Slow journeys in the North.
Things to do in Iceland and the Nordic countries, and the routes that join them, every one with the arithmetic: minutes, kilometres, daylight and dated prices.
Route 1 (Ring Road), Iceland — Neil D'Cruze / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Things to do, by what you want to see
All 62 experiences
Every route, with the arithmetic
Move the start date and the daylight recomputes; change the fuel and the cost follows. This is the seven-day Ring Road; every journey on the site has one.
Fuel = km ÷ 100 × 7.5 l × 284 ISK/l, price dated 2026-11. Accommodation mid-range and food mid-range are bands, not numbers, for 2 people. Daylight is computed for each day's midpoint; a day marked dark has more driving minutes than daylight minutes.
| Day | Date | Leg | km | Drive | Daylight | Fuel | Night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 Jun | Keflavík airport → Vík | 225 | 2:50 | 20:38 | 4,793 | Vík |
| 2 | 16 Jun | Vík → Höfn | 270 | 3:20 | 20:56 | 5,751 | Höfn |
| 3 | 17 Jun | Höfn → Egilsstaðir | 250 | 3:05 | 21:38 | 5,325 | Egilsstaðir |
| 4 | 18 Jun | Egilsstaðir → Mývatn | 250 | 3:15 | 22:58 | 5,325 | Reykjahlíð (Mývatn) |
| 5 | 19 Jun | Mývatn → Akureyri | 120 | 1:30 | 23:22 | 2,556 | Akureyri |
| 6 | 20 Jun | Akureyri → Borgarnes | 325 | 4:05 | 21:59 | 6,923 | Borgarnes |
| 7 | 21 Jun | Borgarnes → Keflavík airport | 115 | 1:30 | 21:05 | 2,450 | — |
| Total | 1,555 | 19:35 | — | 33,123 | 7 nights | ||
Journeys, by length
Two days to twelve. The figures in the right column are the ledger's totals — distances from the road authorities, driving minutes at legal speed in normal conditions.
- Iceland Ring Road in 7 days
Anticlockwise from Keflavík: about 1,555 km and 19.5 hours at the wheel in seven days, with nights in Vík, Höfn, Egilsstaðir, Mývatn, Akureyri and Borgarnes.
7 days · Iceland1,555 km · 19 h 35 drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Iceland Highlands by 4x4 in 5 days
Þórsmörk by bus, Landmannalaugar by the ford-free F208, Kjölur to Hveravellir, Askja from Mývatn: about 1,140 km and 21 hours inside the published opening windows.
5 days · Iceland1,140 km · 20 h 55 drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Iceland South Coast and Golden Circle in 5 days
Reykjavík base, a Golden Circle day, then two south-coast days to Jökulsárlón with nights in Vík and Kirkjubæjarklaustur: about 1,125 km and 14 hours of driving.
5 days · Iceland1,125 km · 14 h 10 drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026 - North Iceland and the Diamond Circle in 5 days
Fly to Akureyri, drive Goðafoss, Mývatn, Dettifoss, Ásbyrgi and Húsavík and fly back: about 360 km and 5 hours of driving, with the 380 km road alternative costed.
5 days · Iceland357 km · 5 h drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Iceland Westfjords loop in 6 days
Reykjavík to Stykkishólmur, the Baldur ferry to Brjánslækur, Látrabjarg, Dynjandi, Ísafjörður and home by Hólmavík: about 1,020 km, 14.5 hours and one crossing.
6 days · Iceland1,020 km · 14 h 35 driving · 2 h 10 ferryChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Iceland Ring Road in 10 days with Snæfellsnes
The 7-day loop plus Snæfellsnes, a second east night and the full Diamond Circle: about 2,160 km and 27.5 hours of driving, with a half-day kept for weather.
10 days · Iceland2,160 km · 27 h 40 drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Iceland and the Faroe Islands by ferry, 12 days
Copenhagen to Hirtshals, two nights on the Norröna, three days of Faroese roads, then Seyðisfjörður to Keflavík by north and south: 2,519 km, 36 h driving, 47 h at sea.
