derekpw

For those of you that have driven the Ring Road in Iceland, would you give me some estimate of the amount of time it would take to drive between these towns. I will be going in July 2007. I plan to spend the number of nights shown at each town. Does this all seem reasonable? Thank you much!

Reykjavik to Vik (1 night there)
Vik to Skaftafell (2 nights there)
Skaftafell to Seydisfjordur (1 night there)
Seydisfjordur to Husavik (3 nights there)
Husavik to Reykjavik (3 nights there)

tsm0885

Is there any reason you are going counter clockwise? I went back in July and went from Reykjavik (2 day) to Akureyri (3 days) and that took about 8 hours. Then we went from Akureyri to Neskaurpstadhur (1 night) - took about 7 hours. Then from Neskaurpstadhur to Hofn (2 day) which took 5 hours. Hofn to Vik (1 night) and that took less then 4 hours. Vik to Reykjavik took about 4 hours.

Please keep in mind that we stopped off to see things during the drives. I think going from Husaik to Reykjavik is a little to far.

I suggest you read these 2 threads
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=3467002

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34873850

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions.

wasleys

I've driven between Husavik and Kirkjubaerklaustur round the east this June.

The speed limit is 90km/h on sealed roads and that was attainable with care on most sections of the Ring Road. Unsealed sections, of which the Ring Road has several in the SE, have a limit of 80km/h and given good conditions that may be managed in places. However some of the unsealed sections have quite large stones as a surface and these can bring your speed down a lot. Also in July there may be quite a lot of tourist traffic and those wretched campervans may slow you down.

We certainly did Skaftfell to Eigilsstadir (near Seydisfjordur) comfortably in a day. But we took the short cut over Oxi and we had done most of our sightseeing on the way out, so drove fairly solidly going north.

The point about stopping to look is well made. Iceland is a remarkable country and in the section from Skaftafell to Eigilsstadir there are a lot of things to see.

Without wanting to sound like nanny I would stress the need for care. Sealed surfaces are generally smooth but levels can be unpredictable and the roads are not as wide as they look (the dark shoulders make them look wider). There are many single-track bridges which need a lot of care.

I think Husavik to Reykjavik in a day could be a long drag. Personally I thought Husavik was a dump.

Michael

derekpw

tsm0885-
You mentioned why I am going counter - clockwise. Is there a preferred direction to travel the ring road? I guess I didn't think much about that. I think that instead of staying in Husavik I will stay in Akureyri instead.

tsm0885

I don't think there is a preferred direction... I actually went that way b/c of DKW. There is more "sight seeing" to do from Vik to Reykjavik then from Reykjavik to Akureyri.

I liked getting the longer drive out of the way first and then we took our time at the end of the trip.

dkw

Hi Derekpw,

Here ar the distances between your projected stops:

Reyk to Vik: 116 miles
Vik to Skaft: 88 miles
Skaft to Seyd: 242 miles (est)
Seyd to Husavik: 147 miles (est)
Husavik to Reyk: 298 miles

Seyd to Aku: 195 miles (est)
Aku to Reyk: 242 miles

I agree with TSM and Wasleys that Husavik to Reykjavik is probably too long a drive for one leg. Your revised plan to stay in Akureyri is a better idea. I also think that the trip from Skaftafell to Seyd may be too long a drive as there is sooooo much to see on that leg of the trip. We found ourselves stopping frequently for photos during that stretch of our trip. The Glacial Lagoon is worth a stop, as is the area where you can either take a super jeep, or snowmobile on the Vatnajokull glacier.

Here is a link to our trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34670021


TSM, so glad you had a great time and were able to use some of the information that I had provided in our trip report. My sincerest apologies for not making it abundantly clear that the Cave Exploration was an ICE filled lava cave. I hope that you didn't freeze!!

I am jealous that you got to do the Ice Climbing in Skaftafell. That was the one thing on my "want to do list" that had to get set aside because of time.

Derekpw, Feel free to come back with additional questions. I'd be happy to help!