Iceland Ring Road June 2016

[bambooroo]

This trip had been the works for over two years and has evolved into a 3 week itinerary of driving the Ring Road by campervan. Have I lost you?

From Guide to Iceland:

Iceland has one main road: Route 1. This ring road goes all around the island and from it are smaller roads and routes that lead you to fjords, towns, peninsulas, the highlands and many other attractions.

Iceland has always called to me. It seems magical and wild, so what better way to explore than by camping around the country.

I went through several different plans before settling on a campervan but allow me to discuss why I settled on this.

Iceland has a glacier lagoon, volcanoes, hot springs, and more waterfalls than you can shake a stick at. That's just barely scratching the surface of what appeals to me.

In order to soak up as much as I can, I plan to use the ring road primarily to circumnavigate the country for most of my trip and a couple of days in Reykjavik at the end to unwind and be around people again.

There are many car rental agencies and you can bring your own camping supplies as there are multiple campgrounds around the country. However, Iceland has the law of survival which means you can stay anywhere one night if you need to. That said, I'll be able to stay one night anywhere which is very appealing. I will, of course, get permission and use common sense when it comes to choosing a place to sleep. I believe in Leave No Trace and will follow those principles while there.

The beauty of a campervan allows me to not worry about the notoriously unpredictable weather and have to deal with a tent. The one I'm renting has a small pump sink and stove so I can cook inside of the weather is truly abysmal. I am getting one with four wheel drive so I can tackle adventure with confidence.

I'm going to stock up on cheap groceries when I get there but I'm also going to bring lots of protein bars and dehydrated backpacking meals to keep costs down.

I'm going by myself but Iceland is an incredibly safe country. Anything can happen anywhere but their crime statistics are very low.

I'm going to bring a couple of notebooks for journaling and doodling, as well as my camera.

I know I want to go counterclockwise but other than that, I'm just going to go where the wind takes me since I have no reservations I must go toward. I plan on getting local advice as much as possible and savoring every moment. This is something I've been ruthlessly saving for and I don't want to rush any of it.

Typing all of this out makes it feel real. I'm slightly intimidated all of a sudden, haha.

Has anyone else gone before? If you have any suggestions let me know!

[Elastigirl]

Sounds like an amazing adventure!

[Owlet]

Oh man just reading this makes me excited, and I'm not even the one going?! It's so far away but I'm determined to get there someday, preferably in the not-too-distant future. When are you planning on going? I have no advice except to suggest going on a horse trek lol. I don't know if horses are your thing but Icelandic horses are pretty unique and so damn cute. Will you try climbing while you're there? You might've already seen it, but Departures covered Iceland in a couple of their episodes, kinda cool. There are also a few websites with live webcams placed around Iceland if you ever want to get in the mood haha... can you tell I'm slightly obsessed?

[Falcon Lovejoy]

I'very been looking into this myself. Iceland seems like an amazing place. Make sure not to forget your camera, you'll probably want to stop and take pictures every mile or so. Kuku campers seemed like a fun camper company to rent from and I hear Reykjavik has an amazing nightlife too.

[fengor]

Travellign the rign road is an amazing thing to do. We did it a few years back with a group of 8 and 2 cars. Mostly staying in hostels and holiday homes.

 

Be advised that not every part of the ring road is paved, but as long as you stay on the 1 you generally have not much of a problem. I recommend packing snow chains just in case though.