Jökulsárlón

Jökulsárlón is the stop everyone makes and few plan properly. The lagoon is right on the Ring Road, the beach where the ice washes up is across the bridge, and both are a few minutes from the car. The trap is the timing: it is about an hour east of Skaftafell and roughly an hour west of Höfn, so it lands in the middle of the afternoon on most Ring Road days, exactly when the coaches do.

Go early or late. In summer the light is low and the car park nearly empty before 08:00 and after 20:00; in winter the short day means you can only really have it at the edges of the daylight anyway. Count 45 minutes for the lagoon shore alone, two hours if you walk the beach both ways.

The practical line, from the park's pricelist today: the regional fee is the same as Skaftafell, 1,110 ISK for a car up to five seats, collected by plate camera at the entrance and paid via Parka or the machines, valid until midnight, with a 50 per cent discount if you paid at Skaftafell earlier the same day. "There are flush toilets at Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón." Food is a seasonal café; there is no fuel here, so arrive with enough to reach Höfn.

Safety is the water and the ice. The park's Breiðamerkursandur rangers supervise the lagoon and beach every day of the year; do not climb on stranded icebergs, which roll, and do not stand at the surf line on the beach, where the waves behave like those at Reynisfjara. Phone signal is fine; the car park fills fast.