12 days · Iceland + Faroe Islands + Denmark2,519 km · 36 h 05 driving · 47 h 30 ferryChecked 1 Nov 2026 - Copenhagen or Oslo stopover, 2 days
Two days in Copenhagen or Oslo on the way to Iceland: what each adds, how the airport reaches the city, and what changed when PLAY stopped flying.
2 days · Denmark + Norway + Iceland0 km · 0 h drivingChecked 1 Nov 2026
Experiences, costed in minutes
The glacier walk, the boat, the lagoon: each with the minutes it needs, what it adds to a driving day, a price band and how far ahead it books.
Seven countries that connect
The lines are the real links: the Norröna ferry from Denmark through the Faroes to Iceland, the flights that make a Greenland add-on or a Copenhagen stopover possible. About four fifths of this site is Iceland; the rest exists where it changes an Iceland decision.
This month, country by country
Daylight is computed for each capital on the 15th; roads and ferries are the season planners' sourced notes.
| Country | Daylight on the 15th | Roads | Ferries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland | 6 h 31 min (09:57–16:28, Reykjavík) | Winter: studded tyres permitted from 1 November (Icelandic Police); passes close in storms; highland roads closed; the Ring Road loop is a different trip from here on | Norröna: last Seyðisfjörður call Thursday 18 November 2027, then no sailing to Iceland from 21 November (Smyril Line 2027). Baldur: daily when not in dock (Ferjuleiðir) |
| Faroe Islands | 7 h 06 min (08:39–15:44, Tórshavn) | Open; frequent short closures on the passes | Weekly with Iceland call to 20 Nov; from 21 Nov Denmark–Faroes only, Tórshavn arr Tue 07.30, dep Fri 20.00 (Smyril Line 2027) |
| Norway | 7 h 34 min (07:15–14:48, Oslo) | Winter tyre period from 1 Nov nationally; mountain roads closed | Winter timetables |
| Finland | 7 h 31 min (06:20–13:50, Helsinki) | Winter tyres from November when conditions require (Traficom); winter limits in force | All year |
| Sweden | 7 h 41 min (06:42–14:23, Stockholm) | Open; winter conditions in the north | All year |
| Denmark | 8 h 19 min (06:45–15:04, Copenhagen) | All open | Weekly with Iceland call to 20 Nov; Denmark–Faroes only from 21 Nov (Smyril Line 2027) |
| Greenland | 6 h 30 min (11:56–18:27, Nuuk) | None between towns | Reduced schedule: check |
Decide before you book
- Faroe Islands or Iceland for one week3 options
Eighteen islands joined by sub-sea tunnels against a country the size of a Ring Road: scale, roads and tolls, weather, cost bands, and which week each one makes.
- Iceland by car, by day tours or on a guided trip3 options
Self-drive, day tours out of Reykjavík or a guided multi-day: the driving hours each one asks of you, what each can reach, how each behaves in winter and who each suits.
- Iceland or Lapland for the northern lights3 options
Dark hours, latitude and cloud. Reykjavík at 64°N against Rovaniemi at 66.5°N and Tromsø at 69.6°N, with the dark hours computed and a plan for the cloudy nights.
- Iceland or Norway for a first northern trip3 options
Seven days and a hire car. The Ring Road against the western fjords: driving hours, ferries, weather, daylight, cost bands, crowds, and what each is best at.
- Iceland Ring Road: 7 days or 10?2 options
The two Ring Road ledgers side by side: what three extra days buy — 605 km, 8 hours, Snæfellsnes, a second east night, the full Diamond Circle and a weather buffer.
Guides
Travel guides for Iceland and the North, with every figure dated, and notes on what changed on the roads.
Stops along the routes
All 92 stops
The featured route, drawn
Iceland Ring Road in 7 days: 1,555 km through Iceland. Outlines are geoBoundaries data; the route joins the stops in ledger order.