How to Drive Iceland's Ring Road in a Camper Van and Come Home Talking About It Forever

How to Drive Iceland’s Ring Road in a Camper Van and Come Home Talking About It Forever

There is a road that circles an entire country.

Contents

When to go. And the honest trade-offs.
Choosing your camper van
What the Ring Road looks like day by day
Camping in Iceland
The honest cost breakdown

It runs 1,332 kilometres around the perimeter of Iceland, past glaciers and geysers, past waterfalls that appear around corners without warning, past lava fields that look like the surface of another planet, past black sand beaches where the Atlantic crashes dramatically against shore, past fishing villages so small they have three buildings and past mountains that look like they belong in a fantasy novel written by someone who had never seen a mountain before.

Route 1. The Ring Road. It is one of the great drives available to any human being on this earth and doing it in a camper van, sleeping in the van, waking up wherever you happen to be, stopping the moment something extraordinary appears on either side of the road, is one of the best travel experiences I can point you toward with a completely clear conscience.

Here is everything you need to plan it properly.

When to go. And the honest trade-offs.

Summer, June to August, gives you almost 24 hours of daylight, access to all roads including the Highland routes, and the best weather for driving and outdoor activities. This is peak season. Prices for camper van hire are at their highest. Certain tourist sites are crowded in ways that can diminish the experience. But the light is extraordinary and the accessibility is unmatched.

Winter, November to February, offers the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights, dramatic snow-covered landscapes and significantly lower prices. But some roads close entirely. Weather conditions can make driving genuinely dangerous rather than merely dramatic. And you need significantly more experience and preparation than summer driving requires. First-time Ring Road drivers should go in summer or shoulder season without exception.

Shoulder seasons, May and September, are increasingly popular for good reason. The light is extraordinary. Crowds are lower than peak summer. Most roads are open. Prices are more reasonable. September specifically often still has good chances of Northern Lights sightings while temperatures remain manageable for camper van living.

“September is the answer if you are asking which month to go. The light turns golden in a way that photographers specifically plan trips around. The crowds have thinned. The prices have dropped. And you might still see the Northern Lights on a clear night. There is no better time.”

Choosing your camper van

Iceland has a well-developed camper van rental industry with dozens of operators offering vehicles ranging from basic campervans to fully equipped four-wheel-drive expedition vehicles. The right vehicle depends on your comfort requirements, your planned itinerary and your budget.

For summer Ring Road driving on Route 1 only, a standard two-wheel-drive campervan is adequate. If you want to access Highland roads or drive F-roads, which are the unpaved mountain routes, you need a four-wheel-drive vehicle specifically. Driving a two-wheel-drive vehicle on F-roads is illegal in Iceland and the terrain makes it genuinely dangerous. This is not a rule to test.

Book your campervan at least three to four months in advance for summer travel. Iceland’s campervan rental market is genuinely competitive and good vehicles at reasonable prices sell out early. Compare multiple operators and read recent reviews carefully before committing.

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What the Ring Road looks like day by day

Most people complete the Ring Road in seven to ten days. Ten days gives you a genuinely comfortable pace with time to stop, explore and absorb rather than feeling rushed from one landmark to the next. Seven days is doable but requires longer driving days and means missing some of the best detours off the main route.

Days one and two take you from Reykjavik along the South Coast. The Golden Circle as a detour. Seljalandsfoss waterfall where you can walk behind the falling water. Skogafoss, one of the most dramatic waterfalls you will ever stand in front of. The black sand beach at Reynisfjara with its basalt column formations.

Days three and four bring you to the glacier lagoon at Jokulsarlon where icebergs calve from the glacier and float slowly toward the sea. The Diamond Beach directly adjacent where those same icebergs wash up and glitter against black sand in a scene that does not look real. The spectacular East Fjords with their steep mountains dropping directly into the sea.

Days five and six cover the Myvatn lake area with its geothermal features and birdlife. Dettifoss waterfall which is the most powerful waterfall in Europe and genuinely humbling in its scale. The transition from the dramatic east into the gentler north.

Days seven and eight explore North Iceland including Husavik, which is the whale watching capital of Iceland and lives up to that billing, and Akureyri, the main northern city with a warmth and character that surprises most visitors.

Days nine and ten return toward Reykjavik via the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, a separate arm of land that most Ring Road itineraries skip and should not. The glacier volcano at Snaefellsjokull is the entrance point in Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth for reasons that become obvious the moment you see it.

Camping in Iceland

Iceland has a network of official campsites across the country providing basic facilities for a nightly fee of roughly fifteen to twenty-five dollars per person. Wild camping is now regulated and prohibited in many areas to protect the fragile landscape. Stick to official campsites without exception.

The Camping Card is a product giving you free or heavily discounted access to a network of campsites across Iceland for a set upfront fee. If you are spending ten or more nights on campsites it typically pays for itself. Calculate based on your specific itinerary.

The honest cost breakdown

Iceland is expensive. This is the truth and no framework makes it otherwise.

Campervan hire for ten days in summer runs 1,500 to 3,000 dollars depending on the vehicle. Fuel costs are significant because Iceland is large and the roads are slower than you expect. Campsite fees add up. Attractions, activities and food in Iceland are all priced at northern European levels or above.

That said, campervan travel in Iceland is significantly cheaper than hotel-based travel there. Cooking in the van, using campsite facilities and being selective about which paid attractions justify the cost versus which natural wonders are completely free keeps costs manageable.

Budget around 150 to 200 dollars per person per day including campervan hire amortised across the trip. Then go. Because there is nowhere else on earth quite like it.

“Somewhere between the glacier lagoon and the East Fjords you stop taking photographs because no photograph can capture what you are looking at. You just sit there in a country that looks like it was made by someone who had never seen a planet before, feeling very small and very grateful that you came.”

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