check out of Götur Cottages // Stop at Skogáfoss waterfall // Stop at Seljalandsfoss waterfall // Check in at Hotel Rangá // Activities and dinner at Hotel Rangá
***DAY 13
Drive to Haifoss waterfall (visit ONLY if you have 4WD) // Lunch at Friðheimar in Reykholt // Swim and relax at Gamla Laugin // Dinner at Hotel Rangá
DAY 14
Check out of Hotel Rangá // Drive to Reykjavík, check in at Reykjavík Residence Hotel // Lunch at Kaffivagninn // Walk around city (including Tjörnin) and go shopping // Dinner at Messinn
DAY 15
Breakfast at Reykjavík Roasters // Tour Hallgrimskirkja church // Lunch at Snaps Bistro // Check out of Reykjavík Residence Hotel // Check in at Tower Suites Reykjavík // Visit the Icelandic Phallological Museum (Tor’s idea) or Reykjavík Botanical Gardens // Dinner at Fiskmarkaðurinn
DAY 16
Check out of Tower Suites Reykjavík // Return rental car at airport // Catch flight home to NYC
**We ended up changing our itinerary and stayed an extra day at Deplar Farm. We ended up combining Days 9 and 10 for day 10 of our trip. ***Due to severe inclement weather, we were unable to do any activities on this day. Instead, we spent the day driving along scenic roads nearby and enjoying activities at the hotel.
It’s an impressively long and packed Iceland itinerary, but it was such an incredible trip. We didn’t even get to see everything we wanted to, so of course I am planning on trip number 3 to happen within the next 3-5 years (after we visit some other new countries first). Of course you can take this itinerary and change it to however it fits your own schedule, but this was the itinerary we came up with our grand tour of Iceland.
Don’t miss our detailed blog posts from Iceland here: Blue Lagoon, Snorkeling Silfra, Húsafell, Westfjords, Siglufjörður, Deplar Farm, Akureyri to Vík, Hotel Rangá, and Reykjavík.
Illustration by Wendy Nooney.
Photos by Torrance Coombs.
I love all your Iceland content! My husband and I went to Iceland for our honeymoon last December and stayed at Hotel Ranga for part of our stay. Seeing all your posts has been super nostalgic and inspiring for us to plan another trip there! I totally see why you keep talking about Iceland. There’s just something about it…
You stayed at one of my favorite hotels! Isn’t their food at the restaurant just incredible?? I definitely think you both should plan another trip there! You need to see the north!
Getting your whole trip on one painting was such a clever idea !! Who suggested it ? The perfect reminder for such an amazing trip!! Will you repeat this idea for your Finland trip? Have an amazing time! I cannot wait for more Vlogs !!
Thank you! I thought of it! It was such an incredible trip that I wanted to commemorate it in one drawing. I think I will have this artist work on a Finland map as well!