Iceland Ring Road

I’ve been to Iceland multiple times, but this was the first time I drove the entire Ring Road. Five days, four hotels, and more waterfalls than I could count.

Day one was Keflavik to Thingvellir National Park, then south to the Volcano Hotel in Vik. Day two took us along the south coast — Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach, Diamond Beach, Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon. The drive to Egilsstaðir in the east was long and remote, but the landscape was otherworldly.

The north brought whale watching with Gentle Giants in Húsávik, the volcanic landscape around Goðafoss, and the Sauðanesviti lighthouse. We visited Grafarkirkja, the oldest church in Iceland, and Eiríksstaðir, a reconstructed Viking longhouse.

The Snæfellsnes peninsula on the last day was the highlight — Kirkjufellsfossar, Skarðsvík Beach, Saxhóll Crater, and the drive around the tip to Arnarstaðpi before heading back to Keflavik. Five days felt like a month.