See the very best of Iceland from your vehicle

Description of route 4

This is a very special trip, giving you the opportunity to see an enormous lot of Iceland, and stay always in the nicest and most tasteful or original hotels in each area. It involves quite a lot of driving, though, about 1800-2000 km in total. The tour included the whole circle as well as the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

Day 1

After disembarking from Norröna, you could opt to have a good look around in Seyðisfjörður village. There is a small technical museum. Then, you drive to Egilsstaðir, making short stops at the waterfalls along the way. After a look around in Egilsstaðir, drive through the long and fertile valley of Jökuldalur, and then you drive up to Möðrudalsheiði, a desert-like plateau. Then you head north over Hólssandur, until you reach Dettifoss, Iceland’s mightiest waterfall. Next you visit Ásbyrgi, a horse-shoe shaped canyon, before driving to Húsavík. You can have a look around in the picturesque harbour or visit the very interesting local museum and/or the Whale Museum, before checking into your hotel. In the evening, it is possible to make an optional whale watching safari.

Day 2

You spend the morning visiting some of the marvellous sights in the Mývatn area, such as Krafla, the site of volcanic eruptions as recent as the 80s, Námaskarð solfataras and Dimmuborgir Lava. Around noon, you drive to Goðafoss waterfall, the waterfall of the Gods, which is well worth a good stop. Then you continue to Eyjafjörður fjord, and spend some time in the lovely city of Akureyri, often called “The Capital of the North”. It’s a good idea to visit the beautiful botanic garden. Also, the city offers some nice shopping opportunities, such as for example a factory outlet of woolens.   From here, you have a choice: either you drive over Öxnadalsheiði mountain pass straight to Skagafjörður and Sauðárkrókur village, or you make a rather long but very interesting detour, via Dalvík and Ólafsfjörður. Then you drive over Lágheiði mountain pass and on to Siglufjörður, where you can visit the interesting herring museum. From there you continue to Sauðárkrókur, where you stay overnight. 

Day 3

In the morning, it would be possible to go on a river rafting tour in Skagafjörður. This takes at least 3 hours, so it limits your options for the afternoon a bit, but it is a superb experience. Before leaving Skagafjörður, it is possible to visit the turf house museum of Glaumbær, dating from the end of the 19th century. You continue along the main road to the village of Blönduós, and along the fjord to Laxárdalsheiði pass.  Continue via Skógaströnd to the Snæfellsnes peninsula, where you can make a stop at the charming fishing village of Stykkishólmur, before driving through a few small fishing villages to the tip of the peninsula, where you might spot the glacier Snæfellsjökull (depending on weather conditions). We recommend a visit to Arnarstapi, an area where kittiwakes nest among the superb basalt columns, before checking into the hotel at Búðir.

Day 4

First, you drive along the south side of the peninsula, through grassy farmland, to Borgarnes village. There, you can make a choice. If you want to spend more time seeing marvels of nature, we recommend a visit to Borgarfjörður County, where you can visit some lovely spots, such as Deildartunguhver which is Iceland’s largest hot spring, producing 180 l of almost boiling water per minute. Also you can view Hraunfossar, a whole row of small waterfalls tumbling out of the lava, into a passing river. Then you continue along the Hvalfjörður fjord to Reykjavík. (400 km). You can also skip this and drive straight from Borgarnes to Reykjavík, if you like to have more time in