Mishaa

We are arriving in Iceland on May 26 and we have 12 days to drive around the ring road.
We are renting a camper van as we figured this would give us the most flexibility. My questions are:

What are the best hot pots? (Preferably somewhat off the beaten track, but accessible by 2 wheel drive)
What are the best campgrounds?
We have done enough research that we are pretty sure we penciled in all the top tourist spots, but we'd really like to get off the tourist treadmill and see some of the spots that may not have hit the tourbooks, but are magical (and can be accessed by 2 wheel drive)

Suggestions?

db6040

We also traveled by camper van and I LOVED it. I had not traveled like that previously but had an amazing time. The flexibility it allows is ideal and ours was comfortable for sleeping as well. We had 14 nights so pretty similar to your trip because we did a first and last night in Reykjavik so had 12 nights on the ring road. My top two overnights were hands down - Seydisfjordur and Stokknes. Seydisfjordur is the kind of town you dream about when you leave hahaha. It is an adorable little place in about as beautiful a location as you could ever hope to find. You can park the van at the campground and then most of the town is walkable. The campground is directly across from a great brewery/restaurant called El Grillo. We loved that we could park and walk - and give ourself a little break from driving. Most other campgrounds were not so walkable to things we wanted to see/do or to restaurants. Definitely don't skip Seydisfjordur - we much preferred it to Egilsstadir just up the road (where we also stayed a night). The drive between the two places is stunning. The other overnight we loved was Stokknes Peninsula. It is just a few minutes from Hofn but we preferred it dramatically to the main campground at Hofn (we stayed at both). Stokknes is privately owned so you have to pay a fee to enter but it's well worth it. It was probably the best scenery we saw anywhere in the country. We weren't planning on camping there but thought it would be nice to stay for sunset. We asked the landowner if we could pay the additional fee (over what we paid to enter) to camp and we were so glad we did. There were only maybe 2 or 3 other campers there but there were nice bathroom facilities and it would have been an ideal place to see Northern Lights (we were there in September).

I fell in love with Iceland - I'd be happy to talk to you more about your plans!

Mishaa

Thanks for these great suggestions. We will definitely camp at both Seydisfjordur and Stokknes.

At this point we plan to stop at Costco in Reykjavik to stock up on food and then head to the Snaefellnes peninsula. From there we will go clockwise around the ring road. Im guessing that we will want to spend the most time around Lake Myvatn and the Eastern fiords. Does that sound right? We will be there in late May and early June, so hoping for chances to see puffins. Would also love to see an arctic fox (though thats probably a long shot as we will not make it to the western part of the island this time.

Where did you end up spending the most time? What side trips off the ring road were most amazing?

db6040

This ended up being our itinerary. We loved the east fjords so it's good to spend some time there for sure! I honestly expected to spend a second night in the Myvatn area but we were pretty satisfied with what we had seen, didn't love the campground there at all, and found it more crowded than other parts of the country, so we moved on. That's the beauty of the camper van - you are free to stay longer or shorter at any and all places!



1) Snail Camper van - this is who we rented with and they offer the first or last night in their building. You get a basic, private room with a shared bathroom. This was perfectly adequate for our first night after a trans-Atlantic flight.

2) Arnarstapi. Beautiful, tiny town in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula.

3) Grundarfjordur camgsite. Very near Kirjufell.

4) Varmahalid campsite.

5) Bjarg Campsite- Myvatn.

6) Egilsstadir.

7) Seydisfjordur. Probably our favorite stop. Great little, walkable town.

8) Hofn.

9) Stokknes - backtracked a bit here but another incredible stop.

10) Kirkjubaejarklaustur campground.

11) Gesthus Selfoss camping.

12) Hafnarfjordur camping.

13) Loki 101 Guesthouse.

db6040

I forgot to mention - don't skip out on the hot springs/pools. we loved it. each town has a pool and we went to these as often as possible. it's super convenient and you can shower there too meaning you don't have to at campgrounds very often. We were there in September so no puffins for us.